Windows 7 is often initiated for its performance like XP and unlike Vista. Too often the actual performance is measured by hand. By stopwatch! Please stop doing this and start reading this inventive blog post.

Microsoft provides a free tool to measure the performance automatically. An improved toolkit is coming with Windows 8. For now we can perfectly live with the current toolkit. Let’s get started.  

In this post I will explain how easy it can be to measure the performance of any Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 system. I will also provide some practical advice how to create a report that adds value.

Note: Because of the Prefetch feature of Windows 7 it is highly recommended to prepare your test machine (referred to as ‘prepsystem’).

Start measuring

Your system needs to have installed: 

• Windows Vista or higher (Windows XP does work but shows fewer results). Server system 2008 or higher.
• .NET framework 4
• Local admin priveliges

Now start with installing the magic tooling:

• Download the WPA toolkit
• Install ‘xbootmgr’ and ‘xperf’ (x86 or x64)
• Create a temporary folder (c:\temp)
• Open a CMD with admin priveliges

Copy and past the following line in the CMD window:

xbootmgr -trace boot -traceFlags DiagEasy -resultPath C:\TEMP -numruns 10 rebootCycle –prepSystem

This will happen:

• Perform a trace for the time the pc boots (-trace boot)
• Specificy the info details measured (-traceflags –diageasy)
• Copy the results to ‘c:\temp’ (the .elt files)
• Do this 10 times (reboot will go automatic, login by hand unless you specify / a number of 10 is a best practice average)
• (option) Prepare yout test system 6x (2 times 3 with a break) 

Create results

Create a XML summary file:

• For every .ETL file run this command:

xperf /tti -i c:\temp\YourFile.etl -o summary_boot.xml -a boot

Write down the values for 1) bootDoneViaExplorer, 2) bootDoneViaPostBoot and 3)

1. PreSMSS
2. SMSSInit
3. WinlogonInit
4. ExplorerInit
5. PostExplorerPeriod
6. TraceTail

All values in milliseconds, so x100 for seconds.

Time to logon

Now what is the measured value for the logon time? This is the sum of the values : WinLogonInit, ExplorerInit and PostExplorerPeriod. The value of bootDoneViaExplorer indicates the total startup time.

However, the value of WinloginInit start counting on the moment that the login screen is shown. Meaning that typing userID and password is measured too as part of logon. This is why autologon is preferrred. On a domain joined machine this can be automated too (just Google)

Summary

• Install the WPA toolkit on your Windows 7 test machine
• Run a performance test and create a report
• Give me some results!

This post is inspired on the following websites:

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/140247-trace-windows-7-bootshutdownhibernatestandbyresume-issues (generic guide)

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ff191001(v=vs.85).aspx (xbootmgr)

http://www.computerperformance.co.uk/windows7/windows7_auto_logon.htm (autologon)

First the (unapproved) possible usage of profile pictures and more, now it appears LI has decided to spam my activity feed with job postings.

job spam

 Cheerz,

Martijn

• Limited configuration options for download behavior (i.e. metadata only vs full content)
• Expired updates cannot be removed from the updates server easily
• Approval and publishing updates requires multiple steps to be taken

With SCUP 2011 you now have a so called ConfigMgr integration. This integration option can be used to regulate download behavior for an update. In general you probably want clients to download only metadata from SCCM/SCUP if only a few clients request an update. When the number of clients increase it would be better to download full content so that clients will use common distribution points instead of an internet location to download the update to avoid unnecessary bandwidth utilization. With the thresholds you can regulate this now.

Expiring and removing updates properly was a hell of a job if an update was removed from a vendor’s catalog. In SCUP 2011 you can use a new Software Update Cleanup Wizard for this. So now, expiring a software update that exists on the update server but is not in the SCUP repository is an easy job.

SCUP 2011 has a Publish tab where you can bundle updates that you want to deploy to your clients. This is a new feature that makes it somewhat easier to manage and administer the SCUP update repository.

What I like the most about SCUP is that you are able to deploy software with the WSUS functionality available. In large enterprise environments normal software distribution requires lots of steps to be taken by various departments for each individual software update. These steps include scripting, testing, configure SCCM packages, collections, advertisements, etc. New software updates like Adobe’s Flash Player are being released very rapidly. It requires that you’ll have to execute the same procedure over again to deploy it in your enterprise. Using SCUP and Adobe’s update catalog instead will save you a lot of time.

