 Windows
Group Policy Administrator's Pocket Consultant
(ISBN: 9780735626768) was published on February 11. It’s my 98th
published book and 30th for Microsoft Press. My 99th and 100th books
will be Windows 7 Administrator’s Pocket Consultant and Windows
Server 2008 R2 Inside Out, not necessarily in that order.
Buy the book.
The Introduction for Windows Group Policy Administrator's Pocket
Consultant follows. Windows administrators, hope its first paragraph
grabs you:
Introduction
Windows Group Policy Administrator’s Pocket Consultant is the only
book on the market written from start to finish with both Group
Policy preferences and Group Policy settings in mind. It is also the
only book on the market written from start to finish with the Group
Policy Management Console and Advanced Group Policy Management in
mind. As a result, Windows Group Policy Administrator’s Pocket
Consultant offers Windows administrators a unique approach. The
result, I hope, is a concise and compulsively usable resource for
Windows administrators.
Because I focus on providing you with the maximum value in a
pocket-sized guide, you don’t have to wade through hundreds of pages
of extraneous information to find what you’re looking for. Instead,
you’ll find exactly what you need to get the job done. In short, the
book is designed to be the one resource you consult whenever you
have questions regarding Group Policy administration. To this end,
the book concentrates on daily administration procedures, frequently
performed tasks, documented examples, and options that are
representative but not necessarily inclusive.
One of the goals is to keep the content so concise that the book
remains compact and easy to navigate while ensuring that the book is
packed with as much information as possible—making it a valuable
resource. Thus, instead of a hefty thousand-page tome or a
lightweight hundred-page quick reference, you get a valuable
resource guide that can help you quickly and easily perform common
tasks, solve problems, and implement features such as filtering
Group Policy processing, migrating the SYSVOL, implementing change
control, restoring Group Policy objects (GPOs), and troubleshooting.
Who Is This Book For?
Windows Group Policy Administrator’s Pocket Consultant covers Group
Policy for small, medium, and large organizations. The book is
designed for:
Current Windows and network administrators
Support staff who maintain Windows networks
Accomplished users who have some administrator responsibilities
Administrators transferring from other platforms
To pack in as much information as possible, I had to assume that
you have basic networking skills and a basic understanding of both
Windows and Active Directory. With this in mind, I don’t devote
entire chapters to understanding Windows architecture, Windows
networking, or Active Directory. I do, however, provide complete
details on the components of Group Policy and how you can use these
components. I explore the ins and outs of Group Policy. I cover how
to keep pace with Group Policy changes, installing Group Policy
extensions, applying Group Policy, and much more.
I also assume that you are fairly familiar with Windows commands and
procedures as well as Active Directory. If you need help learning
Active Directory basics, a good resource is Active Directory
Administrator’s Pocket Consultant (Microsoft Press, 2009).
How Is This Book Organized?
Windows Group Policy Administrator’s Pocket Consultant is designed
to be used in the daily administration of Group Policy, and as such
the book is organized by job-related tasks rather than by features.
Speed and ease of reference is an essential part of this hands-on
guide. The book has an expanded table of contents and an extensive
index for finding answers to problems quickly. Many other quick
reference features have been added as well. These features include
step-by-step instructions, lists, tables with fast facts, and
extensive cross-references. The book is organized into both parts
and chapters.
Group Policy is a collection of preferences and settings that can be
applied to user and computer configurations. Part I, “Implementing
Group Policy,” reviews the fundamental tasks you need for Group
Policy administration. Chapter 1 provides an overview of tools,
techniques, and concepts related to Group Policy. Chapter 2 examines
important changes to Group Policy and how these changes affect the
way you use Group Policy. The chapter also provides detailed advice
on using both policy preferences and policy settings, including tips
on which technology to use when.
Part II, “Managing Group Policy,” discusses the core tools and
techniques you’ll use to manage Group Policy. Chapter 3 explores
techniques for configuring both Local Group Policy objects (LGPOs)
and Active Directory–based Group Policy objects (GPOs). Not only
will you learn about essential implementation considerations, you’ll
also find tips and techniques for working across domains, sites, and
forests. Chapter 4 examines the change control features available
when you implement Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM). You’ll
learn how to manage workflow within the change control system and
how to configure AGPM itself. In Chapter 5, you’ll learn how to
search and filter Group Policy. You can use the techniques discussed
not only to find policy settings and search GPOs but also to control
the security groups and computers to which policy is applied.
The book continues with Part III, “Maintaining and Recovering Group
Policy.” GPOs have two parts: a Group Policy container (GPC) stored
in Active Directory, and a Group Policy template (GPT) stored in the
SYSVOL. Chapter 6 shows you how to migrate the SYSVOL to Distributed
File System (DFS) Replication and how to maintain SYSVOL storage.
You’ll also find tips and techniques for troubleshooting
replication. Chapter 7 discusses essential Group Policy concepts and
provides tips and techniques for managing the way Group Policy
works. Chapter 8 examines how to maintain, restore, and troubleshoot
Group Policy. Finally, Appendix A provides a reference for
installing Group Policy extensions and tools.
And here’s the book’s structure at a glance:
Contents at a Glance
Introduction xiii
Part I Implementing Group Policy
Chapter 1 Introducing Group Policy
Chapter 2 Deploying Group Policy
Part II Managing Group Policy
Chapter 3 Group Policy Management
Chapter 4 Advanced Group Policy Management
Chapter 5 Searching and Filtering Group Policy
Part III Maintaining and Recovering Group Policy
Chapter 6 Maintaining and Migrating the SYSVOL
Chapter 7 Managing Group Policy Processing
Chapter 8 Maintaining and Restoring Group Policy
Appendix A Installing Group Policy Extensions and Tools
Index
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