14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has entered the final development stage of Windows MultiPoint Server 2011, having offered a new testing milestone to early adopters.
The Release Candidate of Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 is now available for download from the Redmond company, with James Duffus, group program manager for Windows MultiPoint Server inviting testers to grab the bits and offer feedback on the RC.
For those not familiar with this particular server offering from the software giant, know that Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 is designed for organizations that want to stretch computing access to multiple users, while not investing in new PCs.
“Based on the latest Windows technology, it gives organizations all of the functionality and power of Windows Server 2008 R2 and all of the users the latest Windows 7 experience. It was designed to be easy to set up, manage and use for organizations that have limited technical resources,” Duffus explained.
The Release Candidate is equivalent with the home stretch for Windows MultiPoint Server 2011.
Fact is that the next development milestone will be RTM, but Microsoft did not provide a deadline or an indication of when it plans to release Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 to manufacturing.
But the RC label signals the fact that the RTM is extremely close, and considering the short time that Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 spent in Beta the final Build is not that far off in the distance.
Microsoft only released Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 into Beta in October 2010, just a couple of months ago.
Just as it was the case for the Beta, the Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 RC is available for download through Microsoft Connect.
Duffus enumerated some of the “new features of the Release Candidate:
More teacher and/or administrator controls over the stations, including:
- Centrally open and close apps for each station
- Project a user, student or teacher station to the entire classroom
- Limit access to certain websites
These join the Desktop Thumbnail and Station Blocking features announced as part of the beta to provide more control for teachers.
Easier and more flexible deployment, including:
- Support for PS/2 keyboard and mouse to allow an additional direct-connected station, installing WMS into a Virtual Machine, etc.
- Auto-create RDP connection files so that you can easily access MultiPoint sessions or management UI from another RDP client on the network
- The introduction of Standard and Premium editions available to all customers, with the Premium edition allowing Domain Join
- Support for RemoteFX capable thin clients to provide richer visual and multimedia experiences to MultiPoint stations connecting over the LAN
Adding these to the beta functionality that allows connecting RDP clients over the LAN, and unified Multipoint “pod” management from one console will provide a robust solution for deploying and managing MultiPoint Server.”