New Features in Windows Server 2003
Microsoft has added a considerable number of policies to Windows Server 2003 along with new policy features that improve flexibility and troubleshooting. Here are the specific enhancements:
- Over 160 new policies that help control dynamic DNS registration, roaming profiles, terminal servers, and Control Panel operation.
- A fully integrated Resultant Set of Policies (RSoP) calculator. This calculator simplifies planning and troubleshooting group policies in organizations that have many tiers of containers and many policies linked to those containers. The RSoP calculations can be done from the user interface (UI) via a wizard or from the command line.
- A complete log of the RSoP calculation performed at each computer when a user logs on. This log is stored in the same database that stores the hardware and operating system parameters accessed by Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).
- The capability to filter Registry-based policies to show only those policies applicable to a particular Windows version. This reduces the clutter in the management console and helps target policies to the correct platforms.
- The capability to restrict running certain applications at the desktop. The restriction can be based on a particular executable, the path where the executable was launched, or the digital certificate attached to the executable.
- A new group policy update utility called GPUPDATE that replaces the obscure Secedit switches used in Windows 2000. Secedit is now used solely to apply and report on the contents of the security database.