uCertify Articles » 70-647 http://www.ucertify.com/article Just another WordPress weblog Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 What is software restriction policy? http://www.ucertify.com/article/what-is-software-restriction-policy-2.html http://www.ucertify.com/article/what-is-software-restriction-policy-2.html#comments Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0000 uCertify 1401292

Software restriction policies are settings in a GPO, which are used for identifying software and controlling its ability to run on a local computer, site, domain, or organizational unit (OU). Software restriction policies protect the computer environment from unknown code by identifying and specifying the applications allowed to run. By modifying settings in the User Configuration or Computer Configuration, administrators can apply the policies on users or computers. When the software restriction policies are configured, users are forced to follow the guidelines set up by administrators when executing programs. Software restriction policies are supported by the Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 operating systems.

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The Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) is a tool for managing group policies in Windows Server 2003. It provides administrators a single consolidated environment for working on group policy-related tasks. GPMC provides a single interface with drag-and-drop functionality to allow an administrator to manage group policy settings across multiple sites, domains, or even forests. GPMC is used to back up, restore, import, and copy group policy objects. It also provides a reporting interface on how group policy objects (GPOs) have been deployed.

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ADSI EDIT is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in. It is used for viewing objects in the directory, modifying objects, and setting access control lists on objects.

Share/Bookmark]]> http://www.ucertify.com/article/what-is-adsi-edit-2.html/feed 0 What is non-authoritative restore method? http://www.ucertify.com/article/what-is-non-authoritative-restore-method-2.html http://www.ucertify.com/article/what-is-non-authoritative-restore-method-2.html#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0000 uCertify 1401282

A non-authoritative restore method is a type of backup restoration of the System State data. It is also called a normal restore method. This restoration method is used whenever more than one domain controller is configured on the network and the rollback of changes in the Active Directory database is not required. An object restored through this method is updated through the replication partners of the domain controller.

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What are group policies?

Group policies specify how programs, network resources, and the operating system work for users and computers in an organization. They are collections of user and computer configuration settings that are applied on users and computers (not on groups). For better administration of group policies in the Windows environment, the group policy objects (GPOs) are used.

What is GPO?

Group policy object (GPO) is a collection of group policy settings. It can be created using a Windows utility known as the Group Policy snap-in. GPO affects the user and computer accounts located in sites, domains, and organizational units (OUs). Windows operating systems support two types of GPOs, local and non-local (Active Directory-based) GPOs.

Local GPOs

Local GPOs are used to control policies on a local server running Windows Server 2003/2008. On each Windows server, a local GPO is stored. The local GPO affects only the computer on which it is stored. By default, only Security Settings nodes are configured. The rest of the settings are either disabled or not enabled. The local GPO is stored in the %systemroot%SYSTEM32GROUPPOLICY folder.

Non-local GPOs

Non-local GPOs are used to control policies on an Active Directory-based network. A Windows server needs to be configured as a domain controller on the network to use a non-local GPO. Non-local GPOs must be linked to a site, domain, or organizational unit (OU) to apply group policies to the user or computer objects. Non-local GPOs are stored in %systemroot%SYSVOL<domain name>POLICIES<GPO GUID>ADM, where <GPO GUID> is the GPO’s globally unique identifier. Two non-local GPOs are created by default when the Active Directory is installed:

  1. Default Domain Policy: This GPO is linked to the domain and affects all users and computers in the domain.

  2. Default Domain Controllers Policy: This GPO is linked to the Domain Controllers OU and affects all domain controllers placed in this OU.

Multiple GPOs

When multiple group policy objects are assigned, the group policies are applied in the following order:

  • The local group policy object is applied first.

  • Then, the group policy objects linked to sites are applied.
    If multiple GPOs exist for a site, they are applied in the order specified by an administrator.

  • GPOs linked to the domains are applied in the specified order.

  • Finally, GPOs linked to OUs are applied.
    The OU group policy objects are set from the largest to the smallest organizational unit, i.e., first the parent OU and then the child OU.
    By default, a policy applied later overwrites a policy that was applied earlier. Hence, the settings in a child OU can override the settings in the parent OU.

Group policy settings are cumulative if they are compatible with each other. In case they conflict with each other, the GPO processed later takes precedence.

