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Fine-Grained Password Policies User Interface in Windows 2012 R2 and Newer

Intro

Ace again! Let’s talk about FGPP!

When Active Directory was first introduced in Windows Server 2000, you can only create one password policy for the domain. That was configured in the Default Domain Policy. If you attempted to create a GPO linked to an OU with password policy settings, the Active Directory CSEs (Client Side Extensions – the client side DLLs that determine, download and run GPOs assigned to the computer or user) will ignore them.

FGGP Expanded Requirements

Therefore if an IT infrastructure design required a different password for different locations or users, the only option was to either create a password filter or create a separate child domain or a new Tree in the forest. Of course this came with design challenges, additional hardware and administrative overhead. For a number of years, this was a limitation that IT administrators had no real solution or alternative.

To provide a solution, Fine-Grained Password Policies (FGPPPs), were introduced in Windows Server 2008, continued in Windows 2008 R2. They provided administrators to create a Password Settings Policy (PSO) for a set of user accounts or groups and cannot be linked to GPOs, and the only way to create and administer PSOs and FGGPs are using low-level utilities, such as ADSI Edit.

Windows Server 2012 introduced a new GUI to ease creation and administration of PSOs and FGPPs. In this section, we will learn about the new FGPP and PSO features, and how to create administer them.

  • Why would we need an FGGP?
  • Understanding Password Settings Objects (PSOs)
  • What’s new in Windows 2012 FGGP?
  • PSO Resultant Set of Policies (RSOP)
  • What’s required to implement FGGPs? PowerShell and FGGPs

Why would we need a FGGP?

You can use fine-grained password policies to specify specific password policies in a single domain by applying different restrictions settings for password and account lockout policies to different sets of users and groups in a domain.

For example, you can apply stricter settings to privileged accounts such as administrator accounts, or executive accounts, and apply less strict settings to the accounts of other users. You can also create special password policies for accounts that get their passwords synchronized with other data sources or applications.

Understanding Password Settings Objects (PSOs)

Password Settings Objects (PSOs) have identical password settings as the password policy in a GPO. These settings include password length, complexity, account lockout, password minimum and maximum age, password history settings, PSO link, and Precedence.

PSOs are not linked to an OU. PSOs are applied users or groups. To help keep track of PSOs to an OU, for example, administrators can create an Active Directory group in an OU that is identically named as the group name.

With Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, ADSI Edit (Active Directory Services Editor), a low level editor, is required to create, modify and apply PSOs to users or groups. ADSI Edit is akin to a “registry editor” that allows you to modify data in the various partitions in the AD database. Using ADSI Edit requires additional knowledge and skill level by an administrator to understand the various Active Directory database partitions and how to access them.

What’s new in Windows Server 2012 FGGPs?

In Windows Server 2012, creating and managing fine-grained password policy can now be performed using a user interface, the ADAC (Active Directory Administration Center), vastly improving ease of administration.

Administrators can now visually see a specific user’s resultant set of policies (RSOP), view and sort all password policies within a given domain, and manage individual password policies.

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PSO Resultant Set of Policies (RSOP)

If a user or group has multiple PSOs linked to them, possibly because they are part of multiple Active Directory groups that have different PSOs, only one PSO can be applied. Therefore, the RSOP must be evaluated to insure the correct PSO is applied.

To determine and calculate the RSOP, each PSO has an additional attribute called the msDS-PasswordSettingsPrecedence.

The msDS-PasswordSettingsPrecedence attribute has an integer value of 1 or greater. The lower the value, the higher precedence it has. In a scenario where an AD group has two PSOs linked, with one of them having a value of 2, and the a value of 4, then the PSO with a value of 2 wins, and is applied to the AD group.

RSOP msDS-PasswordSettingsPrecedence Logic:

• A PSO that is linked directly to the user object is the resultant PSO. (Multiple PSOs should not be directly linked to users.)

• If no PSO is linked directly to the user object, the global security group memberships of the user, and all PSOs that are applicable to the user based on those global group memberships, are compared. The PSO with the lowest precedence value is the resultant PSO.

• If no PSO is obtained from conditions (1) and (2), the Default Domain Policy is applied.

Additional reading on RSOP:

AD DS: Fine-Grained Password Policies
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc770394(v=ws.10).aspx

What’s required to implement FGGPs?

To point out, Fine-grained password policies can only be applied to global security groups and user objects (or inetOrgPerson objects, a specific attribute some third party applications may use, if they are used instead of user objects).

Requirements include:

  • Only members of the Domain Admins group can set fine-grained password policies, however, the tasks can be delegated to other users.
  • The domain functional level must be Windows Server 2008 or higher.
  • You must use the Windows Server 2012 version of ADAC (Active Directory Administrative Center) to administer fine-grained password policies through a graphical user interface.

Server Manager can be used to install the RSAT tools (Remote Server Administration Tools) on Windows Server 2012 computers to use the correct version of Active Directory Administrative Center to manage Recycle Bin through a user interface.

  • You can use RSAT on Windows® 8 computers to use the correct version of Active Directory Administrative Center to manage FGGPs.

