220-1102 Question 61
Single answerEnterpriseA technician is preparing 25 new Windows laptops for employees in a corporate office. Management wants each laptop to receive the standard company configuration, including security settings, mapped resources, desktop restrictions, and approved applications, with the least amount of manual setup after the device joins the company domain. Which of the following is the BEST way to meet this requirement?
- A
Create and apply Group Policy Objects in Active Directory after the laptops are joined to the domain
- B
Configure each laptop manually using a local administrator account before assigning it to the user
- C
Use a workgroup instead of a domain so each department can manage its own settings independently
- D
Have users sign in with personal Microsoft accounts and download the required applications from the Microsoft Store
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The best answer is to use Group Policy Objects through Active Directory in a domain environment. On the A+ Core 2 exam, enterprise topics commonly focus on centralized management, domain-based administration, least-effort deployment, and consistent enforcement of company standards. GPOs allow administrators to apply security baselines, user environment settings, login scripts, software restrictions, and other configurations to many devices at once. This is far more efficient and reliable than manually configuring each machine. Microsoft enterprise best practices for Windows environments emphasize domain membership, organizational units, and Group Policy for centralized administration. While other enterprise tools can also assist with deployment, GPO is the most directly relevant solution for applying standard company settings after devices join the domain.
- A. Correct.
This is correct. In an enterprise environment, Group Policy Objects (GPOs) in Active Directory are the standard way to centrally deploy and enforce configuration settings such as password policies, desktop restrictions, scripts, mapped drives, and many security options. Once the laptops are joined to the domain and placed in the appropriate organizational units (OUs), the policies can be applied consistently with minimal manual intervention. This directly supports scalable management for multiple systems.
- B. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. Manual configuration may work for one or two devices, but it does not scale well for 25 laptops and increases the risk of inconsistency, missed settings, and configuration drift. Enterprise environments typically use centralized management tools rather than per-device manual setup whenever possible.
- C. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. A workgroup does not provide centralized authentication or policy management like a domain does. Choosing a workgroup would make it harder, not easier, to enforce standard security settings and configurations across many business systems. This option reflects a common misconception that decentralized control improves manageability in enterprise deployments.
- D. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. Personal Microsoft accounts are generally not appropriate for managed enterprise systems that need centralized authentication, policy enforcement, and controlled software deployment. In a corporate environment, domain or organization-managed accounts are preferred. Allowing users to install apps individually from the Microsoft Store would reduce administrative control and could violate company security standards.