Active Directory and Group Policy (GPO) with Labs

Use starter GPOs as templates in PMC starter to create GPOs and distribute settings, since they contain administrative template settings only and export to cabinet files for distribution.

Link a GPO to domains, sites, or containers to define its scope, manage site linked policies, and apply updates via the policy client when objects fall within the link.

Explore how group policy processing follows a hierarchical order—from local GPOs to site, domain, and OU GPOs—and why the last applied policy wins.

Explore how group policy handles slow links and disconnected systems, including client side extensions' processing decisions, software installation, and startup or logon script behavior.

Build and optimize a group policy infrastructure in an active directory lab, configuring screen saver timeouts, registry editing tools restrictions, and loopback processing with two-hour timeouts for conference room computers.

Create and configure GPOs with the group policy management console, link policies, set screen saver timeout and registry editing tools, and manage scope, security filtering, and loopback processing.

Explore how the resulting set of policy RSoP reveals the net effect of group policy objects on users and computers, and learn to model scenarios with Group Policy Results Wizard.

Detect and monitor group policy health across large domains using the group policy management console. Compare GPO replication and versioning against a baseline to identify inconsistencies.

Explore administrative templates in Group Policy, identify section placement in user and computer scopes, learn central store setup, and configure registry-based policies using ADMX/ADML files.

Compare adm and admx policy templates used by group policy, noting adm's markup language, admx's xml-based format, and language-specific adml descriptions stored in the policy definitions folder.

Create a central store for ADMX/ADML files so the Group Policy Management Editor uses consistent administrative templates; if unavailable, fall back to the local store, with updates replicated via DFS/FRS.

Learn to manage windows security settings with security templates and group policy: use security templates snap-in, security compliance manager, and import templates into GPOs for single or multiple machines.

Explore folder redirection and software installation with group policy, deploying scripts for logon, logoff, startup, and shutdown, and categorize configurations for user and computer settings.

Explore folder redirection, a feature that stores user folders on a network file server but presents them on a local drive, enabling synchronization, offline access, and data backup.

Learn to create and configure manual permissions on a shared folder for redirected folders, or let folder redirection auto-set subfolder permissions, with NTFS and share permissions for root and subfolders.

Demonstrates how to create a shared folder for users, configure a GPO in Group Policy Management to redirect the Documents folder, and test the redirection.

Demonstrates creating a logon script to display a message, linking a GPO in the domain, and testing results by signing into a client and forcing a group policy update.

Explore configuring group policy preferences, compare them to GPO settings, and learn to use Internet Explorer options, registry configurations, item level targeting, and map drives for deployment.

Explore group policy preferences, with more than 20 extensions, applying items like drive mappings, shared printers, registry entries, shortcuts, and scheduled tasks in Windows Server 2008 and newer.

Demonstrates configuring group policy preferences to deploy a shared printer and a power plan, using item-level targeting and gpupdate /force to verify results.

Apply group policy to manage office 2016 settings, implement drive mapping with policy preferences, deploy the notepad shortcut for IT security group, configure folder redirection, and design a GPO strategy.

Review how to manage user settings with group policy, including folder redirection to multiple servers, WMI filters and GPO permissions, and item level targeting for portable computers' power options.

Explore how group policy and preferences manage user settings, the role of the central store for administrative templates, and best practices for troubleshooting common GPO issues across Windows versions.

Explore how client side extensions interact with the group policy engine, how the policy client service enforces policy, and how registry and administrative template settings shape processing.

Link GPOs to the appropriate OUs in Active Directory, configure computer configuration for computers and user configuration for users, and demonstrate mapping an S drive for sales users.