{"id":236959,"date":"2007-07-26T09:00:03","date_gmt":"2007-07-26T16:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/?p=236959"},"modified":"2016-07-20T07:34:40","modified_gmt":"2016-07-20T14:34:40","slug":"microsoft-research-cambridge-puts-visual-studio-beta-fast-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/blog\/microsoft-research-cambridge-puts-visual-studio-beta-fast-track\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Research Cambridge Puts Visual Studio Beta on Fast Track"},"content":{"rendered":"

With help from Microsoft Research Cambridge<\/a>, Microsoft\u2019s Developer Division will be offering an entirely new method for obtaining the latest beta of Visual Studio\u00ae 2008<\/a>, Microsoft\u2019s next-generation development tool for Windows Vista<\/a>\u00ae, the 2007 Office System<\/a>, and the Web.<\/p>\n

Microsoft Secure Content Distribution (MSCD), based on the Avalanche<\/a> peer-to-peer (P2P) research project from Microsoft Research Cambridge\u2019s Incubation team, will be trialed beginning July 27 for distribution of Beta 2 of Visual Studio 2008, augmenting the traditional, Web-based distribution channel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that some of our developer customers use peer-to-peer tools to get some of our community technical previews,\u201d says S. Somasegar<\/a>, corporate vice president of Microsoft\u2019s Developer Division. \u201cWe had a handful of customers try out an experimental system to see if something like MSCD would be valuable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have always been significant challenges with P2P systems,\u201d he says. \u201cMSCD was built from the ground up to address these flaws.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Visual Studio trial is based on an entirely new, product-quality code base. Additions include an enhanced security model that protects the rights of publishers and ensures that consumers receive what they\u2019re expecting when they download a file.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis new technology is the culmination of almost two years of development by Microsoft Research Cambridge\u2019s Incubation team,\u201d says Mitch Goldberg, director of Incubation and Technology Transfer for the Cambridge lab. \u201cIt is as much as eight times faster than our original managed prototype, and it\u2019s great that customers will have a chance to experience the benefits for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

To get the latest bits of Visual Studio 2008 via MSCD, download this tool<\/a>. The trial will continue through Aug. 22.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope this enables a better experience for customers and publishers,\u201d says John L. Miller, an architect on Goldberg\u2019s team. \u201cWe are sensitive to the rights of content owners and content publishers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also important to note,\u201d he adds, \u201cthat we\u2019re so confident in our solution that we are using it as a method to distribute some of Microsoft\u2019s latest software.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Avalanche research project is designed to determine how to enable a fast, cost-effective, and Internet-scalable file-distribution solution for purposes such as on-demand television, software patches, and software distribution. The approach uses desktop PCs to assist the distribution process, relieving traffic on congested servers and network links.<\/p>\n

Current peer-assisted file-delivery systems use file-swarming techniques to obtain different pieces of a file from multiple nodes simultaneously. But as the number of receivers increases, it becomes harder to deliver all pieces to all nodes, resulting in slower downloads and stalled transfers.<\/p>\n

Avalanche avoids such issues via network coding. Instead of distributing blocks of a file, peers produce linear combinations of blocks already obtained. Any peer can generate new, unique combinations from those it already has, and once a peer has enough independent combinations, it can decode and reconstruct the original file.<\/p>\n

Thus, any piece uploaded by a peer can assist any other peer, making the system more robust. No peer becomes a bottleneck, and network bandwidth is utilized efficiently because the same information does not travel through a bottleneck multiple times.<\/p>\n

Significant benefits can be expected from Avalanche-based technology. Somasegar, for one, is sold on the concept.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever we have a new release,\u201d he says, \u201cthere is tremendous demand to get the bits as soon as they are available. While a solution like this won\u2019t work for everyone, it will help some customers get Visual Studio pre-release bits faster and easier. That has a lot of value. Whatever we can do to help customers access our software\u2014as long as it is safe and secure\u2014is a win for both our customers and Microsoft.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am super-excited,\u201d Somasegar adds, \u201cto start using this reliable and trustworthy new approach as an additional channel for our pre-release distributions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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