http:\\www.powerquest.com

PowerQuest® Corporation announced today that an interface in the new Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 Image Deployment Feature Pack makes it easier for customers to deploy PowerQuest’s proven imaging technology for hands-free migration and deployment of multiple computers within an enterprise. A new graphical user interface (GUI) in the SMS 2003 Image Deployment Feature Pack allows administrators to define and distribute PowerQuest images just as they were any other piece of software, to enable simplified PC deployment, saving time and associated costs for Microsoft and PowerQuest customers.

PowerQuest DeployCenter™ leverages PowerQuest’s Virtual Volume Imaging (V2i™) technology to provide businesses a faster process for building and maintaining their workstations. With the power of V2i integrated with the enterprise control provided by Systems Management Server 2003, organizations desiring to upgrade to Windows XP, for example, can distribute a standard desktop image to hundreds or thousands of systems in minutes, all from a centralized location.

“Customers are looking to use Microsoft Systems Management Server to reduce the complexity of PC deployment and migration,” said David Hamilton, director of the Enterprise Management Division. “Through tight integration with imaging solutions like PowerQuest’s, Systems Management Server 2003 will deliver a complete solution for the cost-effective deployment and management of their Windows enterprises.”

This new, hands-free deployment process also leverages the Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE), a 32-bit boot environment that replaces the functionality of DOS during the deployment and migration process. Because WinPE is a 32-bit boot environment with drivers specifically developed for mass storage controllers and network interface cards, it is much faster than DOS. In addition, WinPE provides greater hardware independence (plug and play) and supports TCP/IP networking. The combination of the 32-bit environment and PowerQuest's award-winning V2i deployment technology dramatically reduces the time required for traditional installations and migrations.

PQI Deploy, which is part of PowerQuest’s Deploy Toolkit, was one of the first 32-bit imaging solutions to support WinPE, taking advantage of the speed and convenience benefits of the preinstallation environment. The Deploy Toolkit also contains utilities that aid in the creation, deployment and management of image files. These utilities allow enterprise customers to append image files, easily access hidden partitions, configure and execute a ‘virtual boot environment’ into DOS and automate deployments through the use of script-based and command-line tools.

Microsoft will demonstrate SMS 2003, including the new Image Deployment Feature Pack and its access of PowerQuest DeployCenter, at the Microsoft Management Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada, today.

For more information on how PowerQuest deployment technology works with Microsoft SMS, go to www.powerquest.com/sms2003. For additional information about PowerQuest DeployCenter and the Deploy Toolkit, go to http://www.powerquest.com/deploycenter/.