Group Policy, Profiles, and IntelliMirror for Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 (Mark Minasi Windows Administrator Library)

576 Pages·2004·10.2 MB·English

by  Jeremy Moskowitz

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Group Policy, Profiles,
and IntelliMirror
for Windows® 2003,
Windows® XP,
and Windows® 2000
Jeremy Moskowitz
San Francisco
London
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4298book.fm Page i Sunday, February 22, 2004 8:23 PM
Group Policy Category Features Where is it in this book?
Folder Redirection These settings can anchor Chapter 9
specific special folders, such
as My Documents, to network
shares.
Disk Quotas You can set up Group Policy Chapter 9
to automatically protect your
servers from users who gob-
ble up all your disk space.
Encrypted Data Recovery Use this Group Policy to dic- Chapter 6
Agents (EFS Recovery Policy) tate the recovery policy for
different computers.
Internet Explorer Mainte- All sorts of user and com- Chapter 6
nance puter settings for Internet
Explorer can be set here.
IP Security Policies Use Group Policy to set local Chapter 6
IPSEC filtering.
Software Restriction Policies This allows administrators to Chapter 6
prevent users from running
certain programs on Win-
dows XP or Windows 2003.
Quality of Service (QoS) These allow packets on QoS is briefly touched on in
Policies the network to have higher “What’s New in Windows
priorities, say, for video 2003 and Windows XP Group
conferencing. Policy” on the book’s website.
802.11 Policies Allows administrators to set Chapter 6
Windows XP and Windows
2003 machines’ 802.11 wire-
less policies.
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4298book.fm Page iii Sunday, February 22, 2004 8:23 PM
Group Policy, Profiles,
and IntelliMirror
for Windows® 2003,
Windows® XP,
and Windows® 2000
Jeremy Moskowitz
San Francisco
London
4298book.fm Page iv Sunday, February 22, 2004 8:23 PM
Associate Publisher: Joel Fugazzotto
Acquisitions Editor: Ellen Dendy
Developmental Editor: Tom Cirtin
Production Editor: Elizabeth Campbell
Technical Editor: David Shackelford
Copyeditor: Pat Coleman
Compositor and Graphic Illustrator: Happenstance Type-O-Rama
Proofreaders: Laurie O’Connell, Nancy Riddiough
Indexer: Lynnzee Elze
Book Designer: Bill Gibson, Judy Fung
Cover Designer: Ingalls + Associates
Copyright © 2004 SYBEX Inc., 1151 Marina Village Parkway, Alameda, CA 94501. World rights reserved. No
part of this publication may be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or reproduced in any way, including but
not limited to photocopy, photograph, magnetic, or other record, without the prior agreement and written per-
mission of the publisher.
First edition copyright © 2001 SYBEX Inc.
Library of Congress Card Number: 2003115666
ISBN: 0-7821-4298-2
SYBEX and the SYBEX logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SYBEX Inc. in the United States
and/or other countries.
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TRADEMARKS: SYBEX has attempted throughout this book to distinguish proprietary trademarks from
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The author and publisher have made their best efforts to prepare this book, and the content is based upon final
release software whenever possible. Portions of the manuscript may be based upon pre-release versions supplied
by software manufacturer(s). The author and the publisher make no representation or warranties of any kind
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but not limited to performance, merchantability, fitness for any particular purpose, or any losses or damages of
any kind caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly from this book.
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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To my parents and grandparents.
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Acknowledgments
Working to bring this book to you was one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. I
would be lying if I took credit for all the juicy bits inside. I have a small army of people to thank.
At the top of the list of thanks is the chief lieutenant of this army, Mark Williams within the
Group Policy team at Microsoft. His raw dedication to make this book the best it can be is sim-
ply astounding. Mark took on the hard job of filtering my huge number of questions and finding
answers to them throughout the various product teams within Microsoft. He located reviewers
for each and every chapter—sometimes as many as four reviewers for a single chapter! In a nut-
shell: this book would not have been the same without him, and I’m incredibly grateful.
Additionally, I want to thank Michael Dennis, Lead Program Manager for Group Policy at
Microsoft, for so thoroughly endorsing my efforts and granting Mark the required time to assist
me. To the other members of the Group Policy team, Steve Whitford and BJ Whalen, I thank
you for helping me guide the book in the direction it took.
Additional thanks to the battalion of technical reviewers at Microsoft: Mike Treit, Nick Finco,
Anitha Bagyam, Judith Herman, Mike Danseglio, Chris Corio, Wei Wang, Craig dos Santos, John
Lambert, Scott Cousen, Anshul Rawat, David Steere, Dan Boldo, Brian Aust, Navjot Virk, Vishal
