About This Book

Microsoft Windows Group Policy Guide covers Group Policy administration for Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003, Windows XP Professional, and Windows 2000. The book is designed for Windows system administrators, network engineers, and anyone else who wants to learn the ins and outs of Group Policy. If you currently support Active Directory or you want to learn more about Group Policy, this book is for you.

This book zeroes in on the essential information that you need to effectively deploy, manage, and troubleshoot Group Policy. To pack in as much information as possible, we’re assuming that you have basic system administration skills and are familiar with Windows Server 2003 network environments. With this in mind, we don’t devote entire chapters to understanding Active Directory, DNS, or Windows Server 2003. Other books cover those topics in depth and better than we ever could; they include Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Inside Out (Microsoft Press, 2004), Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Administrator’s Companion (Microsoft Press, 2004), and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Administrator’s Pocket Consultant (Microsoft Press, 2003). What is this book, then? It is a guide to Group Policy, which explains everything you need to know to successfully deploy, manage, and troubleshoot Group Policy.

The book has five parts:

  • Part I, covers the fundamental tasks that you need for Group Policy administration. Chapter 1 provides an overview of Group Policy, discussing how it works, how it fits into a Windows network, and how you can use it. Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 examine techniques for managing Group Policy.

  • Part II, explains the essential tasks for deploying and using Group Policy. Chapter 4 discusses how you can deploy Group Policy in a wide variety of scenarios. Chapter 5 details how you can improve security through Group Policy. Chapter 6 shows how you can customize the Windows desktop and user interface using Group Policy. Chapter 7 shows how to manage user settings and data. You’ll also learn about folder redirection, scripts, and profiles as they pertain to Group Policy. Chapter 8 discusses how to maintain Microsoft Internet Explorer configurations and how to customize browser security settings through Group Policy. Chapter 9 covers deploying software through Group Policy. Chapter 10 shows how to manage Microsoft Office configurations using Group Policy. Chapter 11 details how to use Group Policy to maintain network security and network communications settings. Chapter 12 examines techniques for creating custom environments for computer labs, kiosks, special-use computers, and more.

  • Part III, digs into advanced customization of Group Policy. Chapter 13 examines Group Policy structure. You’ll learn about Group Policy architecture, including how Group Policy is stored and processed. In Chapter 14, you learn about customizing administrative templates. Chapter 15 covers how to customize security templates. As you’ll discover in these chapters, Group Policy is highly customizable, and you can do a lot to optimize your Active Directory environment.

  • Part IV, examines what to do when things go wrong. Chapter 16 covers troubleshooting tools and techniques. Chapter 17 provides solutions for common problems with Group Policy.

  • Part V, provides essential references and resources. Appendix A provides a quick lookup resource, which can be used in addition to the book’s extensive table of contents and index. Appendix B looks at the new features of Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1. Appendix C examines techniques for scripting Group Policy. Appendix D provides a reference for Office 2003 Administrative Templates.

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