Our last article about Loopback Policy Processing probably left you with some questions unanswered. Questions like:
So without further ado, your Loopback Policy Processing questions – answered!
It is pretty easy to see why PowerShell is so popular, it automates those repetitive tasks that we have to do every day! But isn’t it silly that this automation adds additional repetitive tasks for us? Take a look at these two scripts to see what I mean:
Both of those scripts make use of the Quest AD cmdlets. If I wanted to run either of these scripts, I would need to run Add-PSSnapin Quest.ActiveRoles.ADManagement to import the Quest AD cmdlets first. When I close and open PowerShell, I have to run the same command again! If I wanted to use any other extension, such as the MDT database tools, I would need to run a similar command.
Lucky for us, we can use the PowerShell Profile to automate this process! Let’s find out how!
All of my life, I have been told that a computer is a computer and a user is a user. Want to apply a default printer to a computer? Want to set the homepage in an entire lab? By using Loopback Policy Processing, we can give our computers some real identity issues – we can make them believe they’re users! How’s that for a Jedi mind trick?
Group Policy has two nodes: Computer Configuration and User Configuration. If you’ve read this post, you know that users are the only objects that can process user configuration settings. You also know that computers are the only objects that can process settings under computer configuration. Let’s look at an example using the picture below.
The horribly named Domain Computers GPO has settings configured under both the Computer and User configuration nodes. As expected, any computer under the Domain Computers OU will ignore the user side “Remove Task Manager” setting. The only setting applied would be the “Do not process the run once list” policy.
Create a GPO similar to this. Be sure that you have at least one setting in each node configured. Ensure that the computer configuration setting is being applied.
Before we introduce Loopback Policy Processing, let’s look at the two processing phases with Group Policy:
Welcome back to our “Managing the Dell BIOS” series! In this final part, we are going to start pushing BIOS settings with Group Policy.
Before we proceed, make sure that:
Now that you have everything you need, let’s lock down your BIOS and deploy your settings!
At the end of Part 2, you created a CCTK package in the form of an EXE. If you are using MDT as your deployment suite, navigate to the Applications folder under your DeploymentShare. Create a new folder named Dell. If you are not using MDT, simply create a new folder on a file or software distribution server.
Note: The BIOS Updates sub-folder is used in our environment to update the Dell BIOS version before imaging. I find that it is much safer to update the BIOS before the OS is installed rather than afterwards. We won’t go down that rabbit hole in this post. If you would like instructions on setting up the BIOS version update feature, then check out part 4 of this series.
Save your BIOS settings package in the root of the Dell folder. Saving the package here instead of on a file server has one big benefit. It allows you to change machine settings through Group Policy and/or MDT.
Next, create a batch file in the same Dell folder. Edit it so that it will execute your BIOS package. Be sure that the BIOS package path points to the UNC. An example would look like this:
\\SERVER\Deploymentshare$\Applications\Dell\BIOSPACKAGE.exe
Note: See this post for a new version of this script: https://deployhappiness.com/move-computers-to-ous-automatically-based-on-name-redux/
Does your default computers container look worse than the bedroom of a teenage boy? Dirty clothes everywhere, computers not in the correct OU, illicit contraband, machines not in any security groups – you get the picture! Today, I want you to change that – I want you to use this script and never worry about misplaced computers again. How are we going to do this? Easy – we are going to let PowerShell search AD and start moving computers to an OU automatically based on a name.
Interested? Well, read on to find out how you can do this!