PowerShell and FGGPs

PowerShell can also be used to create and manage FGGPs. For example, the command below will create the following settings:

  • • PSO Name: TestPswd
  • • Complexity: Enabled
  • • Lockout Duration: 30 Minutes
  • • Lockout Observation Windows: 30 Minutes
  • • Lockout Threshold: 0 Minutes
  • • MaxPasswordAge: 42 Days
  • • Minimum Password Age: 1 Day
  • • MinPasswordLength: 7 characters
  • • PasswordHistoryCount: 24 passwords remembered that you can’t use
  • • ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion: Yes (prevents accidental deletion)
  • • Security Principal Applied to: AD Group called “group1”
New-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicy TestPswd -ComplexityEnabled:$true -LockoutDuration:"00:30:00" -LockoutObservationWindow:"00:30:00" -LockoutThreshold:"0" -MaxPasswordAge:"42.00:00:00" -MinPasswordAge:"1.00:00:00" -MinPasswordLength:"7" -PasswordHistoryCount:"24" -Precedence:"1" -ReversibleEncryptionEnabled:$false -ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion:$true
Add-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicySubject TestPswd -Subjects group1
Additional Reading:

AD DS Fine-Grained Password and Account Lockout Policy Step-by-Step Guide
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc770842(v=ws.10).aspx

Introduction to Active Directory Administrative Center Enhancements (Level 100)
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831702.aspx

Creating fine grained password policies through GUI Windows server 2012 “Server 8 beta”
Microsoft Technet, by Tamer Sherif Mahmoud, Team Blog of MCS
http://blogs.technet.com/b/meamcs/archive/2012/05/29/creating-fine-grained-password-policies-through-gui-windows-server-2012-server-8-beta.aspx

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Summary

Stay tuned for more on Azure and Cloud Computing

Published 10/15/2016

Ace Fekay
MVP, MCT, MCSE 2012, MCITP EA & MCTS Windows 2008/R2, Exchange 2013, 2010 EA & 2007, MCSE & MCSA 2003/2000, MCSA Messaging 2003
Microsoft Certified Trainer
Microsoft MVP – Directory Services

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Remote Server Administration for Windows 2012 R2

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Prologue

Ace here again. This discusses remote administration. Simple, right? Maybe not!

Remote Server Administration for Windows 2012 R2

Server Manager in Windows Server® 2012 R2 can be used to perform various management tasks on remote servers. By default, remote management is enabled on Windows Server 2012 R2.You can add remote servers to the Server Manager Server pool in Windows Server 2012 R2 Server Manager.

Objectives

Discuss the following remote admin methods

  • What is Remote Management?
  • How to Enable and Disable Remote Management
  • Remote Management and Tools Commands
  • Server Manager
  • WinRM
  • PowerShell Remoting
  • Remote Desktop
  • Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT)
  • SCONFIG

What is Remote Management?

Windows Server 2012 R2 provides the ability to remotely manage multiple servers with a number of methods. One of the newest features in Windows Server 2012 is the ability to use Server Manager for this task.

In addition to Windows Remote Management, you can also use Remote Shell and Remote Windows PowerShell to manage remote computers. This provides you the ability to locally load Windows PowerShell modules, such as Server Manager, and execute PowerShell cmdlets available in the loaded module on remote servers. This allows you the ability to run PowerShell commands and scripts. This works including when the script is only on the local server

Windows Remote Management (WinRM) is the Windows implementation of WS-Management, which is an industry standard, Web-based services based protocol. Windows runs the WinRM as a service under the same name, WinRM. WinRM provides secure local and remote communications for management applications and scripts.

In addition, Windows Remote Management is one of the components of the Windows Hardware Management features to allow secure local and remote Windows Server management across a firewall using standard Web service-based protocols.

If the server hardware has an optional, built-in Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) provided by the hardware vendor, you can also remotely manage a system even if the Windows operating system has not yet booted or has failed. This also allows access to the server’s BIOS.

A BMC is an option m provided by hardware vendors, that consists of a microcontroller and an independent network connection that you can communicate to if the server ever becomes offline.

When a server is not connected to a BMC, WinRM can still be used to connect to WMI remotely in situations where firewalls may block DCOM communications, because WinRM uses the secure web-based port, TCP 443.

Additional Reading on WinRM:

About Windows Remote Management
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa384291(v=vs.85).aspx

Hardware Management Introduction (includes BMC information)
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/f550cac0-5344-41cb-8e89-6e5c93236886

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How to Enable and Disable Remote Management

There are a number of methods to administer WinRM.

· Winrm.cmd – Command line tool that allows administrators to configure WinRM, get data, or manage resources. For syntax, you can run winrm /? for online help.

· Win-RM Scripting API – Allows you to create remote administration scripts that expose the WS-Management APIs and protocols.

· Winrs.exe –A command line tool to execute CMD commands on remote servers using WS-Management APIs. For example, to remotely get an ipconfig /all from a remote machine, you can run:
winrs –r:DC12.trimagna.com “ipconfig /all”;tasklist

You can also use the help command to see all possible options and syntax:
winrs –?

