Run Vista SP1! Ruuuuuun!

Make no mistake about it, the RTM for Windows Vista's first Service Pack is just around the corner. It is only a matter of passing into the next year. Microsoft indicated the first quarter of 2008 as a rather blurred deadline for the serving of Windows Vista SP1. Case in point: Service Pack 1 for the Office 2007 System. Office 2007 SP1 was initially planned to be released to manufacturing alongside Vista SP1 in Q1 2008. But Microsoft managed to beat its own deadline, by a long shot, and delivered Office 2007 SP1 on December 11, 2007. On the official webpage for the Windows Service Pack Road Map, the Redmond company informs only that "SP1 for Windows Vista is planned for 1Q CY2008. This date is based on beta feedback."

When it comes down to Windows XP Service Pack 3 the estimated - preliminary date of availability of the next update is 1H CY2008. Still, Microsoft is sending out strong indications that the baking process of Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP SP3 and Windows Server 2008 is extremely close to finalization. Firstly, Vista users are able to access the first public Release Candidate build of Vista SP1. On top of this, Microsoft has also served Windows Server 2008 RC1, and the Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V beta role shipped early. Now, Hyper-V, the hypervisor formerly codenamed Viridian, was initially planned to be integrated as a beta variant, in the RTM version of Windows Server 2008. The fact that Hyper-V debuted into beta early comes not only as a milestone for Microsoft's last 32-bit server operating system, but also as a signal of Windows Server 2008's proximity to RTM.

December also brought to the table the opening up of the beta testing for the third and final service pack for Windows XP. Build 3244 of Windows XP SP3, namely Release Candidate 1, was opened up and made available for download straight from Microsoft. The bottom line, in this context, is the fact that Vista SP1, Windows Server 2008 and XP SP3 are in their last respective stages before RTM. And the release to manufacturing date, although varying from the first quarter of 2008 to the first half, is actually closer than you may think.

The Near-Final Preview of Vista SP1

With the public Release Candidate for Vista SP1, Microsoft is giving end users the possibility to get an early taste of what the service pack will bring to the latest Windows client. At this point in time, Microsoft dropped no less than four standalone packages for Vista SP1, including the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the package involving the English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese languages. The x86 and x64 variants of the standalone packages for all the remaining supported languages of Vista SP1 is also up for grabs. Via Windows Update, the installation of the service pack is possible with the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 RC Public Availability Program.

"In addition to all previously
released updates, SP1 will contain changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards. SP1 also will continue to make it easier for IT administrators to deploy and manage Windows Vista. Service Packs are not intended to be a vehicle for releasing significant new features or functionality; however some existing components do gain slightly enhanced functionality in SP1 to support industry standards and new requirements", Microsoft stated.

Run Vista SP1! Ruuuuuun!

One of Vista's weak points in the face-off with XP, and one that took an abrupt contour for Microsoft via the comparison involving beta builds of Vista SP1 and XP SP3, is related to performance. Of course that XP, released in 2001, and refreshed in 2004 with SP2, would simply fly on today's systems, as its initial system requirements are just a fraction of what the current configurations have to offer. The comparison however was inevitable. Microsoft itself did it with the RTM version of Vista and XP SP2 for early 2008. And with SP1 offering a veritable incarnation of Vista on steroids, the Redmond company promised enhancements on all fronts, from security to reliability, and from stability to performance.

SP1 includes a luxuriant collection of tweaks designed to boost the performance of Vista, but at the same time with a warning from Microsoft: "Performance improvements vary from PC to PC based on hardware, environment, scenarios, and usage, so different customers will experience varying levels of benefits. About 20-25% of these improvements will be released separately via Windows update, prior to Windows Vista SP1." The truth of the matter is that the RTM version of Vista managed to hit a variety of speed bumps when it came down to performing mundane and anodyne scenarios, such as copying and moving files or extracting content from archives. Below you will be able to find a few excerpts from a much more extensive list provided by Microsoft underlining the performance enhancements synonymous with SP1.

• Improves the performance of browsing network file shares, by consuming less bandwidth.
• Improves the speed of adding and extracting files to and from a compressed (zipped) folder.
• Significantly improves the speed of moving a directory with many files underneath.
• Improves performance while copying files using BITS (Background Intelligent Transfer Service).
• Improves performance over Windows Vista's current performance across the following scenarios:
- 25% faster when copying files locally on the same disk on the same machine;
- 45% faster when copying files from a remote non-Windows Vista system to a SP1 system;
- 50% faster when copying files from a remote SP1 system to a local SP1 system;
- Improves responsiveness when doing many kinds of file or media manipulations. For example, with Windows Vista today, copying files after deleting a different set of files can make the copy operation take longer than needed. In SP1, the file copy time is the same as if no files were initially deleted.
• Improves the copy progress estimation when copying files within Windows Explorer to about two seconds.
• Improves the time to read large images by approximately 50%.
• Improves overall media performance, by reducing many glitches.
• The Windows Vista SP1 install process clears the user-specific data that is used by Windows to optimize performance, which may make the system feel less responsive immediately after install. As the customer uses the SP1 PC, the system will be retrained over the course of a few hours or days, and will return to the previous level of responsiveness.
• SP1 addresses a number of customer performance concerns with new print driver technologies, including XPS-based printing.

Now, Microsoft is offering a real guarantee that SP1 will deliver some extra juice to Vista. The Redmond company has applauded on more than one occasion the performance boost planned for Vista at the beginning of 2008. At the same time, Vista RTM itself was introduced as an epitome of performance, and Microsoft continued to play the same tune relentlessly, even though end user feedback pointed in the opposite direction. Worst off is also the input generated so far related to the development milestones of Vista SP1. Microsoft did come out with an official comment, saying that any testing is irrelevant in the context of an absent version of Vista SP1 RTM. The company is, of course, right. Beta builds of Vista SP1 will not impact on a large scale users of the operating system.

