machine and to logged-on users. Some settings - such as those for automated software installation, drive mappings, startup scripts or logon scripts - only apply during startup or user logon. Since Windows XP, users can manually initiate a refresh of the group policy by using the gpupdate command from a command prompt. Group Policy Objects are processed in the following order (from top to bottom): Local - Any settings in the computer's local policy. Prior to Windows Vista, there was only one local group policy stored per computer. Windows Vista and later Windows versions allow individual group policies per user accounts. Site - Any Group Policies associated with the Active Directory site in which the computer resides. (An Active Directory site is a logical grouping of computers, intended to facilitate management of those computers based on their physical proximity.) If multiple policies are linked to a site, they are processed in the order set by the administrator. Domain - Any Group Policies associated with the Windows domain in which the computer resides. If multiple policies are linked to a domain, they are processed in the order set by the administrator. Organizational Unit - Group policies assigned to the Active Directory organizational unit (OU) in which the computer or user are placed. (OUs are logical units that help organizing and managing a group of users, computers or other Active Directory objects.) If multiple policies are linked to an OU, they are processed in the order set by the administrator. The resulting Group Policy settings applied to a given computer or user are known as the Resultant Set of Policy (RSoP). RSoP information may be displayed for both computers and users using the gpresult command. Inheritance A policy setting inside a hierarchical structure is ordinarily passed from parent to children, and from children to grandchildren, and so forth. This is termed inheritance. It can be blocked or enforced to control what policies are applied at each level. If a higher level administrator (enterprise administrator) creates a policy that has inheritance blocked by a lower level administrator (domain administrator), this policy will still be processed. Where a Group Policy Preference Settings is configured and there is also an equivalent Group Policy Setting configured, then the value of the Group Policy Setting will take precedence. Filtering WMI filtering is the process of customizing the scope of the GPO by choosing a (WMI) filter to