The following are the exceptions with regard to the above-mentioned settings:

  1. No Override: Any GPO can be set to No Override. If the No Override configuration is set to a GPO, no policy configured in the GPO can be overridden. If more than one GPO has been set to No Override, then the one that is the highest in the Active Directory hierarchy takes precedence.

  2. Block Policy Inheritance: The Block Policy Inheritance option can be applied to the site, domain, or OU. It deflects all group policy settings that reach the site, domain, or OU from the object higher in the hierarchy. However, the GPOs configured with the No Override option are always applied.

  3. Loopback setting: By default, users settings override computer settings in case of any conflict in policy settings. By configuring the loopback setting, an administrator can reverse the process of the application of policies. When the Loopback option is configured, the computer settings take precedence on the users settings. The Looback option can be set as Not Configured, Enabled, or Disabled. The enabled Loopback option can be set in the following two modes:
    • Replace mode: In this mode, the computer policy settings override the user policy settings.

    • Merge mode: In this mode, the computer policy settings are appended to the user policy settings.

Note: The computers that are members of a workgroup are not affected by the non-local GPOs policy settings. They process only the local GPOs.

Group Policy Inheritance

The group policies are inherited from a parent to a child within a domain. They are not inherited from the parent domain to a child domain. The ollowing are the rules regarding group policy inheritance:

  • A policy setting is configured (Enabled or Disabled) for a parent OU, and the same policy setting is not configured for its child OUs. The child OUs inherit the parent’s policy.

  • A policy setting is configured (Enabled or Disabled) for a parent OU, and the same policy setting is configured for its child OUs. The child OUs settings override the settings inherited from the parent’s OU.

  • If any policy is not configured, no inheritance takes place.

  • Compatible policy settings configured at the parent and child OUs are accumulated.

  • Incompatible policy settings from the parent OU are not inherited.

Filtering Scope of GPOs

Although GPOs are linked to the site, domain, or OUs, and they cannot be linked to the security groups directly, applying permissions to the GPO can filter its scope. The policies in a non-local GPO apply only to users who have the Read and Apply Group Policy permissions set to Allow. By specifying appropriate permissions to the security groups, the administrators can filter a GPO’s scope for the computers and users.

Note: The Apply Group Policy permission is not available with the local GPO.

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Site links are logical, transitive connections between two or more sites. For intersite replication to take place, site links are required to be configured. Once a site link has been configured, KCC then automatically generates the replication topology by creating the appropriate connection objects. A site link is used to determine the paths between two sites. It must be created manually.

Site links are transitive in nature. For example, if Site 1 is linked with Site 2 and Site 2 is linked with Site 3, then Site 1 and Site 3 are linked transitively. Administrators can control transitivity of the site links. By default, transitivity is enabled for each transport. Site link transitivity can be enabled or disabled through a bridge.

Share/Bookmark]]> http://www.ucertify.com/article/what-are-site-links-2.html/feed 0 What is preferred bridgehead server? http://www.ucertify.com/article/what-is-preferred-bridgehead-server-2.html http://www.ucertify.com/article/what-is-preferred-bridgehead-server-2.html#comments Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0000 uCertify 1401277

A preferred bridgehead server is a domain controller in a site, specified by an administrator, to act as a bridgehead server. Administrators can specify more than one preferred bridgehead server, but only one server is active at a time in a site. A preferred bridgehead server is designated to take advantage of a certain domain controller having the appropriate bandwidth to transmit and receive information.

Note: If only one preferred bridgehead server is configured in a site, and it fails; no replication will take place for that site.

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Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) is an add-on component of Windows Server 2008. It provides functionality to a server to run as a Windows Update server in a Windows network environment. Administrators can configure a WSUS server as the only server to download updates from Windows site, and configure other computers on the network to use the server as the source of update files. This will save lots of bandwidth as each computer will not download updates individually. WSUS 3.0 SP1 is the only version of WSUS that can be installed on Windows Server 2008. Earlier versions of WSUS cannot be installed on a server running Windows Server 2008.

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To keep a Windows network safe and effective, it is required that operating systems on all computers on the network are updated. Microsoft releases updates of operating systems from time to time. These updates (or patches) may be related to functionality, security, etc. Each computer can be configured to directly download upgrades from the Microsoft site. But, thousands of computers downloading updates individually will waste lots of bandwidth. To effectively manage these upgrades, Microsoft provides a tool named Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).

