Windows 7 XP Mode: Flippin brill!!!

cerebus

cerebus

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One big strike against Vista was the fact that some programs which worked just fine in Windows XP just wouldn't run properly. Not even after playing with compatibility mode options. Microsoft has, however, come up with a brilliant solution for Windows 7 that could do wonders for Windows 7 enterprise adoption.

Dubbed XP Mode (XPM), the new feature should make Vista-esque program incompatibilities little more than a bad memory.

So how does it work?

First, systems will need to be running a CPU that supports processor-based virtualization. Windows 7 Pro, Enterprise, and Ultimate licensees will receive access to download a fully-licensed Windows XP SP3 Virtual PC environment from Microsoft. Unlike Virtual PC, though, it's not a standalone virtualization program. Once installed, XP Mode works behind the scenes and allows programs to run seamlessly alongside native Windows 7 apps.

And yes, that means even outdated programs like Internet Explorer 6 that some businesses still depend on for their daily operations will run just fine on Windows 7. According to Paul Thurrott, Microsoft claims nearly 100% compatibility with current Windows XP applications in XPM.

Microsoft needs Windows 7 to be a winner in the enterprise. Apart from cost, compatibility concerns are a huge factor for administrators considering an upgrade path. XP Mode might just squash that concern, which only leaves the final Windows 7 pricing structure.

We'll see how aggressive Microsoft is on that front as the RTM approaches.
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Yes that is a picture of Word 2003 and 2007 running together!!! Sounds like a winner to me.
 
Its about time MS started using this technology. They've had it since 2006 when they bought out Softricity (SoftGrid was the product name). They only used to let clients with EA's access to this particular product; it makes sense with all the current focus on Virtualisation.

What do you mean driver level? The application will work as if it was installed locally, only it installed to a container file. System calls to a particular file location (e.g. Program files), or to a registry location are intercepted and passed to the container. It also means that you can install an app on your PC, copy it to a memory stick and then run it on another PC.....
 
Conradl said:
What do you mean driver level?
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I mean that it would be nice to be able to run XP device drivers in their own mode. With Win7 there will inevitably be a bunch of devices no longer supported by their manufacturer. In man cases, even were they to run less efficiently, the devices could have their longevity extended.
 
Certain drivers would be a problem, depends on the application/driver. You could theoretically package one app with DX7 for example, and a second app with DX9. When the application wants to write to dx3d.dll (same name for different versions), the software redirects it to access the C:\<virtualcontainer>\windows\system32\dx3d.dll, and not the C:\windows\system32\dx3d.dll.

As to the performance hit, it depends on the type of virtualisation done - but generally between 5-30% depending on the application. A hypervisor type technology will have a smaller impact than a host based solution.
 
ld13 said:
Looks like absolute WIN indeed! For now at least. Everything always looks good on paper. :cool:
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Remember that none of this is new. In typical MS fashion they simply have more resources to draw peoples attention to it (which is good for everyone, don't get me wrong :))

Also take a look at VMWare, they bought out a company called Thinstall, and now make a product called ThinApp. It allows you to install an OS into a VM, and then run each application, in its own window, within a host OS - their VDI also has this technology; as does Citrix.

As awesome as the MS products are, there are already established players, with even better solutions currently available (in fact they have been available for many years!). So it definitely will get better, and unlike some other IT fads, virtualisation at various levels, will deliver on what is promised on the white papers :)
 
bekdik said:
I mean that it would be nice to be able to run XP device drivers in their own mode. With Win7 there will inevitably be a bunch of devices no longer supported by their manufacturer. In man cases, even were they to run less efficiently, the devices could have their longevity extended.
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Nope.

Can't. Would still need to access the device that would be using the Win 7 driver...

Abstraction layer (I think) prevents this.
 
this was meant to be super hush-hush for some time still...
ah well, guess it will all come out in the wash before launch.
 
iDenTiTy said:
Nope.

Can't. Would still need to access the device that would be using the Win 7 driver...

Abstraction layer (I think) prevents this.
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Remember that there are two types of Virtualisation: Host based and Hypervisor based. The fact that the processor must support VT suggests that this solution would be Hypervisor based; and therefore not based on Win 7 drivers. It is going to be interesting to see how this turns out....
 
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Conradl said:
Remember that their are two types of Virtualisation: Host based and Hypervisor based. The fact that the processor must support VT suggests that this solution would be Hypervisor based; and therefore not based on Win 7 drivers. It is going to be interesting to see how this turns out....
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Could be one helluva security issue then.
Using Hypervisor-based solution gives an extra playing field for those evil doers..

Seems unlikely though. Wouldn't it need a completely rewritten kernel?

:confused:
 
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