When you have the Group Policy Preference (GPP) Client Side Extensions (CSE) downloaded you'll notice that they are not (yet) in the .MSI format - so using Group Policy Software Installation (GPSI) is not possible. Bummer, right!?

We have .EXE files for Windows XP/2003 and .MSU files for Windows Vista... But that's not the only thing we need to think about. Before "deploying" these things to the clients on the network we need to know the OS version (XP/2003/Vista), the OS architecture (32 or 64 bit), the Service Pack Level, and whether or not the Group Policy Preference Pre-requisites (WmlLite - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/914783/en-us) are installed.

To make all this pretty easy I've created a "demo" script for deploying the GPP CSEs using Startup Script - or a manual launch (in admin context). My good friend Jeremy Moskowitz asked me to do this - so, a couple of hours later the "demo" - or "beta" - script is public (download below)...

Note: I haven't been able to test in all scenarios yet, but I *think* they are all covered pretty well by now. Please report back if you find any problems - any feedback is welcome!

Welcome to "The Quest for the Holy Desktop WMI Filter”, this is a global search for what you could call "The Perfect Desktop WMI Filter". A WMI filter which, by using WMI Query Language (WQL), should be able to spot DESKTOP computers only. It should be a general query - meaning it should be possible to use the filter in most Active Directory environments around the globe for Group Policy filtering.

So, what is a desktop really? Well, actually in this case we'll say it's the opposite of a laptop. Hmm, then what is a laptop? Easy enough: a computer with a battery! We've got the WMI filter for finding laptops already:

Select * from Win32_Battery  - don't you just love the simplicity in this query?

This filter will make a computer with a battery respond back with "TRUE" (because the WMI class instance is present), meaning a GPO with this filter will apply to computers with batteries. Simple right? And you might think it's easy to just "turn it around" to find desktops, like:

Select * From Win32_Battery Where Availability != 2
  or
Select

This new webinar from www.centrify.com has been announced lately - featuring my good pal Jeremy Moskowitz - it’s gonna be awesome!

Check out the content and sign up for a great show - 100% guarantee:

Five Top Benefits of Using Windows Group Policy to Secure and Manage UNIX, Linux and Mac Systems

    Date:           February 21, 2008    
    Time:          2 p.m. Eastern US (11 a.m. Pacific)    
    Duration:     1 hour  

 
In this live webinar, Linux, UNIX and Mac admins will get a concise overview of how Group Policy works from Jeremy Moskowitz, author of authoritative works on both Windows Group Policy and Windows/Linux integration. Centrify’s David McNeely will then explain the workings of the Group Policy engine that is seamlessly built into DirectControl and the unique benefits of using it for non-Windows policy enforcement. He’ll also demonstrate using Windows Group Policy to lock down user and security settings on a Mac desktop system.

Register now (*CLICK HERE*) and we’ll send you a free copy of our complementary white paper on extending Windows Group Policy to Linux, UNIX and Mac.

…

Richard Campbell & Greg Hughes from RunAs Radio talks to my good friend Jeremy Moskowitz about Group Policy - who would have guessed, right :-)

Check it out here: http://www.runasradio.com/default.aspx?showNum=32

Hi,

Microsoft MVP, Jeremy Moskowitz, has 2 video interviews out there… Check them out:

Part 1 & Part 2

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