In an old article by me here on WindowsNetworking.com, I mentioned a networking feature called routing compartments that was supposed to be introduced in Windows Vista.
Unfortunately that feature got cut before RTM.
Funny thing is, on Windows 7 there are some commands that have to do with routing compartments. Examples of such commands include:
Ipconfig /allcompartments
Netsh interface ipv4 show compartments
Netsh interface ipv4 set compartment…
The first two commands produce what looks like valid output. The third command returns the error “Incorrect function”. What’s up?
Unfortunately the /allcompartments switch of Ipconfig and the set/show compartments commands of Netsh are just relics of the earlier plans of supporting routing compartments in Windows Vista. So while some of these commands produce what looks like valid output, it doesn’t mean anything useful.
Bottom line: routing compartments were NOT re-introduced in Windows 7!
I wonder though how many other relics there are in Windows of features that were planned but got cut just before RTM? Hmm…
Mitch Tulloch is a seven-time recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award and widely recognized expert on Windows administration, deployment and virtualization. For more tips by Mitch you can follow him on Twitter or friend him on Facebook.
