Management features new to Windows Vista

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This article is part of the
Windows Vista series.

New features

Overview

Technical and core system

Security and safety

Management and administration

Removed features

[edit] Installation and recovery

Screenshot of the setup process.

The setup process for Windows Vista has been completely rewritten and is now image-based. Setup is now based on Windows Preinstallation Environment version 2.0, which, amongst other features, runs the entire setup process in a graphical environment, as opposed to the text-based environments of previous versions. Visually, the user interface resembles Windows Vista itself, using ClearType fonts and the Aero visual style, and enabling the use of a mouse. Prior to copying the setup image, partitions can be graphically resized.

The new Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) detects and fixes startup related problems. It can be accessed by pressing F8 during startup. The system then boots into the WinRE interface and offers various tests as well as recovery and failure detection tools. WinRE automatically detects blue screen errors and registry damage and tries to repair the system and get it up and running quickly.

The Windows System Recovery tools have been significantly expanded to take advantage of the new graphical setup environment. A "toolbox" is presented to the user, offering access to repair functions, System Restore, a new memory diagnostic tool, access to CompletePC backup images, and access to a command prompt. Multiple command prompts can be spawned at once, and more command-line tools are available. Command prompts can be spawned at any time during setup by pressing Ctrl+F10.

Support for loading third-party disk drivers has improved. Whereas Windows XP only supported loading drivers from floppy disks while the setup environment is initially loading, Vista additionally supports loading drivers from USB and Firewire storage devices, and CDs and DVDs from within the main setup wizard.

Microsoft has aimed to reduce the amount of time setup takes to complete. Preview releases of Vista are now significantly faster for installation than Windows XP and can be installed in as little as 20 minutes.^[1] This is especially notable considering that the Windows Vista install is more than three times the size of its predecessor.

At the end of the setup process, Windows Vista automatically downloadS and applies security and device driver updates from Windows Update.

[edit] Deployment

Windows Vista is deployed using a hardware-independent image, the Windows Imaging Format (WIM). The image file contains the necessary bits of the Operating System, and its contents are copied as is to the target system. Other system specific software, such as device drivers and other applications, are installed and configured afterwards. This reduces the time taken for installation of Windows Vista.

Corporations can author their own image files (using the WIM format) which might include all the applications that the organization wants to deploy. Also multiple images can be kept in a single image file, to target multiple scenarios. This facility is used by Microsoft to include all editions of Windows Vista on the same disc^[2], and install the proper version based on the provided product key. In addition, initial configuration, such as locale settings, account names, etc. can be supplied in XML Answer Files to automate installation, see Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK).

Microsoft provides a tool called ImageX to support creation of custom images, and edit images after they have been created. It can also be used to generate an image from a running installation, including all data and applications, for backup purposes. WIM images can also be controlled using the Windows System Image Manager, which can be used to edit images and to create XML Answer Files for unattended installations.

Also included in Windows Vista is an improved version of the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard now known as Windows Easy Transfer which allows settings to be inherited from previous installations and User State Migration Tool 3.0, to migrate user accounts during large automated deployments.

ClickOnce is a deployment technology for "smart client" applications that enables self-updating Windows-based applications that can be installed and run with minimal user interaction, and in a fashion that does not require administrator access.

The ActiveX Installer Service is an optional component included with the Business, Enterprise and Ultimate editions that provides a method for network administrators in a domain to authorize the installation and upgrade of specific ActiveX controls while operating as a standard user. ActiveX components that have been listed in Group Policy can be installed without a User Account Control consent dialog being displayed.^[3]

[edit] Diagnostics, monitoring and reporting

Windows Vista includes a number of self-diagnostic features which help identify various problems and, if possible, suggest corrective actions. The event logging subsystem in Windows Vista also has been completely overhauled and rewritten around XML to allow applications to more precisely log events. Event logs can now be configured to be automatically forwarded to other persons. Event logs can also be remotely viewed from other computers. Custom views for events can be created, and events can also be associated with tasks, via the redesigned task scheduler. Event Viewer has also been rewritten to take advantage of these new features.

The Common Log File System (CLFS) API provides a high-performance, general-purpose log-file subsystem that dedicated user-mode and kernel-mode client applications can use and multiple clients can share to optimize log access and for data and event management.

Restart Manager reduces the number of reboots required after updates and installations of applications dynamically, by temporarily stopping and restarting affected services.^[4] Windows Vista can detect which applications or libraries have been changed and restart them individually without rebooting the entire system. Application Recovery enables applications to control what actions are taken on their behalf by the system when they fail or crash such as recovering unsaved data or documents, restarting the application, and diagnosing and reporting the problem using Windows Error Reporting.

Using System Resource Manager, administrators can control how much resource a process or a user can use. A Process Matching Criteria can be set, which is be defined by the name, type or owner of the process, and specifies the restrictions that are to be enforced. Whenever a process matches the criteria set, the restrictions are applied on the process. Restrictions that can be applied include the CPU time and bandwidth that it can use, number of processors it can be run on, and memory allocated to it. Restrictions can be set to be imposed on certain dates as well. In addition, network bandwidth can be controlled using Quality of Service settings and disk usage can be configured using NTFS quotas.