The RTM build on the other hand will. But in the end, real life scenarios are the ones that will make the difference in the case of Vista SP1 RTM. Benchmarking tests will undoubtedly offer a perspective over the performances of the service pack, but in the end, running Vista SP1 in a benchmark configuration and in a controlled environment can make the results swing both in the advantage and in the disadvantage of the refresh. The true vote will be cast by end users running the service pack on a daily basis.

Setup and Deployment - Get Them While Their Hot!

Via SP1 it will be increasingly easy to manage multi-lingual deployments, the sole trade-off being the added size of the standalone packages. The service pack will permit access to additional help files, and will deliver support for hotpatching, a move designed to drastically reduce the volume of reboots, traditionally associated with the updating process. Following SP1 installations via a WinPE image will offer the possibility to deploy the x64 version of the platform from the 32-bit operating system. Deployment enhancements related to WinPE scenarios will also involve support for the installation of offline boot critical storage drivers. The update servicing model has also been revamped, in order to avoid issues associated with the deployment failure of multiple updates when just one item is not managed properly. But, the evolution of the setup and deployment enhancements planned for Vista SP1 does not stop here, and Microsoft does provide additional details about the upcoming service pack:

"• Improves overall install time for updates, by optimizing the query for installed OS updates.
• Improves robustness during the patch installation, by being resilient to transient errors such as sharing violations or access violations.
• Improves robustness of transient failures during the disk cleanup of old OS files after install.
• Improves the uninstallation experience for OS updates, by improving the uninstallation routines in custom OS installation code.
• Improves reliability of OS updates, by making them more resilient to unexpected interruptions, such as power failure.
• Improved instrumentation allows additional data to be sent to Microsoft via the CEIP (Customer Experience Improvement Program) when enabled.
• After the SP1 version of the OPK (OEM pre-installation kit) is installed, further OPK updates will not be required if a servicing stack update is issued."

Can You Feel the Reliability?

Most of Vista SP1 users will not be able to get their hands on experiencing the reliability boost delivered by the service pack. This because there are a multitude of factors impacting the reliability of the operating system, from the hardware to the environment and the usage. Vista SP1 will feature a new Startup Repair Tool (a part of the Windows Recovery environment), enhanced backup capabilities covering EFS encrypted files, superior quality peer-to-peer connections, as well as wireless ad-hoc connectivity, and a wide variety of issues reported via the Windows Error Reporting.

Brand New Support for Hardware, Technologies, Standards... All Free!

Windows Vista SP1 will be a virtual feast of fresh support for hardware. The refresh will make it possible for Vista users to enjoy the benefits of Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, x64 EFI network boot, 64-bit version of MSDASQL, the exFAT file system, SD Advanced DMA, and others. In this regard, it is important to mention that Vista SP1will evolve DirectX 10 to DirectX 10.1. As such, the service pack will deliver support for DirectX 10.1 capable video cards, and an illustrative example is the additional support for Direct3D 10.1 application programing interface.

In a move similar to the introduction of new support for hardware, Microsoft will also integrate new technologies and standards into Vista with SP1. The list begins with Ipsec cryptographic algorithms, and it continues with the extension of the existing pseudo-random number generators of the operating system. Vista SP1 will come with Secure Sockets Tunnel Protocol, a taste of the company's Routing and Remote Access Service platform, but also with support for the latest IEEE iteration and the Windows Smartcard Framework. On top of it all, Microsoft will also bundle critical third-party drivers into the service pack.

Security, Administration and Management

In terms of security, Microsoft will further bulletproof Vista with the availability of SP1. The service pack will contain all the security bulletins impacting the operating system, along with an exhaustive list of hotfixes and updates for the Secure Development Lifecycle. Vista SP1 will also play well with third-party security solutions that need to work in the context of Kernel Patch Protection in the 64-bit SKUs of the platform. Data Execution Prevention will also be boosted, and Microsoft will increase the security of the Teredo interface, having all unsolicited traffic blocked by default. Additionally, Vista SP1 will also offer a complex set of enhancements to the administrative and management capabilities of the operating system.

Anything Else?

Well, as a matter of fact, yes. Vista SP1 will no longer feature the Group Policy Management Console, and all Local Group Policy editing will have to be done via GPedit, or through an updated GPMC that will be made available for download. The refresh will also permit a more streamlined integration of the operating system with Windows Server 2008 and with third party applications in networking scenarios, involving high bandwidth and high latency links. Of course, with SP1, Microsoft will finally tackle two of the most common cracks designed to bypass the activation process. The OEM Bios and Grace Timer Vista activation workarounds will both be rendered useless with SP1.

The search infrastructure of the operating system will be modified, in order to better accommodate third party desktop search applications. The User Account Control is going to be less present when dealing with folders placed in protected scenarios, but Microsoft will also tweak the information displayed in relation to the Licensing User Interface, User Experience, as well as the Ultimate Extras Control Panel. The hint password model during the setup of the operating system, similar to that of XP, is back by popular demand. And last, but definitely not least, on 32-bit platforms Vista will report a total of 4 GB of RAM, even though it will use and be able to address much less.

"With SP1, Windows Vista will report the amount of system memory installed rather than report the amount of system memory available to the OS. Therefore 32-bit systems equipped with 4GB of RAM will report all 4BG in many places throughout the OS, such as the System Control Panel. However, this behavior is dependent on having a compatible BIOS, so not all users may notice this change", Microsoft explained.