The GPOGUY-- Group Policy Blog

Well, in keeping with our current tradition of delivering PowerShell-based solutions for Group Policy Management, SDM Software has released its latest product--the Group Policy Health Cmdlet. This cmdlet basically lets you get quick and detailed Group Policy processing status across one or more machines within your enterprise. Its pretty cool in that you can feed it either a machine name, an OU name or a domain name and it will resolve all computer objects in those containers, and query each one, returning results either as an object (shown in the screenshot below) or as an XML document that you can save or manipulate using PowerShell's built-in XML capabilities. You can take a video tour of the product here, which shows off some of its features.

And while the product is not free, you can download a trial copy and use it for up to 10 queries. After that, to buy a copy is, well, cheap if you ask me :). Anyway, check it out and let us know what you think!

Tags:

Group Policy, PowerShell, SDM Software, Group Policy Health

Posted by gpoguy at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

I created a whitepaper a while back that describes how you can use SDM Software's free GPMC cmdlets along with our commercial GPExpert(tm) Scripting Toolkit product to automate Group Policy management using PowerShell. That whitepaper, entitled "Automating Group Policy Management" is now up on our website for download. You do have to register for it but it goes through a bunch of different scenarios, including performing basic GPO management tasks as well as using the Toolkit to audit or modify Group Policy settings across a group of GPOs.

Tags

Group Policy, PowerShell

Posted by gpoguy at 01:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Since we introduced the GPExpert Desktop Policy Manager last week, there's been some nice press coverage, including this article from Windows IT Pro, and this one from Network World. I'm very excited about this product. As someone said to me recently, "this product could change the way folks use Group Policy to configure their Windows systems". Obviously, that is my hope, but the bottom line is that Group Policy can and should be easier to manage and that is the goal of Desktop Policy Manager. When I was at TechMentor last week, I showed a lot of folks the product. Universally, the response was the proverbially lightbulb going on when I showed them how easy it could be to set policy settings for their desktops. The bottom line is that Group Policy is awesome and powerful technology, and it should be easy to use as well! To that end, I look forward to this product becoming THE way folks use GP down the line.

Tags:

Group Policy, Desktop Policy Manager, SDM Software

Posted by gpoguy at 08:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, today we announced the release of a product I've mentioned in previous blog posts--the GPExpert Desktop Policy Manager. I'm very excited about this product because it is the first product that really seeks to address the complexity of managing desktop configuration using Group Policy. One of the things I've heard loud and clear over the years from folks is that using Group Policy can be complex, daunting and prone to error. This product seeks to remove that complexity and make using this powerful technology really simple, using a web-based interface and wizard-driven style that simplifies the task of locking down Windows desktops.

I'm looking forward to getting feedback on this product to learn how we can make the process of Windows configuration even easier!

Tags:

Desktop Management, Group Policy, SDM Software, Desktop Policy Manager

Posted by gpoguy at 06:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Just a quick note to let folks know that SDM Software will be exhibiting at the upcoming TechMentor San Francisco show, March 30th to April 3rd. We're excited to have a booth at this show as it will be our first "standalone" exhibit experience. If you're going to be at TechMentor-SF, stop by and see us. I'm especially looking forward to the show as we'll be announcing the release of a new product, called Desktop Policy Manager, that I'm very excited about. We'll be demo-ing the product at the show, but the gist of this product is that it combines the power of Group Policy and PowerShell in a brand new web-based interface, to make configuration of Windows desktops using Group Policy much, much simpler. I am looking forward to showing it!

If you are going to be at TechMentor, stop by booth #309 to see us!

Darren

Tags

Group Policy, PowerShell, Desktop Policy Manager, Desktop Management, SDM Software

Posted by gpoguy at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Late last year, we (SDM Software that is!) announced the GPExpert™ Backup Manager for Group Policy product. Well, the product is now available to trial on our website. The product leverages the GPMC's backup format but also includes some neat features such as the ability to backup and restore GPO Links, a feature that lets you check your GPOs to ensure the current version has been backed up, the ability to schedule GPO backups and a Backup-on-Edit feature, where you can backup a GPO as a function of starting the GP Editor on that GPO. I'm excited that these and other features will give folks excellent control over their GP environments from a backup and recovery perspective. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Darren

Tags:

Group Policy, Group Policy Backup, SDM Software

Posted by gpoguy at 01:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

http://www.windowsitpro.com/Windows/Article/ArticleID/97313/97313.html

Check it out!

Tags

Group Policy, Group Policy Troubleshooting, SDM Software, Windows IT Pro

Posted by gpoguy at 08:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We're going to be giving weekly Group Policy Troubleshooting webinars, starting next Wednesday, July 25th. In the webinars, I'll discuss best practices for GP Troubleshooting and then finish off with a demo of SDM Software's GPExpert Troubleshooting Pack. We're going to be doing these weekly so if you can't make next Wednesday's, check back for another one at another time! My goal is to make these informative as well as provide some insight into how the Troubleshooting Pak can greatly simplify your GP Troubleshooting tasks. You can register at our Webex site.

 Check it out and see you online!

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Group Policy, Group Policy Troubleshooting, GPExpert Troubleshooting Pak, SDM Software

Posted by gpoguy at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by gpoguy at 05:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, after a lot of hard work and late nights, we just shipped the GPExpert Troubleshooting Pak 1.0 last night. This is a significant milestone for the company as its our first suite of products for troubleshooting Group Policy. The Pak is composed of 4 different products that each add to an administrator's arsenal of Group Policy troubleshooting. As a quick intro, here is what each product does:

• GPExpert Health Reporter 1.5: This was our first product, released earlier this year, and provides quick red or green status on GP processing on a given Windows system.
• GPExpert Log Analyzer 1.0: This new product picks up where Health Reporter leaves off, and gives you a deep GP drill down into a problem system, providing diagnostic tests and log analysis of all of the logs related to Group Policy
• GPExpert Group Policy Spy 1.0: This is a very cool tool. Think of it as "RegMon" for Group Policy. It lets you watch registry I/O related to Administrative Template policy and actually resolves registry paths to Group Policy editor namespace paths.
• GPExpert Status Monitor 1.0: Another cool tool for you desktop admins. The Status Monitor is a system tray icon that sits on all of your desktops and provides visual notification that GP processing is healthy. It also sends log events to the event log on the desktop system each time policy processes and reports how long it took to run!

I think the Troubleshooting Pak really raises the bar on the tools administrators have for troubleshooting Group Policy issues. Hopefully you will all think so as well. So, visit http://www.sdmsoftware.com/products.php, download the trial version, check it out and let me know what you think!

 Thanks

 Darren

Technorati Tags 

Group Policy Troubleshooting,SDM Software,GPExpert

Posted by gpoguy at 05:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)