MDT 2013 Update 2 (6.3.8330) Released

The Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2013 Update 2 (6.3.8330) is now available on the Microsoft Download Center. This update requires the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) for Windows 10, available on the Microsoft Hardware Dev Center. (Note that there are known issues with the v1511 release of the Windows 10 ADK and System Center Configuration Manager; these issues do not directly affect MDT although may still impact ZTI or UDI scenarios.)

MDT 2013 Update 2 is primarily a quality release; there are no new major features. The following is a summary of the significant changes in this update:

  • Security- and cryptographic-related improvements:
    • Relaxed permissions on newly created deployment shares (still secure by default, but now also functional by default)
    • Creating deployment shares via Windows PowerShell adds same default permissions
    • Updated hash algorithm usage from SHA1 to SHA256
  • Includes the latest Configuration Manager task sequence binaries
  • Enhanced user experience for Windows 10 in-place upgrade task sequence
  • Enhanced split WIM functionality
  • Fixed OSDJoinAccount account usage in UDI scenario
  • Fixed issues with installation of Windows 10 language packs
  • Various accessibility improvements
  • Monitoring correctly displays progress for all scenarios including upgrade
  • Improvements to smsts.log verbosity

There are no other new release notes or significant known issues. See the previous post for more information as much of it is still applicable (other than the fix list above).

See the following post on How to get help with MDT.

Frequently Asked Questions

In anticipation of some questions that you may have about this release (or MDT in general):

Q: Should I expect a release of MDT with every new Windows 10 and/or Configuration Manager build release?

No. We shipped multiple MDT releases this year due to the timing of Windows 10 and Configuration Manager releases, but do not intend to keep that same cadence going forward.

Q: What branches of Windows 10 does MDT support?

MDT supports both the current branch of Windows 10 as well as the long-term servicing branch.

Q: What branches of System Center Configuration Manager does MDT support?

For ZTI and UDI scenarios MDT 2013 Update 2 supports the current branch of System Center Configuration Manager (currently version 1511) for an integrated solution for deploying Windows 10 current branch as well as prior Windows versions.

Q: When is the next planned release of MDT?

We do not currently have a timeframe. We will release any tactical changes as needed which may be required to support new builds of Windows 10 or Configuration Manager, but do not currently expect this to be needed.

Q: Is this the last release of MDT?

No, we will continue to iterate and invest in the product.

Q: Why is it still “MDT 2013” when the year is almost 2016?

Two primary reasons. First, we have only made minor changes to MDT which in our opinion does not constitute a major version revision. Second, per the MDT support lifecycle, a new major version will drop support for MDT2012 Update 1 which still supports legacy platforms.

Source

Skype for Business 2015 Planning Tool

The Skype for Business Team released Skype for Business 2015 Planning Tool. This tool asks you a series of questions about your organization and the features that you are interested in. The planning tool will then use your answers to recommend a topology based on the tested Skype for Business 2015 user model.
Your organization may have a different user model. If so, you should adjust the recommended topology as necessary to fit your organization’s needs.
What’s in the Planning Tool for Skype for Business 2015?

  • The Planning Tool now allow user to have up to 10 sites, including central site and disaster recovery site
  • The Planning Tool offers capacity guidance for Skype for Business Server 2015 new and updated features listed below.
  • You can answer the questions about these features in the Planning Tool, and then the suggested topology will contain information for those features, e.g hardware, network, DNS, certificate, IP, etc, according to the Skype for Business 2015 user model.
    • Persistent Chat
    • Archiving with Exchange integration
    • Mobility
    • Multi-view Video
    • SQL AlwaysOn
    • High Availability and Disaster Recovery
    • Office Web Apps
    • Exchange Mailbox
  • Skype for Business Server Planning Tool 2015 allows you to specify IPv6 IP addresses
  • Planning Tool identifies the IP conflicts across sites in the suggest topology. You can then choose to show or hide IP conflict in the topology
  • Planning Tool offers more user-friendly FQDN/IP/Port editing dialog
  • Planning Tool updates the suggested hardware requirements, DNS, and certificates with Skype for Business Server 2015 changes
  • Planning Tool updates the planning steps and deployment steps with Skype for Business Server 2015 changes
  • Planning Tool offers better support for accessibility requirements
  • Skype for Business Server Planning Tool 2015 offers improved export of Visio and Excel files. An exported Visio file matches the suggested topology diagram in the Planning Tool as well
  • Planning Tool no longer supports the following features:
    • Virtualized server design
    • Export the Planning Tool file to Topology Builder

Get it: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=50357

Source

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