Group Policy in multiplatform networks

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Group Policy in multiplatform networks

Many networks include computers with different operating systems and versions. To allow administrators the greatest control, Group Policy and its extensions can be applied to computers running Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium), and Windows Server 2003 operating systems.

For client computers running Windows XP Professional, Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium), and Windows Server 2003 operating systems that are operating in networks with Windows 2000 Active Directory, the following features and limitations apply:

  • Fast Logon Optimization

    The Windows Server 2003 family provides a Fast Logon Optimization feature. This results in the asynchronous application of policy when the computer starts up and when the user logs on. This feature is supported for client computers running Windows XP Professional, Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium), and Windows Server 2003 operating systems that are operating in any environment. This feature is not available to Windows 2000 clients. For more information, see Fast Logon Optimization.

  • Administrative Templates

    The Windows Server 2003 family supports all registry policy settings available in Windows 2000. In addition, the Windows Server 2003 family has 212 new registry settings. These new policy settings only apply to client computers running Windows XP Professional, Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium), and Windows Server 2003 operating systems. If specified for Windows 2000 clients, the settings are ignored. You can deploy new .adm files provided with Windows XP Professional and Windows Server 2003 operating systems from Windows 2000 Active Directory. For more information, see Administrative Templates.

  • Folder Redirection

    The Windows Server 2003 family contains a new Folder Redirection with a simplified user interface. You can configure folder redirection for client computers running Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium), and Windows Server 2003 operating systems. With client computers running Windows XP Professional, Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium), and Windows Server 2003 operating systems, you can redirect folders to a HomeDir or redirect a folder back to a local profile. These options cannot be applied to Windows 2000 clients. For more information, see Folder Redirection.

  • Roaming User profiles

    This feature contains new registry policy settings to prevent Roaming User profile changes from propagating to the server, allow only local user profiles, and add Administrators security group to Roaming User profiles. These features can only be applied to client computers running Windows XP Professional, Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium), and Windows Server 2003 operating systems. Users can roam between client computers running Windows XP Professional, Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium), and Windows Server 2003 operating systems and Windows 2000 clients, however, only policies that can be applied to each platform will be used. For more information, see Using roaming user profiles.

  • Security

    With a software restriction policy, you can identify software on client computers and prevent it from running. Software can be identified by file name, path, URL, and MD5 Hash. This policy must be configured in a Group Policy object from the security settings snap-in from a client computer running Windows XP Professional, Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium), or Windows Server 2003 operating systems. This feature is not supported for Windows 2000 clients. For more information, see Security Settings extension to Group Policy.

  • Group Policy Software Installation

    The Windows Server 2003 family contains numerous enhancements to the Group Policy Software Installation user interface. In addition, this version of Windows also support the deployment of 32-bit MSI applications to client computers running Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium), 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, and 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition. You cannot install 64-bit applications on 32-bit clients. Although Group Policy provides a robust solution for software installation and distribution, Microsoft Systems Management Server is the preferred solution for enterprise software planning, distribution, and management. For more information, see Group Policy Software Installation.

  • WMI filtering

    With WMI Filters, you can specify a WMI-based query to filter the application of a Group Policy object. WMI Filters are written using WMI query language (WQL). WMI Filters only apply to client computers running Windows XP Professional, Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium), and Windows Server 2003 operating systems. WMI Filters associated with a Group Policy object will be ignored by Windows 2000 clients.