Group Policy Preferences is a set of client extensions that provide preference settings for computers that are joined to a domain and are running Microsoft Windows operating systems. Preferences and administrative configuration options are used for desktops and servers. Preference settings differ from policy settings because users have a choice when changing the administrative configuration. Policy settings administratively apply settings that limit user choices.
Group Policy Preferences applies to computers that are joined to a domain using Group Policy. The flexibility of settings allows her to deliver computer configuration data to a domain running Windows. Data is transmitted to the internal line on the client side, in which the data becomes relevant, as the extension of the client side receives the data.
Group Policy
This is a management technology included with Windows (including Windows Server) that protects your computer and user settings. Protecting these settings provides a common computing environment for users and limits random configurations that adversely affect the operating system. Through the local group policy editor, you can configure them.
Group Policy Object
It is a logical object consisting of two components: a container and a template. Windows copies the container and the template to all the controllers in the domain, as well as copies of Active Directory replication with the container, and the file replication service copies service data to the system volume.
The Group Policy container and the template together create the object. Computer configuration settings affect the computer as a whole, regardless of the registered user. User configuration parameters affect the current user record and may vary depending on each person. Power management, user rights, and firewall group policy settings — all include user settings. The same applies to Internet Explorer, display options and folder redirection.
Object Link
Objects and their settings apply to computers and users that are related. You can associate objects on a site with Active Directory by the name of a domain, organizational unit, or nested organizational unit. Objects exist separately from the container with which they are associated. This separation allows you to link a single object for several containers. Actually, the local group policy editor himself will explain much more. Linking objects for many containers allows a single security setting to apply settings to users or a computer in a multiple-policy container. This forms the connection between the object and policy settings. Computer configurations apply to computers in a container or nested containers. User configurations apply to users in the same manner. In addition, it allows full-fledged updating of group policies.
Parameters are applied at computer startup and at user login. At startup, the Group Policy service queries Active Directory for a list of GPOs that are within the scope of the computer object. Again, this includes:
- Website.
- Network.
- The main organizational unit.
Group Policy Service
This element is no less important because it determines which objects are applied to computers (there are many ways to populate objects depending on the application), and uses these. Client extensions are responsible for applying the parameters contained in objects. They are a component of a service that is responsible for reading specific policy settings data from an object and applies it to a computer or user. To do this, you need the local group policy editor. For example, an external registry extension reads the registry settings and its installation data from each object, and then applies this information to the registry. The security extension reads and applies security policy settings , for example, when redirecting folders.
Previous Versions
Processing is repeated when the user logs in. Group policy (namely, its service) defines the objects that apply to the user, and then applies the user settings. It is important that you have a solid understanding of how to create, modify, and link objects for containers in Active Directory. Group Policy Preferences use the same concepts as other settings. In fact, you control preferences just like the rest of the options. If earlier the previous versions of Windows were the basis for you, then you should forget about them, since, starting with Windows 7, the settings have changed. The latest Windows Server Group Policies as well as Windows 10 differ markedly from them.
Client Extensions
This is an isolated component that is responsible for processing specific policy settings set by the infrastructure. The format in which each extension stores data may be unique to each extension. The infrastructure does not know about this format, but does not interact with it. The goal of the development team is to provide settings for the computer, where each client extension applies some of the parameters from several objects. This is especially important if local group policy is being considered.
The relationship of infrastructure and expansion
To help understand the relationship between infrastructure and expansion, let’s take a look at a live “mail carrier” - a postman. He collects information from various sources and provides this information to us. The postman has no idea what information is being provided to us. The information may be simple written, photograph, DVD or photo CD. He only knows that he must deliver information to a specific address.
By this analogy, the Group Policy service is a kind of mail courier - it delivers information without any knowledge about it. The information flowing through it represents various policy settings. An extension is a person who receives information. Addresses can have many recipients. At the same time, each recipient waits for his mail in a specific format. The extension reads the relevant policy setting information and performs actions based on the information contained in the parameters.
Group Policy Setting
The security option discussed in the article extends the Windows settings system. But these are not global parameters. Windows stores both settings in the registry. However, policy settings take precedence over preferences because they tend to override preferences.
How to open Windows 10 Group Policies
To do this, you need to press Win + R, where in the empty field you need to type gpedit.msc. There is nothing complicated and supernatural in this, since this is a normal standard application for launching services and programs.
You can configure Windows using the user interface. It gives you a choice: you select the options that you like, click the “OK” button and close the dialog box. So you save your choice in Windows to the registry so that he can remember these settings later. User configurable settings are known as preferences (note that the parameters were mentioned above). Displaying a shared folder or selecting a default homepage is a great example of preference. When you set up your homepage using Internet Explorer, you can close your web browser and open it again, and it remembers your homepage. Policy settings differ from preferences because the former apply to the user or computer. The policy does not allow the user to change the settings. Typically, users set preferences.
Configuration
Group Policy Preferences let you run the desired configurations without restricting the user from choosing another configuration. It is important to remember that while the user can change the configuration, the extension can work for the main computer user. Thus, it overwrites the preferences that are changed. The replacement of a user-configured preset is configured using preferences in the same way as in the rest. A true parameter applies the settings and restricts the user from changing the settings. Users can easily change their preference values until the system is turned on until the next update (which returns these settings back to the default value). To get the window, as shown below in the picture, refer to the item "How to open group policies."
Treatment
Client extensions are configured to adhere to standard rules. Thus, the hierarchy is related to security and filtering, which can change the scale of an object configured using preferences. By changing the scale, users and computers can get the settings for the preferences items set in these objects.
Nevertheless, preferences and client extensions have their own internal processing, that is, a separate installation is carried out with respect to them. Group policies allow you to configure one or more preference items for a single extension for processing within a single object. For example, you can configure one object to contain 10 elements of an application or program.
List of objects
During processing, the infrastructures are repeated through the list of extensions. As he moves toward each extension, he shares information related to the extension in order to process part of it. Critical information components together with extensions include a list of those objects that included changes, as well as those that are no longer in the scope of possible use by the user or computer. In addition, the infrastructure provides information related to this processing instance, for example, if the network connection is considered a slow link. Group policies are updated through the update of other programs and applications.
Processing results
Preference extensions use information about changed objects. Elements of client extensions are arranged in order from the top of the list to the bottom. The processing results of each preference item vary depending on the action configured on that item. The client extension, as soon as the operating system is launched, finds each element in the list and applies all the parameters to it until it reaches the end of the list or finishes completing its task due to general configuration parameters, such as, for example, stopping points and data processing in this extension (but only if an error occurs on the same issue, otherwise the search will not end). After the preference extensions apply all privileged items in the list, it returns control to the Group Policy service.