1. Windows 7 Hardware Requirements
Make sure you deploy Windows 7 only to hardware platforms that
meet the minimum requirements. Windows 7 has the following minimum
hardware requirements:
-
1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64)
processor
-
1 gigabyte (GB) of RAM (x86) or 2 GB of RAM (x64)
-
16 GB of hard disk space (x86) or 20 GB (x64)
-
DirectX 9 graphics card with WDDM 1.0 or higher graphics
adapter driver
The primary limitation of the x86 versions of Windows 7 is that
they do not support more than 4 GB of RAM. You can install the x86
version of Windows 7 on a computer that has more than this amount of
RAM, but only 4 GB is usable by the operating system. Some editions
support more RAM than other editions.
The Starter edition of Windows 7 supports a maximum of 2 GB of
RAM. The x64 version of Windows 7 Home Basic x64 supports a maximum of
8 GB of RAM. The x64 Home Premium edition supports a maximum of 16 GB
of RAM. The x64 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions
support up to 192 GB of RAM.
Although the x86 version of Windows 7 can be installed
on computers that have x64 compatible processors, you cannot install
an x64 version of Windows 7 on a computer with an x86 processor.
Different editions of Windows 7 support different numbers of physical
processors, and x86 versions support up to 32 cores, while x64
versions support up to 256 cores per physical processor. For example,
all editions of Windows 7 support quad-core CPUs. Windows 7 supports
either one or two physical processors. The editions and the number of
processors that they support are as follows:
-
1 Physical
Processor. The Starter, Home Basic, and Home Premium editions.
-
2 Physical
Processors. The Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions of
Windows 7 support a maximum of two physical processors.
More Info
WINDOWS 7 SYSTEM
REQUIREMENTS
To learn more about the Windows 7 system requirements, consult
the following document: http://windows.microsoft.com/systemrequirements.
2. Virtualization Hosts
Microsoft ships several products that can host virtual
guests running the Windows 7 operating system. Software that hosts
virtual guests can run on both client and server operating systems.
You can also deploy the Windows 7 operating system as a virtual client
on virtualization host products that are available from third-party
vendors. These are the virtualization host products available from
Microsoft:
-
Virtual PC
2007. Runs on previous Windows client operating systems. Virtual
PC 2007 supports only x86 versions of Windows 7.
-
Windows Virtual
PC. Can be installed on Windows 7. Windows Virtual PC is
limited to running x86 versions of Windows 7.
-
Virtual Server 2005
R2. Can host x86 and x64 versions of Windows 7. Virtual Server
2005 R2 can be run on Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008,
and the Windows XP operating systems.
-
Hyper-V. A role service that you can run only on x64 versions of
Windows Server 2008. Hyper-V is the platform most commonly used
to host virtual machines on networks in which third-party
virtualization host solutions have not been deployed.
Because Hyper-V functions only on x64 versions of Windows Server
2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, Hyper-V can be reliably used to
deploy all versions of the Windows 7 operating system. On Windows
Server 2008 R2, you can install the Remote Desktop Virtualization Host
role service. This service allows users to connect to a Remote Desktop
Server that also holds the Hyper-V role, allowing users to connect to
virtual machines hosted on the Hyper-V server.
More Info
REMOTE DESKTOP VIRTUALIZATION
HOST
To learn more about Remote Desktop Virtualization Host,
consult the following page on TechNet: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd759170.aspx.
3. Windows 7 Virtualization
Only certain editions of Windows 7 can be installed as virtual
guests. For example, you can install the Professional, Ultimate, and
Enterprise editions of Windows 7 as virtual guests on servers running
Hyper-V, you cannot deploy the Starter and Home Premium editions in
this manner. The x86 and x64 versions of Windows 7 can be run as
virtual clients, although the x64 versions of Windows 7 can be run
only as virtual clients in virtualization solutions that support this
processor architecture.
Running Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate virtually consumes a
license activation. Windows 7 Enterprise edition works differently
from the other two editions in that this edition includes four virtual
licenses as a part of its licensing terms. This means that if you
deploy a computer running Windows 7 Enterprise and you install
virtualization software, you are licensed to run four virtual
instances of Windows 7 on that computer. This can be very useful for
developers whose testing practices might compromise the operating
system environment in a way that requires a clean install. The extra
virtual licenses included in the Enterprise edition means that you can
provision a virtual machine that you run tests on without consuming an
extra operating system license.
More Info
SUPPORTED VIRTUAL
GUESTS
To find out more about which operating systems are supported
as virtual guests on Hyper-V, consult the following TechNet
document: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc794868(WS.10).aspx.
4. Windows 7 Editions
Because the 70-686 exam is primarily concerned with issues
related to the deployment and management of Windows 7 in enterprise
environments, the exam concentrates on those editions of Windows 7
that are most likely to be present in those environments. Only three
editions of Windows 7 can be joined to an Active Directory Domain
Services domain and are likely to be managed by enterprise
administrators on an organizational network. These are the
Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions of Windows 7. Although
these editions all share the same basic features, such as the ability
to join domains and be subject to Group Policy, these editions differ
from one another in the following ways:
-
Windows 7
Professional. This edition of Windows 7 supports Encrypting File System
and Remote Desktop Host. You can use either a retail product key
or an enterprise licensing key with this edition of Windows
7.
-
Windows 7
Ultimate. This edition of Windows 7 supports enterprise features
such as Domain Join, EFS, Remote Desktop Host, AppLocker,
DirectAccess, BitLocker Drive Encryption, BranchCache, and Boot
from VHD. You can use Windows 7 Ultimate only with a retail
product key.
-
Windows 7
Enterprise. This edition of Windows 7 has support for identical
features to the Ultimate edition. The difference between
Enterprise and Ultimate is that Enterprise supports only volume
licensing and cannot be used with a retail key. The Enterprise
edition also includes four licenses for virtualized
clients.
