Configuring Group Policies to be Refreshed

The computer portion of a Group Policy Object is normally applied any time you restart a computer that receives group policies. The user portion of a Group Policy Object is normally applied any time a user logs on to a computer. Both the computer and user portions of a Group Policy Object can also be configured to refresh automatically at a set interval.

To configure the refresh interval and the conditions for refreshing group policies, use the policies listed under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Group Policy and User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Group Policy of a Group Policy Object.

If you configure your Group Policy Objects to refresh periodically, at the interval you specify, the computer contacts Active Directory to get the Group Policy Objects that apply and configures itself with the appropriate settings. If policies are refreshed at a set interval, users can change their configuration settings or their computers’ configuration settings, but the changes will be overridden when the group policies are refreshed at the next interval.

If you configure the refresh policy settings for users or computers, the refresh policy applies to both Windows and agent-managed computers and users.