Windows Server 2008 : Work with Group Policy Modeling and Results

When Group Policy was first introduced to the IT world, it was such a relief to have powerful but flexible tools in comparison with NT 4.0’s system policies structure that tattooed the registry (with evil intent, I might add). However, very quickly we became aware that something was missing: a what-if calculator that would add up policies and settings and spit out a simple “if user A logs in on computer B, these policies and settings will be applied.”

With Group Policy, we saw some wonderful advancements in Windows Server 2003, and now we have them in Windows Server 2008. For example, the Group Policy Modeling Wizard helps you determine what would happen if, say, User A were to change sites or OUs. How would policies apply differently as a result of this change?

The Group Policy Modeling Wizard

To use the Group Policy Modeling Wizard, follow these steps:

1.	Open your Group Policy Management tool, select the Group Policy Modeling folder, right-click in the Contents pane, and select Group Policy Modeling Wizard.
2.	On the Group Policy Modeling Wizard welcome screen, click Next.
3.	Select the DC on which you want the simulation performed (or leave it as Any Available Domain Controller Running Windows Server 2003 or Later) and click Next.
4.	In the User and Computer Selection pane (shown in Figure 1), select the user and/or computer information and click Next. Figure 1. The Group Policy Modeling Wizard.
5.	Under Advanced Simulation Options, choose the following, as appropriate: Slow network connection (for example, a dial-up connection) Loopback processing (with replace or merge) Site
6.	From Alternate Active Directory Paths, click the Browse option and determine a new location with which to simulate the settings and click Next.
7.	Under User Security Groups, look at which security groups the user belongs to. Add others or remove some to see what happens if their group membership changes. Click Next.
8.	Under Computer Security Groups, look at which security groups the computer belongs to. Add or remove groups to see what happens and then click Next.
9.	Under WMI Filters for Users, include WMI filters in the simulation and click Next.
10.	Under WMI Filters for Computers, include WMI filters in the simulation and click Next.
11.	Review the options on the Summary of Selections page and then click Next.
12.	After the processing takes place, click Finish on the completion screen.
13.	When you see the report of the what-if model in your Group Policy Modeling container, select it and view the settings that would apply if that simulated scenario were, in fact, reality.

The Group Policy Results Wizard

The Group Policy Results Wizard actually tells you the policy settings for a specific user or computer. Rather than a simulation, it is actually a real environment result for that user or computer. To run the wizard, you perform the following steps: