Group Policy: Fundamentals, Security, and Troubleshooting

Group Policy: Fundamentals, Security, and Troubleshooting

by Jeremy Moskowitz
Released May 2008
Publisher(s): Sybex
ISBN: 9780470275894

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Book description

Streamline Windows Server management by grouping policy settings to monitor and regulate users and the network's computers. Revised and updated to include Windows Server 2008 and Vista, Group Policy: Fundamentals, Security, and Troubleshooting examines how Group Policy monitors and regulates users and controls activity on a network’s computers. Employ the various Group Policy settings, learn how to manage Group Policy with Management Console, troubleshoot Group Policy settings, and implement network security with Group Policy. Also, find ready-to-use scripts that you can use to automate routine administration tasks.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Dear Reader
  3. Dedication
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. About the Contributors
  6. Introduction
  7. Group Policy Essentials
    1. Getting Ready to Use This Book
    2. Getting Started with Group Policy
    3. Understanding Local Group Policy
    4. Active Directory–Based Group Policy
    5. An Example of Group Policy Application
    6. Examining the Resultant Set of Policy
    7. Group Policy, Active Directory, and the GPMC
    8. Using the GPMC in Active Directory
    9. Our Own Group Policy Examples
    10. Final Thoughts
  8. Managing Group Policy with the GPMC
    1. Common Procedures with the GPMC
    2. Advanced Security and Delegation with the GPMC
    3. Performing RSoP Calculations with the GPMC
    4. Backing Up and Restoring Group Policy Objects
    5. Searching for Group Policy Objects with the GPMC
    6. GPMC At-a-Glance Icon View
    7. The GPMC At-a-Glance Compatibility Table
    8. Final Thoughts
  9. GPMC 2.0—Filtering, Comments, and Starter GPOs
    1. Updated GPMC Filters
    2. Comments
    3. Starter GPOs
    4. Final Thoughts
  10. Group Policy Processing Behavior Essentials
    1. Group Policy Processing Principles
    2. Policy Application via Remote Access, Slow Links, and after Hibernation
    3. Using Group Policy to Affect Group Policy
    4. Final Thoughts
  11. Advanced Group Policy Processing
    1. GPO Targeting with WMI Filters
    2. Group Policy Loopback Processing
    3. Group Policy with Cross-Forest Trusts
    4. Intermixing Group Policy and NT 4 System Policy
    5. Final Thoughts
  12. Troubleshooting Group Policy
    1. Under the Hood of Group Policy
    2. The Birth, Life, and Death of a GPO
    3. How Client Systems Get Group Policy Objects
    4. Why Isn't Group Policy Applying?
    5. Client-Side Troubleshooting
    6. Advanced Group Policy Troubleshooting with Log Files
    7. Group Policy Diagnostic Best Practice Analyzer (GPDBPA)
    8. Final Thoughts
  13. ADM and ADMX Template Management
    1. Policies vs. Preferences
    2. ADM vs. ADMX File Distinction
    3. Creating and Editing GPOs in a Mixed Environment
    4. GPMC 2.0 Management Stations and the Central Store
    5. ADM and ADMX Templates from Other Sources
    6. ADMX Migrator and ADMX Editor Tools
    7. Finding the Policy Settings You Need and Cracking the ADM/ADMX Files
    8. Final Thoughts
  14. Implementing Security with Group Policy
    1. The Two Default Group Policy Objects
    2. The Strange Life of Password Policy
    3. Inside Auditing With and Without Group Policy
    4. Logon, Logoff, Startup, and Shutdown Scripts
    5. Restricted Groups
    6. Software Restriction Policy
    7. Securing Workstations with Templates
    8. The Security Configuration Wizard
    9. Final Thoughts
  15. Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Security Enhancements with Group Policy
    1. Wireless (802.3) and Wired Network (802.11) Policies
    2. Managing Internet Explorer with Group Policy
    3. Controlling User Account Control (UAC) with Group Policy
    4. Configuring Windows Firewall with Group Policy
    5. Final Thoughts
  16. Group Policy Preference Extensions
    1. What Is the New Power of the Group Policy Preference Extensions?
    2. Group Policy Preference Extensions Architecture and Installation Instructions
    3. Group Policy Preference Extensions Concepts
    4. Group Policy Preference Extensions Tips, Tricks, and Troubleshooting
    5. Final Thoughts
  17. Scripting Group Policy Operations with PowerShell
    1. Using PowerShell to Do More with Group Policy
    2. Making PowerShell Even Easier with Pay Tools
    3. Replacing Microsoft's GPMC Scripts with PowerShell Equivalents
    4. Final Thoughts
  18. Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM)
    1. The Challenge of Group Policy Change Management
    2. Architecture and Installation of AGPM
    3. What Happens after AGPM is Installed?
    4. Understanding the AGPM Delegation Model
    5. AGPM Common Tasks
    6. AGPM Tasks with Multiple Admins
    7. Committing to AGPM via Group Policy Permissions
    8. Advanced Configuration and Troubleshooting of AGPM
    9. Final Thoughts
  19. Group Policy Tools
    1. Migrating Group Policy Objects between Domains
    2. Microsoft Tools Roundup
    3. Third-Party Vendors List
  20. Index

Product information

  • Title: Group Policy: Fundamentals, Security, and Troubleshooting
  • Author(s): Jeremy Moskowitz
  • Release date: May 2008
  • Publisher(s): Sybex
  • ISBN: 9780470275894