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In this module, we're going to look at how group policy gets applied from the client's perspective.

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In Module three, we looked at group policy processing from the perspective of you as the administrator

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defining, linking and filtering GPOs in order to get the right settings to the right computers and

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users.

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But on this module, what I want to do is kind of drill into what happens at the client when group policy

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processing is happening.

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So let's look at the group policy processing cycle.

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Computer or user objects will start processing.

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And just keep in mind that depending on how it's happening and when it's happening, computer processing

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might be happening separate from user processing.

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And I'll talk about that in a little bit, but let's just assume that both are running at the same time

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in this cycle.

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The first thing that happens is what's called the core or group policy infrastructure phase.

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And in that phase the client via the server workstation will query AD just like any client in an Active

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Directory domain will do to find its closest DC.

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Typically that is done by locating a DC in the same site as the client machine, and it does that to

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determine based on where the computer or user resides in the ad hierarchy, which GPOs apply, which

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GPOs are linked to this particular computer or user object.

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So next what happens is the client also part of the core or group policy infrastructure phase?

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The client builds its list of GPOs that apply to it.

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And this takes into account things like filtering and takes into account GPOs that have changed or have

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not changed.

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Keep in mind that as I mentioned in a previous module, group policy processing only does work at the

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client if GPOs have changed.

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And what that comes down to is when the client builds its list of GPOs to process.

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If that list has changed between time one and time to then a time to processing has to occur.

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So if nothing has changed in your group policy infrastructure between, you know, one processing cycle

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and the next, then group policy engine will wake up, see that nothing has changed and basically do

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no work.

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But during this phase, what happens is I get that list built of GPOs that apply to me and then I also

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get the list of client side extensions that need to do work in this phase.

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And then we move into the CSC phase, which is essentially that each client side extension once wakes

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up and does its work for the ones that are called or the ones that required for the previous section

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or in the previous part of the cycle.

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And it processes the GPOs that implement those policy areas of those CCS in that local site domain OYU

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or LSW order that I talked about previously and then the cycle starts all over again.

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So that's basically how group policy processing occurs at the client.