Windows 10 Deployment - Which version?

[Techie2000]

Hi everyone,

 

So from the number of Win 10 threads around I gather most schools have (or started to migrate) to Win 10. I have recently tested LTSB, but was wondering what the consensus was for which version to push out?

 

Does anyone have or would like to recommend a good guide for deploying Win 10 through WDS/ MDT?

 

TIA

[Patrick]

There's arguments for CB (Current Branch) and LTSB. I've seen on here people have solid arguments for both, so i think it depends on your environment or your preference. Personally, i went with CB Education, though currently on 1709. Edited June 26, 2018 by Patrick

[ColinP]

i went with enterprise 1803, over ltsb in the end. i managed to get all the cleanness of ltsb by using ntlite, to remove plackages and other misc stuff then adding a few regkeys likes disable consumer experiance so that it never get a chance to install

[robjduk]

LTSB All the way from me. Deploy it and sit back for the next 9 and a half years until the next one gets deployed. No feature changing updates, no hassle of apps and just a good stable OS.

[Rockpile99]

2015 LTSB has been 'rock solid' for us without any of the problems people on CB seem to be having.

[jthompson]

We've gone with Education, mainly because I felt that if we're going to do the prep for Win10, we may as well break the back of it and be in a better position to keep pace with the regular releases (or at least stay one step behind). I'm still open to deploying LTSB in future if we decide that keeping pace is too much faff or otherwise not worth the effort.

[crc-ict]

I'm doing a Windows 10 deployment in the summer and I'm going with LTSB. Can't be doing with all the app hassles and the oh so frequent major updates that take a week and a half!

 

I've been running it on a laptop for the last few months as a trial and I've had zero problems and like Rockpile99 have found it 'rock solid'. Whereas at home the wife and kids all run current branch Windows 10 and have had no end of problems with the 'feature updates'.

[Michael]

This topic has been well discussed on Edugeek previously, but I also deploy LTSB 1607. There's also LTSB 1507, based on the original RTM version of Windows 10 but I wouldn't recommend this. 1607 is also equivalent to Windows Server 2016 also.

 

The general consensus from my observations is that deploying Windows 10 Edu for example, many choose to remove Apps as part of the process. This puts it more in line with LTSB versions, but with more bells and whistles, which arguably you'll probably turn off anyway such as 'People' on the Taskbar.

 

The other main difference of course is the Support Cycle - LTSB is 10 years and matches the likes of Windows 7, whereas all other versions are supported for approx. 18 months where you're forced to upgrade to a newer build. It gets even more complicated when Microsoft have added an additional 6 months support for 1607, 1703 and 1709 versions for Education/Enterprise customers, so definitely mixed messages coming from Microsoft.

[synaesthesia]

We've gone 1709 for this summer's rollout, I did consider LTSB however the lack of modern apps made it feel a little too disconnected; I'm a fan of trying to keep things as close to life as possible. There's no harm in a 12 month cycle as long as the machines are properly managed via SCCM or similar and should therefore be relatively pain-free. Updates deferred until we say so, many of the features disabled (xbox app and all the similar rubbish) and there's the added benefit of onedrive's Files on Demand; when they finally getting around to making it suitable for use in a multi-user multi-device environment.

[Techie2000]

Ace, thanks for your replies I think I'm going to roll out LTSB (as it's already setup and working) to the office for testing before summer's mass roll-out.

[free780]

We've gone 1709 for this summer's rollout, I did consider LTSB however the lack of modern apps made it feel a little too disconnected; I'm a fan of trying to keep things as close to life as possible. There's no harm in a 12 month cycle as long as the machines are properly managed via SCCM or similar and should therefore be relatively pain-free. Updates deferred until we say so, many of the features disabled (xbox app and all the similar rubbish) and there's the added benefit of onedrive's Files on Demand; when they finally getting around to making it suitable for use in a multi-user multi-device environment.

