---
title: "Exclude a node group from a policy"
description: "Leave a node group out of a policy applied higher up."
product: "Guardian"
edition: "Classic"
type: "workflow"
url: "https://docs.cloudhouse.com/guardian/classic/control/policies/exclude-node-group-from-policy/"
---
# Exclude a node group from a policy

Guardian allows you to apply policies to node groups to enforce compliance with security and operational requirements. If you have applied a policy to a high-level node group, such as 'Windows Server 2019', but need to exclude specific nodes from the compliance checks, you can create a separate node group containing those nodes and exclude that group from policy. This way, the policy still applies to the high-level group while ensuring the excluded nodes are not considered for compliance evaluation.

Applies to: `Guardian Classic`

This topic describes how you can exclude a node group from a policy, allowing you to customise policy enforcement by removing specific nodes from compliance evaluation.

To exclude a node group from a policy, complete the following steps:

1. In the Guardian web application, navigate to the **Policies** tab (**Control** > **Policies**). The custom policies are displayed.

    ![Control policies tab](https://docs.cloudhouse.com/guardian/classic/assets/images/guardian/control/policies/control-policies-tab.png)

2. From the list displayed, select the policy you want to configure. If any node groups are already excluded from the selected policy, they are displayed in the **Excluded Groups** drop-down menu.

    ![Select policy](https://docs.cloudhouse.com/guardian/classic/assets/images/guardian/control/policies/select-policy.png)

3. Select **Add Excluded Group** from the **Excluded Groups** drop-down menu. The **Select node groups** dialog is displayed.

    ![Add excluded group](https://docs.cloudhouse.com/guardian/classic/assets/images/guardian/control/policies/add-excluded-group.png)

4. From the list displayed, click **Select** next to the node group you want to exclude, or use the search box to filter your results.

    ![Select node groups](https://docs.cloudhouse.com/guardian/classic/assets/images/guardian/control/policies/select-node-groups.png)

5. Once selected, the node group is added to the **Excluded Groups** drop-down menu. You can exclude multiple node groups from a policy at a time. Once complete, click to **Close** the dialog.

    ![Close select node groups](https://docs.cloudhouse.com/guardian/classic/assets/images/guardian/control/policies/close-select-node-groups.png)