New-GPLink

Links a GPO to a site, domain, or OU.

Syntax

New-GPLink
   -Guid <Guid>
   -Target <String>
   [-LinkEnabled <EnableLink>]
   [-Order <Int32>]
   [-Domain <String>]
   [-Server <String>]
   [-Enforced <EnforceLink>]
   [-WhatIf]
   [-Confirm]
   [<CommonParameters>]
New-GPLink
   [-Name] <String>
   -Target <String>
   [-LinkEnabled <EnableLink>]
   [-Order <Int32>]
   [-Domain <String>]
   [-Server <String>]
   [-Enforced <EnforceLink>]
   [-WhatIf]
   [-Confirm]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The New-GPLink cmdlet links a GPO to a site, domain, or organizational unit (OU). By default, the link is enabled, which means that the settings of the GPO are applied at the level of the target Active Directory container according to the rules of inheritance and precedence when Group Policy is processed.

You can specify the GPO by either its display name or its GUID; or the GPO can be piped into the cmdlet. You specify the site, domain, or organizational unit (OU) to link to by its Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) distinguished name. You can use other parameters to specify whether the link is enabled, whether the link is enforced, and the order in which it is applied at the site, domain, or OU.

Examples

PS C:\> New-GPO -Name "MyGPO" | New-GPLink -Target "ou=MyOU,dc=contoso,dc=com" -LinkEnabled Yes 
GpoId       : c25daa3e-5d05-43b3-87ca-0a237882fd63 
DisplayName : MyGPO 
Enabled     : True 
Enforced    : False 
Target      : OU=MyOU,DC=contoso,DC=com 
Order       : 1

This command creates the GPO named MyGPO in the domain of the user (or, for a startup or shutdown script, the computer) and links it to the MyOU organizational unit in the contoso.com domain. If the domain of the user, or the computer, is different than contoso.com, a trust relationship must exist between the two domains.

Because this command can take a GPO as input, you can insert any command that returns a GPO between New-GPO and New-GPLink to configure the GPO. For instance, you can insert Set-GPPermissions commands to set permissions on the GPO, Set-GPRegistryValue cmdlet to configure one or more registry-based policy settings for the GPO, or the Set-GPPrefRegistryValue cmdlet to configure one or more Registry preference items for the GPO.

PS C:\> New-GPLink -Name "TestGPO" -Target "dc=contoso,dc=com" 
GpoId       : d5a3b4e7-e37a-4070-846c-568689eaa838 
DisplayName : TestGPO 
Enabled     : True 
Enforced    : False 
Target      : DC=contoso,DC=com 
Order       : 2

This command links the TestGPO GPO in the domain of the user (or, for a startup or shutdown script, the computer) to the contoso.com domain. If the domain of the user, or the computer, is different than contoso.com, a trust relationship must exist between the two domains.

PS C:\> New-GPLink -name "TestGPO" -Target "Test-Site" -Enforced Yes 
GpoId       : d5a3b4e7-e37a-4070-846c-568689eaa838 
DisplayName : TestGPO 
Enabled     : True 
Enforced    : True 
Target      : CN=test-site,cn=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=contoso,DC=com 
Order       : 1

This command links the TestGPO GPO to the site named Test-Site and sets the link to enforced.

Parameters

-Confirm

Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.

Type:SwitchParameter
Aliases:cf
Position:Named
Default value:False
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Domain

Specifies the domain for this cmdlet. You must specify the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the domain.

For the New-GPLink cmdlet:

  • The GPO to link from must exist in this domain.

  • The Active Directory container to link to must exist in a domain that has a trust relationship with this domain.

To specify a domain to link to, use the Target parameter.

If you do not specify the Domain parameter, the domain of the user that is running the current session is used. If the cmdlet is being run from a computer startup or shutdown script, the domain of the computer is used. For more information, see the Notes section in the full Help.

If you specify a domain that is different from the domain of the user that is running the current session (or, for a startup or shutdown script, the computer), a trust must exist between that domain and the domain of the user, or the computer.

You can also refer to Domain by its built-in alias, domainname. For more information, see about_Aliases.

Type:String
Aliases:DomainName
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Enforced

Specifies whether the GPO link is enforced. You can specify Yes or No. By default, GPO links are not enforced.

