Vista and 2008

Tyrant1919

We're about to release Vista in our next shipment, and over the next couple of years phase it in.

I haven't done any extensive research on it, and can't find any mention of it in my 622 book or anything. Are there any addons, SPs, or anything you need on server 2003 in order to take advantage of all of Vistas capabilities? ie... setting UAC settings via gpo. I'm sure 2003 can fully support Vista based on Vista being released while 2003 still being the most recent server OS. SP2, R2, anything?

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Daniel333

I asked that question when I was out at the launch event, they told me I would need 2008 server. Not sure if that has changed since then. But that is the last I heard.

Tyrant1919

Yeah, I'm trying to find an article or something to explain what's needed to fully support Vista, thanks for the reply.

Everlife

Hi Tyrant,

I help manage a small SBS 2003 network (about 45 clients) and we are phasing in Vista computers as well. My understanding is the only requirement is that you administer Vista policies from a Vista machine. This has worked for me so far.

As for 2003 addons/updates, our SBS 2003 DC is not an R2-based server, but does have SP2 installed.

My coworker had found an article about the guidelines for administering Vista PCs in a 2003 environment a while back, I will try to locate it for you.

dynamik

I'm pretty sure you need to have Server 2008 to manage Vista-specific settings through group policy. I actually spent awhile looking for specific documentation regarding this yesterday, but I didn't come up with anything concrete. I'm surprised there's not more discussion about this.

Tyrant1919

It wouldn't make sense for MS to release an OS without full support in 2k3 with some kind of update. I guess MS waiting a year for 2008 to fully support it isn't too bad. This isn't a make or break detail for us, it would just be nice to have full access to everything Vista.

Everlife, that article would be nice to see. Still can't find anything clear on this subject. Hell, cuil.com seems to be less of a help then google.

Everlife

dynamik wrote:

I'm pretty sure you need to have Server 2008 to manage Vista-specific settings through group policy. I actually spent awhile looking for specific documentation regarding this yesterday, but I didn't come up with anything concrete. I'm surprised there's not more discussion about this.

As Dyn has stated, you cannot create Vista-specific settings within the GPM tool directly on Server 2003. However, you can use group policy to configure Vista-specific settings in a pure 2003-based environment. To do this, you need to have a Vista machine on the domain with the latest Admin Tools pack installed. From there, add the group policy management tool and create whatever Vista-specific policy your heart desires.

I have configured numerous GPOs for my Vista machines using this method. Server 2008 is not needed unless you feel to the need to create the GPOs directly on the server. There may be some limitations that I have yet to run into, but I've been able to configure policies for UAC as well as firewall rules for the Windows Firewall and Advanced Security.

Everlife

Check out this article.

http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsVista/en/library/5ae8da2a-878e-48db-a3c1-4be6ac7cf7631033.mspx?mfr=true

Tyrant1919

Ok, so just have to have Vista to create the policy's. I'll have to read through that article. Sweet, thanks for the clarification guys.

Everlife

Tyr, I checked out your webpage and noticed you used to play WoW. Are you still playing?

Tyrant1919

Na I quit in April, I hated playing day after day only to have to go to a new instance or whatever for more gear. I know it's the nature of the beast but I got kinda tired of it. I'll probably come back in the next expansion for a bit to check it out. Or maybe a bit before it because I was trying to get 1 of every class to 70. 70 Warr, 70 Mage, 70 Hunter, 64 paladin, 45 rogue, Warlock 20~, druid priest and shaman only around 10. I may start playing again, just don't know when. I've been playing some natural selection instead.

I quit once I started hitting the MS track of tests basically. I've kinda went on a break the last month and just started to hit 294 again today. Not much left to cover.

Everlife

I know what you mean. I've taken a fair amount of breaks while studying for certain exams. Thankfully, we're down to raiding only twice a week due to the loss of interest prior to WotLK's release. You should hop on come the expansion, it sounds like they're making a lot of interesting changes.

Tyrant1919

I'm going to try it. My roommate still plays and he keeps me updated on all the changes and such. Once I knock out this 294 and 299, I may activate my accounts, dunno yet.