5.1 Workflow for Managing GPOs with the GP Repository

The following checklists summarize the activities you need to perform when setting up and maintaining the GP Repository and working with GPOs.

	Setting Up the GP Repository
	Connect to a GP Repository. For more information, see Section 5.2.1, Connecting to a GP Repository.
	Add domains to the GP Repository. For more information, see Section 5.2.2, Adding Domains to the GP Repository.
	Determine how you are going to organize GPOs in the GP Repository. For more information, see Section 5.2.3, Understanding GPO Categories.
	Create categories and subcategories in the GP Repository. For more information, see Section 5.2.5, Creating Custom Categories and Subcategories.
	Add GP Repository users and define user security. For more information, see Section 5.2.7, Adding Users and Defining User Security and Section 5.2.8, Configuring GP Editor Link Security.

	Creating and Modifying GPOs in the GP Repository
	Create a new GPO in the GP Repository production domain or import a GPO from Active Directory. For more information, see the appropriate section: Section 5.3.1, Creating a GPO Directly in the GP Repository. Section 5.4.1, Importing an Active Directory GPO.
	Check out the GPO. For more information, see Section 5.5.1, Checking Out a GPO.
	Edit policy settings, add or edit preferences, or edit GPO properties. For more information, see the appropriate section: Section 5.5.2, Editing Group Policy Settings, Preferences, and Properties. Setting Preferences. Editing GPO Properties.
	Check the GPO into the GP Repository and add comments. For more information, see Section 5.5.4, Checking in a GPO.
	Approve the GPO for export to your Active Directory test environment. For more information, see Section 5.8.3, Managing GPOs for Export.
	Migrate the GPO to the GP Repository test domain. For more information, see Section 5.10.3, Migrating a GPO Between GP Repository Domains.

	Testing and Evaluating GPOs in Your Test Environment
	Export the approved GPO to your Active Directory test environment. For more information, see Section 5.8.5, Exporting GPOs to AD Domains.
	Test and fix any problems. For more information, see Section 7.0, Reporting on GPOs.

	Deploying GPOs to Your Production Environment
	Export the GPO to the production domain. For more information, see Section 5.8.5, Exporting GPOs to AD Domains.
	Test the GPO in the production domain. For more information, see Section 7.0, Reporting on GPOs.

	Ongoing Management, Troubleshooting, and Disaster Recovery
	Consider using the Offline Mirror wizard to create a copy of Active Directory GPOs for use in the GP Repository. For more information, see Section 5.4.2, Importing All GPOs Linked to Any AD Container in an AD Domain (Creating an Offline Mirror).
	If you need to synchronize GPO link order from the GP Repository to match the GPO link order in AD, select the Sync Link Order option in the Offline Mirror wizard and choose Match AD Link Order.
	Consider backing up the GPA database on a regular basis to minimize the risk of data loss. If the GPA database becomes corrupted, you can restore the GPA database from a backup. For more information about backing up or restoring a SQL Server database, see the Microsoft documentation.