Group Policy... a noob reference?

[Gongalong]

Hi folks,

 

As background: I have completed an MCSA course, but it was 6 years ago, and my server skills are rusty.

 

I'm trying to administrate a two domain network at a school, which is locked down quite heavily on the student side via group policy (but also using some bespoke software).

 

Because the system was already setup when I arrived I'm struggling a bit to get to grips with what was done to Group Policy, and just Group Policy in general.

 

Can anyone recommend a good reference for understanding group policy, or some alternative for trying to understand it better?

 

TIA

[ruddj]

If you want a complete resource there is a great book by Jeremy

http://www.amazon.com/Group-Policy-Fundamentals-Security-Managed/dp/0470581859/

I have the previous edition of the book (was 2 books back then) and it has some great tips and guide to get started with GPOs right through to advanced settings.

There are also lots of online blogs that give ideas and feedback on using GPOs.

Biggest change since 2003 is the introduction of Group Policy Preferences. These allow you to set defaults for things, as well as easily manage drive mappings, adding registry entries, shortcuts, printers, files, etc. Really worth reading about and experimenting. Their true power lies in Item Level Targeting, you can create fairly advanced rules that determine if an item should be deployed or not. e.g. Only deploy a printer and set it as default if the user logons on to a WS in a certain OU.

[Michael]

I'm guessing you're using either a 2003 or 2008/2008 R2 server? I would probably recommend you setup a test server, export the GPOs on the live domain into your test domain and take a closer look at what has been setup. At the same time you can get to grips with the new features. I'm guessing you're familiar with 2000 Server and 2003/2008 just builds more on that.

[bodminman]

I'd also recommend printing off the gpo info so that you have it in black and white. This makes it easier for me anyway.