Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista : Administering GPOs (part 2) - Starter GPOs

Creating Starter GPOs

To create a Starter GPO, follow these steps:

1.	In the GPMC, expand the forest node, and then expand the domain node.
2.	Right-click the Starter GPOs node, and then click New. Note If you have not created any Starter GPOs, you must first click the Create Starter GPOs Folder on the Contents tab in the right pane.
3.	Select the Starter GPOs node to view your new Starter GPO in the right pane, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Starter GPOs allow you to configure baseline settings for the creation of new GPOs.

The primary reason for creating Starter GPOs is to establish a baseline of settings from which newGPOs can be created. There are two methods for doing this. You can either create the new GPO by right-clicking the Starter GPO, or you can select a Starter GPO during the creation of a new GPO.

To create a new GPO from the Starter GPO, follow these steps:

1.	In the GPMC, expand the forest node, and then expand the domain node.
2.	Click the Starter GPOs node.
3.	In the list of Starter GPOs in the right pane, right-click the Starter GPO that you want to use, and then click New GPO From Starter GPO.
4.	In the New GPO dialog box, type the name of the new GPO in the Name box.

To create a new GPO by selecting a Starter GPO during the creation process, follow these steps:

1.	In the GPMC, expand the forest node, and then expand the domain node.
2.	Right-click the Group Policy Objects node, and then click New.
3.	In the New GPO dialog box, select the Starter GPO that you want to use from the Source Starter GPO list.
4.	Type the name for the new GPO in the Name box, and then click OK.

Editing Starter GPOs

The process for editing a Starter GPO is almost identical to the process for editing a standard GPO, with some slight differences. The most notable difference is that a Starter GPO does not contain all areas of a standard GPO. Instead, a Starter GPO contains only the Administrative Template settings. To edit a Starter GPO, follow these steps:

1.	In the GPMC, expand the forest node, and then expand the domain node.
2.	Expand the Starter GPOs node.
3.	Right-click the Starter GPO that you want to edit, and then click Edit. The Group Policy Starter GPO Editor appears.
4.	Configure your settings in the Group Policy Starter GPO Editor.
5.	Exit the Group Policy Starter GPO Editor.

Backing Up Starter GPOs

The GPMC not only provides you with the new Starter GPOs—it is also a complete mechanism for backing them up. The backup routine for Starter GPOs is similar to that for a normal GPO, but you can select a different archive folder for them. This is recommended, because the folder that houses the backed-up GPOs controls access to them. If you allow too many users and administrators to access the Starter GPO archive and it shares the space with the normal GPOs, you are exposing the normal GPOs to too many users.

To back up the Starter GPOs, follow these steps:

1.	In the GPMC, expand the forest node, and then expand the domain node.
2.	Click the Starter GPOs node.
3.	In the details pane, right-click the Starter GPO that you want to back up, and then click Back Up.
4.	Type the path and name of the folder where you want to store your backups in the Location box.
5.	(Optional) Enter a description for the backed-up GPO in the Description box.
6.	Click Back Up.

Note

If you have not already configured a path and folder for backing up your Starter GPOs, click Browse in step 4 to create a folder where you want to store your GPO backups.

You can also back up all Starter GPOs with just a few clicks, instead of backing up each one individually. This can make your administration time more efficient and also provide a standard backup routine for your Starter GPOs. To back up all Starter GPOs at one time, perform the following steps:

1.	In the GPMC, expand the forest node, and then expand the domain node.
2.	Right-click the Starter GPOs node, and then click Back Up All.
3.	In the Back Up Starter GPO dialog box, type the path and name of the folder where you want to store your GPO backups in the Location box.
4.	Click Back Up.

Working with Starter GPO Cabinet Files

Starter GPOs are meant to help administrators with the overall administration and baselining of new GPOs. They can ensure that all GPOs meet a specific level of security, as well as any other company requirements. Starter GPOs can also be used in other domains, forests, and companies, and they can be shared between IT professionals through the use of cabinet files.

Any Starter GPO can be placed into a cabinet file (CAB file). CAB files are what make Starter GPOs portable so that administrators can share them among different environments. CAB files contain all of the important information for the Starter GPO, including:

• Settings for both Computer and User

• Name of Starter GPO

• Type of Starter GPO

• Version of both Computer and User parts of the GPO

• Author

• Product

To load a Starter GPO from a CAB file, follow these steps:

1.	In the GPMC, expand the forest node, and then expand the domain node.
2.	Click the Starter GPOs node.
3.	In the details pane, click Load Cabinet.
4.	In the Load Starter GPO dialog box, click Browse For CAB.
5.	Select the CAB file from the list, and then click Open.
6.	In the Load Starter GPO dialog box, click OK to load the Starter GPO.
7.	In the Group Policy Management message box, click OK to verify that you want to overwrite the settings of an existing Starter GPO in the domain with that of the loaded CAB file.

If you have a Starter GPO that you want to share with someone or move to another environment, you can create your own CAB file containing your Starter GPO. To create a Starter GPO CAB file, follow these steps:

1.	In the GPMC, expand the forest node, and then expand the domain node.
2.	Click the Starter GPOs node.
3.	In the details pane, select the Starter GPO that you want to place in a CAB file.
4.	Click Save As Cabinet. The Save Starter GPO as Cabinet dialog box appears.
5.	In the File Name box, type the name of the CAB file (if different from the Starter GPO name).
6.	Click Browse Folders to select the location where you want the CAB file to be created.
7.	Ensure that Starter GPO Cabinet File is selected in the Save As Type list.
8.	Click Save.