Is it possible to apply a group policy only to certain computers / groups of computers?

Question

I want to setup folder redirection for all of the workstations in the office, with the exception of several laptop users.

Is there a way to create a Group Policy that applies only to a certain set of computers? Please be advised that this is computer-specific, not user-specific. Several users work on both laptops and workstations.

Answer 1

You could probably apply a WMI filter (spit) to your Folder Redirection GPO. The following link describes a WMI query that determines if a computer is a laptop or not: http://blogs.technet.com/heyscriptingguy/archive/2004/09/21/how-can-i-determine-if-a-computer-is-a-laptop-or-a-desktop-machine.aspx.

This is a computer property but one good thing about WMI filters is that they will work in this kind of scenario against a user GPO.

Answer 2

You can setup the OU structure differently.
Have a Users OU put all the User Accounts in there
Under that have Desktop and Laptop OUs, put all the desktop computers in the the Desktop OU and the Laptops in the Laptop OU.

Then apply the Group Policy that are generic to all on the Users OU.
Apply the GP settings specific to Desktops to the Desktop OU.
Apply the GP settings specific to Laptop computers to the Laptop OU.

Ross