Windows Server 2003 Group Policy and Security - 70-291

Windows Server 2003 Group Policy and Security - 70-291

Implementing Group Policy



In this article, you will learn:



* What Group Policy is

* Recommended Group Policy settings

* Implementing Group Policy objects



Group Policy was probably the most significant change for Microsoft with the
release of Windows 2000 Server. Group Policy allows you to define settings and
configurations to machines and groups of users. An administrator can use Group
Policy to set policies at a site, domain, or organizational unit. Group Policy
is supported in Windows 2000 Professional and newer operating systems.



Group Policy was designed to allow you to easily control the settings and
configuration of a lot of machines, reducing your total cost of ownership. It is
a very powerful part of the Active Directory, and if implemented correctly, can
save you money. If it is not implemented correctly, it can cost your
organization time and resources - fixing what can be huge mistakes!



Group Policy allows you to define user related policies, as well as network
settings, security settings, and machine policies. In addition, you can use
Group Policy to manage settings on your servers.



Group Policy was improved with the release of Windows Server 2003. There were
hundreds of new policies added, as well as a new Group Policy Management
Console. We will assume you have this installed throughout this tutorial. If you
do not currently have it, please visit
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/gpmc/ to download GPMC.



Group Policy is different from policies used in Windows NT 4 domains. Group
Policy is much more powerful, allows for more flexibility, and is easier to
administer.



Implementing Group Policy is not a simple task so you should plan your
implementation very carefully. If you turn on the wrong policy, you can
mistakenly prevent your users from accessing the network (we know one small
business administrator who did this) or prevent an entire business unit from
opening Microsoft Outlook (we know one large enterprise administrator who did
this). Group Policy is very powerful and should be configured with a great level
of planning and discussion.



If you plan on using Group Policy settings (which you should to make your
workstation administration easier), we recommend reviewing all of the Group
Policy settings as a team with your network administrators, help desk, and PC
support groups. This is a long process and can drag out, but we will highlight
some of the Group Policy settings you may want to make and the reason we suggest
them.



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