This post originally appeared on the RES blog before the company was acquired by Ivanti in July 2017.

Today, we’re very proud to announce the availability of RES ONE Workspace 2016 SR1. With this release, we will officially support the latest edition of Windows 10, version 1607 or otherwise known as the ‘Anniversary’ edition.

But wait… what about the various branches of Windows 10?! Not familiar with the branches? Here are all the versions of Windows 10 that exist:

Current Branch:

  • Windows 10 v1507 OS build 10240.xxxxx CB (July 2015)
  • Windows 10 v1511 OS build 10586.xxxxx CB (Nov 2015)
  • Windows 10 v1607 OS build 14393.xxxxx CB (Aug 2016)

Current Branch for Business:

  • Windows 10 v1507 OS build 10240.xxxxx CBB (July 2015)
  • Windows 10 v1511 OS build 10586.xxxxx CBB (April 2016)
  • Windows 10 v1607 OS build 14393.xxxxx CBB (Nov 2016)

Long-Term Service Branch:

  • Windows 10 v1507 OS build 10240.xxxxx LTSB (July 2015)
  • Windows 10 v1607 OS build 14393.xxxxx LTSB (Aug 2016)

You can reference the various Windows 10 branches and their latest status here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/

Still confused? Before we dive in, let’s agree on some definitions for purposes of this blog:

  • Upgrade: This is a Windows 10 release that contains new features, capabilities and we will see possibly two per year moving forward.
  • Update: This is the good old security fixes, patches, and general bug fixes that are releases on the great day known as ‘Patch Tuesday.’ The good news with Windows 10, they are cumulative!
  • Branches: Think of a tree… you have our mainline (trunk) and branches off that trunk. The branches are the various releases of Windows 10.
  • Rings: This is more for you the enterprise, but Microsoft recommends you place groups of endpoints into rings (same branch) and deploy accordingly. A great example can be found here: http://bit.ly/msft001

Next, let’s look at the definitions and audience for the different branches of Windows 10:

  • Windows Insider Preview Branch: In the enterprise world, think of this as your alpha. This branch is intended to be isolated to IT for testing and not used in production.
  • Current Branch: In the enterprise world, think of this as your beta. This release will gain immediate access the latest upgrades, features, experiences, and functionality from Microsoft. Pilot this build to a small group of users who like being early adopters and are willing to tolerate minor issues.
  • Current Branch for Business: In the enterprise world, think of this as your stable QA release. Typically, this branch will release 4 months’ minimum after the current branch. You can defer access to latest upgrades, features, experiences, and functionality from Microsoft for up to 8 months. Most enterprises will deploy this branch to their end-users.
  • Long-Term Service Branch: In the enterprise world, this of this as your safety net. This branch is released every 18 to 24 months and is limited to just updates. The Long-Term Service Branch builds do not include the Store, Cortana, Edge, and other universal apps. In short, this release is for mission critical devices and meant to be non-disruptive and stable. Examples of mission critical devices are ATMs, point-of-sale devices, medical equipment, PC that control a manufacturing process or endpoints that need to kept stable.  . Windows 10 Long- Term Service Branch is only available as part of Windows 10 Enterprise.

Put this all together and you get:

Source: http://bit.ly/2gcE6Xq

For more details on branching, the strategy and more, check out Microsoft’s recommendations: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/01

The takeaway here is RES is testing all branches. Our goal is to always have ‘day 1’ support, but with Microsoft’s new release strategy, this becomes more challenging. In our testing and certification, we follow the evaluate, pilot, deploy model:

Source:http://bit.ly/msft003

  • Windows Insider Preview Branch: We are always testing the latest insider branch attempting to address any core issues as they arise.
  • Current Branch: We perform our final test on this branch in order to declare support.
  • Current Branch for Business: By the time this releases, we attempt to declare support on ‘day 1’ (depending on testing cycles and if coding effort is needed) and this is the recommended version for enterprises to deploy in conjunction with RES
  • Long-Term Service Branch: We are always testing these branches, but these should be very stable and reliably used in conjunction with RES.

As you can see, there is much involved with testing and certifying Windows 10. This release of RES ONE Workspace 2016 SR1 not only offers expanded support for Windows 10 but also brings on support for other key products:

  • Microsoft System Center 2016
  • Microsoft SCCM:
  • Microsoft SCCM 1511
  • Microsoft SCCM 1602
  • Microsoft SCCM 1606
  • Microsoft SQL 2016
  • Citrix XenDesktop 7.11
  • Citrix XenApp 7.11
  • Citrix Provisioning Services 7.11
  • VMware Horizon 7.0
  • VMware AppVolumes 3.0.0

What is RES ONE Workspace?

RES ONE Workspace allows the workforce to work from anywhere, anytime, forcing IT to support multiple devices and flexible access to the data, apps and networks, without losing sight of security. RES ONE Workspace also drives productivity for the workforce, providing workers with a familiar and seamless workspace that is both secure and dynamic based on their changing contexts. It balances security with flexibility, and makes it possible for IT to deliver on business demands by simplifying the management of digital workspaces across physical, virtual and cloud environments.

Special Thanks

As always, thanks to all the team members who helped to create the release and the community who provided a lot of good suggestions (keep them coming!). Feel free to add comments below, reach out to the RES Product Managers or provide new ideas to the RES Success Center.

*Following the launch of RES ONE Enterprise on February 21, 2017, RES ONE Service Store is now RES ONE Identity Director and RES ONE Suite is now RES ONE Enterprise.