Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 6.5 Beta Is Now Available For Download

The MAP Toolkit’s new capabilities help users to securely assess heterogeneous IT environments while enabling the evaluation of workloads for migration to Microsoft’s private and public cloud platforms. Consolidate existing server workloads using the updated Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track capacity planning feature. The revamped Azure Migration feature in MAP 6.5 provides more in-depth analysis of the suitability of migrating on-premises applications to the Windows Azure platform. Other significant new features in MAP 6.5 include the discovery of active Windows devices, Software Usage Tracking for Forefront Endpoint Protection (FEP), and the discovery of Oracle instances on Itanium-based servers with HP-UX to assist in the planning of migration to SQL Server.

MAP is one of the tools provided by the Microsoft Solution Accelerators team. The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, and Security Compliance Manager provide tested guidance and automated tools to help organizations plan, securely deploy, and manage new Microsoft technologies - easier, faster, and at less cost. All are freely available, and fully-supported by Microsoft.

Download Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 6.5 Beta
The beta of the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit v6.5 is now available for download at the link below:

• MAP Toolkit 6.5 beta program (Windows Live ID required)

Key Features and Benefits of MAP 6.5 beta
Here are key features and benefits of MAP 6.5 Beta:

• Discover Oracle instances on Itanium-based servers for migration to SQL Server.
  MAP 6.5 Beta adds to the heterogeneous database inventory and reporting capability with Oracle compete and the discovery of Oracle instances on Itanium-based servers with HP-UX to assist in the planning of migration to SQL Server. Reporting also provides an estimate of the complexity of migration and suggests candidates for migration to SQL Server. Use this information to determine total cost of ownership for maintaining Oracle and the potential return on investment (ROI) from switching to SQL Server.

• Accelerate planning for the private cloud with Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track Onboarding.
  Planning your private cloud just got easier. Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track Onboarding, an updated assessment available with MAP 6.5 Beta, provides consolidation guidance and validated configurations with preconfigured Hyper-V Fast Track Infrastructures including computing power, network, and storage architectures. Get a quick analysis of server consolidation on Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track Infrastructures to help accelerate your planning of P2V migration to Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track. Each assessment also provides guidance on next steps using Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track.

• Assess your software usage and evaluate your licensing needs. NEW!
  The Software Usage Tracking feature in MAP 6.5 includes enhancements in terms of product coverage and the ability to track devices. The Forefront Endpoint Protection (FEP) scenario measures server and client usage for the FEP product, a recent addition to the Microsoft Core Client Access License (CAL) Suite. Active Devices is a new inventory scenario that allows organizations to report Windows devices that are active on the network. This information is useful in Enterprise Agreement scenarios as well as for maintaining Active Directory information for the environment.

Source: Microsoft Assessment and Planning on TechNet