When you configure a Group Family, you choose containers that hold the objects you want Group Family to assemble into groups (managed object containers) as well as the container to hold those groups (controlled group container). The Group Family policy has the option allowing you to select managed object containers from any domains registered with Active Roles. With this option, managed object containers may be from different domains and the domain of the controlled group container may be different from the domain of the managed object containers. Depending on the location of the managed object containers, the groups controlled by Group Family can include objects from domains other than the domain that holds the controlled group container (external domains).
Active Directory has restrictions regarding the types of groups that can have members from external domains, and the types of groups that can have membership in other groups. All these restrictions apply to the groups controlled by Group Family. Thus, Active Roles does not allow Group Family to add objects from external domains to global groups, nor does it allow Group Family to add domain local groups to a global group. With these natural restrictions, you can configure Group Family so that its controlled groups include members from any domains registered with Active Roles.
As stated above, whether managed object containers can be selected from external domains depends upon the Group Family policy. If you want to use this capability, select the Enable cross-domain membership policy option. For more information, see Group Family policy options.
Group Family policy options determine the Group Family processing behavior. For instance, there is a policy option that determines whether controlled groups can have members from external domains.
You can view or change Group Family policy options in the Active Roles Console as follows:
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In the Console tree, select Configuration > Policies > Administration > Builtin.
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In the details pane, double-click Built-in Policy - Group Family.
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In the Built-in Policy - Group Family Properties dialog, click Policies, select the policy, and click View/Edit.
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In the Policy Properties dialog that appears, click Policy Settings.
The Policy Settings tab includes the following options:
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Enable cross-domain membership: Select this option if you want Group Family to support the grouping of objects from external domains. When selected, this option allows each Group Family instance to have managed object containers from any domains that are registered with Active Roles. If this option is not selected, the managed object containers must be from the domain of the Group Family configuration storage group.
Selecting this option should be considered a long-term commitment to scenarios where objects managed by Group Family may reside in domains other than the domain of the Group Family configuration storage group—external domains. Once you have enabled cross-domain membership, you can configure Group Family instances to look for managed objects in any domains registered with Active Roles. However, if you later decide to un-select this policy options, the Group Family instances that were configured to look for managed objects in external domains will cease to function. You will have to inspect and, if needed, reconfigure your existing Group Family instances to limit scope of managed objects to the domain of the Group Family configuration storage group.
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Enable support for non-stored virtual attributes: When selected, this option makes it possible for Group Family to perform grouping based on custom non-stored virtual attributes-the attributes that have their value calculated by a certain policy rather than stored in the Active Roles database. This option can have a negative effect on Group Family performance, so select it only if you have any of the Group Family group-by properties implemented as a custom non-stored virtual attribute.
This option is normally not selected for performance reasons, which causes Group Family not to create controlled groups that use a custom non-stored virtual attribute as a group-by property. You need to select this option if you want Group Family to create controlled groups by grouping objects based on custom non-stored virtual attributes.
Creating a Group Family has two steps:
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Creating the Group Family configuration.
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Running the Group Family to initially create or capture groups.
The Active Roles Console provides the New Group Family Wizard for creating the Group Family configuration. The wizard creates a group, referred to as configuration storage group, and populates that group with the configuration data you specify. The wizard also allows you to run the Group Family immediately or schedule the Group Family to run on a regular basis.
NOTE: You can create any number of Group Families, with each Group Family intended to control a certain collection of groups. When linking a group to a grouping, the Group Family engine ensures the group is under the control of only the Group Family that created the link, thereby avoiding conflicts.
Groups created through Group Family does not support group name with special characters, such as, /\[]:;|=*?<>".
To create the Group Family configuration and run the Group Family
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To start the New Group Family Wizard, in the Console tree, right-click the Organizational Unit in which you want to create the Group Family configuration storage group, and select New > Group Family.
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Follow the instructions on the wizard pages.
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On the Name the Group Family page, specify a name for the Group Family.
The wizard creates the Group Family configuration storage group with the name you specify on this page.
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On the Grouping Options page, do one of the following, then click Next:
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To use a preconfigured grouping criterion, click Pre-configured grouping by, then select a criterion from the list.
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To configure a custom grouping criterion, click Custom Grouping.
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On the Location of Managed Objects page, do one of the following, then click Next:
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To assemble objects into groups, click Add, then select a container that holds the objects.
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To remove a selected container from the Containers list, click Remove.
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On the Selection of Managed Objects page, configure the object type and/or filtering rule for group family membership, then click Next:
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To choose an object by type, click one of the four topmost options. Alternatively, click Other, then click Specify to choose an object type from the Object Types list.
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To filter objects, click Filter, and complete the Filter dialog.
When ready, to view the list of objects that meet your specified conditions, click Preview.
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On the Group-by Properties page, Click Add, then select an object property from the Object property list. To continue, click Next.
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On the Capture Existing Groups Manually page, select Skip this step, without capturing groups manually, then click Next.
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On the Group Naming Rule page, configure the naming rule as applicable, and click Next:
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To configure a value, click Configure, and complete the Configure Value dialog.
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To fine-tune group naming with a specific rule, click Fine-tune Naming Rule, and complete the Fine-tune Naming Rule dialog.
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On the Group Type and Scope page, configure the group settings as applicable, then click Next:
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In the Group scope area, select a group scope.
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In the Group type area, select a group type.
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On the Location of Groups page, do one of the following, then click Next:
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To have the Group Family create new groups in the OU that holds the Group Family configuration storage group, click Group Family home OU.
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To have the Group Family create new groups in a different OU, click This Organizational Unit, then click Select to choose the OU.
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On the Exchange-related Settings page, select or clear the Mail-enable groups created by Group Family as appropriate. If you select this check box, set up the Exchange-related options on this page. To continue, click Next.
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On the Group Family Scheduling page, configure the scheduling options as you need, then click Next.
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If you want the Group Family to run once you completed the wizard, select Run Group Family once after completing this page.
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If you want the Group Family to run on a scheduled basis, select Schedule Group Family to run, then set the appropriate date, time, and frequency of runs by using the options below this check box.
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From the Run on this server list, select the Administration Service you want to run the Group Family.
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On the last page of the wizard, click Finish.
To complete the Filter dialog
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Select an object property under Select Property.
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Select an operator from the Select operator drop-down list.
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In Specify value (case-insensitive), enter a value for the selected property.
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Click Add to add the filter condition that you just specified, to the Conditions list.
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To add multiple filter conditions, repeat the previous steps.
To complete the Configure Value dialog
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Click Add.
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In the Add Entry dialog, do one of the following, then click OK:
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To configure a group-by property entry, click Group-by Property under Entry Type. Then, under Entry properties, select a property from the list and do one of the following:
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Optionally, do the following:
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Add more entries, delete or edit existing ones, and use the arrow buttons to move entries up or down in the list.
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Paste the Clipboard contents to the list of entries by clicking the button next to the Configured value box.
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Click OK.
To complete the Fine-tune Naming Rule dialog
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Select the check box and click Configure next to the naming property that you want to configure, then complete the Configure Value dialog by using the procedure outlined above.
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Click OK.
You can start the New Group Family Wizard in the Active Roles Console by using the New > Group Family command on the Organizational Unit in which you want to place the configuration storage group.
