Advanced Group Policy Management Extends Group Policy Management Console

 Executive Summary:

Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) can't manage, control, and track the changes made by multiple administrators. This is where Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM), previously DesktopStandard's GPOVault Enterprise, comes in. AGPM is now part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP), which is available at no extra cost to Windows Software Assurance (SA) customers. Essentially an extension for GPMC, AGPM provides features such as the ability to check GPOs in and out for editing and the ability to compare two versions of a GPO.

Few would disagree that Group Policy is one of the killer features of Active Directory (AD). However, one of the problems with Group Policy since it was introduced as part of Windows 2000 Server has been how to configure and manage it effectively. Microsoft addressed many management concerns with the introduction of the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC), which was a welcome relief for administrators who are heavily involved in the maintenance of Group Policy. . . .