F-SECURE POLICY MANAGER 7.0 Administrator's Manual page 21

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Default Policy Files
Base Policy Files
Incremental Policy Files
The Default Policy file contains the default values (the factory settings) for
a single product that are installed by the setup. Default policies are used
only on the host. If neither the Base Policy file nor the Incremental Policy
file contains an entry for a variable, then the value is taken from the
Default Policy file. Each product has its own Default Policy file. New
product versions get new versions of the Default Policy file.
Base Policy files contain the administrative settings and restrictions for all
the variables for all F-Secure products on a specific host (With domain
level policies, a group of hosts may share the same file). A Base Policy
file is signed by F-Secure Policy Manager Console, protecting the file
against changes while it is passing through the network and while it is
stored in the host's file system. These files are sent from F-Secure Policy
Manager Console to the F-Secure Policy Manager Server. The host
periodically polls for new policies created by F-Secure Policy Manager
Console.
Incremental Policy files are used to store local changes to the Base
Policy. Only changes that fall within the limits specified in the Base Policy
are allowed. The Incremental Policy files are then periodically sent to
F-Secure Policy Manager Console so that current settings and statistics
can be viewed by the administrator.