Group Policy Object or GPO (Software Restriction): Concept and Installation with windows 2008 R2 AD Server.

Group Policy is an object editor which allows the desktop application and other resources in server machines. It is mainly used to restrict the user activity by allowing or denying software program to deploy the software in network to apply Folder Redirection. Group Policy Objects (GPO) has more than 3000 different settings. Creating GPO, you can enable restrictions on your Server.

Group Policy is divided in two parts:

1. Computer Configuration: it is applied on the machine or the domain node of the network.
2. User Configuration: the user configuration is used for the user account and the computer object to apply the security in an organizational unit.

There is a new feature in Windows 2008 Server which is Starter GPO (Group Policy Object) what monitors the administrative templates of the GPO. The System Administrator can also import and export the GPO link from one domain controller to another and also from one forest to another forest.

How to apply GPO in Server 2008:

Go to Start > Run > gpmc.msc (press Enter)
or
Start > Admin Tools > Group Policy Management > minimize and
go to Admin tool > ADD and Create an OU (Organizational Unit) > in that OU Create User Accounts.
Go back to GP Management > Expand an OU > Select the OU (you have just created) > Right Click on it > Create a GPO in this Domain > Enter GPO name > Next > Right Click on GPO link > expand User configuration > expand preferences > expand window settings > drive maps > right click on policy > select location of shared folder (you have just created).

A step by step video tutorial developed by Tajinder Singh for MCITP students.

See Video:

Folder Redirection in Group Policy

Folder redirection is the process of transferring the documents on the user profile which is directly shared on the server machine shared folder.

It can centralize the entire database on specific directory of user profile like documents, pictures, my docs and library.

How to configure Folder Redirection

Start > Admin tools > gpmc.mgmt >

Expand Loop Configuration

User Policies > Window settings > folder redirection > right click on documents > properties > basis settings redirect > dropdown > enter root path >(eg. \\10.0.0.200 \ Shared Folder Name)> gpupdate\force

Starter GPO.

It Is a new feature of windows server 2008 operating system or later on which is used to import & export group policy from one domain controller to another. It can only add the administrative template or basic settings of group policy object that can also be attach to a group policy link.

Start > run > gpmc.msc

Select > starter > gpo > right click > starter gpo > click new> enter the name > r1>starter gpo>right click on created link > apply the administrative template

Backup and restore

Start > run>gpmc.msc > ok

Expand forest > domains>domain name> group policy objects > right click on gpo> backup all> enter location > description >how to restore > right click manager backups.

Results:

How can we check GPO results?

Open gpmc.msc

Right click on GP results wizard

Select the computer > this computer > next> display policy settings for Current user > administer

go to INDEX page

You can also read:

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