In Windows XP/2003/2000, the Group Policy agent on the client didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to whether the computer on which it was running was connected to the network or not. If a policy refresh cycle failed, for example, because the laptop was disconnected or no domain controller was available, Windows would simply wait another cycle (90 minutes plus a random value from 0 to 30 minutes) and try again. Furthermore, when it did try to pay attention to network conditions, it sometimes did so clumsily. For example, Group Policy would attempt to detect slow links using ping (ICMP), which many organizations block at the firewall or router level.
Windows Server 2008/Vista is now more network-aware when it comes to policy processing. If a policy refresh cycle fails when a computer is offline, and the computer (or domain controller) goes online, Vista doesn’t wait around; instead, it attempts to perform a policy refresh as soon as it can. It also uses a different mechanism than ping to determine the speed of the network connection.
These enhancements fall under (of course) a new acronym: NLA, for Network Location Awareness.
See recent posts…
New Status as a Service
Key Changes in Group Policy Architecture in WS 2008
Getting started with managing Server Core
Server Core – A minimalist approach to managing WS2008
The purpose of roles in Windows Server 2008
