Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
A command-line program, Gpresult.exe, performs a similar task as the Group Policy Results
Wizard in GPMC and the Resultant Set of Policy snap-in. Because it's a command-line program,
however, it can be used in batch files, and output can be redirected to text files. To use
Gpresult.exe, type gpresult at a command prompt followed by parameters. For example, to
create an RSoP report on a computer for testuser1, type the following:
gpresults /USER testuser1 /V
This command displays a verbose (detailed) report showing the computer policy settings and
the GPO they originated from as well as the policy settings that affect testuser1.
Group Policy Modeling is a what-if tool for group policies. Like Group Policy Results, it's
a wizard built into GPMC that shows administrators which policy settings would apply to a
computer and/or user if moved to a different container. Essentially, the report shows which
policy settings will be in effect for a user whose account is placed in a particular OU and
whose computer is placed in a particular OU. You can even select user and computer mem-
bership in security groups so that GPO filtering is taken into account. Group Policy Modeling
produces a report similar to Group Policy Results with Summary and Settings tabs. Instead of
a Policy Events tab, the third tab, Query, summarizes the what-if choices that were made to
produce the report.
7
ADMX files, as discussed, contain the settings in the Administrative Templates folder. The
ADMX central store
is a centralized location for maintaining ADMX files so that when an
ADMX file is modified from one domain controller, all DCs receive the updated file. You can
also create custom ADMX files that are available to all administrators to use without having to
copy the files from one location to another.
The default location of ADMX files is in the %systemroot%\PolicyDefinitions folder on
Windows Server 2008 and Vista computers. Without a central store, any ADMX file you cus-
tomize or create would have to be copied manually to all other systems where group policies are
being configured and managed. In a large network with many people working with group poli-
cies, ADMX files would get out of sync rapidly without a central store.
To create a central store, simply create a folder named PolicyDefinitions in the %system-
root%\SYSVOL\sysvol\
domainname
\policies folder (the same location where GPTs are stored).
Under the PolicyDefinitions folder, create a language-specific folder that uses the two-character
ISO standard for worldwide languages. Variations of some languages use an additional two char-
acters to specify the country. For example, English is en-us for U.S. English or en-GB for Great
Britain English. In a network with multiple domain controllers, the central store should be cre-
ated on the DC that controls the PDC emulator role.
After creating folders for the central store, you just need to copy the ADMX files from their
current location to the central store location. If you're managing ADMX files from a computer
other than where you created the central store, the process is easy—simply copy the ADMX files
to the Sysvol share (\\
server
\Sysvol\Policies\PolicyDefinitions). Because the Sysvol share is repli-
cated, the files and folders in the PolicyDefinitions folder are, too.
Activity 7-23: Creating the ADMX Central Store
Time Required:
10 minutes
Objective:
Create the ADMX central store.
Description:
You want administrators to be able to work on group policies and customize
administrative templates from any Windows Server 2008 or Vista computer. To keep ADMX
files from becoming unsynchronized, you need to create a central store.
1. Log on to your server as Administrator, if necessary.
2. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to
C:\Windows
. Click the
Windows
folder in the left
pane. Right-click the
PolicyDefinitions
folder in the right pane and click
Copy
.
3. Navigate to
C:\Windows\SYSVOL\sysvol\w2k8adXX.com\policies
.
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