Using MAP toolkit

I have been practising using the MAP toolkit, using the excellent MAP Training Kit, available here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb977556.aspx

or to download directly:

Launch the download of the Training Kit for the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit.

The toolkit has three demo databases for you to import into the MAP toolkit, providing an opportunity to explore its features  in a realistic way.

After installing the MAP toolkit (excellent intructions are provided as part of the Training Kit), you create a database called Student, which you use to collect data about your PC. You then import the three databases with data from a large network and explore the features of the MAP toolkit.

This screen shot shows the MAP toolkit's report on Windows 7 readiness:

The MAP Toolkit can also produce reports in Word and Excel:

In summary then, the MAP Toolkit can generate high quality reports, suitable to show customers or managers, to lay out the facts supporting a migration to Windows 7. The report details the currently upgradeable machines, and specifies hardware upgrades that may be necessary for others.

Problem Adding Physical Drive to VM in Hyper-V

When trying to add the physical CD/DVD Drive to a VM in Hyper-V Manager settings. I have been getting the following error message:

Problem Adding Physical Drive
Error Applying DVD Drive Changes
Failed to add device 'Microsoft Virtual CD/DVD Drive'
Failed to open attachment 'D:'. Error: 'The process cannot access the file
because it is being used by another process.'

The solution?
I had another Virtual Machine that already had the physical CD/DVD Drive associated with it.
Not surprisingly this is what was causing the problem - the clue was in the last part
of the error message.
Sure enough, when I changed the setting of the machine that already had the physical CD/DVD drive to
'None' I could assign the physical drive to the other VM.

Ping and Server 2008 R2

I can't Ping my Server

It seems that Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista
won't let ICMPv4 or ICMPv6 requests through the firewall under default settings.
Well Technet article,'Nobody can ping my computer':
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749323(WS.10).aspx

has a solution.

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Tool

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Tool uses technology such as WMI and AD DS to collect data about your environment. It can inventory your network and ascertain its readiness for migration. This simplifies the planning process when migrating to W7, Server 2008 R2 or Office 2010.

It can also help identify underutilized resources and hardware specification needed to consolidate servers using Hyper-V.

Requirements

Operating System

• Most flavours of Windows from Windows XP up

Software

• .NET Framework 3.5 SP1
• Windows Installer 4.5
• MS Office Word 2007 SP2 or Word 2010
• MS Office Excel 2007 SP2 or Excel 2010
• SQL Server Express Edition