Book Image

Mastering Windows Group Policy

By : Jordan Krause
5 (1)
Book Image

Mastering Windows Group Policy

5 (1)
By: Jordan Krause

Overview of this book

This book begins with a discussion of the core material any administrator needs to know in order to start working with Group Policy. Moving on, we will also walk through the process of building a lab environment to start testing Group Policy today. Next we will explore the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) and start using the powerful features available for us within that interface. Once you are well versed with using GPMC, you will learn to perform and manage the traditional core tasks inside Group Policy. Included in the book are many examples and walk-throughs of the different filtering options available for the application of Group Policy settings, as this is the real power that Group Policy holds within your network. You will also learn how you can use Group Policy to secure your Active Directory environment, and also understand how Group Policy preferences are different than policies, with the help of real-world examples. Finally we will spend some time on maintenance and troubleshooting common Group Policy-related issues so that you, as a directory administrator, will understand the diagnosing process for policy settings. By the end of the book, you will be able to jump right in and use Group Policy to its full potential.
Table of Contents (12 chapters)

Green and red marks

Sometimes Preferences are individual settings and are very straightforward to put into place. Other times, when you open up a section of the Group Policy editor to take a look at a setting, you will find a collection of numerous settings, sort of like a Preference "package" throwing many different options onto one screen. Here you can see that I have poked my way into some user configuration preferences, and chose to create a new Folder Options package. Upon choosing the option to create New Folder Options, I am presented with many different options, all of which are underlined in a lime-green color. What in the world do those lines mean? Take a look:

When you come across these preference packages inside your GPO, it is important to understand the lines, and as you'll learn in soon sometimes you will find circles as well. These lines and circles...