This accelerator provides proven tools and practices that enable IT professionals to: Create a software and hardware inventory to assist in deployment planning; Test applications for compatibility with Windows XP Professional and mitigate the compatibility issues discovered during the process; Set up an initial lab environment with deployment and imaging servers; Customize and package core and supplemental applications; Automate desktop image creation and deployment; Ensure that the desktop is hardened to improve security within the environment; Manage processes and technologies to produce a comprehensive and integrated deployment.

The Solution Accelerator for BDD solution contains guidance, sample templates, and technology files (such as scripts and configuration files). It presents deployment guidance as feature team guides that thoroughly explain each deployment process. The guidance in the Solution Accelerator for BDD is structured according to the feature teams and processes described in Figure 1.

What's New in Solution Accelerator for BDD v2.5
The most recent version of the Solution Accelerator for BDD as of this writing is version 2.5. It includes many improvements over version 2.0 and addresses issues that customers reported with version 2.0. For example, version 2.5 now supports unattended installations of Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, and the Computer Imaging System contains usability improvements such as per-build action lists. Version 2.5 also contains updated documentation, including an improved Security Feature Team Guide, an Application Compatibility Feature Team Guide that is updated for the Application Compatibility Toolkit 4.0, and a new Supplemental Applications Feature Team Guide that provides better guidance for repackaging applications and automating their installations. Last, version 2.5 improves the reliability, versatility, and manageability of Zero Touch Installation (ZTI). For example, you can now monitor ZTI progress by using MOM 2005.