The latest version of a solution accelerator initially dubbed Windows Vista hardware Assessment is now available for download. The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit is now at version 3.1 and has hit RTM stage. The latest build of the assessment and planning solution accelerator is tailored specifically to the most recent Windows client and server operating systems, namely Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 SP1/RTM, including the Hyper-V release. Version 3.1 is up for grabs straight from Microsoft, and is designed to streamline as much as possible the evaluation and planning phases of large scale software migration processes in complex IT infrastructures.

"Formerly known as Windows Vista Hardware Assessment, this new release is now packed with many new features such as: Hyper-V virtualization candidates assessment (+ improved virtual machines inventory); SQL server discovery and assessment; 64-bit installation support; and Desktop Windows Security Center assessment," revealed Baldwin Ng, Senior Product Manager, Solution Accelerators Team.

Designed as a network-wide agent-less tool, MAP 3.1 will crawl all the servers and the desktops that are an integral part of an IT infrastructure and will provide basic guidance through the migration process. The solution accelerator will deliver an inventory of all the resources available, focusing on a variety of areas, including server, desktop and virtualization upgrade scenarios. All the scanning is performed via a network and, in this context, MAP does not have to be deployed on each machine it evaluates. The assessment takes advantage of the capabilities offered by the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), the Remote Registry Service, or the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).

"Windows Vista hardware and device compatibility assessment; Office 2007 hardware compatibility assessment; Windows Server 2008 hardware and device compatibility assessment; Microsoft Application Virtualization hardware compatibility assessment; SNMP inventory reporting, [and support for] Hyper-V and SQL Server," Baldwin Ng added.

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator 3.1 is available for download here.