MDM & GP Tips Blog

The big news is finally here: What is Microsoft doing with the "crown jewels" of the DesktopStandard acquisition? In short: It's gonna be free. Here's the breakdown of the announcement:

• The PolicyMaker technologies will officially be called Group Policy Preferences.
• There are 20-some-odd "big" things you can do, like zap down drive mapping and shortcuts and a whole lot more.
• PolicyMaker Share Manager (which helps you set up and dictate share permissions) will also be part of the set.
• They require a CSE (Client Side Extension) as do all GP extensions.
  • The CSE will ship in the box for Windows Server 2008.
  • The CSE will be an extra download for XP, 2003 and Vista
  • The CSE will not work for 2000

So, why are they called the "Group Policy Preferences" and not more something.. "Policy-ish?" I'll explain that in an upcoming newsletter. However, Microsoft has a whitepaper which details the major new categories of features and describes some other odds and ends including the distinction between a Policy and a Preference.

That paper is here which every GP admin should read.

I will be covering this in an upcoming newsletter soon as well as have FULL coverage in the next book; I promise !!

The ADMX migrator tool JUST got a makeover.

I put it through the appropriate paces (I was the guy who filed most of the bugs when things didn't convert correctly..) And, well, they're all fixed, and it works the way it should have.

So, check it out. ADMX Migrator tool 1.2. Link here.

Greg from MCPmag almost got it right. So I set him straight about ADM and ADMX files. Check out his correction in MCPmag.com here.

It's only 11 months after RTM, so these files are right on time! :-) Just kidding, I'm sure it was a lot of work. These ADMX files for Office 2007 localize the GP settings into 8 languages, so that's pretty impressive. Just pop 'em in your central store, and get a beer. Don't know what ADMX files are? Then read the last two newsletters. Don't know what a central store is? Then read my free Chapter 5 in the "Book Resources" section here on this site. That's what we do here at GPanswers.com -- giving you the building blocks to get smarter in Group Policy. Since 2003 ! Check out the ADM and ADMX files here (one download.)

I like this idea a lot. It's a book on JUST the WS208 changes. But wait! Here's their cool deal. You can get the eBook today (it's a little rough around the edge) and any other edited eBook versions for free AND they'll also send you the printed book when it's ready. Wow. Check it out. Good job Greg (and Don.. Jones that is.) Click here. PS: Greg calls me a nice name in the book. It's fun.. check it out.

If you've never had a chance to see Mark Minasi speak, you should. He's a great friend of mine, so take it from someone who really knows him: He cares about you learning your stuff. I've just sat through his one day Windows Server 2008 "Upgrade" training. He nails 8 or 9 huge "all purpose" topics, including all the AD changes, TS changes, and IIS changes. Even some light GP changes! More stuff than should humanly be allowed to be learned in a day. A killer overview with 323 slides, which he really did a great job. In short, check out www.Minasi.com for his public and private training classes. Then take one. (But for specialized GP training, well, don't forget who your friends are!)

Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows Vista

If you want to dump every language under the sun into the Central Store, the GP team released ALL the ADMX files in one big fat download. Pour into your Central Store. Click here.
Here.

Group Policy Management Console Sample Scripts

Vista ships with the GPMC built in. (Though adding Vista + Sp1 when it's released will remove the GPMC... see another blog post for more on that. ) Meanwhile, people have asked me about a billion times -- where are the GPMC scripts that used to be installed with the GPMC? Finally, finally.. they're here.

I get questions all the time like "Why isn't GP working?" Well, that's not often the easiest question to answer because there's a lot of moving parts to GP. With that in mind, Microsoft has some new documentation called the "GP Health Model" / GP Infrastructure. It's really an "Anatomy of GP" so you can say "Doctor, when I move my arm it hurts!" and see that it's really your shoulder and not your arm. Anyway, check out the doc. Very interesting stuff.

AGPM helps you edit and manager GPOs offline before going "live." If you've never seen AGPM in action hear it from The Chief, Kevin Sullivan from Microsoft. Great video with awesome production values Click Here

Want to help out the GP team at Microsoft directly?

The Microsoft Group Policy team would like to hear from you! Please take a few minutes and complete the survey on how you use Group Policy to help Microsoft enhance the manageability Group Policy provides to your organization. The survey can be found here and is completely anonymous. The survey will remain open through Friday, September 28, 2007. Thank you in advance for your time and input!