Active Directory Cookbook

9.15. Creating a WMI Filter

Tip

WMI filters can be configured only on a Windows Server 2003 domain controller, and they will apply only to Windows Server 2003- and Windows XP-based clients.

Problem

You want to create a WMI filter.

Solution

Using a graphical user interface

1. Open the GPMC snap-in.

2. In the left pane, expand the Forest container, expand the Domains container, browse to the target domain, and click the WMI Filters container.

3. Right-click on the WMI Filters container and select New.

4. Enter a name and description for the filter.

5. Click the Add button.

6. Select the appropriate namespace, enter a WQL query, and click OK.

7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for as many queries as you need to add.

8. Click the Save button.

Using VBScript

At the time of publication of this book, there were no GPM methods available for creating WMI filters.

Discussion

WMI filters are new in Windows Server 2003 and provide another way to filter how GPOs are applied to clients. WMI filters live in Active Directory as objects under the WMIPolicy container within the System container for a domain. A WMI filter consists of a WMI Query Language (WQL) query that when linked to a GPO will be run against all clients that the GPO applies to. If the WQL returns a true value (that is returns nonempty results from the WQL query), the GPO will continue to process. If the WQL query returns false (nothing is returned from the query), the GPO will not be processed.

The great thing about WMI filters is that the vast amount of information that is available ...