Here is part of the "Explain" tab for GP Refresh Interval on a 2003 AD
server:
"Specifies how often Group Policy for computers is updated while the
computer is in use (in the background). This setting specifies a background
update rate only for Group Policies in the Computer Configuration folder.
In addition to background updates, Group Policy for the computer is always
updated when the system starts.
By default, computer Group Policy is updated in the background every 90
minutes, with a random offset of 0 to 30 minutes.
You can specify an update rate from 0 to 64,800 minutes (45 days). If you
select 0 minutes, the computer tries to update Group Policy every 7 seconds.
However, because updates might interfere with users' work and increase
network traffic, very short update intervals are not appropriate for most
installations.
If you disable this setting, Group Policy is updated every 90 minutes (the
default). To specify that Group Policy should never be updated while the
computer is in use, select the "Turn off background refresh of Group Policy"
policy."
So, in XP, the default is 90 mins. You can change this by following this
article:
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/gpe_setrefresh.mspx
Gabe
TheSingingCat said:
Yah that tip references w2k machines and for us at least, it seems to have
changed for Xp boxes. We're just using the default refresh intervals on our
DCs and clients and it definitely takes a lot longer than 90min +/- 30
before the policy is applied. Not a huge deal, most of the policy managed
bit isn't so critical it has to be pushed out immediately .
Looking at a client App log I see:
11/02/04 6:00PM SceCli 1704 and the next one isn't until:
11/03/04 11:36AM SceCli 1704
/shrug