Group Policy: Fundamentals, Security, and Troubleshooting

6.3. How Client Systems Get Group Policy Objects

The items stored on the server make up only half the story. The real magic happens when the GPO is applied at the client, usually a workstation, although certainly servers behave in the same way. Half of Group Policy's usefulness is that it can apply equally to servers and desktops and laptops. Indeed, with the advent of Windows 2003 and, of course, Windows Vista, the new policy settings they bring to the table mean you can control and configure more stuff than ever. So the details in this section are for all clients—servers and workstations.

When Group Policy is deployed from upon high to client systems, the clients always do the requesting. This is why, when the chips are down and things aren't ...