WorkSpace On-Demand 2.0 Feature for Windows ... - IBM Redbooks

Note
When you define a desktop, you have to do it either for Windows 9x or
Windows NT. If a user uses both systems, and you want to assign a
desktop to both operating systems, you have to do it twice, one for NT on a
NT SANDBOX and another for Win9x on a Win9x SANDBOX.
6.2 User profiles and system policy files review
Windows User Profiles and system policy files are described in some detail in
Section 2.5.1.1, “The user profile” on page 44 and Section 2.5.1.2, “System
policy files” on page 47. What follows is a review of the concepts that were
already covered.
A user profile defines the Windows environment that is loaded when a user
logs on. The user profile contains all user-defined settings for the computer,
including network connections, display settings, printer connections, and so
on. The primary goal of user profiles is to provide a user with a common
environment between computers, that is, allowing the user to roam with
common settings.
System policies are used mainly to restrict what users can do. For example,
you can use system policies to restrict what users can do from their desktops,
such as restricting certain Control panel options or configuring network
settings. Using a policy editor, you can create a file that contain registry
settings. These registry settings will be written to the user or the local
computer portion of the registry database of the client computer to generate a
desired environment for the user.
From the above summary, it is possible, at times, to use either of the two
mechanisms to control the user environment. As a rule of thumb, it is always
best to try to use the system policy file rather than the user profile to control
the user’s environment. This is because the system policy file is contained in
one central location and is easier to update.
In the sections that follow, we use both methods to do different tasks.
6.3 Customizing the desktop or user profile
Since the desktop in the WorkSpace On-Demand documentation refers to the
customizing the user profile, these two words can be used interchangeably. In
User and desktop administration 179