Description:
Managing collections of computers that run Microsoft Windows isn't any fun--particularly collections that are distributed throughout a building, region, or planet. It's particularly hard on one's sanity to have multiple people using the same computer. Some Windows tools for managing user privileges can help soothe the nightmare, and Stacy Anderson-Redick documents one of the best in Windows System Policy Editor: Managing Workstation Farms. In typical O'Reilly depth and detail, this book teases out every feature and capability of the System Policy Editor, combining explanatory text with tables that list options, switches, keywords, and bits of syntax. All of the templates for Windows NT, Novell NetWare, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Office are documented here fully (and well). More to the point--considering that most administrators could figure out the System Policy Editor through experimentation and some study of its documentation--this book includes lots of advice on proper use of the utility. Case studies are most helpful; a typical one explains how to set up system policies for a machine that will live in a university computer lab that's accessible to the public. More Windows 2000 coverage would make this book better, but what's here still applies to most organizations that have yet to migrate to the new system. You might want to supplement this book with Tim Hill's excellent Windows 2000: Windows Script Host, which goes into more detail on using the Windows Script Host to administer fleets of Windows NT computers remotely. --David Wall Topics covered: How and why to use the Windows System Policy Editor to set user, group, and computer access privileges on computers that run Windows 9x and Windows NT. The user interface is fully documented, as are the structure and syntax of policy files and templates.
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