Group Policy Administrative Templates for Windows Server 2008



Group Policy administrative templates for Windows Server 2008 have been completely revised and rebuilt from the previous versions, but they still support Windows 2000 client and server, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. The original ADM files have been replaced or split into two files:

1) ADMX administrative template settings file

2) ADML administrative template language file

The original GPO (Group Policy Object) single administrative template ADM file format was replaced to overcome many of the original issues with this file format, including the unique ADM format as well as the inclusive local language of the particular ADM files contained on the administrative workstation.

With the separation of the ADM file into a settings and local language file, the new templates enable the administration of a single GPO using different local languages.

In previous versions, when an administrator viewed or edited a GPO, the local template files from the administrative workstation were pushed up to the server GPO folder. With the new Windows Server 2008 GPO infrastructure, when the GPO is opened for viewing or editing, the template files located on the local hard drive are loaded to view the GPO. The GPO folder created with the Windows Server 2008 GPO tools contains only the files and folders that provide the specifics of the GPO and not the general template files, as with the previous versions. This improves the GPO processing time as well as decreases the amount of data stored in the sysvol folder on each domain controller.