Upgrading to Windows 7 for Small and Midsize Businesses

Microsoft Windows Family of Operating Systems

Microsoft Corporation Published: September 2009

Abstract
This article helps people who are responsible for upgrading to Windows 7 choose the best deployment method for their environments. Whether youre an enthusiast in a small business who has been nominated to deploy Windows 7 or a full-time IT pro with years of deployment experience, this article helps you identify your scenario and match a deployment method to it.

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Upgrading to Windows 7 for Small and Midsize Businesses

Microsoft has a variety of tools and resources to help you upgrade your companys computers to the Windows 7 operating system, whether they are running Windows Vista or Windows XP. The number of tools might seem daunting, but dont confuse the tools with the methods. In reality, we recommend just a few, targeted deployment methods for specific scenarios. These methods are based on tools and technologies that do much of the heavy lifting so that you can focus more on the business and less on getting all the pieces working together. The guidance in section is designed specifically for small and medium business that may not have prior experience with Windows deployment or do not have enterprise deployment infrastructure. Also see the following related documents: Manual Installation of Windows 7: Overview Upgrading to Windows 7 with a Standard Image: Overview Building a Standard Image of Windows 7: Step-by-Step Guide Automated Installation: Overview Automated Installation to Upgrade to Windows 7: Step-by-Step Guide

Notes For a complete view of Windows 7 resources, articles, demos, and guidance, please visit the Springboard Series for Windows 7 on the Windows Client TechCenter. For a Web version of this document, see the Upgrading to Windows 7 for Small and Midsize Businesses in the Windows 7 Technical Library (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/? LinkId=162733). This Web page helps any person responsible for upgrading to Windows 7 choose the best deployment method for his or her environment. Whether youre an enthusiast in a small business who has been nominated to deploy Windows 7 or a full-time IT pro with years of deployment experience, this Web page helps you identify your scenario and match a method to it. After choosing a method, you can read more about it, including high-level instructions and additional resources from Microsoft.

The method table that follows defines three recommended deployment methods for business customers: Manual Installation. This is a hands-on, manual deployment of installation media and manual configuration of each computer. We recommend this method if your company lacks a dedicated information technology (IT) staff and has a small, unmanaged network with fewer than 100 client computers. Standard Image. This method is similar to Manual Installation but uses an operating system image that includes your customizations and applications. This takes a little more time to set up but can save you time in the end. Use this method if have at least one full-time IT pro (with or without prior deployment experience) on staff and you have small or distributed networks with 50200 client computers. Automated Installation. This method requires limited interaction at the beginning of installation, but the remainder of the process is automated. We recommend this method if your company has dedicated IT staff and managed networks with 200500 client computers. Prior deployment experience is not required but is beneficial for using this method. The methods shown in the table correspond to the skill level of your companys IT staff as well as to how you license Windows 7, the number of client computers, and the infrastructure. The criteria that the table shows are guidelines, not rules, and you can move among the strategies based on all the criteria. To use the table, choose the column that best matches your scenario. In cases where you identify with multiple columns, start with the leftmost column. You realize more benefits (cost savings, time savings, and so on) by moving right in the table, but the skills and investment (in time and money) required to get started also increase. Therefore, consider improving your scenario to enable you to move right in the table. For example, if the only criterion preventing you from performing an Automated Installation is that youre using retail media, consider purchasing a volume license (VL). Click the link at the bottom of the chosen column to read more about implementing that particular strategy.

Manual Installation

Standard Image

Automated Installation

IT skill level

IT generalist

Full-time IT pro with deployment experience optional VL 100200 Small networks

Full-time IT pro with deployment experience recommended VL 200500 Managed networks At least one office with more than 25 users Windows Server products Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (optional)

Windows license Number of client computers Infrastructure

Retail (Full Package Product) or VL <100 Small, unmanaged networks Manual client computer configuration Distributed locations

Standardized configurations, including applications Distributed locations

Application deployment

Manually installed commercial applications Manual, hands-on deployment Guidance for Manual Installation method Retail or VL media Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK)

Manually installed commercial or line-ofbusiness (LOB) applications Manual, hands-on deployment Guidance for Standard Installation method Retail or VL media Windows AIK Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT)

Automatically installed commercial or LOB applications Limited interaction at the beginning of installation Guidance for Automated Installation method VL media Windows AIK ACT

User interaction

Guidance

Tools

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010 Windows Deployment Services Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit