What’s New in Windows 7/Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

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Overview of SP1 (from Technet)

Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 SP1 is a set of updates and fixes for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 that addresses feedback from our customers (in addition to the improvements that are delivered to users through Windows Update). In addition to including previously released updates, SP1 focuses on specific reliability and performance issues, support for new types of hardware, and support for a few emerging technology standards. Note that although SP1 is not intended to be a vehicle for releasing new features, some existing features do gain enhanced functionality through SP1. For more information about SP1 generally, see the following Microsoft TechNet articles:

· Notable Changes in Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=194726)

· Hotfixes and Security Updates included in Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=194725)

· Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Sp1 Beta Test Focus Guide (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=194727)

Currently, no critical issues that require you to take corrective action either before or immediately after installation have been reported or discovered in testing. Release Notes documents are continuously updated, so if any such issues are discovered or reported, they will be available at the following locations:

Release Notes: Important Issues in this Release of Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1

Release Notes: Important Issues in this Release of Windows 7 with Service Pack 1

For further details on specific features, see the documents linked from the relevant sections later in this document.

RemoteFX

For more information about Microsoft RemoteFX™, see “What’s New in RemoteFX” at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=192437.

To use RemoteFX, the virtualization server must be running Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1, the virtual machine must be running Windows 7 Enterprise with SP1 or Windows 7 Ultimate with SP1, and the remote client computer must be running either Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 or Windows 7 with SP1.

For detailed information about important CPU and other hardware requirements for RemoteFX, see “Hardware Considerations for RemoteFX” at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=191918.

Before you start working with RemoteFX, take note of the following considerations:

· You should install drivers for the video card on the virtualization server before you enable the Remote Desktop Services and Hyper-V roles. Otherwise, the RemoteFX 3D Video Adapter will not be available in Hyper-V Manager.

· Disable any graphics processing units that use a Windows XP Display Driver model (XDDM) driver.

· If you manage a KVM switch over IP with an onboard management adapter, install the RemoteFX Cap driver once you have enabled the RemoteFX role. The RemoteFX Cap driver supports KVM access over IP prior to the point where the Windows operating system loads (so that you can access the BIOS). Once the operating system has loaded, you can access the RemoteFX server using the Remote Desktop Protocol or a non-Microsoft solution for KVM management over IP. For more information about the RemoteFX Cap driver, see “Deploying Microsoft RemoteFX on a Single Remote Desktop Virtualization Host Server Step-by-Step Guide.”

· If you do not manage KVM switches over IP with an onboard management adapter, be sure to disable any such adapters in the BIOS.

· Be sure to install this service pack on the Windows 7 guest operating system before you enable a virtual machine with a 3D adapter. After installing Windows 7, enable Remote Desktop Services and verify that you can remotely connect to the virtual machine. Then shut down the virtual machine and add a new video card to the virtual machine by selecting Add Hardware in the Settings menu of Hyper-V Manager and pointing to 3D Video Card. Boot the virtual machine and connect to the virtual machine normally. For the full 3D desktop experience, start Mstsc.exe and confirm that the Experience setting on the Options menu is set to LAN (10Mbps or higher).

· When you are using the virtual 3D video adapter, you will not be able to use the Virtual Machine Connection. Use Remote Desktop instead. If you need to use Virtual Machine Connection, you must remove the virtual 3D video card from the virtual machine.

Further guidance on setting up and working with RemoteFX is available in the following documents:

“Deploying Microsoft RemoteFX for Personal Virtual Desktops Step-by-Step Guide” (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=192429)

“Configuring USB Device Redirection with Microsoft RemoteFX Step-by-Step Guide” (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=192432)

“Deploying Microsoft RemoteFX on a Single Remote Desktop Virtualization Host Server Step-by-Step Guide” (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=177903)

“Deploying Microsoft RemoteFX for Virtual Desktop Pools Step-by-Step Guide” (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=192433)

“Deploying Microsoft RemoteFX on a Remote Desktop Session Host Server Step-by-Step Guide” (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=192436)

Dynamic Memory

Dynamic Memory is a new Hyper-V feature available in this service pack. It allows the virtualization server to pool memory and dynamically add or remove memory based on virtual machine usage. This allows for higher consolidation ratios of virtual machines on the virtualization server. To use Dynamic Memory, the virtualization server must be running either Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 or Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 with this version of the service pack applied.

Virtual machines running a wide variety of operating systems can use Dynamic Memory; for a complete list, see the “Dynamic Memory Evaluation Guide” at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=192444.

The guide also discusses Dynamic Memory settings and usage in detail.

Remote administration

You can manage virtual machines with the Windows 7 version of the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT), although you cannot configure RemoteFX or Dynamic Memory settings with this version. The SP1 version of RSAT is not available as this time, so to manage those settings on a virtualization server running Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 with SP1, use a server running Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1.

You can also manage virtualization servers running Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 with System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM), but you cannot configure RemoteFX or Dynamic Memory settings at this time. If you use VMM to move a virtual machine that has Dynamic Memory enabled, Dynamic Memory will be disabled.

If the RSAT tools are installed prior to the installation of SP1, those tools are upgraded to the SP1 version (for example, Hyper-V Manager is upgraded to support RemoteFX and Dynamic Memory).

Hyper-V clustering

A Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V Cluster can run as a mixed cluster of nodes running Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1. For information about installing a service pack in a cluster, see https://support.microsoft.com/kb/174799/en-us. Before you install the service pack on a cluster, you should be aware of the following considerations:

· Do not enable either RemoteFX or Dynamic Memory until the entire cluster is upgraded to Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1.

· Migration of virtual machines that have Dynamic Memory enabled to a node that does not have Dynamic Memory support will fail

· Migration of virtual machines that have RemoteFX enabled to a node that does not have RemoteFX enabled will fail.

To live-migrate virtual machines that have RemoteFX enabled, all nodes must be capable of supporting RemoteFX, all nodes must use identical graphics processing units, and all nodes must have RemoteFX enabled. For details of the CPU requirements for RemoteFX, see “Hardware Considerations for RemoteFX” at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=191918.

Who Supports the Features?

Windows Platforms Core-Performance team supports RemoteFX as part of Remote Desktop Services and VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure).

Windows Platforms Core-Setup supports Dynamic Memory as part of Hyper-V (Virtualization)

Reference

Deployment Guide for Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 and Windows 7 with SP1

RemoteFX:

What’s new in RemoteFX?

Hardware Considerations for RemoteFX

Dynamic Memory

Hyper-V Dynamic Memory Evaluation Guide

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