Question : Upgrading Group Policy To Work With Windows 7 Clients Using Windows Server 2003.

Hello All -

My company manages a few domains that have always been Windows 2003 based with workstations using Windows XP. We have set group policies that have worked well for us in the past.  

Recently, we have been converting these networks over to a Citrix enviroment.  Our Citrix enviroment consists of 3 XenApp servers running Windows 2003 x86 (we tried x64 but didn't have luck as many apps aren't yet compatible.)  For the workstation end, we started by using Windows XP with the XenApp full desktop but after trying XenApp hosted apps on the last conversion, we decided to use it instead of the full desktop.

Anyways, this weekend we are rolling out about 30 new nettops to 3 branches.  They will be running Windows 7 x86 Enterprise but will still be connecting to the same Windows 2003 domain / schema that the other old Windows XP machines are still using as well as using many of the same GPOs.

1.  What's the best and safest way to upgrade our Group Policy so that it still retains full functionality for the legacy Windows XP workstations, but supports Windows 7 workstations without introducing Windows 2008?  

2.  Will a GPO need to be created for each version of Windows for the same settings?  Example:  If I want to enable a screensaver after 15 minutes, will I have to create a GPO for the Windows XP machines with those settings and then a seperate GPO for the Windows 7 machines with the same settings?

I've already looked at upgrading the schema and briefly tried to find an administrative template to plug into the old GP, but thought I'd post a question.

Any help would be appreciated - Thanks!

Answer : Upgrading Group Policy To Work With Windows 7 Clients Using Windows Server 2003.

You can download the RSAT tool that will enable you to see the Windows 7 policies for your 2003 domain here: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=130862