Ghote, Rajeev Nagar, Keith Hageman, Wes Miller, and many more people. These amazing people
didn’t review these chapters because they had to; they did it because they wanted to. Each one has
a clear dedication to their craft, and I’m thrilled that they took the time out of their work lives to help
this book be its best.
Special thanks goes to Todd Myrick and Jerry Cruz as my two “beta readers” for the heavy-
hitting Group Policy material. Their help was invaluable, and I’m very thankful to have had
their expertise and input on the material they reviewed!
Special thanks goes to the dedicated folks behind the book. First, my “official” technical edi-
tor, David Shackelford, whose insights and comments were instrumental in making this book
what it is today. To the Sybex magicians: Pat Coleman for smoothing out my raw text; Tom Cir-
tin for calming me down whenever I got panicky; and Elizabeth Campbell for allowing me to
really be me in this project. Tom, Elizabeth, and Pat worked tirelessly to make this project a suc-
cess, and I’m very grateful for their dedication to its success.
Thanks to Jill Knapp and Jeff Knapp for loaning me your modems. You’re way more than
just modems to me.
Thank you, Mark Minasi, for allowing me to write about the subject I love most. Thanks to
Bill Boswell for writing Chapter 7 (it’s awesome). Moreover, thanks for simply always being there
for me to bounce an idea off (and thanks for your phone line simulator I borrowed for eight
months). Mark and Bill: without your guidance—both technical and otherwise—I simply
wouldn’t be the guy I am today.
I want to give special thanks to current and previous contributors to this book. Derek Melber
(MCSE) was a contributing author and technical editor of the first edition. Catherine Moya
(MCT, MCSE) was a technical editor of the first edition. Conan Kezema’s (MCSE, MCT, CCA)
material appears in “New Policy Settings for Windows 2003 and Windows XP” and “Security
Options Comparison.” on the book’s website.
Jeremy’s photo on the back cover appears courtesy of Windows & .NET Magazine.
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Foreword
I first met Jeremy when he approached the Microsoft Group Policy team with a handful of ques-
tions for the first edition of this book. All of us were very busy getting Windows® XP ready to
ship and Windows Server™ 2003 into beta; we couldn’t answer Jeremy’s questions right away.
But with his own deadlines looming, Jeremy was persistent. He wanted answers to the toughest
Group Policy questions, so he could deliver them to you.
At Microsoft, we have a lot of downloadable documentation on Group Policy, Profiles, and
IntelliMirror®. What Jeremy provides with this book is a “one-stop-shop” for practical, how-
it-works information, including real-world examples of implementing and troubleshooting
Group Policy, Profiles, and IntelliMirror. Indeed, his digging and prodding into the Group Pol-
icy internals means that there is information in his book that you simply cannot find anywhere
else. Jeremy has always provided an independent eye into how Group Policy works. Best of all,
his writing style will keep you engaged throughout the entire book.
The Goal of the Group Policy team is to give you the power you need to control your desk-
tops and servers in the most efficient way possible. This vision began in Windows 2000 with an
interface designed around how we built the underlying infrastructure. But it didn’t make it easy
for administrators to use the power of Group Policy. Customers kept telling us that the way they
used Group Policy just didn’t reflect the way the interface worked. We listened hard, and then
we developed the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC), which is available for free to
anyone with a Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 license. This is the single most impor-
tant development in the evolution of Group Policy management. In keeping with this customer-
driven approach, you can be involved in the continued evolution of Group Policy by sending
your feedback and suggestions to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing what
you want next!
Jeremy’s book uncovers the basics of Group Policy and GPMC and then reveals the hidden
nuggets that truly unleash the power of Group Policy. He describes the many underlying and
overt changes since Windows 2000 that make this book a valuable successor to his previous
work. The practical, (often prescriptive) technical information just keeps rolling in—chapter
after chapter.
Many teams within Microsoft have provided input to Jeremy’s book: from our folks on the
Group Policy team (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and Appendix B), to the Security team (Chapter 6),
to the various constituent components of IntelliMirror (Chapters 8, 9, and 10), and RIS and
Shadow Copies (Chapter 11). Jeremy kept feeding us the tough nuts to crack so that he could
make it accessible to you in this book.
At Microsoft, we’ve enjoyed working with Jeremy, and reviewing each chapter to make this
the best book possible. It’s our hope that you enjoy the power and control Group Policy pro-
vides. It’s also our hope that you enjoy the additional power and control you’ll get after reading
Jeremy’s very practical book on Group Policy, Profiles, and IntelliMirror.
—Michael Dennis
Lead Program Manager, Group Policy, Microsoft