Objective 1.3: Deploy Security Templates

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After a security template is created, it must be deployed before it can have any influence on the security configuration of a system. Security templates are generally deployed by importing them into a Group Policy object. Once they have been imported into a Group Policy object, that Group Policy object can then be applied to sites, domains, and organizational units. Security templates can also be deployed by importing them into local Group Policy objects on standalone systems that are not a part of the domain. This can be done by editing the local Group Policy object (gpedit.msc) or by importing the template using the secedit command.

The principles involved in deploying a security template across a domain are similar to the principles involved in deploying Group Policy objects. In general, deployment should be as specific as possible. Grouping target systems into organizational units or sites is far preferable to deploying GPOs with security templates applied at the domain level. This way only the systems that are the targets of these policies will have to process them, and systems for which the policies are not relevant will not be delayed. The more Group Policy settings that are applied within a domain to all machines, the longer those machines take during startup and logon to process all of the policies to reach a final configuration.

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