What is WSUS?

Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) is an add-on component of Windows Server 2008. It provides functionality to a server to run as a Windows Update server in a Windows network environment. Administrators can configure WSUS server as the only server to download updates from Windows site, and configure other computers on the network to use the server as the source of update files. This will save lots of bandwidth, as each computer will not download updates individually. WSUS 3.0 SP1 is the first version of WSUS to be installed on Windows Server 2008. Earlier versions cannot be installed on a server running Windows Server 2008.

What are the requirements for installing WSUS 3.0 SP1?

The installation of WSUS 3.0 SP1 requires the following Windows components to be enabled on a server running Windows Server 2008:

  • Windows Authentication

  • Static Contents

  • ASP.NET

  • IIS 6.0 Management Compatibility

  • IIS 6.0 Metabase Compatibility

Apart from these Windows components, Microsoft Report Viewer, version 2005 or later is also required to be installed. This software must be downloaded from Microsoft’s Web site.

Administration

When WSUS 3.0 SP1 is installed on a computer running Windows Server 2008, it adds the following two local groups for administrative purposes:

  • WSUS Administrators: WSUS Administrators is a local group that is used for WSUS administrative roles. The members of this group are able to administer the WSUS server. A member of this group can use the Update Services console to connect remotely to manage WSUS.

  • WSUS Reporters: WSUS Reporters is a local group that is used for administrative roles. The members of this group are able to create reports on the WSUS server. The group members can use the Update Services console to connect remotely to manage WSUS.

These administrative roles can be assigned to a user by making him a member of the appropriate group.

Deployment

There are four common deployment methods of WSUS used according to the requirements of an organization:

Single WSUS Server Deployment

In the single WSUS server deployment method, a WSUS server is deployed behind the firewall of an organization. It is configured to synchronize contents directly with Microsoft Update by downloading the updates from the site. These updates are then distributed to clients by the server. The single WSUS server deployment method is shown below:

This is the most common type of deployment and it can serve up to 25000 WSUS clients.

Deploying Multiple Independent WSUS Servers

Multiple independent WSUS servers are deployed in organizations having multiple branches. Each branch office is configured with a separate WSUS server that synchronizes contents directly with Microsoft Update by downloading the updates from the site. These updates are then distributed to their respective clients by the server. The deployment is shown below:

Each single WSUS server can serve up to 25000 WSUS clients.

Deploying Multiple Internally Synchronized WSUS Servers

Multiple internally synchronized WSUS servers are deployed in organizations having branch offices at different locations. One WSUS server, designated as upstream server, is configured to receive updates from Microsoft Update. Other servers, designated as downstream servers, retrieve updates from the upstream server. The deployment of multiple internally synchronized WSUS is shown below:

This method is uncommon these days, as a single WSUS 3.0 server can serve up to 25000 clients. Moreover, Background Intelligent Transfer service (BITS) peer-caching technology of Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista further reduces the requirement of deploying multiple WSUS servers on a network. This method of deployment is used mostly for the purpose of redundancy.

Deploying Disconnected WSUS Servers

Disconnected WSUS servers are configured on a network to download updates from Microsoft Update. The updates are then copied to writable media (for example, writable DVD-ROM, USB hard disk drive) and manually (physically) transferred to other WSUS servers to deploy updates to the clients. The disconnected WSUS deployment is shown below:

This method of deployment is used in scenarios where administrators want to save bandwidth of slow WAN or Internet links in remote branch offices. Instead of using slow links to retrieve updates, updates are physically transported and added to WSUS servers at remote locations.

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In the single WSUS server deployment method, a WSUS server is deployed behind the firewall of an organization. It is configured to synchronize contents directly with Microsoft Update by downloading the updates from the site. These updates are then distributed to clients by the server. The single WSUS server deployment method is shown below:

This is the most common type of deployment and it can serve up to 25000 WSUS clients.

Download practice question and study guide for 70-646 for exam. Best exam simulation Microsoft 70-647 download free trial. Share/Bookmark]]> http://www.ucertify.com/article/what-is-the-single-wsus-server-deployment-method.html/feed 0