The latest version of the Desktop Optimization Pack offered by Microsoft is tailored to the company’s most recent iteration of the Windows operating system. While Windows 7 is scheduled for general availability on October 22nd, the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2009 R2 was already offered to customers on October 20th. However, not all users will get their hands on MDOP R2. Fact is that the suite of applications is exclusively available to Microsoft’s Software Assurance customers via Volume Licensing.

“If you are an MDOP customer, you can download MDOP 2009 R2 through Microsoft Volume Licensing Site (MVLS). For others who wish to evaluate MDOP products, the MDOP software is available at MSDN and TechNet (in accordance with your MSDN or TechNet agreements, except for AIS),” Ran Oelgiesser, Microsoft's senior product manager for MED-V, revealed.

MDOP was initially made available for customers running Windows Vista Enterprise, and, with R2, Microsoft is addressing corporate customers, and especially those with the Enterprise SKU of Windows 7. The Enterprise edition of Windows 7 is, just as MDOP and MDOP R2, exclusively available to Software Assurance customers through Volume Licensing.

There is a number of components in the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, including: Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V), Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V), Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM), Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT), System Center Desktop Error Monitoring (DEM) and Microsoft Asset Inventory Service (AIS). Corporate customers with large IT environments can turn to MDOP R2 in concert with Windows 7 Enterprise to help them fuel productivity, boost manageability, but perhaps most importantly cut back the total cost of ownership for enterprise desktops.

“If you're running a business, MDOP can provide immediate savings with little IT investment, especially when integrated into your Windows 7 plans: Optimize Windows 7 deployment using Application Virtualization, reducing PC provisioning time, simplifying application delivery and update, and increasing productivity with user roaming. Enhance Windows 7 manageability, by addressing common system/application failures (with DEM), repairing unbootable PCs (with DaRT), and controlling Group Policy change (with AGPM),” Oelgiesser added.

Microsoft Windows 7 90-Day Eval VHD is available for download here.
Another Windows 7 RTM Enterprise 90-Day Evaluation is available for download here.