Installing drivers, BIOS, hardware utilities and firmware for instance on Dell systems is an easy job using SCUP. Minor disadvantage is that you will need the OpenManage client running on client systems to provide some necessary WMI classes. These extra classes will be used to identify the hardware peripherals. WSUS uses this information to compare with the catalog logic rules:

With SCUP you can use the logic which comes with the catalogs to deploy a software update bundle that include multiple updates at once. Compare the logic within the catalog with the queries you normally use in SCCM collections for grouping the client systems what you’ll need for targeting the software.

You can also create your own updates. As an example i’ve added the Google Chrome browser installer as a required update with Adobe Flash Player as a prerequisite .

Happy updating!!!

Douwe van de Ruit

European event on mobile strategies and App development  - March 7 & 8, 2001

- An impression -

The 7th and 8th of March were an inspiring two days on mobile application strategies and development. The event was held on the Westergasfabriek terrain in Amsterdam. Target audience: C-level management, consultants, developers and enthusiasts. In short a very broad audience indeed. As Daniel Erasmus, the host for the keynote speeches, put it in one slide: Development + Business = Magic

Being a consultant and app-enthusiast myself I had to divide my attention between the DevCamps, entrepreneurs present and keynote speeches.

The trend is clear: Apps are hot! If the word “app” is not present in the dictionary, it should be very soon. A comparison with the first http-wave seems valid: Everyone wants an app. Apps are becoming more and more a personal thing. Where the creation of apps can now be a very costly matter (employing developers etc.), there’s a rise in platforms that let you create apps without any programming skills. Remember the Geocities website building tools? Sure, the output wasn’t always pretty, the code was messy, but it sufficed and look where we are today: anyone can do wordpress, joomla or xoops websites…

The future looks bright for the companies that build lego-like frameworks for dummy app development. It’s time for the %your-(company)name-here% -App to hit the appstore!

I was present on invitation of the IOSDevCamp organization (Dom Sagolla) to increase the magic and take part in the jury. The idea of DevCamp is to combine ideas and developers and build applications in a two-day hackathon: Help each other , Create together and Present to the jury!

The IOS developers present blew us (the jury) away with their ideas, demo’s and prototypes. A very big thanks to all involved for creating a super productive atmosphere! And congratulations to the winners in the various categories. On the risk of not giving credit to all winners, here are a few;

• Distress – for the best prototype and demo
• Ticketeer – for a tie on the best Amsterdam App
• Joris Kluivers – community prize – for organizing IOSDevCamp avant-la-lettre and building a Dutch community

A big thanks to the Municipally of Amsterdam for sponsoring this event and setting up an Amsterdam App challenge, Getronics (my employer) for sponsoring iCE Amsterdam, the people I met for the exciting ideas and inspiration (how’s that star field coming along you guys at ChainrApp?), and last but not least Herman van Bolhuis from iCE Amsterdam for organizing the event and the IOSDevCamp organization for having me.

For now co-authoring is enabled/available for:
- Word
- Excel
- OneNote

More info from Microsoft on this topic can be found at:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff718249.aspx (Co authoring overview in SharePoint 2010)
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/microsoft_office_word/archive/2009/09/09/co-authoring-in-word-2010.aspx  (Co-authoring ie simultaneous editing) in Word 2010

Recently I had the proper use case to actually use this feature for its proper duty!  Together with a few colleagues I was responsible for answering a large RfP under ‘some’ time pressure….. Everyone in college or in business who has had to work together on a document knows the caveats….. how to keep up with versions, how to merge the different additions, how to share the latest version….
Have you ended up with a merged document containing changes from more than 2 authors? Was it fun judging all those changes in that rainbow of colors? Bet it was…..

I’ll leave the general description of the co-authoring feature to the Microsoft dev team and instead will focus on the practical use of this nice feature. Some prerequisites:
- SharePoint 2010
- Word 2010 client
(this applies to the Word co-authoring of course… Excel is a bit different and I’ll hope to get to that later when I have to make a joint business-case . Also, checkin/checkout should be disabled.

So, where do we start? Well, in a SP workspace with a document in it….

And how? U could click on the document name, and then in the view choose edit in word (co-authoring in web app version not supported I believe…. Note to self: test that too…) or just call function menu and choose edit in word.

Ok, so then you are busy with multiple people in a document… the catch is that you might be editing the same document,but not the same section ! Word locks the area in which an editor is working for other users until the editor saves the changes to the server, thus releasing the sections and sharing the updated results with the other authors.

