Ahmed Hussein Online

Summary

MedV is one of the few application that revolutionized the way we migrate the operating system .with MEDV you will be able to migrate first then remediate as you go . so instead of waiting for the vender to release an update or even the vendor discontinued this software . in both cases you were forced to delay your migration now you don’t .you can now create a workspace using Medv and install on it all the applications you have issue with.

MED-V v2 overview

Business Requirements for MED-V

When your company’s IT department is determining whether to upgrade to Windows 7, it must pay attention to its line-of-business applications and web-based line-of-business applications to make certain that these can run on the new operating system. Often, these applications and URLs were created to work specifically with an older version of Windows or Internet Explorer, and problems can occur when trying to use them in the new operating system. Microsoft offers many different methods for handling the various compatibility issues that can occur when you upgrade, such as the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) and the Windows 7 Program Compatibility Assistant. But even after all applications have been tested for compatibility and fixes have been determined, some applications still do not work correctly on Windows 7 or are too costly to resolve.

By using MED-V, you can run these legacy applications through a Windows Virtual PC environment that is running Windows XP. Because you no longer have to test and validate these problem applications on the new operating system before upgrading, your migration to Windows 7 is much smoother and quicker.

Using MED-V Checklist

Consider MED-V if any of the following scenarios apply to you:

• You are a large organization (for example, 500 users and more), have an Enterprise Agreement with Microsoft, and plan to upgrade to Windows 7.
• You have tested your line-of-business applications and have found some that are incompatible with Windows 7.
• You have resolved the compatibility issues for some of these problem applications by upgrading the application or by using a Microsoft-provided shim, such as the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT), but compatibility issues remain for some applications.
• You have considered App-V as an option for delivering the incompatible applications and have concluded that even after you implement App-V, you still have application operating system compatibility issues that you must address.
• You have considered Windows XP Mode as a solution and have determined that it is not an efficient option because:

· You want to be able to deploy virtual images that contain the problem applications to all end users at the same time, instead of individually, and have the virtual images automatically joined to the domain.

· You have decided it is much more cost effective to manage these legacy applications (that are delivered virtually) and control the Windows Virtual PC settings from a centralized location instead of on each end user’s desktop.

· You want to be able to update and support the virtual machines in scale instead of per desktop.

· You want the ability to redirect URLs that run better on an older version of Internet Explorer to the virtual machines and to easily manage URL redirection later.

• You have determined that it would be more cost effective and helpful to upgrade to Windows 7 as soon as possible and have decided to postpone resolving your remaining application compatibility issues until a later date, knowing that you have a solution available in MED-V.

MEDV2 Vs XP mode

MED-V 2.0 Supported Configurations

· Windows 7 x86/x64 professional ,ultimate ,enterprise SP1

· 2GB of ram per host

· The MED-V Host Agent and the MED-V Workspace Packager are not supported in any server environment.

· MED-V 2.0 Workspace Operating System must be xp sp3 x86

· MED-V only supports one virtual hard disk per virtual machine and only one partition on each virtual disk.

MED-V 2.0 Best Practices

· Disable restore points on the virtual machine

· Install Windows Virtual PC last when installing from a batch file

· When you install the MED-V components by using a batch file, specify that Windows Virtual PC and the Windows Virtual PC hotfix are installed after the MED-V Host Agent and the MED-V workspace package files. This ensures that Windows Update will not cause any interference with the installation process by requiring a restart.

· Install MED-V workspace from local folder

· Because of problems that can occur when you install MED-V from a network location, we recommend that you copy the MED-V workspace setup files locally and then run setup.exe

Environment Prerequisites

• Windows 7
  The MED-V Host Agent and the MED-V Workspace Packager are only supported in Windows 7 or newer.
• Windows XP SP3
  The MED-V Guest Agent is only supported in Windows XP SP3.
  .NET Framework 3.5 SP1
  The MED-V Host and Guest agents and the MED-V Workspace Packager require the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1. You must also install the update KB959209 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=204950), which addresses several known application compatibility issues.

Install the admin workstation

1. Download Windows Virtual PC from the Microsoft Download Center (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=195918).
2. Run the installation file on the host computer, and follow the steps in the wizard.
3. Install XP sp3 in the windows virtual PC
   1. Install .net 3.5 sp1
   2. Install KB959209
   3. Install KB972435
   4. Install KB961742
   5. Install blocker toolkit for IE7 ,IE8 (optional )
   6. Install all the needed software you want

Creating the image needed

We run set up manager to create sysprep file

Note : if the windows in the sysprep doses not exists in the below guide this means that it will not affect the process – you can select what you want -

This is a sysprep so we must select it

We need it to be fully automated so that the user don’t get any prompt or face with an error

Now complete the needed information but you have to make the computer name automatically for MEDV to work

Also you have to set administrator password you cannot leave it blank . Also you must enable auto login as administrator

MEDV v2 does not support workgroup and must be joined to active directory for it to function

You must run the blow commands for MEDV to work properly in that order

The first one to disable system restores and the second to kick start the MEDV agent

wmic /namespace:\\root\default path SystemRestore call Disable %SystemDrive%\

c:\Program Files\Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization\FtsCompletion.exe

Install MEDV2 workspace packager

Install MEDV2 Agent

MEDV workspace packager console

Management the web redirection and settings

This will produce two files at the end .Reg and .ps1 all your config are in the reg file . Please note that when you install it it will replace all the old values. So you will need if you adding to add the old values and the new values in the case of web addresses

One of the nice things in web redirection is that now there is a prompt that’s tell the users what to expect

Creating the workspace wizard

Select the VHD that we syspreped and ready for MedV2

Note: you can always compact the VHD size before you use it in medv2

Select you preferred options

Sample of the notification that users receive

Next the massages those users will receive when starting the workspace

Select the name convention for the MEDV2 vms

Select the options suited for your environment

Work space installation GUI

Kindly note that the Machine can one have one workspace

MEDV 2 Scripting

Sample script to install all parts on the client machine

Installation Argument

Troubleshot MEDV2 Host Agent

Go to your MEDV installation Directory

And run MEDVhost.exe /toolkit you will get the following window

Notes:

· You can always replace the old redirected web pages by using the .reg file ( the reg file will run on the host not inside the VM )

· The MEDV2 uses a differential disk so when you reset the medV you will be back to the point when you just installed it

Additional info

For the Full Registry options

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg548492.aspx

for Powershall arguments

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg680277.aspx

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