Inside Windows® Server 2003

Chapter 12. Managing Group Policies

AS A CONSULTANT, I'M CONSTANTLY MADE AWARE of corporate policies. For instance, if I park too close to a building, someone hurries out to tell me, “Those spaces are reserved for employees. You contractors have to park over there.” Or if I make a suggestion that veers too far out of a client's comfort zone, a manager usually points at a set of thick, three-ring binders and patiently explains that “things just don't work that way here.”

I'm a child of the sixties, so I grouse at being bound by rules and policies, but I recognize their necessity. Any organization with more than two people needs policies to define roles and guide behavior. The same is true for computers. Users have certain expectations for their ...