Using Advanced Group Policy Management

Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM) 4.0, which supports Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, will be part of the R2 release of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2009, a dynamic desktop solution available to Software Assurance (SA) customers that helps application deployment costs, supports delivery of applications as services, and allows for easier management and control of enterprise desktop environments. AGPM was originally based on GPOVault Enterprise Edition, a software solution developed by Desktop- Standard and acquired by Microsoft. AGPM integrates seamlessly with the GPMC and provides the following benefits relating to Group Policy management in enterprise environments:

• More granular administrative control through role-based administration, a robust delegation model, and change-request approval.
• Reduced risk of Group Policy failures by supporting offline editing of GPOs, recovery of deleted GPOs, repair of live GPOs, difference reporting, and audit logging.
• More effective Group Policy change management through the creation of GPO template libraries, version tracking, history capture, quick rollback of deployed changes, and subscription to policy change e-mail notifications.

For more information about AGPM and other MDOP technologies, see http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enterprise/default.aspx.