Desktop Pack Improves Group Policy

The next version of Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM), planned for late 2008, will support Windows Server 2008 and Vista SP1, among other improvements. Part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (DOP), AGPM gives administrators control over the configuration of desktops via Group Policy, the Windows service for centralized configuration of user and computer settings and applications. However, changes to the way Windows handles Group Policy in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1 mean that AGPM 3.0 will not be compatible with earlier versions of Windows or with previous versions of AGPM.

Windows Server 2008 and Vista but No Backward Compatibility

AGPM integrates with the Windows Group Policy Management Console to centralize management of Group Policy Objects (GPOs) in an enterprise and helps restrict the changes that domain administrators can make, making it easier to control system and application settings on individual PCs in an Active Directory domain. AGPM requires a server for maintaining a library of GPOs; an AGPM administration client for managing the creation, editing, and distribution of GPOs; and connections to domain controllers that actually provide the Group Policies to PCs. The current version is AGPM 2.5, released in July 2007.