Cool Articles: Group Policy Modeling, Windows 7 / Server 2008 R2 functionality

I just read a couple of great articles written in the past couple months about Group Policy. Ever wondered which policy is going to 'win' on a client with overlapping settings from different GPOs? Want to know more about Starter GPO's or Preferences? Read on...

The first one walks through how to diagnose hierarchy issues by using the Group Policy Modeling tools that are part of the GPMC.

“…you can see various policies and their corresponding settings listed. The "winning" GPO column tells you which Group Policy Object is responsible for applying those settings. Keep in mind that this will not always be the highest GPO in the hierarchy. It might list a lower-level Group Policy Object if it applies a setting and none of the higher-level policies address that particular setting.”

You can read it here, though you have to register to read the full article (but it’s free, so just fill out the form and be done with it): Group Policy Object modeling simplified network security. (Written by Brien Posey)

The second one is on the same site (One registration! Two articles!) . It discusses the new Server 2008 R2/ Windows 7 functionality including some detail around how to create Group Policy Preference Items and why they are great (the reasons are obvious, of course). He also gives some good background about Group Policy, Starter GPO’s, and the PowerShell cmdlets.

 Group Policy makes strides in Windows Server 2008 R2. (Written by Jonathan Hassell)

Hope you enjoy them!

 LiliaG, Group Policy PM