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GPOADmin 5.21 - User Guide

Introducing Quest GPOADmin Configuring GPOADmin Using GPOADmin
Connecting to the Version Control system Navigating the GPOADmin console Search folders Accessing the GPMC extension Configuring user preferences Working with 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 Merging GPOs 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 Validating GPOs Managing GPO revisions with lineage Setting the change window for specific actions Working with registered objects Working with available objects Working with checked out objects Working with objects pending approval and deployment
Checking compliance Editing objects Synchronizing GPOs Exporting and importing
Creating Reports Appendix: Windows PowerShell Commands Appendix: GPOADmin Event Log Appendix: GPOADmin Backup and Recovery Procedures Appendix: Customizing your workflow Appendix: GPOADmin Silent Installation Commands Appendix: Configuring Gmail for Notifications Appendix: Registering GPOADmin for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Appendix: GPOADmin with SQL Replication About Us

Introducing Quest GPOADmin

Security issues are becoming paramount within organizations. Within Active Directory, Group Policy Objects (GPOs) are at the forefront of an organization's ability to roll out and maintain functional security. Core aspects such as password policies, log on hours, software distribution, and other crucial security settings are handled through GPOs. Organizations need methods to control the settings of these GPOs and to deploy GPOs in a meaningful and safe manner with confidence. Since GPOs are so important to the proper operating of the Active Directory, organizations also need methods to restore GPOs when they are either incorrectly updated or have become corrupt.

GPOADmin offers a mechanism to control this highly important component of Active Directory. First, GPOs are backed up in a secure manner, then placed under version control. When changes are made, a backup of the GPO is again made. Changes are managed from the Version Control system, and approvals for any changes are required. Stored GPOs can be retrieved if the current GPO in the directory is not valid for any reason. This means that GPOs are managed and deployed with a secure rollback capability. When an issue does arise, the time between the discovery of the issue and its resolution is kept to a minimum, because a previous version of the GPO can be restored.

GPO implementation is a key consideration when planning your organization’s Active Directory structure. GPOs streamline management of all user, computer, and configuration issues to ensure smooth day-to-day network operation.

You can use GPOs to control specific configurations applied to users and computers through policy settings. When grouped, the policy settings form a single GPO, which you can then apply to sites, domains, and OUs.

You can define settings for users and computers and then rely on the system to enforce the policies. GPOs provides computer and user configuration policies.

 

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GPOADmin overview
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GPOADmin security overview
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GPOADmin features

GPOADmin overview

Security issues are becoming paramount within organizations. Within Active Directory, Group Policy Objects (GPOs) are at the forefront of an organization's ability to roll out and maintain functional security. Core aspects such as password policies, log on hours, software distribution, and other crucial security settings are handled through GPOs. Organizations need methods to control the settings of these GPOs and to deploy GPOs in a meaningful and safe manner with confidence. Since GPOs are so important to the proper operating of the Active Directory, organizations also need methods to restore GPOs when they are either incorrectly updated or have become corrupt.

GPOADmin offers a mechanism to control this highly important component of Active Directory. First, GPOs are backed up in a secure manner, then placed under version control. When changes are made, a backup of the GPO is again made. Changes are managed from the Version Control system, and approvals for any changes are required. Stored GPOs can be retrieved if the current GPO in the directory is not valid for any reason. This means that GPOs are managed and deployed with a secure rollback capability. When an issue does arise, the time between the discovery of the issue and its resolution is kept to a minimum, because a previous version of the GPO can be restored.

GPO implementation is a key consideration when planning your organization’s Active Directory structure. GPOs streamline management of all user, computer, and configuration issues to ensure smooth day-to-day network operation.

You can use GPOs to control specific configurations applied to users and computers through policy settings. When grouped, the policy settings form a single GPO, which you can then apply to sites, domains, and OUs.

You can define settings for users and computers and then rely on the system to enforce the policies. GPOs provide the following types of policies:

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Computer configuration policies, such as security and application settings, which are applied when the operating system is initialized.
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User configuration policies, such as desktop settings, security settings, logon and log off scripts, which are applied when users log on to the computer.

GPOADmin security overview

The following diagram provides an overview of the interactions and communication protocols between service accounts, client accounts, and servers within a Windows OS environment.

It illustrates how the GPOAdmin client, AD/ADS Server, SQL Server, network share, SMTP Service, and Exchange Service interact using various protocols like TCP/IP (IPv4 and IPv6), NTLM/Kerberos authentication, and HTTPS certificates.

It also shows the use of service accounts for accessing these services securely using different authentication methods such as NTLM/Kerberos and HTTPS certificates.

Figure 1. Communication Protocols Overview

The following diagram illustrates the architecture and communication flow of a system involving the GPOADmin Service. The main components include:

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GPOADmin Service: Central service that manages registered Objects.
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Clients: Various clients such as PowerShell Client, GPMC Extension, and GPOADmin client on Windows OS.
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Configuration and Backup Stores: Stores configuration data and backups.
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Other components accessed by the service and users: Includes Active Directory, the file system, SMTP, Exchange Office365, and Intune.

The diagram shows how different clients communicate with the GPOADmin Service using Windows User Tokens or Delegated Accounts. The service uses certificates for secure communication over HTTPS.

Figure 2. Architecture and Communication Overview

GPOADmin features

Group policy version control is crucial to an organization’s efforts to safeguard continual operation. GPOs can have a negative impact on users’ ability to access the network and resources they need to work efficiently.

GPOADmin allows administrators to check the status of a GPO, back up changes into a common data repository, and report on that repository as required. If a GPO has become corrupt or is no longer in a working state, any previous iteration of a GPO can be retrieved.

Figure 3. Group Policy Workflow
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Client/server architecture
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Multiforest support
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Group Policy Management Console extension
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Version control
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Change approval process
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Role-based delegation
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Notification system
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GPO ACL editor
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Reporting options
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Customized views
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Offline GPO testing
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Custom workflow actions
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