Business Services Industry

Quest Software Helps IT Professionals Learn About and Leverage Windows Group Policy

Business Wire, Oct 5, 2005

IRVINE, Calif. -- Improved Automation and Administrative Control Gained with Windows Group Policy Further Enhanced with Quest Expertise and Software Products

Quest Software Inc. (Nasdaq:QSFT), a leading provider of application, database and infrastructure management solutions, today underscored its support for Windows Group Policy and announced several ways IT professionals can learn more on the subject from noted Group Policy expert and Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Darren Mar-Elia. Windows Group Policy, available with Windows Server 2000/2003, provides administrative benefits that save time and reduce the number of help desk calls. Quest enhances these benefits by helping IT manage, audit and extend Group Policy.

Mar-Elia, who is also Quest chief technology officer for Infrastructure Management solutions, recently contributed to the "Windows Group Policy Guide," part of the seven-book Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit, 2nd edition, published by Microsoft Press. The book is also available for individual sale. IT professionals have two additional opportunities to learn more about Group Policy from Mar-Elia:

--Mar-Elia will give two presentations Oct. 20 at the TechMentor conference in San Jose, Calif., sponsored by the Redmond Media Group. Mar-Elia will speak on "Understanding and Troubleshooting User Profiles" and "Getting Down and Dirty with Group Policy Functionality."

--Mar-Elia is featured in an archived Web seminar, "Secure Your Environment with Group Policy," available at http://wm.quest.com/events/WebSeminars/webarchive.asp.> Windows Group Policy allows administrators to define and control user access to system and network resources by group, rather than by individual user and computer. While Group Policy allows for more secure and efficient management of users and resources, if not properly managed, it can also cause problems. Individual administrators operating without centralized or standardized controls can unwittingly cause serious disruptions that affect systemwide access and security.

"In addition to the challenges and opportunities Group Policy presents for Windows administration, enterprise IT departments are increasingly moving toward the goal of unified management across multi-platform environments, including Unix and Linux," commented Jackson Shaw, senior director of product management for Active Directory and Integration Solutions, Quest Software. "Quest's solutions for Group Policy management and extension allow customers to leverage existing infrastructure investments and standardize policy-based management across the enterprise."

Quest products for Group Policy include:

--Quest Group Policy Manager -- Built to augment the Microsoft Group Policy Management Console, Group Policy Manager provides comprehensive Group Policy Object (GPO) management with additional features such as version control, offline GPO editing, enhanced RSoP reporting, archival and restoration, templates, change notification and approval, quick rollback and a test framework that allows users to securely test changes to GPOs in the lab before implementing into production.

--Quest InTrust for Active Directory -- InTrust for Active Directory provides detailed, real-time auditing of all changes to Active Directory and GPOs, including changes to GPO settings. It also provides real-time alerting of critical changes, as well as details behind changes, such as who made the change, and the before and after values. InTrust for Active Directory can take automatic action against undesired changes, and even prevent changes to the most vulnerable objects from occurring.

--Quest Group Policy Extensions for Desktops -- Group Policy Extensions for Desktops allows desktop administrators to remotely manage Outlook and user profiles, security group membership, configuration settings (including those for Microsoft Office, Windows Explorer and power options), as well as network connections and scheduled tasks.

--Vintela Authentication Services from Quest -- Vintela Authentication Services includes a Group Policy component that allows IT administrators to apply policies to Unix and Linux systems. The product uses the existing Group Policy interface that is native to Active Directory to extend policy-based management to Unix and Linux systems.

"The Group Policy mechanism built into Windows has always been the most effective and efficient way to immediately gain more control over your user, client and server population," said industry expert, consultant and author Jeremy Moskowitz. "Quest is on the right track to bridge the gap between Windows and Linux whenever possible." Moskowitz provides guidance on multi-platform integration in his newly released book, "Windows and Linux Integration: Hands-on Solutions for a Mixed Environment" (SYBEX/WILEY) and via his Web site at www.WinLinAnswers.com. Moskowitz also provides Group Policy guidance in his recently updated book, "Group Policy, Profiles, and IntelliMirror, Third Edition" (SYBEX/WILEY) and via his Web site at www.GPanswers.com.