Enhancements to Roaming User Profiles and Folder Redirection Previously Introduced in Windows Vista

Because of the limitations of the way that RUP and Folder Redirection were implemented in earlier versions of Windows, these two corporate roaming technologies were enhanced in Windows Vista in several ways:

• The changes made to the user profile namespace (described in the section titled "User Profile Namespace In Windows Vista and Windows 7" earlier in this tutorial) separate user data from application data, making it easier to roam some data and settings using roaming profiles and to roam others using Folder Redirection.
• The number of folders that can be redirected using Group Policy is considerably increased, providing greater flexibility for administrators in choosing which user data and settings to redirect. The list of folders that can be redirected in Windows Vista and later versions now includes AppData, Desktop, Start Menu, Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos, Favorites, Contacts, Downloads, Links, Searches, and Saved Games.
• When you implement RUP with Folder Redirection, Windows Vista and later versions copy the user's profile and redirect folders to their respective network locations. The net result is an enhanced logon experience that brings up the user's desktop much faster than when you implement these two technologies on earlier versions of Windows. Specifically, when all user data folders are redirected and RUP is deployed, the only thing slowing logon is the time it takes to download Ntuser.dat (usually a relatively small file) from the profile server. (A small part of the AppData\Roaming\ Microsoft directory is also roamed, even when the AppData\Roaming folder has been redirected. This folder contains some encryption certificates.)
• Offline Files, which can be used in conjunction with Folder Redirection, is enhanced in a number of ways in Windows Vista (and even more so in Windows 7). For more information concerning this, see the section titled "Working with Offline Files" later in this tutorial.