But, it is possible to comment in the section someone else is editing… not the same I agree, but perhaps usefull. However, the other user would have to save (and u too) to synch the changes and make them visible. Until then Andy wont see the comment…

Its easy to see where the other user(s) are editing. A bracket appears indicating the locked section. Commenting as said is still possible, editing isnt (see notification in bottom left corner) My section locking bracket appears differently, as seen below:

If you have a small document, or you have a writer going through it like a berserker touching every paragraph you might get something like this:

All sections locked until Andy saves the document, synching the changes and releasing them to me, the other author…
From the backstage view it is possible to see who is editing the document, and send them a message. A quick image:
 

An overview of users (and the ability to send them an IM via integrated OCS) is also available at the bottom of the screen…

When both users try to save at the same time the second one is blocked…. Wait a few seconds and try again… Oh yeah, the indicator on save button indicates available updates…

Thats all for now folks ! Enjoy your co-authoring and remember to save often ! No sectionsquatters !!!

Ciao,

Martijn

ps: Thnx to www.twitter.com/@awdhaan for testing this feature together with me….

To enable bitlocker status reporting in a centralised management environment with SCCM you need to follow some steps because bitlocker is not integrated that far (yet??) in the Windows OS. First, let’s first take a look at the status information that bitlocker provides:

• Volume name, example: C: [OSDisk]
• Disk size, example: 148,75 GB
• BitLocker Version, example: Windows 7
• Conversion Status, example: Fully Encrypted
• Percentage Encrypted, example: 100%
• Encryption Method, example: AES 128 with Diffuser
• Protection Status, example: Protection On
• Lock Status, example: Unlocked
• Identification Field, example: None
• Key Protectors (Note: multivalue), example: TPM, Numerical Password

You can check the above on clients using the commandline tool manage-bde.exe -status on Windows 7 clients. For Vista clients use cscript manage-bde.wsf -status.

Step 1. Modify and deploy SMS_DEF.MOF

We want bitlocker status information to be inventoried to SCCM. A proper way of doing that would be to add the bitlocker class to the SMS_DEF.MOF file on the management point (found in %SCCMinstallpath%\inboxes\clifiles.src\hinv). Make a copy of this file and edit with your favorite app. Add the following lines at the end of the file:

[edit] Make sure to replace any fancy double quotes with normal quotes after copying because otherwise compiling or parsing will fail. Or download this file: bitlocker_mof.

You should check the file for errors with mofcomp.exe -check SMS_DEF.MOF. To enable the MOF file on a single client run the following command on the client mofcomp -class:forceupdate %pathtofile%\SMS_DEF.MOF. Copy the edited file back to enable it on your ConfigMgr site.

Step 2. Install Bitlocker

Create and link a GPO to apply on the bitlocker clients that contain the following settings (or similair based on your own requirements):

Enter the BIOS on your client or use tools like the Dell client configuration utility to turn on TPM, clear the TPM and activate it. After doing this enable bitlocker encryption on the machine. You can use any method to achive this.

Step 3. Add Bitlocker status to WMI & run hw inventory

Although there are multiple ways of manipulating bitlocker through WMI you still need a script to read, update and store bitlocker status information in the WMI repository (see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa376409.aspx). This is because Managed Object Format (MOF) files are not installed as part of the Windows SDK and therefore the included classes are not added to the WMI repository automatically by Windows itself.

[update: A handy colleague wrote a powershell version of the script for adding the bitlocker status into WMI with some nice enhancements. All credits go to Daniel Last.]

The scripts (use only one):

• VBS version: UpdateBitlockerStatus.vbs
• Powershell verion: Bitlocker_Status.ps1 Bitlocker_Status_v1.1.ps1 [update]

Run the script and after that initiate a hardware inventory on the client. Note that the powershell version of the script already triggers a hardware inventory. Additionally, the powershell script need to be run with the powershell execution policy to be set to RemoteSigned. Do this using the following cmdlet: Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

[edit] You could trigger the inventory in the vbscript by adding this line: WshShell.Run “WMIC /namespace:\\root\ccm path sms_client CALL TriggerSchedule “&Chr(34) & “{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001}” & Chr(34) & ” /NOINTERACTIVE”,,true

After a while you will find 2 new tables and 1 new view in the SCCM site database:

Step 4. Create the Report

I created a report in SCCM with the following query:

