Creating a GPO Naming Scheme

One thing I’ve noticed about Group Policy Objects is that once someone figures out how they work and what they can do for networks then they tend to create a whole lot of them really quick. The problem with this is that it can become very easy to lose track of what GPO’s do what. This makes modifying or troubleshooting Group Policy a complete nightmare.

The best solution to this problem is to take a proactive stance against it. That is, to create a GPO naming scheme before you even begin creating too many of them. There really is no set way to do this seeing as how all networks are different. Some of the more common methods include using the location the GPO effects followed by its purpose, such as Marketing-InternetExplorerSettings or Administration-RedirectedFolders. Once you have a policy like this set in place you will find that modifying, troubleshooting, and even creating new GPO’s because a much more streamlined process.

***

Chris Sanders is the network administrator for one of the largest public school systems in the state of Kentucky. Chris is the author of the book Practical Packet Analysis as well as several articles. His personal website at www.chrissanders.org contains a great deal of information, articles, and guides related to network administration, network security, packet analysis, and general information technology.