By setting the GPO link to enforced, you ensure the following:

  • That the settings of the GPO cannot be blocked (by blocking inheritance) at a lower-level Active Directory container.
  • That the settings of the GPO always take precedence over conflicting settings in GPOs that are linked to lower-level containers.

This option should be used sparingly. Casual use of this option complicates troubleshooting.

Type:EnforceLink
Accepted values:Unspecified, No, Yes
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Guid

Specifies the GPO to link by its globally unique identifier (GUID). The GUID uniquely identifies the GPO in the domain.

You can also refer to the Guid parameter by its built-in alias, id. For more information, see about_Aliases.

Type:Guid
Aliases:ID
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:True
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-LinkEnabled

Specifies whether the GPO link is enabled.

The acceptable values for this parameter are: Yes or No.

By default, Group Policy processing is enabled for all GPO links. You can completely block the application of a GPO for a specific site, domain, or OU by disabling the GPO link for that site, domain, or OU. Disabling a GPO link does not disable the GPO itself. If the GPO is linked to other sites, domains, or OUs, Group Policy continues to process the GPO for each link that is enabled.

Type:EnableLink
Accepted values:Unspecified, No, Yes
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Name

Specifies the GPO to link by its display name.

The display name is not guaranteed to be unique in the domain. If another GPO with the same display name exists in the domain, an error occurs. You can use the Guid parameter to uniquely identify a GPO.

You can also refer to the Name parameter by its built-in alias, displayname. For more information, see about_Aliases.

Type:String
Aliases:DisplayName
Position:0
Default value:None
Required:True
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Order

Specifies the link order for the GPO link. You can specify a number that is between one and the current number of GPO links to the target site, domain, or OU, plus one.

The link order specifies the order of precedence with which GPOs linked to the same Active Directory container are applied. When Group Policy is processed, GPOs with a higher link order number are processed before GPOs with a lower link order number. Therefore, when two GPOs contain conflicting settings, the settings in the GPO with the lower link order number, because it is processed last, overwrites those of the GPO with the higher link order number. A lower number indicates higher precedence.

By default, the GPO link is added at the lowest precedence with a link order equal to the number of GPO links to the container, plus one. Link order is a dynamic value because the value may change as GPO links are added and deleted from the container. You can change the link order of a GPO link with the Set-GPLink cmdlet.

Type:Int32
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Server

Specifies the name of the domain controller that this cmdlet contacts to complete the operation. You can specify either the FQDN or the host name.

If you do not specify the name by using the Server parameter, the primary domain controller (PDC) emulator is contacted.

You can also refer to the Server parameter by its built-in alias, dc. For more information, see about_Aliases.

Type:String
Aliases:DC
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Target

Specifies the LDAP distinguished name of the site, domain, or OU to which to link the GPO. For example, for the MyOU organizational unit in the contoso.com domain, the LDAP distinguished name is ou=MyOU,dc=contoso,dc=com.

Type:String
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:True
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-WhatIf

Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run.

Type:SwitchParameter
Aliases:wi
Position:Named
Default value:False
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

Inputs

Microsoft.GroupPolicy.Gpo

You can pipe a GPO object to be linked to an Active Directory container. Collections that contain GPOs from different domains are not supported.

Outputs

Microsoft.GroupPolicy.GpoLink

This cmdlet returns an object that represents the link between the GPO and the site, domain, or OU.

Notes

  • To link a GPO to a site, domain, or OU, you must have Link GPOs permission on that site, domain, or OU. By default, only domain administrators and enterprise administrators have this privilege for domains and OUs. Enterprise administrators and domain administrators of the forest root domain have this privilege for sites.

    You can use the Domain parameter to explicitly specify the domain for this cmdlet.

    If you do not explicitly specify the domain, the cmdlet uses a default domain. The default domain is the domain that is used to access network resources by the security context under which the current session is running. This domain is typically the domain of the user that is running the session. For instance, the domain of the user who started the session by opening Windows PowerShell from the Program Files menu, or the domain of a user that is specified in a runas command. However, computer startup and shutdown scripts run under the context of the LocalSystem account. The LocalSystem account is a built-in local account, and it accesses network resources under the context of the computer account. Therefore, when this cmdlet is run from a startup or shutdown script, the default domain is the domain to which the computer is joined.