12 posts tagged with "Windows"

Operating systems can end up being a lot of work for administrators: work to configure the image, work to install the applications, and work to provide the best user experience possible. As with any software, what is provided to you is what the developer intended, but not necessarily what you want or need for your end users.

This blog series introduces you to Windows Operating System (OS) optimizations, starting with version 21H2. I will attempt to keep these optimizations as environment agnostic as possible. Hopefully, these optimizations will be just as good to administrators of physical machines as to a virtual environment utilizing Nutanix Frame, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, or VMware Horizon.

This series aims to share the seemingly infinite number of ways you can optimize a Windows environment, with something for beginners as well as administrators familiar with optimizations but looking to deliver an even better experience within their environment.

Of course, the optimizations provided in this blog series are intended only as a guide. Be sure to vet any optimizations carefully and test the optimizations described in this series internally before pushing the changes to your production environment.

The first entry covered Active Setup. The second entry covered the Microsoft Store. The third entry covered Services and Scheduled Tasks. The fourth entry covered Startup Items. In each case, we discussed what each piece is, how it works, and how to optimize it.

This blog addresses three smaller aspects of your Windows Operating System: Autologgers, Features On-Demand, and Optional Features. While these three items are smaller than any of the previous blog posts individually, there are some definite optimization efforts to be considered here.

Operating systems can be a lot of work for administrators – work to configure the image, work to install the applications, and work to provide the best user experience possible. As with any software, what is provided to you is what the developer intended, but not necessarily what you want or need for your end users.

This blog series introduces you to Windows® Operating System (OS) optimizations, starting with version 1903. I will attempt to keep these optimizations as environment agnostic as possible. Hopefully, these optimizations will be just as good to administrators of physical machines as to a virtual environment utilizing Nutanix Frame®, Citrix® Virtual Apps and Desktops, or VMware Horizon®.

This series aims to share the seemingly infinite number of ways you can optimize a Windows environment, with something for beginners as well as administrators familiar with optimizations but looking to deliver an even better experience within their environment.

Of course, the optimizations provided in this blog series are intended only as a guide. Be sure to vet any optimizations carefully and test the optimizations described in this series internally before pushing the changes to your production environment.

The first entry covered Active Setup. The second entry covered the Microsoft® Store. The third entry covered Services and Scheduled Tasks. In each case, we discussed what each piece is, how it works, and how to optimize it.

This blog addresses Startup Items, which includes Run and RunOnce Registry Keys, as well as the Startup folder that exists in each user’s profile. More specifically, we will discuss their purpose, how they work, and what can be done with them for the purposes of optimization.

Operating systems can end up being a lot of work for administrators; work to configure the image, work to install the applications, and work to provide the best user experience possible. As with any software, what is provided to you is what the developer intended, but not necessarily what you want or need for your end users.

This blog series introduces you to Windows® Operating System (OS) optimizations, starting with version 1903. I will attempt to keep these optimizations as environment agnostic as possible. Hopefully, these optimizations will be just as good to administrators of physical machines as to a virtual environment utilizing Nutanix Frame®, Citrix® Virtual Apps and Desktops, or VMware Horizon®.

This series aims to share the seemingly infinite number of ways you can optimize a Windows environment, with something for beginners as well as administrators familiar with optimizations but looking to deliver an even better experience within their environment.

Of course, the optimizations provided in this blog series are intended only as a guide. Be sure to vet any optimizations carefully and test the optimizations described in this series internally before pushing the changes to your production environment.

The first entry covered Active Setup. The second entry covered the Microsoft® Store. In each case, we discussed what each piece is, how it works, and how to optimize it.

This blog addresses two sections, specifically Services & Scheduled Tasks. More specifically, we will discuss their purpose, how they work, and what can be done to optimize them. These sections of the Windows OS have been around for a long time and while they do not change often, their ability to cause havoc in an environment has been thoroughly documented, see some examples here and here.

Operating systems can end up being a lot of work for administrators. Work to configure the image, work to install the applications, and work to provide the best user experience possible. As with any software, what is provided to you is what the developer intended, but not necessarily what you want or need for your end users.

This blog series introduces you to Windows® Operating System (OS) optimizations, starting with version 1903. I will attempt to keep these optimizations as environment agnostic as possible. Hopefully, these optimizations will be just as good to administrators of physical machines as to a virtual environment utilizing Nutanix Frame®, Citrix®, or VMware Horizon® virtual desktop infrastructure.

