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Hands-On Microsoft
Windows Server 2003
Administration
Chapter 4
Managing Group Policy
Objectives
• Create and manage Group Policy objects to
control user desktop settings, security, scripts,
and folder redirection
• Manage and troubleshoot Group Policy
inheritance
• Deploy and manage software using Group
Policy
2
Introduction to Group Policy
• Group Policy
– Enables the centralized management of user and
computer configuration settings
– Implemented using a Group Policy object
3
Introduction to Group Policy
(Continued)
• Group Policy object (GPO)
– Used to perform a variety of administrative tasks,
including:
• Configure desktop settings using administrative
templates
• Control security settings for users and computers
• Assign scripts to run when
– A user logs on or off
– A computer is started up or shut down
4
Introduction to Group Policy
(Continued)
• Redirect folders out of a user’s local profile to a
different network location
• Automate software distribution and maintenance to
computers throughout the network
5
Creating a Group Policy Object
• Ways to create a GPO
– Group Policy standalone Microsoft Management
Console (MMC) snap-in
– Group Policy extension in Active Directory Users
and Computers
• Once a GPO is created
– Edit the GPO to control specific user or computer
settings
6
Configuration categories available
for GPOs
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Creating a Group Policy Object
(Continued)
• The GPO content is stored in two different
locations on the server
– Group Policy container (GPC)
• Stores information about the GPO and includes a
version number
• Located in
– Active Directory Users and
Computers\System\Policies
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Creating a Group Policy Object
(Continued)
– Group Policy template (GPT)
• Contains the data that makes up the Group Policy
• Stored in
– The %systemroot%\\Sysvol\<Domain
Name>\Policies folder
• Globally unique identifier (GUID)
– A unique 128-bit number assigned to the GPO
when it is created
– Used to identify both the GPC and the GPT
9
Application of Group Policy
• GPOs can apply a variety of configuration
options to the
–
–
–
–
Local computer
Site
Domain
OU
• Main categories to a Group Policy:
– Computer Configuration
– User Configuration
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Controlling User Desktop Settings
• Group Policy
– Helps reduce administrative costs by allowing the
administrator to
• Enforce standard computer configurations
• Limit user access to various areas of the operating
system
• Ensure that users have their own personal desktop
and application settings
• Administrative templates
– Consist of several categories of configuration
settings
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Configuration categories of
administrative templates
12
Managing Security with Group
Policy
• Group Policy
– Can be used to modify and maintain a number of
domain-based security configurations to comply
with organizational security standards
• Security templates
– Can be created based on current security
standards
13
Configuring Account Policies
• Account Policies node
– Found under the computer configuration category
of a GPO
– Includes three subcategories
• Password Policy
• Account Lockout Policy
• Kerberos Policy
• Password Policy node
– Contains configuration settings for the password’s
• History
• Length
• Complexity
14
Password policies in Windows
Server 2003
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Configuring Account Policies
(Continued)
• Account Lockout Policy node
– Contains configuration settings for
• Password lockout threshold and duration
• Reset options
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Account Lockout Policies
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Configuring Account Policies
(Continued)
• Kerberos Policy node
– Contains configuration settings for
• Kerberos ticket-granting ticket (TGT)
• Session ticket lifetimes and time stamp
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Kerberos policy node configuration
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Managing Security with Group
Policy
• Other nodes under the security settings category
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Local Policies
Event Log
Restricted Groups
System Services
Registry
File System
Wireless Network (IEEE 802.11) Policies
Public Key Policies
Software Restriction Policies
IP Security Policies on Active Directory
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Using the Security Configuration
Manager Tools with Group Policy
• Security Configuration Manager tools
– Can be used with Group Policies to
• Create a Security Policy template using a specific
group of security settings
– Can be used to analyze and implement security
settings on a computer system
– Useful in maintaining security settings
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Using the Security Configuration
Manager Tools with Group Policy
(Continued)
• Core components of the Security Configuration
Manager tools:
–
–
–
–
Security templates
Security settings in Group Policy objects
Security Configuration and Analysis tool
Secedit command-line tool
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Security Templates
• A security template
– Is used to define, edit, and save baseline security
settings to be applied to computers with common
security requirements
– Helps ensure that a consistent setting can be
applied to multiple machines and easily
maintained
– Is created and edited using the Security
Templates snap-in
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Viewing the Security Templates
console
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Analyzing the Preconfigured
Security Templates
• First step in configuring and implementing
security templates
– Categorize the network computers into:
• Workstations
• Servers
• Domain controllers
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Analyzing the Preconfigured
Security Templates (Continued)
• Setup Security.inf template
– Stores the default security settings applied to the
computer when Windows Server 2003 is installed
– Purpose
• Provides a single file in which all of the original
computer security settings are stored
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Analyzing the Preconfigured
Security Templates (Continued)
• Incremental templates
– Modify security settings incrementally
– Allow the creation of security configurations other
than the basic security settings
– Include
•
•
•
•
•
Compatws.inf
Securews.inf and Securedc.inf
Hisecws.inf and Hisecdc.inf
DC Security.inf
Rootsec.inf
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Analyzing the Preconfigured
Security Templates (Continued)
• Applying security templates
– Security templates can be applied to either the
local machine or the domain via GPOs
– To apply a security template to a local machine
• Open the Local Security Settings MMC snap-in