New tools under Computer Management to allow a user to visually monitor CPU, disk, network, and memory activity over a period of time, including exactly which applications are consuming these resources. Windows Task Manager also presents more detailed system information and monitoring. Disk Management has been improved to allow the creation and the resizing of disk partitions without any data loss.

[edit] Remote management

Remote Desktop Protocol 6.0 incorporates support for application-level remoting, improved security (TLS 1.0), support for connections via an SSL gateway, improved remoting of devices, support for .NET remoting including support for remoting of Windows Presentation Foundation applications, WMI scripting, 32-bit color support, dual-monitor support and more.

Remote Assistance, which helps in troubleshooting remotely, is now a full-fledged standalone application and does not use the Help and Support Center or Windows Messenger. Two administrators can connect to a remote computer simultaneously. Also, a session automatically reconnects after restarting the computer. It also supports session pausing, built-in diagnostics, chat and file transfer and XML-based logging. It has been reworked to use less bandwidth for low-speed connections. NAT traversals are also supported, so a session can be established even if the user is behind a NAT device. However, unlike Windows XP's Remote Assistance, it is not possible now to communicate verbally.

Windows Vista also includes Windows Remote Management (WinRM), which is Microsoft’s implementation of WS-Management standard, and allows Windows Vista to be easily managed, remotely. WinRM, along with compatible tools, allows administrators to remotely run management scripts. A WinRM session needs to be authenticated to minimize security risks. Web Services for Devices (WSDAPI) is a complete implementation of the Devices Profile for Web Services (DPWS) standard. DPWS describes a set of requirements that enable a device to be discovered by clients and describe available services to those clients. Function Discovery is a new technology that integrates and unifies the discovery and delivery of metadata for both installed hardware devices and software components so that applications can easily query and build lists of devices and objects sorted by function or class.

[edit] System tools

Windows Experience Index (formerly Windows Performance Rating), a built-in benchmarking tool which analyzes the different subsystems (graphics, memory, etc), and uses the results to allow for comparison to other Windows Vista systems, and for software optimizations. The optimizations can be made by both Windows and third-party software.^[5]
Windows Backup (code-named SafeDocs) allowing automatic backup of files, recovery of specific files and folders, recovery of specific file types, or recovery of all files. The entire disk can be backed up to a CompletePC image and restored when required. Backups are created in Virtual PC format and therefore can be mounted using Virtual PC.
Windows Update

Windows Update has been revised, and now runs completely as a control panel application, not as a web application as in prior versions of Windows.
System Restore is more proactive at creating useful restore points. Restore points are now "volume-level", meaning that performing a restore will capture the state of an entire system at a point in time. These can also be restored using the Windows System Recovery console when booting from the Vista DVD, and an "undo" restore point can be created prior to a restore, in case a user wishes to return to the pre-restored state.
Windows Installer 4.0 (MSI 4.0) with support for features such as User Account Control, Restart Manager, and Multilingual User Interface.
Problem Reports and Solutions, a new control panel which allows users to see previously sent problems and any solutions or additional information that is available.
Windows Task Manager has a new "Services" tab which gives access to the list of all Windows services, and offers the ability to start and stop any service as well as enable/disable the UAC file and registry virtualization of a process. Additionally, file properties, the full path and command line of started processes, and DEP status of processes can be viewed.
Disk Defragmenter in Windows Vista is configured to automatically defragment the hard drive on a regular basis. The user interface has been simplified, with the color graph being removed entirely. Chunks of data over 64MB in size will not be defragmented; Microsoft has stated that this is because there is no discernible performance benefit in doing so.^[6] Partitions (volumes) can be resized before starting Windows Vista setup or after installation through Disk Management. If you wish to have more control over the defragmentation process in Vista, you will have to use the command line utlity, defrag. ^[7]This utility can be used to defragment specific volumes and to just analyze volumes as the defragmenter would in Windows XP.

[edit] Management Console

A screenshot of Vista's Management Console

Windows Vista also includes Microsoft Management Console 3.0 (MMC), which includes several enhancements, including support for writing .NET snap-ins using Windows Forms and running multiple tasks in parallel. In addition, snap-ins present their UI in a different thread than in which the operation is run, thus keeping the snap-in responsive, even when it is doing a computationally intensive task. The new MMC interface includes support for better graphics and as well as features a task pane that shows actions available for a snap-in, when it is selected. Windows Vista also includes several new as well as upgraded snap-ins, such as Diagnostic Console, that has various tools for tuning system performance, as well as shows system statistics such as performance of CPU, disks, network, memory and other resources, in a graphical manner, in the Resource View. The Reliability Monitor tracks applications and driver installations, along with the date they were installed on, and by using system reliability statistics from Reliability Analysis Components, presents a graphical view of the variation in system reliability and stability. It also includes snap-ins for configuration of task scheduler and Windows firewall. Print Management enables centralized installation and management of all printers in an organization. It allows installation of network-attached printers to a group of clients simultaneously, and provides continually updated status information for the printers and print servers. It also supports finding printers needing operator attention by filtering the display of printers based on error conditions, such as out of paper, and can also send e-mail notifications or run scripts when a printer encounters the error condition.