I don't think they will. I think it will become more aimed at 1:1 like iPads. Having spent the last few days attempting to speed up the OneDrive setup and do folder redirection. It's actually a lot easier being GDPR compliant with your data in Office 365 but the mentality is 1:1 . How this change can happen in education with budgets as they are is anyones guess. I still wouldn't deploy LTSC due to new security features in 1709 and 1803.

[Arthur]

There was a Microsoft blog post a few weeks ago listing a few reasons to avoid LTSC.

 

Say No to Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC)

 

To further explain the reasoning behind the use of SAC over LTSC, please read the following key points:

 

1. Using LTSC means missing out on new OS enhancements that are included in SAC releases – particularly new security features
   
2. LTSC does not keep pace with new silicon releases in the same way SAC does – so LTSC 2016 does not support Intel chips beyond the 'Kaby Lake' generation
   
3. Windows Analytics Upgrade Readiness does not support LTSC
   
4. No support for the modern Edge browser
   
5. No support for Cortana
   
6. No support for Windows Store
   
7. No support for Surface hardware
   
8. LTSC does not support ConfigMgr Express Updates
   
9. In-Place Upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 is not supported for LTSC
   
10. From January 2020, Microsoft Office 365 will not be supported on LTSC
    
11. LTSC does not keep pace with feature enhancements to Windows Defender ATP
    
12. Potential Independent Hardware and Software Vendor support and limitations on LTSC
    
13. Non-security operating system fixes and enhancements may not get back-ported to LTSC
    
14. Loosely defined LTSC release cycles make planning ahead more difficult
    

I hope this clarifies your understanding around the use Windows 10 LTSC and helps to explain the reasoning behind why you should deploy SAC, and not LTSC.

 

I don't think anyone cares about number 5 however.

 

See also...

 

[supportman]

Current Branch is completely inappropriate for an educational environment as far as I can tell, due to all the bloat, start menu issues and sheer speed of releases. We deployed LTSB in another school a couple of years ago now and its been rock solid and works as expected.

 

I find it really strange that Microsoft released an "education" edition that essentially didn't lock anything down. For that reason we are going LTSB in the future at this school.

Edited July 10, 2018 by supportman

[2ilent8cho]

Surprised no body has commented on the comments section of that article to get Microsoft's attention. Say No to Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) Why are Microsoft not addressing the reasons why people are choosing to deploy the LTSB? We are trying to get Windows 10 in a multi user lab environment to be quick to logon. If we use Windows 10 Education or Enterprise it takes over 2 minutes from login screen to desktop. Windows 10 LTSB 2016 takes 20 seconds. 2 Minutes is not acceptable. We had Windows 7 down to 15 seconds, and Windows XP to around 5 seconds. The Mac's in our labs take under 5 seconds

[synaesthesia]

You have other issues then if a logon is taking 2 minutes. We're about 30 seconds from power on to sitting at desktop in 1803.

[aleach2]

You have other issues then if a logon is taking 2 minutes. We're about 30 seconds from power on to sitting at desktop in 1803.

 

What profiles do you use? Local, roaming or mandatory?

[synaesthesia]

Local as the latter two are on their deathbeds, with UEV enabled for staff.

[free780]

If you go from standby not cold power off and have SSDs it shouldn't be too bad. First login is always longer. So don't delete profiles too quickly. It depends on use case.

[aleach2]

Local as the latter two are on their deathbeds, with UEV enabled for staff.

 

Good to know, this is pretty much what I had decided on. Just trying to find the time to set it up for testing.

[Duke5A]

I'm a bit late to this thread, but we're an LTSB shop too. I manage about 1500 machines by myself and I don't have time to keep current on all of Microsoft's forced updates. Honestly, the only reason to use any flavor of Windows 10 that has the Store built in is if you're using Office 365 and you want the integration. Outside of that the entire purpose of Windows 10 is to serve as a platform to sell you crap.