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GPOADmin 5.13.5 - User Guide

Table of Contents

Introducing Quest GPOADmin

GPOADmin features

Client/server architecture Multiforest support Group Policy Management Console extension Version control Change approval process Role-based delegation Notification system GPO ACL editor Reporting options Customized views Offline GPO testing Custom workflow actions GPOADmin Dashboard

Configuring GPOADmin

Configuring the Version Control server Setting permissions on AD LDS Setting permissions when using SQL as the configuration store Port requirements Editing the Version Control server properties Editing the Version Control server configuration store Migrating from AD/AD LDS to a SQL configuration store Changing the Service Account Root container assignment Restricting GPO management for specific domains Configuring role-based delegation

Creating roles Editing roles Delegating roles

Restricting access to objects Adding notifications for users Selecting events on which to be notified Creating email templates Working with Protected Settings policies

Rights and role for Protected Settings for GPOs Create a Protected Settings policy Protecting policy settings based on extensions Generating Protected Settings policies reports Using Protected Settings policies Checking a GPO against a Protected Settings policies and blocked extensions Validating a GPO against a Protected Settings policies and blocked extensions before a check-in

Connecting to the Version Control system

Working with multiple connections

Navigating the GPOADmin console Search folders

Creating custom search folders

Accessing the GPMC extension Configuring user preferences Working with the live environment

Registering objects Registered status Removing registered objects Viewing the live environment

Working with controlled objects (version control root)

Creating a custom container hierarchy Selecting security, levels of approval, and notification options Viewing the differences between objects Copying/pasting objects Proposing the creation of controlled objects

Creating Group Policy Objects (GPOs) Creating starter GPOs Creating WMI filters Creating scripts Creating Desired State Configuration (DSC) PowerShell scripts

Restoring an object to a previous version Restoring links to a previous version Managing your links with search and replace Linking GPOs to multiple Scopes of Management Managing compliance issues automatically with remediation rules Managing GPO revisions with lineage Working with registered objects

Creating labels Cloaking a GPO Locking a GPO Establishing Management for an Object Viewing history Deleting version history Clearing account names in version history Viewing and editing object properties Creating a report

Working with available objects

Enabling/disabling workflow Checking out objects Requesting the deletion of an object Requesting approval

Working with checked out objects

Undoing a check out Checking in controlled objects

Working with objects pending approval and deployment

Withdrawing an approval request Enhanced workflow approval Changing the approval workflow Withdrawing approval Approving and rejecting edits Deploying objects (scheduling and associated items)

Checking compliance Editing objects

Removing persistent registry settings

Editing WMI filters Editing scripts Linking GPOs

Synchronizing GPOs

Enabling synchronization Working with GPO synchronizations Generating Synchronized GPO report

Exporting and importing

Export objects Exporting GPO registry settings as a Desired State Configuration resource file Import objects

Creating Reports

Available reports

Controlled object reports

Settings Report Difference Report Group Policy Object Settings Search Report History Report User Activity Report Compliance Report Change Auditor Report Change Auditor Working Copies Report Deployment Report Protected Settings Assignment Report Creating Controlled Object Reports

Diagnostic and troubleshooting reports

Group Policy Object Consistency Report Software Installation Package Report Linked/Unlinked Report Inactive Policy Settings Report Group Policy Object Security Report Policy Analysis Report GPO Synchronization Report Group Policy Results Group Policy Results Difference Report Group Policy Modeling Report Creating Diagnostic and Troubleshooting Reports

Live, working copy, latest version, and differences reports

Creating live, working copy, latest version, and differences reports

Historical Settings Reports

Creating historical settings reports

Exporting registry settings Working with report folders

Managing report folders

Working with the GPOADmin Dashboard

Overview and installation notes Working within the Dashboard

Accessing and configuring the dashboard Connections view Unauthorized Modifications view Checked Out view Pending Approvals view Deployments view

Appendix: Windows PowerShell Commands

Introduction GPOADmin scripts Available commands

GPOADmin PowerShell provider extensions

Using the GPOADmin PowerShell commands (Examples)

Loading the GPOADmin modules Extracting help for GPOADmin commands Managing objects

Get information on all GPOs Get information for all managed objects Get unregistered objects Register an object Check out an object Check in an object Undo the check out of an object Request approval for changes Withdraw an approval request Approve changes Reject changes Withdraw approval on an object Deploy an object Deploy an object at a future time and date Check for pending deployments Cancel pending deployment

Gathering object and GPOADmin information

Identify which objects are checked out Identify which objects are checked out to me What are the properties of an object What objects are available What objects are checked out

