If you have access to a DC server in your environment, then you already have the toolset needed to work with the GPMC. All DCs have the GPMC installed by default, and this chapter will show you the ways to open it.

We will also cover options for launching the GPMC on a Windows 10 workstation. There are no special requirements for this machine, except that you will want it to be joined to your domain so that it can communicate with the DC. If Windows 10 is not available to you, it is possible to introduce the same level of functionality by using Windows 8 or even Windows 7, but we won't cover those operating systems specifically because, as you will learn, there are advantages to always using the latest and greatest operating system whenever working within the GPMC, to ensure you have all of the newest functionality.

The most straightforward approach to opening the GPMC is to launch it right from an Active Directory DC server. If you happen to be logged into a DC anyway, or are even sitting at the console, there are numerous different ways to open this tool. The one that you choose to employ regularly is completely your preference, but knowing various ways to accomplish the same task is always helpful in the Microsoft Windows world, so let's take a minute and cover the different ways that you could go about launching the GPMC from a DC.

You have probably noticed (and perhaps been annoyed by it) that when you log into most Windows Server operating systems, there...

It may not always be the case that you have access to launch the GPMC locally from a DC server, so it is important to cover the bases on other ways that you can tap into these settings. In fact, as you will soon read, this section may change your entire outlook on how you interact with Group Policy, or, indeed, perhaps your outlook on how you administer your servers in general.

At first glance, this heading might not make any sense. If all of my Group Policy data is stored on the DCs, and the GPMC gets installed by default on my DCs, why would I need to worry about installing the GPMC somewhere else? Won't I just log into a DC and launch the GPMC? Easy...

You now have the knowledge to be able to open the GPMC in about a hundred different ways, and from all kinds of different places. If you've been following along with your own server or test lab, I am sure you have already spent some time poking around inside the console to take a look at what screens and options are available, but we are going to take a look together as well. Throughout the rest of this book, we will be making continual use of the GPMC, so the majority of learning about this console will be through direct experience. Even so, we can't wrap up a chapter about the GPMC without actually looking inside the GPMC, so let's do that together now.

The GPMC is made up of two primary window panes. The left side is an organizational tree where you will find the different layers of Active Directory administration—Forests, Domains, Sites...

The GPMC is absolutely the primary tool that Active Directory administrators use to work with Group Policy settings. This console is critically important to your role as a Windows Server administrator. In addition to giving you a glance into the console where we will be spending so much time over the course of this book, I hope this chapter prompts you to start thinking outside the box about other server management duties in the future. Using the RSAT package on a regular workstation can completely change your server security stance.

Join me as we dive next into the meat and potatoes of Group Policy—the common tasks that you will be required to handle on a daily basis.