Windows Server 2003 - Group Policy, Computer Configuration, Network folder

Group Policy – Network

In my view the Network section contains only specialist settings. If you have laptop users, then the Offline Files folder is worth a look. As a matter of tactics, I suggest that you create high level OUs called Workstation and Laptop, then you can assign different Group Policies to each type of machine.

Group Policy Topics

Administrative Templates

Windows Components

Network

DNS Client
Offline Files
Network Connections
QoS Packet Scheduler
SNMP

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DNS Client

These DNS Client policies control TCP/IP settings like DNS Suffix, dynamic update and TTL for A and PTR records. Tell the truth, I do not know what to make of the DNS Client folder. What I am thinking is that I control most of these Group Policy settings via DHCP, to these policies would only be useful for member servers or those outside the scope of DHCP.

Most of these policies could equally well be controlled via DHCP. Also remember that these settings are for computers, therefore, would not each subnet need its own TCP/IP addresses? So that leaves us with member servers and desktops that do not use DHCP. If you use these settings, then create the policy at the OU level and remember to place all computers in that OU!

Offline Files

As with many of the Administrative Templates, these Offline file policies are also configured in the User Folder. Best of the bunch are the family of Synchronize offline files. Should you or your users find the ‘ Balloon ‘ messages irritating, then there is another family of policies to control or even turn off that message feature.

Configure Slow Link Speed is worth defining where you have laptop users dialling into synchronize their files.

Network Connections

A few policies that ‘Mr Nasty’ can use to prevent users fiddling with the Internet Connection Sharing and Firewall settings.

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QoS Packet Scheduler

The idea behind Quality of Service (QoS) is that you can reserve precious bandwidth for named groups of users or services. If you have implemented QoS, then the policies will be useful and meaningful, for the rest of us an area we can avoid.

SNMP

There are so many acronyms with similar names this is the Simple Network Management Protocol. This is often used to obtain information from routers, however you could extend this data collection to member servers. These policies typify what I mean by specialist areas, only relatively few administrators use this technique, and only a fraction of those would need these policies.

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