Mapping a Shared Folder Using Group Policy

Applies to: Nerdio for Azure (NFA) and Nerdio Private Cloud (NPC)

Refer this KB article to determine your product and application

Mapping a Shared Folder Using Group Policy

The Nerdio Admin Portal (NAP) allows Active Directory Security Group management via the portal (https://help.nerdio.net/hc/en-us/articles/227861108-Overview-of-Groups).  Adding users to Security groups from the Nerdio Admin Portal will update security groups found in Active Directory and a default Nerdio deployment may have some of these propagated for you already.  Below you'll see a security group named "Executive Group" with a description that states "Members of Executive team with access to \\FS01\DEPT\Executive share"

Adding a user to this group will give them access to the folder located at \\FS01\DEPT\Executive, but what happens if a user logs in and cannot see this folder in Windows Explorer?  This is where drive mapping via Group Policy will come in to save the day.

Creating a Group Policy Object (GPO) to Map a Drive

Step 1:  Login to DC01 as a Domain Administrator

Step 2: Ensure the folder you are trying to map to has the appropriate permissions. Below you'll see a screenshot of the \\FS01\DEPT\Executive folder's permissions. You can see that the Executive team has access to this folder.

Step 3: Open Group Policy Management on DC01

Step 4: Right Click the "Users and Groups" OU, this is the OU that contains the Executive Group and click "Create a GPO in this domain and Link it here"

Step 5: Name your GPO and do not choose a starter GPO as a template.  We've named our GPO "ExecutiveDriveMap"

Step 6: Right Click your new Group Policy Object and select "Edit"

Step 7:  Under User Configuration>Preferences> Windows Settings   You'll find "Drive Maps", right click this and select New > Mapped Drive

Step 8: Configure your drive mapping.  Please see the drive mapping we did here to map \\FS01\DEPT\Executive to Drive leter "X:"

- Click OK and close the policy editor window 

Step 9: Adjust the Scope of the Drive mapping GPO to Security filtering to the desired group.  The example below includes the Executive Group only, with standard Delegation settings as well.

Step 10:  Have a user that is a member of the group associated with the drive mapping login.  If a user is already logged in, they will need to log out and back in for the new GPO to apply.  They should now see the drive mapped as it is in our example below.