[edit] Group Policy

Windows Vista includes around 2400 group policy settings^[8], which lets administrators specify settings for groups of computers, especially in a domain. Group policy can be set and edited via the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) is provided as a MMC snap-in, or by using the Group Policy editor object. It uses a new XML based policy definition file format, known as ADMX. ADMX files contain the configuration settings for individual Group Policy Objects (GPO). For domain based GPOs, the ADMX files can be centrally stored, and all computers on the domain will retrieve them to configure themselves, using the File Replication Service, which is used to replicate files on a configured system from a remote location. The Group Policy service is no longer attached with the Winlogon service, rather it runs as a service on its own. Group Policy event message are now logged in the system event log. Group Policy objects in Windows Vista can also be applied on a per-user basis. Group Policy uses Network Location Awareness to update the configuration based on changes in network configuration.

Windows Vista includes many new Group Policy settings, most of which deal with security settings. The available GP settings are grouped by categories. The different categories include settings on Power Management, device installations, security settings, Internet Explorer settings, and printer settings, among others. GP settings also need to be used to enable two way communication filtering in Windows Vista firewall, which by default enables only incoming data filtering. Printer settings can be used to install printers based on the network location. Whenever the user connects to a different network, the available printers are updated for the new network. GP settings specify which printer is available on which network. Also, printer settings can be used to allow standard users to install printers. Group Policy can also be used for specifying Quality of Service (QoS) settings. Device installation settings can be used to prevent users from connecting external storage devices, as a means to prevent data theft.

[edit] Offline Files

The Offline Files feature in Windows Vista has been completely redesigned. Offline Files offer much improved synchronization, especially for large files, by using Bitmap Differential Transfer when syncing from client to server. Files can be synchronized on a per-user basis and users can force Windows to work in offline mode or online mode or sync manually from the Sync Center. Sync Center can also report sync errors and resolve sync conflicts. Offline files, including files with open handles, can be automatically and seamlessly transitioned to their online network versions as soon as the network is available without waiting for all cached files to be synchronized. The property page for any file or folder has an Offline Files tab that provides status and allows control of the offline status of the file or folder. Moreover, even if a single file is unavailable, other files in the same share and other shares are available. Offline Files are configurable through Group Policy and provide better interoperability with DFS. Also, a comprehensive Offline Files management API is available via COM objects and scriptability through WMI.

[edit] Task Scheduler

Screenshot of Task Scheduler

The redesigned task scheduler can be used to automate management and configuration tasks. In addition to running tasks at predefined times, task scheduler can be configured to run tasks when specific events occur. A task can also be configured to start only on multiple triggers. Such a task starts only when all the triggering events occur. Also, several tasks that are triggered by the same event can be configured to run either simultaneously or in a pre-determined sequence. Tasks can also be configured to run based on system status such as being idle for a pre-configured amount of time, or startup, logoff, or other triggers. Further customization to the tasks can also be added, such as delaying a task to start sometime after the triggering event has occurred, or repeat until some other event occurs. Even actions that need to be done if a task fails can also be configured. Tasks can also be created using scripts, programmatically. Task scheduler keeps a log of all execution details of all the tasks. ^[9]. Other features of Task Scheduler include:

Ability to schedule tasks to be executed when a particular event is logged to an event log.
A number of new conditions and filters.
New security features, including using Windows Vista's new Credentials Manager to store passwords so that they cannot be found easily, and scheduled tasks are executed in their own session, instead of the same session as system services or the current user.
The ability to chain a series of actions together, instead of having to create multiple scheduled tasks.
Ability to wake up a machine remotely or using BIOS timer from sleep or hibernation to execute a scheduled task or run a previously scheduled task after a machine gets turned on.
A completely new user interface based on Management Console.
The history of executed scheduled tasks can be reviewed.
The scheduled tasks API is now fully available to scripting languages.

[edit] Command-line tools

New command-line tools in Windows Vista include:

mklink — create, modify and delete junctions, hard links, and symbolic links
bcdedit — create, delete, and reorder the bootloader (boot.ini is no longer used)
robocopy — the next version of xcopy with additional features

Updates to existing command-line tools:

diskpart has been expanded to support hard disks with the GUID Partition Table, and a new "shrink" command has been added which facilitates shrinking a pre-existing NTFS partition.

Services for UNIX has been renamed "Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications", and is included with the Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista. Network File System (NFS) client support is also included.

[edit] Scripting

Windows Vista enhances the opportunities for scripting as well. WMI classes expose all controllable features of the operating system, and can be accessed from scripting languages. In addition, DHTML coupled with scripting languages are used to create desktop gadgets, so gadgets can even be created for configuration of various aspects of the system. It is also fully compatible with Windows PowerShell, an object-oriented command-line shell, released by Microsoft, but not included with Windows Vista.