Introducing Active Directory - MCTS Guide to Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Configuration - page 97

can view and edit default GPOs as well as create and manage GPOs by using the Group Policy
Management MMC, shown in Figure 3-17.

3

Figure 3-17 The Group Policy Management MMC

In the Group Policy Management MMC, there are two nodes for every GPO:
• Computer Configuration —Used to set policies that apply to computers within the GPO's
scope. These policies are applied to a computer when the computer starts.
• User Configuration —Used to set policies that apply to all users within the GPO's scope.
User policies are applied when a user logs on to any computer in the domain.

Each node contains a Policies folder and a Preferences folder. Settings configured in the
Policies folder are applied to users or computers and can't be overridden by users. Settings in the
Preferences folder are applied to users or computers but are just that: preferences. Therefore,
users can change settings configured in the Preferences folder. The idea of group policy prefer-
ences is a new feature in Windows Server 2008. To use this feature, you must install the Group
Policy Preference Client Side Extensions (GPP CSE) package on computers in the domain. You
can download the GPP CSE package from the Microsoft Web site.
The Policies folder under both the Computer Configuration and User Configuration nodes
contains three folders: Software Settings, Windows Settings, and Administrative Templates. They
can store different information, depending on whether they're under Computer Configuration or
User Configuration.

The Computer Configuration Node
In the Computer Configuration node, the three folders under the Policies folder contain the fol-
lowing information:
• Software Setting s—This folder contains an item (an extension) called Software Installation,
which enables administrators to install and manage applications remotely. Application