maandag 26 november 2007 23:31
Kurt Roggen
Group Policy Preferences in Windows Server 2008
Last year, Microsoft acquired DesktopStandard and obtained GPOVault and most of the PolicyMaker family. GPOVault has been updated and released as Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM), part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance (MDOP). For more information about AGPM see my previous post. PolicyMaker Standard Edition and PolicyMaker Share Manager will be available to Microsoft customers in two ways as "Group Policy Preferences" and will be integrated into the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) in:
- Windows Server 2008 (starting with November CTP)
- Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) for Windows Vista SP1
So, Windows Server 2008 includes the new Group Policy Preferences built-in to the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). Additionally, administrators can configure preferences by installing the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) on a computer running Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1).
But what is actually the difference between "Group Policy (settings)" and "Group Policy Preferences"??
The key difference between "Group Policy Preferences" and "Group Policies (settings)" is enforcement. "Group Policies" enforce policy settings and prevent users from changing them. Group Policy Preferences does not (necessarily) enforce settings to machines/users, but merely applies the settings as preferences.
"Group Policy Preferences" extend more than 20 Group Policy categories within a Group Policy Object (GPO) and enable IT professionals to configure, deploy, and manage operating system and application settings including mapped drives, scheduled tasks, power options, files and/or folders, printers, folder options and Start menu settings for Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP systems.
The white paper below describes some of these new features and describes how you can use Group Policy Preferences to better deploy and manage computer and user preferences.
"Group Policy Preferences" do not require you to install any services or components onto your servers. Windows Server 2008 includes Group Policy Preferences by default as part of the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). Administrators will also be able to configure and deploy Group Policy preferences in a Windows Server 2003 environment by installing the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) on a computer running Windows Vista with SP1. Both RSAT and Windows Vista SP1 will be available in the first quarter of 2008.
Although you don’t have to install any services to create GPOs (Group Policy Objects) that contain Group Policy Preferences, you must deploy the Group Policy Preferences client-side extension (CSE) to any client computer to which you want to deploy these preferences. The CSE will be available as a separate download from Microsoft and will support the following Windows versions:
- Windows XP with SP2
- Windows Vista
- Windows Server 2003 with SP1
- Windows Server 2008 already includes the CSE.
For more information: "
Group Policy Preferences white paper".
Related Reading:
Filed under: WindowsServer2008, GroupPolicies