Desktop Pack Improves Group Policy

The latest version of Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM), AGPM 3.0, released in Sept. 2008, supports Windows Server 2008 and Vista SP1, among other improvements. 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 the administration client of AGPM 3.0 is not compatible with earlier versions of Windows or with previous versions of AGPM, although AGPM 3.0 will still be able to manage PCs with previous OSs.

Limited 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 administration client that runs on a desktop PC and lets administrators manage the creation, editing, and distribution of GPOs; and connections to domain controllers that actually provide the Group Policies to PCs.