Evaluating Migration Technologies
Whether
you decide to migrate user state individually, as part of high-volume
deployment project, or not at all, you should evaluate the available
options to ensure that you make the best choices for your environment.
The size and scope of the migration project factor into your choice, as
will the type and amount of user state data you choose to migrate.
The
following sections describe the different options that Microsoft
provides. A variety of third-party products are also available for
migrating user state. If you’re using BDD 2007 as your deployment
framework, Microsoft recommends that you use USMT to migrate user state
to Windows Vista. USMT handles most common scenarios out-of-the-box and
exceptional cases are easy to configure. Additionally, BDD 2007 already
includes the pre-deployment and post-deployment logic for saving and
restoring user state.
Windows Easy Transfer
Windows Easy Transfer is
the Windows Vista equivalent of the Microsoft Windows XP Files And
Settings Transfer Wizard. This tool leads the user through a series of
pages to determine how much data to migrate and which migration method
to use (disc or removable media, USB cable connection, or network).
Using Windows Easy Transfer is not appropriate in high-volume deployment
projects because it is a completely manual process.
Note
Windows
Easy Transfer can transfer user state data using a special USB cable
available from most cable vendors. The Easy Transfer Cable includes
circuitry that links two computers using their USB ports and can
transfer data at 25 Mb/sec. |
User State Migration Tool
Use USMT to migrate user
state in high-volume deployment projects. It can execute complex,
repeatable migrations of user state data between operating systems. You
can script USMT; you can execute it as part of a BDD 2007 Lite Touch
Installation (LTI) or Zero Touch Installation (ZTI); or you can execute
it directly at the command prompt.
In addition to document
and settings migration, USMT can migrate application preferences for
Microsoft Office applications between versions of Office. For example,
USMT can migrate Office XP or later settings to newer versions of
Office, including the 2007 Office system.
Microsoft IntelliMirror
Microsoft introduced IntelliMirror
with Microsoft Windows 2000 so that users’ data and settings could
follow them from computer to computer on the network. For more
information about IntelliMirror.The following two IntelliMirror
features in particular minimize the need to migrate user state when
deploying Windows Vista, because these features store user state on the
network.
Roaming user profiles Roaming user profiles
ensure that users’ data and settings follow them on the network. This
feature copies users’ data and settings to a network server when they
log off their computers, and then restores their data and settings when
they log on to another computer, anywhere on the network. This feature
provides a transparent way to back up users’ data and settings to a
network server.
Folder redirection
Folder redirection allows IT professionals to redirect certain folders
(My Documents, Application Data, and so on) from the user’s computer to a
server. This feature protects users’ data by storing it on a network
server, thereby providing centralized storage and administrator-managed
backups. When used with roaming user profiles, folder redirection speeds
the logon process by removing documents and other large files from the
user profile.
Using Windows Easy Transfer
Although USMT will
generally be used in most enterprise environments, some businesses may
find Windows Easy Transfer a simple and useful alternative to using
USMT. This section briefly describes the basic functionality of Windows
Easy Transfer, which can be particularly useful in bench deployments.
Before you use Windows Easy Transfer, check for the following
prerequisites:
The
destination computer must be running Windows Vista. Windows Vista can
create a Windows Easy Transfer data collection disk to execute the data
collection portion of the migration on previous versions of Windows, but
the destination computer must be running Windows Vista.
The source computer can be running any of the following operating systems:
You
must decide which user state data to migrate. Windows Easy Transfer
does not offer the same level of granularity as USMT, but you can choose
from the following:
All user accounts, files, and settings
My user account, files, and settings only
Advanced options, which allows you to choose specific files to migrate
Windows Easy Transfer, shown in Figure 1,
steps the user through a series of pages to define and execute the user
state migration. To start Windows Easy Transfer, click Start, All
Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Windows Easy Transfer. Follow
the instructions to complete the Easy Transfer Wizard. Depending on your
choices, you might have to install Windows Easy Transfer software on
the old operating system. The Windows Easy Transfer Wizard can create a
CD you can use for this process.
