1. Management and Support of Group Policy Preferences
Because
Group Policy Preferences is a new technology released in the Windows
Server 2008 time frame, you will find that there are limitations on
which legacy operating systems can manage them. Group Policy
Preferences are available for management only on computers that can
run the new Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). These operating
systems include Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1.
You
should also know which operating systems can consume the settings that
are configured in the Group Policy Preferences settings. Table 1
illustrates which operating systems can manage and which operating
systems can support the application of Group Policy Preferences.
Table 1. Group Policy Preferences Platform Support
| Operating System | Can Apply Group Policy Preferences | Can Manage Group Policy Preferences through GPME |
|---|
| Windows 2000 | Not supported | Not supported |
| Windows XP (32-bit and 64-bit) | Supported with SP2 (after CSE installation) | Not supported |
| Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit) | Supported (after CSE installation) | Supported (after installation of SP1) |
| Windows Server 2003 (32-bit and 64-bit) | Supported with SP1 (after CSE installation) | Not supported |
| Windows Server 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit) | Integrated | Integrated |
2. Managing Group Policy Preferences Using the GPME
The
new Group Policy Management Editor (GPME) is the only version of the
Group Policy management tools that supports the configuration of Group
Policy Preferences. In turn, the GPME runs only through the new version
of the GPMC. For computers that can manage the new Group Policy
Preferences to be able to perform that duty, both the new GPMC (and
thus the GPME) must be supported and installed.
Windows Server 2008
Windows
Server 2008 comes with full support for Group Policy Preferences. The
technology for this support is integrated directly with the product.
There is nothing that must be done with Windows Server 2008 to manage
Group Policy Preferences.
Windows Vista
To
configure Group Policy Preferences for use with Windows Vista, you must
perform additional installations. First you must install SP1, which
provides additional support for running the GPMC that supports Group
Policy Preferences. You must also install the Remote Server
Administration Tools (RSAT), which provides an interface for the Group
Policy Preferences in the GPME. RSAT can be downloaded and installed
from the Microsoft Download Center.
3. Deploying the Group Policy Preferences CSEs
To
receive and apply settings that are configured in the Group Policy
Preferences settings area, a computer must have the Group Policy
Preferences CSEs installed. Because Group Policy Preferences
are new technology released after Windows Vista, you must take
additional measures to ensure that operating systems that support the
application of Group Policy Preferences can apply them.
Windows Server 2008
There
is no need to deploy the CSEs to Windows Server 2008 computers, because
the CSEs for Group Policy Preferences are already installed and ready
to consume settings.
Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 SP1, and Windows XP SP2
Which covered the architecture of Group Policy, there is a new service
that controls Group Policy. This service is fully capable of handling
all of the settings that can be deployed using a GPO. The service
itself does not apply the settings; rather, the CSE does this. However,
the only operating system that comes with the CSEs installed to apply
Group Policy Preferences is Windows Server 2008.
For
Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 SP1, and Windows XP SP2, the CSEs
for Group Policy Preferences must be installed. The CSEs can be
downloaded from the Microsoft Download Center.
