14 DAY TRIAL // The first Beta of Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) 7 is now available for download to early adopters looking to participate in the testing program and provide feedback to Microsoft. DaRT, as well as the Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring, or MBAM, are two new solutions which will be included in the next iteration of Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP).
The successor of MDOP 2011 is scheduled for launch later this year, according to information from the software giant.
Both DaRT 7 and MBAM are currently available for testing in Beta stage, providing customers with a taste of the upcoming MDOP enhancements planned for release in Q3 2011.
Niamh Coleman, from the Windows Product Management Team explains that the software giant focused on remote recovery and enhanced deployment scenarios when building DaRT 7.
“We enhanced DaRT based on input from our customers. Until now IT professionals had to physically visit a user’s PC when there were issues that caused Windows not to boot,” she stated.
“This new version allows IT pros to use the DaRT features to both diagnose and repair that PC without having to physically be there. Think about a user in a remote location – visiting that user to help recover their PC would be difficult.”
At the same time, the promise from Microsoft is that DaRT 7 will enable IT professionals to opt for PC recovery rather than PC reimagining.
This mainly because of the fact that the speed of the recovery is far superior to that of the reimagining process.
With DaRT 7’s remote recovery features, the help desk can have the end user boot into DaRT and enable the help desk to remote control the PC ,” Coleman added.
“The help desk person can then perform this initial diagnostic work and either repair the problem right away for the user or escalate the issue as needed to another team.”
DaRT 7 Beta is now live on Microsoft Connect. Customers will need a valid Windows Live ID in order to sign up for the testing program.
However, ahead of being afforded access to the bits, testers will need to fill the DaRT 7 Beta - Registration Survey.
I’m more than sure that IT pros which leveraged DaRT in the past will jump at the chance to test the new deployment options of the tool.
DaRT 7 can be run from a USB key in addition to a CD or a DVD, but PXE (network boot) is also a valid alternative. And let’s not forget the fact that the DaRT tools can replace the standard Windows recovery partition with IT pros using Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, or System Center Configuration Management.