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Streamlining Upgrades to Microsoft Windows Vista

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Addressing Application Compatibility with Microsoft Windows Vista™

One of the key challenges with upgrading to Windows Vista is ensuring full application compatibility. For current users of Windows 2000 or Windows XP, upgrading them to Vista can be challenging, since many of their existing applications are not natively compatible with Vista.

Microsoft has identified a number of changes in Vista that are known to cause application compatibility issues:

  • User Account Control. Applications will need to support new standard user permissions.
  • Windows Resource Protection of system files and protected registry locations. Applications that persist in protected areas will need to be modified.
  • Internet Explorer will now execute with lower rights, typically not allowing access to local files.
  • New system APIs expose the layers of the Windows Vista operating system for anti-virus software and firewall manipulation. Applications that perform these functions will need appropriate modifications using the new system APIs.
  • 64-Bit Windows Vista. 16-bit applications and 32-bit drivers will not be supported in the Windows Vista 64-bit environment.

Custom-built applications may be able to be remediated to work with Vista; however, this is a costly and time-consuming endeavor. Packaged third-party applications may not support Vista for some time, complicating rollouts and hindering adoption.
Current Environment: Without Citrix XenApp, an upgrade to Windows Vista can be costly and time-consuming because of applications that are not natively compatible with Vista.

Benefit

Citrix XenApp™ streamlines and accelerates the adoption of Windows Vista by completely removing application compatibility as a barrier. As a result, Vista upgrades can be streamlined and accelerated. Furthermore, new applications that are introduced with the Vista rollout (such as Office 2007) can be delivered easily and inexpensively.