For example, a copy of a file server is downloaded from the corporate network and cached locally on Windows Server 2008 R2 at the branch office. When another user at the branch office requests the file, it is downloaded immediately from the local cache rather than over a limited bandwidth connection back to headquarters.
Users don't have to go back to the corporate network and use up bandwidth to download it again, Schuster says.
"And what IT can do with BranchCache is set the amount of partition on desktops in branch offices that can be used for caching, set how current documents need to be before forcing users to go back to the corporate network to get them again, and check what level of permissions users need to have," she says.
Desktop Search
Windows 7 has bolstered enterprise search functionality from the desktop.
Although Windows Vista enhanced desktop search, and Microsoft has invested in SharePoint portal search and Internet search, the problem, according to Schuster, is that those are three different searches and you need to go to three different places.
"With Windows 7 we have federated that search," Schuster says. "So right from your desktop you can expand search from the desktop to SharePoint sites to the Internet and then go find a document wherever it may be: on your computer, on your network or on the Internet."
With the "federated" search in Windows 7, users can select which intranet and SharePoint sites are available for searching or IT can pre-populate a user's start menu with links to specific Windows portal sites. Search results are presented in Windows Explorer the same way that users of Windows XP and Vista are used to.
BitLocker to Go
The BitLocker hard-drive encryption feature was introduced in Windows Vista to protect data on lost or stolen laptops. In Windows 7, the feature has been extended to protect storage devices such as external hard drives and USB sticks.
Called "BitLocker To Go" in Windows 7, the feature allows external storage devices to be restricted with a passphrase set by IT before users have permission to copy data to them.
This will give enterprises the same confidence in USB external drives that they have in multi-volume drive encryption, says Schuster, adding that this has become a necessity with the growing amount of USB devices.
"It's so easy to lose external devices without even noticing, so BitLocker to Go gives businesses extra confidence that no one can get that data." ---Pb---
AppLocker
Like BitLocker, AppLocker is in the security and control camp of Windows 7, and aims to protect users from running unauthorized software that could lead to malware infections.
For safety, Microsoft recommends that enterprises run in standard user, meaning there are no administrative rights to users at all. But if IT does give administrative rights to users, AppLocker can safeguard against running suspicious types of software. It allows IT to specify which applications can run on employees' desktops, blocking potentially harmful software and allowing the applications and programs that users need.
"AppLocker allows IT to say, 'users can only install these types of applications,'" Schuster says. "And they can specify by software publisher or by version. For instance, users can only install Adobe Acrobat 8.1 or later."
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