Utility commands

Gather GPOADmin license information Install a GPOADmin license Get logging options Set logging options Get notifications Set notifications on objects

Administrative commands

Approval workflow information Set the approval workflow Identify user account s Identify user roles Modify a role Add a role Get an object's security Set an object's security Overwrite a GPOs security filter

Protected Settings commands

Gather Protected Settings information Enable and disable Protected Settings Get a list of Protected Settings Add Protected Settings

Appendix: GPOADmin Event Log

What is the GPOADmin event log? Interpreting the GPOADmin event log

Example GPOADmin events

Appendix: GPOADmin Backup and Recovery Procedures

GPOADmin Backup Requirements Restoring GPOADmin

Appendix: Customizing your workflow

What is a custom workflow action? Working with custom workflow actions in the Version Control system Working with the custom workflow actions xml file

Actions Predefined Tags Conditions Example of a complete pre-action

Troubleshooting custom workflow actions

Appendix: GPOADmin Silent Installation Commands

Installing GPOADmin with msiexec.exe

All components (Complete GPOADmin installation) Client and components

Server and client Client only Client and PowerShell provider (Client Only button on Installation dialog) PowerShell provider only

Watcher Service

Watcher Service on localhost Watcher Service on another computer Watcher Service and GPMC Extension on another computer Watcher Service and Client only on another computer Watcher Service, Client, and GPMC Extension on another computer

GPMC Extension on a localhost GPMC Extension on another computer

GPOADmin Dashboard

Dashboard Service and Client Dashboard Client only Dashboard Service only Client, Dashboard (no service), and GPMC Extension

Accessing and configuring the dashboard

To access the dashboard

•

Select Start | GPOADmin Dashboard.

The Dashboard opens with the overview view. From here you can get a quick summary of any actions that require your attention.

To configure the view

1

To have a full view of an individual tile, select it from the menu option on the left side or select Show All.

2

To move the position of a particular tile, select it and drag and drop it to the desired position. Keep in mind, you can only place it in a tile of similar size.

3

Select the desired column header and click it to sort information in ascending and descending order.

4

To re-order the columns, select it and drag and drop it to the desired location.


	NOTE: If you change the column order or sorting, it is not maintained once you close the Dashboard or move between the tile view and the full page view.

To configure how often you want to refresh the Dashboard


	NOTE: The polling interval for the communication between the Dashboard service and the GPOADmin server is not reflected in this setting. To configure the communication between the services, you must update the Dashboard service’s configuration file. The dashboard service configuration file is located in the install directory. The file name in “Quest.Avalanche.Dashboard.Service.dll.config”. Intervals are adjusted under the “applicationSettings” section. Do not adjust the settings in any other sections.

1

Select the gear icon on the bottom left of the tile to view the configuration options.

2

Select the required polling interval (how often the dashboard display communicates with the Dashboard service to refresh the information that is displayed).

The default is every 60 seconds but this can be adjusted to suit your environment. You can choose the required seconds/minutes/hours.

Connections view

The Connections view displays the installed dashboard servers along with its port information. If you have more than one server, you can easily move between them to view information about the version controlled items managed by the GPOADmin service associated with a particular Dashboard service.

To select a different server

•

From the Dashboard homepage, select the required server from those available in the Connections list at the top of the page.

Unauthorized Modifications view

This view displays all registered objects that were modified in or deleted from the live environment outside of the GPOADmin version control system. The details include the object name, type, version, status, and domain. Users with the appropriate permissions can perform the following actions:

•

Rollback: Restore the object in the live environment from the most current backup found in the system and overwrite the unauthorized live change.

•

Roll back with Links: Restore a Group Policy Object in the live environment from the most current backup, including its links to Scopes of Management, and overwrite the unauthorized live change.

•

Incorporate Live: Accept the live changes as being authorized and more up-to-date than what is in the system. This automatically backs up those changes into the system and increment the version number of the backup to the next major number.

•

Restore: Restore the object in the live environment.

•

Unregister: Unregister the object from the Version Control system.

Checked Out view

This view displays all objects that are checked out for modification. The details include the object name, type, version, status, user who has it checked out, and domain.

User with the appropriate permissions can perform the following actions:

•

Check In: A check-in updates the history of the object within the Version Control system with the changes made while it was checked out. Included with any check-in is a comment and a unique minor version number (such as 1.1). A check-in does not allow the offline changes to go live into the enterprise environment as it must first be approved. Once an object is marked as Pending Approval, another users cannot check it out.

•

Undo Checkout: The user who checked out an object or who has the Undo Checkout has the option of undoing the checkout and reverting the state back to Available.

•

Request Approval: Once an object has been altered and checked in to the system, the update is ready to go through the approval process.

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