Login scripts and drive mapping vs UNC shortcuts

Question

Hello all. I currently work in a group that supports 50k plus users and is likely to grow in the next year or so. We primarily run Windows 10 and are preparing to migrate over to Windows 11. We have Azure in the environment but haven't implemented it fully. We use the storage management aspects.

We currently have a mix of batch files, vbs scripts and who knows what else. There hasn't been dedicated to making a uniform approach and implementing it since 2008 and I recently assumed that role.

We have a couple issues that have appeared with the mass work from home activity. We have some users that aren't getting their drive mappings across the VPN because they aren't connected fast enough for it to be online when the script would have been called. We tried a couple work arounds...using UNC shortcuts, adding their login script to the system's startup folder etc.

At this point, I need to look at a good approach to get drive mappings or UNC shortcuts to the desktops. The initial attempt was utilizing GPOs. The trouble there was that the team wanted us to use one policy for all 2k+ shortcuts instead of allowing multiple that we can apply to OUs to help break up the execution. We have a ton of GPOs in general, so I don't want to add to any login time issues in general.

I tried to give an overview without making it too long to read. I'm happy to answer questions or provide some specific details.

Answer 1

Hi, I'd be happy to help you out with your question. Sorry for the inconvenience caused. One option you might consider is using Group Policy Preferences (GPP) to map network drives instead of login scripts. GPP can be configured to apply drive mappings asynchronously, meaning they will persist across reboots and be more reliable than login scripts. Additionally, you can use item-level targeting to apply drive mappings only to specific groups of users or computers. Another consideration is whether to use UNC shortcuts or drive mappings. UNC shortcuts are generally easier to manage and troubleshoot, but they may not perform as well as drive mappings, particularly for frequently accessed network drives. When it comes to using GPOs to apply drive mappings or UNC shortcuts, it's important to balance the need for granular control with the potential for longer login times. One approach is to use security filtering to apply GPOs only to specific groups of users or computers. Ultimately, the best solution for your specific environment will depend on a variety of factors, such as the size and complexity of your organization, the applications and resources your users need to access, and your team's expertise. A thorough assessment of your current setup and the issues you're experiencing can help inform your decision-making process. If you have any other questions or need assistance with anything, please don't hesitate to let me know. I'm here to help.

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