Centralizing Group Policy with Central Store

Hi guys,

This post from Jeremy Moskowitz is great to centralize GPO’s.

Here’s a piece of the article.

You’ve probably heard of the Group Policy Central Store, but didn’t know what it does, or where to start.

Kind of like Dorothy’s ruby slippers, it was right under your nose, the whole time, waiting for you to use it. So, before we get into that, let’s explore first what the Central Store tries to solve and where it was born from.

Microsoft had a format to describe “what’s possible” in Group Policy using a formatted, simple language called ADM files. ADM files were great because they were simple, quite readable plain text files. They described the policy setting, what the general parameters when edited, and what registry setting to control.

Microsoft shipped a handful of these in the box with Windows XP, and added more with utilities like Office and some others.

Group Policy Template and ADM Files

Let’s explore the “physics” of what would happen with Windows XP and ADM files. Let’s assume you created a new GPO from scratch:

You’d fire up the GPMC on Windows XP.”

Read more here.

Recommended Updates for Group Policy in Windows Client and Server Products

Hi guys,

This article summarizes the recommended hotfixes and updates for issues that occur in an Active Directory environment using Windows Group Policies or Windows Group Policy Preferences.

NOTE: The list below is not intended to act as a comprehensive list of all available hotfixes for Group Policy or Group Policy Preferences.
This list is an aggregate of common issues seen with Group Policy or Group Policy Preferences. Do not proactively install the following hotfixes unless needed. If you feel you are experiencing an issue listed below, install the hotfix for that specific issue.

Continue reading “Recommended Updates for Group Policy in Windows Client and Server Products”