Windows Management Technologies

While not management products per se, Windows management technologies will see some important changes in the next few years. The following sections list the technologies for which Microsoft has disclosed plans.

Automated Deployment Services

ADS is a Windows Server 2003 feature for automating deployment of large numbers of servers in data centers. An ADS disk imaging tool creates master hard disk images of the servers and a database manages the library of server images. Administrators use ADS to create logical groups of servers based on server attributes, such as their physical location, role (such as a Web server in a server farm), or hardware configuration. Once a group is defined, an administrator can quickly and automatically deploy additional servers into it.

Version 1.1 of ADS is now in beta for release later in 2005. The biggest change is support for x64 servers.

In the next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn, all of Microsoft’s system imaging technologies, including ADS and the Remote Installation Service (RIS) for automation client deployments, will merge into a unified technology that is more easily maintainable than today’s solutions. For instance, it will be possible to patch or install software on system images, unlike today in which it is necessary to deploy the image, make the changes, and then create a new image.