SELECT     v_R_System.Name0 AS Computername, v_GS_SCCM_BitLocker0.Bitlocker_Status0 AS [Bitlocker Status],
v_GS_SCCM_BitLocker0.BitLocker_Version0 AS [Bitlocker Versie], v_GS_SCCM_BitLocker0.Conversion_Status0 AS [Converstion Status],
v_GS_SCCM_BitLocker0.Drive0 AS Drive, v_GS_SCCM_BitLocker0.DriveLabel0 AS DriveLabel, v_GS_SCCM_BitLocker0.Encryption_Method0 AS [Encryption Method],
v_GS_SCCM_BitLocker0.Identification_Field0 AS [Identification Field], v_GS_SCCM_BitLocker0.Key_Protectors0 AS [Key Protectors],
v_GS_SCCM_BitLocker0.Percentage_Encrypted0 AS [Percentage Encrypted], v_GS_SCCM_BitLocker0.Protection_Status0 AS [Protection Status],
v_GS_SCCM_BitLocker0.ScriptLastRun0 AS [Script Last Run]
FROM         v_GS_SCCM_BitLocker0 INNER JOIN
v_R_System ON v_GS_SCCM_BitLocker0.ResourceID = v_R_System.ResourceID

And there it is, the Bitlocker report (note: old screenshot based another query but more or less similar):

Tested on SCCM R2 with a Windows 7 Enterprise bitlocker client.

Feel free to comment on this post.

Regards,
Douwe van de Ruit

While installing SCCM.next i found out that the procedure was very similar to the way SCCM 2007 is installed. But when i started the Admin console i finally saw the “Outlook-styled” console for SCCM that is inline with consoles used for OpsMgr and VmMgr!

A good example of “do more with less” will be client settings, all settings are simplified by consolidating them in just one, simple and faste editable setting-interface:

So the interfacelifted GUI is a big change included in SCCM.next. But what about functionality and features? Well, Googling on vNext will return 3 main focus areas where Microsoft would deliver changed functionalities:

1. User centric application management  – Empowering Administrators to define intent, and end users flexible access to the right application at the right time
2. Infrastructure simplification – Simplify management infrastructure, processes and administrative overhead
3. Simplify Client Management – Daily tasks, model based configuration management and improvements over existing capabilities

User centric comes with so called user device affinity rules as you like, which can be used to define user’s devices and priorize them in a way that some deployments can depend on these affinity rules. Additionally, it will allow admins to create definitions of the relationship between the users and their applications in a way that the admins don’t have to worry about where that user is and what device it’s using .  They can trust the system that the user will have the right application at the right time in the right place suitable for the device they are on. Just a screenshot that relates to the user centric management functionality:

Just looking at the interface already shows that all administrative tasks just got easier and smarter and will achieve better overall performance in using ConfigMgr for all tasks. Infrastructure and Client Management simplifications will take more investigation to find out significant improvements as opposed to SCCM 2007. However, i do know that distribution points in SCCM.next will support scheduling and throttling. Imagining a branch office with a considerable amount of clients, you normally would create a secondary site if there was a concern about content distribution bandwidth consumption during office hours. With SCCM.next now you’re not bound to secondary sites because you can use distribution points with scheduling and throttling capabilities using the newly added ”Rate Limits” tab in distribution point settings.

By simplified client management Microsoft introduces the “Custom Client Setting”. With this feature you can create custom client agent settings which you can apply to collections containing devices, users or both. On top of the custom client settings you will still be able to configure the top-level client agent settings. The need for an extra Primary site will become unneccesary if the only reason would be driven out of other Client settings. Very nice.

To summarize some more new stuff i (quickly) found:

• added distribution groups for administrative purpose
• SCCM.next is 64 bit only
• SQL 2008 required
• added more than 300 extra SQL tables in the site database
• changed the term “Advertisements” into “Deployments”
• added Global Conditions settings which can be used to divide device types based on various parameters
• SQL Reporting service replaces standard reporting
• the “inboxes” system is still in use (and not transformed into SQL based communication as introduced before as a “wanna have”)
• “Create Report” function crashes in my test lab
• Help function returns white pixels
• SCCM 2007 DCM and Assett Intelligence nodes are integrated into a “Assets and Compliance” tab
• New System roles: Software Catalog Web Service Point, Software Catalog Web Site Point, Mobile device enrollment proxy point, Mobile device enrollment point

Nice stuff so far :-)

This time, I did not have endless time to troubleshoot. So I decided to make a quick escape through an internet service. I found TeamViewer 5 to be an easy to use replacable. For home use it’s free. It uses two simple codes to identify the session. For now, I stick with this. Because there is nothing more frustrating for a helpdesk like me than not seeing what happens on the other side, I guess…

 In today’s challenging economic environment, innovative use of new information technologies can result in improved operational efficiency and reduced costs. The combination of cost savings coupled with improved productivity and innovation is defined as “the New Efficiency.”

 Elop also announced the release of Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange Server, which helps Exchange Server customers further safeguard business information.

