Chapter 6. Designing Active Directory for Group PolicyTerms you'll need to know:
Techniques you'll need to master:
In a networking environment, administrators need some way of employing standards for client workstations and supervising their computing environments. Group Policy is an administrative tool that can be used to administer different aspects of the client computing environment, from installing software to applying a standardized desktop. In Windows NT 4.0, the tool used to administer the client computing environment is the Policy Editor. Group Policy in Windows 2000 serves the same purpose; only it is much more powerful and flexible. It is designed to function in the hierarchy of Active Directory. Group Policies can be created for users and computers and can be linked to the different levels (site, domain, and organizational unit) in the hierarchy, depending on to whom or to what the policy needs to apply. Group Policy can also be inherited in the hierarchy or filtered using security groups. Before creating and linking Group Policies, you need to assess the business's needs to determine the level of management it requires. This is an important step because it will have an impact on the creation of lower-level organizational units (OUs) in the hierarchy. This chapter is broken down into five main topics: business needs for Group Policy, applying Group Policy, Group Policy planning issues, designing Group Policy, and testing Group Policy. Also, keep in mind the previously listed terms and techniques while working through the chapter. |