• Right-click Security Settings in the console pane
and choose Import Policy
• Select the template file to be imported
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Security Configurations and
Analysis
• Security Configuration and Analysis utility
– Compares current system settings to a previously
configured security template
– Identifies
• Changes to the original security configurations
• Possible security weaknesses that may be evident
when compared to a stronger security baseline
template
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Security Configurations and
Analysis (Continued)
– Results of the comparison
• A green check mark
– Indicates that the two settings match
• A red “x”
– Indicates a mismatch
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Viewing the Security Configuration
and Analysis tool
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Analyzing security on a computer
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Security Configurations and
Analysis (Continued)
• Secedit.exe
– Command-line tool that is used to
• Create and apply security templates
• Analyze security settings
– Can be used in situations where Group Policy
cannot be applied
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Assigning Scripts and Redirecting
Folders
• Scripts
– Can be used in Windows Server 2003 to perform
tasks at various times during the logon or logoff
process
– Computer startup and shutdown scripts
• Configured in the computer section of a GPO
– User logon and logoff scripts
• Configured in the user section of a GPO
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Assigning Scripts and Redirecting
Folders (Continued)
• Folder redirection
– Group Policy feature
– Enables you to redirect the following contents of a
user’s profile to a network location:
•
•
•
•
Application data
Desktop
My Documents
Start menu
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Folder redirection settings
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Managing Group Policy Inheritance
• Order in which Group Policy is applied
– Local computer, site, domain, parent OU, child
OU
• All individual GPO settings are inherited by
default
• At each level, more than one GPO can be
applied
• If there is more than one GPO per container
• Policies are applied in the order that they appear
on the Group Policy tab for the container, starting
with the bottom GPO first
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Managing Group Policy Inheritance
(Continued)
• Multiple policies applied to a user or computer
– If there is no conflict
• Both policies are applied
– If there is a conflict
• Later settings overwrite earlier settings
– Computer policies usually overwrite user policies
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Configuring Block Policy
Inheritance, No Override, and
Filtering
• Blocking Group Policy inheritance
– Done when you do not want any higher-level
settings to be applied to a particular child
container
• Configuring No Override
– Done when you want a particular GPO’s settings
to always be enforced
• Filtering policy settings for groups
– Done to prevent policy settings for groups from
applying to a particular user, group, or computer
within a container
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Blocking Group Policy inheritance
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Configuring No Override on a Group
Policy object
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Troubleshooting Group Policy
Settings
• Areas to inspect when trying to find the reason
for a GPO not working as expected
– Active Directory hierarchy
– Order of Group Policy processing
– Containers above and below OU that is causing
problem
– Group Policy’s Security tab
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Troubleshooting Group Policy
Settings (Continued)
• Troubleshooting tools
– gpresult.exe
– Resultant Set of Policy (RSoP)
– Can be used to
• Discover Group Policy-related problems
• Illustrate which GPOs were applied to a user or
computer
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Using the Gpresult tool
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Generating RSoP data
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Deploying Software Using Group
Policy
• Group Policy can help deploy and maintain
software installations throughout the domain
• When a company rolls out a new software
application, the four main phases of the process
are:
–
–
–
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Software preparation
Deployment
Software maintenance
Software removal
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Software Preparation
• Microsoft Windows installer package (MSI) file
– Used by Windows Server 2003 Group Policy
– Contains all the information needed to install an
application in a variety of configurations
• Steps to take before the installation of a software
– Place the MSI package file and any related
software installation files in a shared folder on the
network
– Configure Group Policy to access this shared
folder
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Deployment
• Using Windows Server 2003 Group Policy,
applications can be deployed by either:
– Assigning applications
• A shortcut to the application is advertised on the
Start menu
– Publishing applications
• Application is not advertised on the Start menu
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Software Maintenance
• Maintenance tasks to be performed after an
application has been deployed
– Installing updates and service patches
– Installing new versions of the software
• Choices when deploying application patches or
upgrades
– A mandatory upgrade
– An optional upgrade
– Redeploying an application
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Software Removal
• Choices regarding how an application is
removed
– A forced removal
– An optional removal
50
Summary
• Group Policy
– Enables the centralized management of user and
computer settings throughout the network
• GPOs
– Can be used to perform administrative tasks,
such as
• Configuration of desktop settings
• Control of security settings for users and
computers
• Assignment of scripts
• Redirection of folders
• Automation of software distribution on computers
throughout the network
51
Summary (Continued)
• The order in which Group Policy is applied
– Local computer, site, domain, OU, child OU
• Security Configuration and Analysis tool
– Can be used to analyze, modify, and apply
security templates to objects within Active
Directory
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Summary (Continued)
• Group Policy is automatically inherited from
parent containers to child containers; this can be
modified by
– Applying Block Policy inheritance
– Applying No Override
– Filtering the policy for specific users
• When deploying software, Group Policy uses an
MSI file to determine the installation options
• Applications can either be assigned or published
within a GPO
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