Policy downloading can be set in one of the following three states:
If policy downloading is off, no downloading takes place.
If policy downloading is set to automatic, the system asks the primary network provider to provide a place to look on the network for the policy file. Windows NT and NovellŽ NetWareŽ providers both support this capability. (For a Windows NT network, the system looks in the primary domain controller's NETLOGON directory for a file named CONFIG.POL. For a NetWare version 3..x network, the system looks on the preferred server's SYS\PUBLIC directory for a file named CONFIG.POL.) Any software vendor who provides a 32-bit network provider can support this capability by implementing the NPGetPolicyPath function. If policy downloading is set to automatic and the primary network provider does not support NPGetPolicyPath, no downloading takes place.
If policy downloading is set to manual, a specific path to the policy file must also be supplied. It can be either a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path or a path beginning with a drive letter. (In the latter case, the drive letter must be appropriately mapped before downloading takes place.)
The default setting for policy downloading is automatic. No error messages are displayed if a policy file cannot be found in the location that the network provider suggests. This means that a site can install a number of Win32-based clients and then deploy the policies at a later date. To deploy them, the administrator just needs to place the policy file(s) in the appropriate location(s) on the network, and the clients will immediately begin using them the next time they log on.