This series aims to share the seemingly infinite number of ways you can optimize a Windows environment, with something for beginners as well as administrators familiar with optimizations, but are looking to deliver an even better experience within their environment. Of course, the optimizations provided in this blog series are intended only as a guide. Be sure to test the optimizations described in this series internally before pushing the changes to your production environment.

The previous entry of this series covered Active Setup. We discussed what Active Setup is, how it works, and how to optimize it.

This blog addresses the Microsoft® Store platform: its purpose, how it works, and what can be done with it. This particular area of the OS is continually changing and, as such, will require constant management to optimize in a way that works best for your organization. This blog potentially saves even more headaches than any other blog in this series.

Operating systems can end up being a lot of work for administrators. Work to configure the image, work to install the applications, and work to provide the best user experience possible. As with any software, what is provided to you is what the developer intended, but not necessarily what you want or need for your end users.

This blog series introduces you to Microsoft Windows® Operating System (OS) optimizations, starting with version 1903. I will attempt to keep these optimizations as environment agnostic as possible. Hopefully, these optimizations will be just as good to administrators of physical machines as to a virtual environment utilizing Nutanix® Frame, Citrix®, or VMware® Horizon solutions.

This series aims to share the seemingly infinite number of ways you can optimize a Windows environment, with something for beginners as well as administrators familiar with optimizations but looking to deliver an even better experience within your environment.

Of course the optimizations provided in this blog series are intended only as a guide. Be sure to test the optimizations described in this series internally before pushing the changes to your production environment.

This installment addresses Active Setup: its purpose, how it works, and what can be done with it. This particular area of the OS is criminally underused as a method of optimization. As such, it should provide useful information to a wide range of readers.

Welcome to Part 3 of the “Top 5 DaaS Mistakes and How to Avoid Them” series!

While customers would love nothing more than to consume virtual apps and desktops as a commodity service, the truth is that even in 2021, there are a number of design considerations that ultimately determine whether your Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) implementation is successful or not.

To paint the bigger picture, the following topics have (and will) be covered in this blog series:

• Part 1: Sizing & Optimizing Workload VMs
• Part 2: Single User vs. Multi-User
• Part 3: Data Locality
• Part 4: DaaS in Public Cloud vs. On-premises
• Part 5: User Experience

In this blog post, we discuss the concept of data locality--what it is, why it's important, and how to avoid mistakes regarding it as it relates to designing, and implementing your DaaS environment.

Microsoft® (FSLogix) Application Masking is a great product to use with Nutanix® Frame Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) solution. Application masking makes centralized image management even easier by hiding the applications based on conditions. With Application Masking, you can install all the applications into a single Frame™ sandbox and then provide access to these applications based on conditions such as group membership and many other options. The benefits are fewer master images, the ability to hide applications when publishing full desktops, and the ability to control application license usage.

“I love Windows User Profiles, said No One, ever”​

Although introduced over 25 years ago, user profiles are still a fundamental part of today's physical Windows PCs and virtual desktop and application solutions. Check out this blog to learn the foundation of Windows user profiles, the pros and cons of different profile solutions, and how to leverage them with Nutanix Frame to deliver the best user experience.

For me, end user computing (EUC) is more than just a transformative technology. I find it personally gratifying to see so many customers, partners, competitors, friends, and even my own 3 kids getting work done and succeeding with EUC solutions. I love listening to their challenges, guiding them with advice, and sharing insights on how EUC is developing and can help them meet their goals. EUC is HOT and is leading the way!

I recently put all of this and more into my EUC Vision keynote talk for the EUC Tech Summit, the zero-fluff event designed by and for EUC geeks and visionaries. I talk about how EUC is changing how we Get Work Done, especially in light of recent EUC technology developments. I talk about how we are moving towards “Workspace 2025” and also lay out the Nutanix EUC vision for getting us there. My keynote, as well as all of the other sessions from the Summit, are now available on-demand.

Welcome to Part 2 of the ‘Top 5 DaaS Mistakes and How to Avoid Them' series! While customers would love nothing more than to consume virtual apps and desktops as a commodity service, the truth is that even in 2021, there are a number of design considerations that will ultimately determine whether your DaaS implementation will be successful or not.

If you haven't had a chance to read Part 1, where we covered the topic of Sizing and Optimizing Workload VMs, be sure to check it out by clicking here!

For Part 2, we are focusing on the topic of Single User vs. Multi-User workload models!