Systems and methods for managing policies on a computer

A method comprising:

• managing, on a workstation having a non-Windows operating system, a tangible computer storage medium with user applications stored therein, and a computer processor, an association between the workstation and a Windows native policy stored on a Windows computer;
• checking, by the workstation, whether the Windows native policy stored on the Windows computer and associated with the workstation has been changed;
• upon a determination by the workstation that the Windows native policy has been changed, receiving, on the workstation, the Windows native policy from the Windows computer;
• translating, on the workstation, the Windows native policy into configuration information usable by the non-Windows operating system;
• and
• applying the configuration information usable by the non-Windows operating system by saving the configuration information in a policy-related file on the workstation;
• wherein the Windows native policy can be read, in its native format, by a Windows operating system to set policy settings for Windows computers but cannot be read, in its native format, by a non-Windows operating system to set policy settings for non-Windows computers;
• and
• wherein the Windows native policy is used to set configurable options for at least one computer user, and wherein, after translation by the workstation, the Windows native policy remains centrally managed and updated by the Windows computer, and updates to the Windows native policy are propagated to the workstation, such that use of Windows native policies is extended to allow an administrator to use Windows native policies to manage configuration information on the workstation.

A policy management and update system that uses Windows native policies to manage policy settings on a Linux computer, the system comprising:

• a workstation having a Linux operating system, a tangible computer storage medium with user applications stored therein, and a computer processor, wherein the workstation allows a user to login to the Linux operating system and to access one or more application programs comprising at least a word processing program;
• a policy refresh component, stored in the storage medium, that checks whether a Windows native policy stored on a Windows computer and associated with the workstation has been changed;
• a translator manager, stored in the storage medium, that manages the association of the Windows native policy with the workstation and, upon a determination by the policy refresh component that the Windows native policy has been changed, receives the Windows native policy from the Windows computer;
• a policy translator, stored in the storage medium, that receives the Windows native policy from the translator manager and translates the Windows native policy into configuration information usable by the Linux operating system;
• an update configuration component, stored in the storage medium, that applies the configuration information usable by the Linux operating system by saving the configuration information in a policy-related file on the workstation;
• wherein the Windows native policy can be read, in its native format, by a Windows operating system to set policy settings for Windows computers but cannot be read, in its native format, by a Linux operating system to set policy settings for Linux computers;
• and
• wherein the Windows native policy is used to set configurable options for at least one computer user, and wherein, after translation by the workstation, the Windows native policy remains centrally managed and updated by the Windows computer, and updates to the Windows native policy are propagated to the workstation, such that use of Windows native policies is extended to allow an administrator to use Windows native policies to manage configuration information on the workstation.

A method of managing and updating policy settings on a Linux computer using Windows native policies, the method comprising:

• managing, on a workstation having a Linux operating system, a tangible computer storage medium with user applications stored therein, and a computer processor, an association between the workstation and a Windows native policy stored on a Windows computer, wherein the workstation allows a user to login to the Linux operating system and to access one or more application programs comprising at least a word processing program;
• checking, by the workstation, whether the Windows native policy stored on the Windows computer and associated with the workstation has been changed;
• upon a determination by the workstation that the Windows native policy has been changed, receiving, on the workstation, the Windows native policy from the Windows computer;
• translating, on the workstation, the Windows native policy into configuration information usable by the Linux operating system;
• and
• applying the configuration information usable by the Linux operating system by saving the configuration information in a policy-related file on the workstation;
• wherein the Windows native policy can be read, in its native format, by a Windows operating system to set policy settings for Windows computers but cannot be read, in its native format, by a Linux operating system to set policy settings for Linux computers;
• and
• wherein the Windows native policy is used to set configurable options for at least one computer user, and wherein, after translation by the workstation, the Windows native policy remains centrally managed and updated by the Windows computer, and updates to the Windows native policy are propagated to the workstation, such that use of Windows native policies is extended to allow an administrator to use Windows native policies to manage configuration information on the workstation.

A Windows native policy application system that applies a Windows native policy to set configuration information of at least a word processing program on a Unix computer, the system comprising:

• a workstation having a Unix operating system, a tangible computer storage medium with user applications stored therein, and a computer processor, wherein the workstation allows a user to login to the Unix operating system and to access one or more application programs comprising at least a word processing program;
• a policy refresh component, stored in the storage medium, that, upon user login to the workstation, checks whether a Windows native policy stored on a Windows computer and associated with the workstation has been changed;
• a translator manager, stored in the storage medium, that manages the association of the Windows native policy with the workstation and, upon a determination by the policy refresh component that the Windows native policy has been changed, receives the Windows native policy from the Windows computer;
• a policy translator, stored in the storage medium, that receives the Windows native policy from the translator manager and translates the Windows native policy into configuration information usable by the Unix operating system;
• an update configuration component, stored in the storage medium, that applies the configuration information usable by the Unix operating system by saving the configuration information in a policy-related file on the workstation, wherein application of the configuration information updates configuration information of at least the word processing program;
• wherein the Windows native policy can be read, in its native format, by a Windows operating system to set policy settings for Windows computers but cannot be read, in its native format, by a Unix operating system to set policy settings for Linux computers;
• and
• wherein the Windows native policy is used to set configurable options for at least one computer user, and wherein, after translation by the workstation, the Windows native policy remains centrally managed and updated by the Windows computer, and updates to the Windows native policy are propagated to the workstation, such that use of Windows native policies is extended to allow an administrator to use Windows native policies to manage configuration information on the workstation.

A method of applying a Windows native policy to set configuration information of at least a word processing program on a Unix computer comprising:

• managing, on a workstation having a Unix operating system, a tangible computer storage medium with user applications stored therein, and a computer processor, an association between the workstation and a Windows native policy stored on a Windows computer, wherein the workstation allows a user to login to the Unix operating system and to access one or more application programs comprising at least a word processing program;
• upon user login to the workstation, checking, by the workstation, whether the Windows native policy stored on the Windows computer and associated with the workstation has been changed;
• upon a determination by the workstation that the Windows native policy has been changed, receiving, on the workstation, the Windows native policy from the Windows computer;
• translating, on the workstation, the Windows native policy into configuration information usable by the Unix operating system;
• and
• applying the configuration information usable by the Linux operating system by saving the configuration information in a policy-related file on the workstation, wherein application of the configuration information updates configuration information of at least the word processing program;
• wherein the Windows native policy can be read, in its native format, by a Windows operating system to set policy settings for Windows computers but cannot be read, in its native format, by a Unix operating system to set policy settings for Unix computers;
• and
• wherein the Windows native policy is used to set configurable options for at least one computer user, and wherein, after translation by the workstation, the Windows native policy remains centrally managed and updated by the Windows computer, and updates to the Windows native policy are propagated to the workstation, such that use of Windows native policies is extended to allow an administrator to use Windows native policies to manage configuration information on the workstation.