· IPMI and WMI Providers – The IPMI provider and drivers allow remote hardware management using BMC. These can be used programmatically.

· WMI Service – Using the WMI plug-in, WMI runs together with WinRM to provide data or control functions for remote management.

· WS-Management protocol – SOAP based protocol using XML messages. It is a web-based, firewall friendly protocol running across secure TCP 443 providing industry-standard interoperability to transfer and exchange management information.

Remote Management Tools and Commands

There are a number of ways to enable, disable and configure Remote Management.

Server Manager

To enable or disable Remote Management, in Server Manager Local Server node, click the text next to Remote Management icon.

WinRM Command

You can use the WinRM command to enable, disable, and configure Remote Management.

The syntax is:

WinRM OPERATION RESOURCE_URI [-SWITCH:VALUR [-SWITCH:VAKLUE] …] [@{KEY=VALUR [;KEP=VALUE]…}]

You can use the following to check the current Remote Management configuration and status:
winrm get winrm/config

Or you can run it remotely on another server using the WinRS command:
winrs –r:DC12-1.trimagna.com “winrm /config”;tasklist

To enable or disable Remote Management:
WinMR qc

When the WinRM qc command is run, it performs a number of steps to enable and configure the Remote Management service:

  1. Configures and changes the WinRM service from Manual to Automatic startup.
  2. Starts the WinRM service.
  3. Creates and configures a listener that will accept WinRM requests on any IP address.
  4. Creates a Windows Firewall exception for WS-Management traffic for the HTTP protocol.

If the Windows Firewall is disabled, you will see one of the following error messages:

  • WSManFault
  • Message
  • ProviderFault
  • WSManFault
  • Message = Unable to check the status of the firewall.
  • Error number: -2147023143 0x800706D9
  • There are no more endpoints available from the endpoint mapper.

To view the command syntax and options, you can run winrm -?

WinRM supports the following commands:

  • PUT
  • GET
  • ENUMERATION
  • INVOKE
WinRM Examples:

Start a service on a remote machine:
winrm invoke startservice wmicimv2/Win32_Service?name=w32time -r:DC12

Reboot a remote machine:
winrm invoke reboot wmicimv2/Win32_OperatingSystem -r:FS1

Additional Reading on the WinRM commands:

An Introduction to WinRM Basics – From the EPS Windows Server Performance Team
http://blogs.technet.com/b/askperf/archive/2010/09/24/an-introduction-to-winrm-basics.aspx

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PowerShell Remoting

There a number of cmdlets that use WMI for remote administration. The cmdlets invoke a temporary connection the remote computer using WMI, runs the command, then closes the session.

These cmdlets do not use WS-Management based remoting, therefore the computer does not require to be configured for WS-Management nor does it have to meet the system requirement for WS-Management. Because they are not WS-Management service related, you can use the ComputerName parameter in any of these cmdlets

You can run the Invoke-Command cmdlets to run commands on other computers.

For example, to get a list of all services on a remote computer that are either running or stopped, you can run the following command
Invoke-Command –computername DC12 –scriptblock {get-service)

Or to see the status of a single service:
Invoke-Command –computername DC12 –scriptblock {get-service WinRm)

Additional Reading on Remote PowerShell:

Windows PowerShell Remoting – Complete list of commands
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ee706585(v=vs.85).aspx

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Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) for Windows

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows®  includes Server Manager, Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-ins, consoles, Windows PowerShell® cmdlets and providers, and some command-line tools for managing roles and features that run on Windows Server 2012 R2.

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SCONFIG

For Server Core, you can use the SCONFIG command and choosing Option #4, then choosing Option #1 to Enable Remote Management, or Option #2 to Disable Remote Management.

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Additional Reading on WinRM tools

About Windows Remote Management
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa384291(v=vs.85).aspx

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Remote Desktop

Remote Desktop has been used for a number of years, and it is the most common method to remotely administer a remote machine. To use Remote Desktop, it must be enabled first on the remote computer. To enable Remote Desktop on the full version of Windows Server 2012, perform the following steps”

  1. Open Server Manager
  2. Click the Local Server Node
  3. Click the “Disabled” status next to Remote Desktop.
  4. The System Properties page appears and is focused on the Remote tab.
  5. Under the Remote tab, select one of the following:
  1. Don’t allow connections to this computer – Default disabled.
  2. Allow connections only from Computers running:
  1. Checkbox: Allow Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication – If you check this box, this setting enables and only allows secure connections from Remote Desktop clients that support network-level authentication.

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You can also enable Remote Desktop on Sever Core using the SCONFIG command.

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Ace Fekay
MVP, MCT, MCSE 2012, MCITP EA & MCTS Windows 2008/R2, Exchange 2013, 2010 EA & 2007, MCSE & MCSA 2003/2000, MCSA Messaging 2003
Microsoft Certified Trainer
Microsoft MVP – Directory Services

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Complete List of Technical Blogs: http://www.delawarecountycomputerconsulting.com/technicalblogs.php

This posting is provided AS-IS with no warranties or guarantees and confers no rights.