Upgrade to 2008 (or R2?) for Windows 7 control

[TheFopp]

Hi Guys

 

Currently we have:

 

2* 2003 DC

1* 2003 DC with Exchange 2003

1* 2003 fileserver

1* 2003 with SQL 2005

+ VMWare box with 2* 2008 (Print server + Kaspersky Central Admin)

 

We are wanting to take a serious look at Windows 7 soon so I will need to upgrade at least one DC to 2008 or 2008R2 to have the correct GPO for Windows 7.

 

First question is do I have to have 2008R2 for Windows 7 GPOs or does 2008 have the Windows 7 GPOs already in (or available to install through .admx files)

 

I'm thinking that if we can get by with 2008 and not R2 for creating GPOs for Windows 7 then that is probably a better option for us at the moment.

 

I need to migrate our Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2007 on to new server and as it needs 64 bit, but doesn't run happily with 2008R2 yet then 2008 is the obvious choice there. (and it will get Exchange off of a DC!!! - I didn't do that, it was like that when I got here!)

 

We also use Backup Exec 12.5 which currently doesn't support 2008R2.

 

So really what I'm asking is 2008 R2 necessary if 2008 will/can look after Windows 7 boxes?

[Ric_]

If you are upgrading now, your 2008 licenses will be R2 so you may as well use 2008 R2 for your DCs at the very least (to allow all the options that are available to you without having to perform a further upgrade later on).

 

You could even go down the route of clustering a couple of Hyper-V boxes and virtualising your Exchange server to give a bit of resilience.

[sted]

2008 is vista based and as far as im aware cannot alter windows 7 settings.

2008r2 is win7 based and can

 

but if you need to run exchange on it install r1 then run r2 in a hyperv on it would give you both options

[ces973]

I think, if I've read correctly, all you need to do is update the group policy schema to the 2008R2 level. You can do this from 2003 DC's and then you can update it locally from your machine with the Windows 7 RSAT.

[AngryTechnician]

For the vast majority of the Windows 7 Group Policy settings you do not need to upgrade anything.

 

Create a central ADMX store as described in How to create a Central Store for Group Policy Administrative Templates in Window Vista, using a Windows 7 machine as the source for the ADMX files (instead of a Vista machine as described). After doing that, you can implement almost any of the new settings by using the Remote Server Administration Tools on a Windows 7 client machine. Note that the new settings will not show up in GPMC on your servers.

 

I think there are a few settings that might require a schema upgrade, but not many. I am currently managing my Windows 7 clients on a Windows 2003 functional level domain, with Windows 2003 R2 DCs, and haven't hit any roadblocks yet.

[TheFopp]

For the vast majority of the Windows 7 Group Policy settings you do not need to upgrade anything.

 

Create a central ADMX store as described in How to create a Central Store for Group Policy Administrative Templates in Window Vista, using a Windows 7 machine as the source for the ADMX files (instead of a Vista machine as described). After doing that, you can implement almost any of the new settings by using the Remote Server Administration Tools on a Windows 7 client machine. Note that the new settings will not show up in GPMC on your servers.

 

I think there are a few settings that might require a schema upgrade, but not many. I am currently managing my Windows 7 clients on a Windows 2003 functional level domain, with Windows 2003 R2 DCs, and haven't hit any roadblocks yet.

 

Sounds interesting and I may well look at that.