Windows® Group Policy Administrators Pocket Consultant

Using WMI Filters

Computers running Windows XP and later versions of Windows support Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). WMI is a management framework that you can use to query a computer to determine its attributes. For example, you can create a WMI query to determine the operating system running on a computer or the amount of available memory.

WMI queries by themselves are helpful, especially when used in scripts. To really tap into their power, however, you can use them with WMI filters. A WMI filter consists of one or more WMI queries that determine whether certain criteria are true. When you link a WMI filter to a GPO, you can use it to control policy application by forcing Group Policy to evaluate your queries with regard to the computers ...