 “Exchange Server 2010 customers are already reporting cost savings of up to 70 percent thanks to a simplified high-availability model and support for lower-cost storage. Customers are also seeing productivity gains of more than 20 percent with a universal inbox that delivers e-mail, voice mail, instant messaging and text messaging consistently across virtually any device,” Elop said. “Together with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, the combined cost savings and improved productivity helps customers generate long-term business success.”

 According to a commissioned study of technology early adopters conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Microsoft Corp., a customer can see a payback period of less than six months when upgrading to either Exchange Server 2010* or Windows Server 2008 R2.**

 Customers such as Bank of America Corp., Carnival Cruise Line, Global Crossing, Lifetime Products, Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc., NEC Philips, Subaru Canada Inc. and Telekom Austria Group are deploying Exchange Server 2010 and report impressive results with the new server.

 “We have increased storage eightfold at 25 percent of the cost with Exchange Server 2010 and our employees are seeing a reduction of unwanted e-mail by more than 70 percent, freeing us up to focus on more important client issues,” said Steve Derbyshire, operations director, NEC Philips.

 Organizations including Automatic Data Processing Inc., BMW, Baker Tilly, the City of Miami, Energizer, Getronics and Pella Corp. are deploying Windows 7 and report gains in efficiency for both business users and IT. Customers report improved user productivity and easier information access, reduced costs with streamlined management, and reduced risk through better security and increased desktop control. Supporting detail is available in recent total cost of ownership studies and analyst survey reports at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enterprise/products/windows-7/default.aspx.

 Businesses are seeing equally significant results from Windows Server 2008 R2, with customers including Continental Airlines Inc. (U.S.), Chester Zoo (U.K.), Combell Group NV (Belgium), FinPro (Finland), Wacom Europe GmbH (Germany) and Wortell (Netherlands) noting cost savings through server consolidation, reduced power consumption and improved service levels.

 “With Windows Server 2008 R2, we’ve been able to dramatically reduce costs in our IT infrastructure while simplifying management,” said Phil Morris, IT manager, North England Zoological Society/Chester Zoo. “By virtualizing our environment with Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V, we have reduced the number of servers in our environment by 80 percent while maintaining the high availability our retail staff, researchers and management team need.”

 “Windows Server 2008 R2 brings many efficiencies to our customers, including enabling new virtualization scenarios,” said Bill Laing, corporate vice president for the Windows Server and Solutions Division at Microsoft. “We’ve added the next generation of hypervisor and the new ability to perform Live Migration of virtual machines. Many customers are already seeing tangible results since deploying Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V.”

 Elop said more than 45,000 partners are trained on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Exchange Server 2010, with several partners announcing new services and solutions today, including Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Avanade, Dell Inc., EMC Corp., Kaspersky Lab, Symantec Corp. and Unisys Corp.

 Exchange Server 2010 and Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange are available now for trial at http://www.thenewefficiency.com, along with more information about Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and partner solutions.

Yesterday we had a kickoff for an Early Adopter Windows 7 Community @ Microsoft in the Netherlands.
One of the presentations was about Federated Search and how this nice option will make our work much easier.

Some people were wondering howto deploy a Federated Search Connector in an Enterprise Environment, but nobody seems to know the answer. Reason for me to find out how to do this.

As for most solutions, it is not the only or the best solution, but because I like Group Policy Preferences (GPP) so much I developed a way to deploy a search connector using GPP.

In this example I will deploy the Youtube connector.
(Look for more connectors on : http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/742-windows-7-search-federation-providers.html)

On an admin PC just doubleclick on the downloade file, this will install the Search Connector on your PC, in fact it will install it in your user profile.

Now we need 2 files from your profile, first look up C:\USERS\<YOUR USERNAME>\LINKS\YOUTUBE.LNK
Before you copy this file right click it, choose properties and change the targetlocation to : C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Searches\Youtube.searchConnector-ms

Now copy this file to for example your NETLOGON share.

After that copy the file C:\USERS\<YOUR USERNAME>\SEARCHES\Youtube.searchConnector-ms to the NETLOGON share.

We’ve got the files that we need to deploy it to our users.

Logon to your domain controller (or the machine that you use to manage Group Policy) and open the Group Policy Management Console.
N.B. To manage Group Policy Preferences you need a Windows Server 2008 (R2), Windows Vista or Windows 7 machine.

Open your User policy and expand the User Configuration node.
Now go to Preferences -> Windows Settings -> Files.

Add these 2 files :

If you close the file screens, the preference screen will look like this (except for my domain name )

Now the only thing you have to do is wait until the user policy is refreshed ( a user does not have to take any action and will see the search provider automaticly)
And if you cant wait, just use the good old GPUPDATE.

Thats it for now, please enjoy.

Regards,

Erik