SCCM and WMI Query to Find All Laptops and Desktops

To install special software on all portable devices of the company it was necessary to build an SCCM collection, which would include all laptops (an other portable mobile systems) in a corporate network. At once I could not find the system property to explicitly identify a computer as a laptop or a desktop.

To begin with, I tried to filter portable devices using WMI filters of GPO and install software to them using group policies. There were several variants to create WMI queries by means of checking:

• Battery status (only laptops have it): SELECT * FROM Win32_Battery WHERE (BatteryStatus <> 0)
• RAM type (SODIMM for laptops): Select * from Win32_PhysicalMemory WHERE (FormFactor = 12)
• PCSystemType properties: SELECT * FROM Win32_ComputerSystem WHERE PCSystemType = 2

Each of these queries has its advantages and disadvantages. In theory, the most optimal one should be the filtration by PCSystemType value, but this class appeared only in Vista, and we have many computers running the obsolete Windows XP, which won’t be filtered using this queries.

A WMI queries to determine ChassisTypes, being a part of Win32_SystemEnclosure class has seemed more interesting:

The possible values of ChassisTypes are given in the table below.

ChassisTypes Value	System Type
1	Other
2	Unknown
3	Desktop (including virtual machines)
4	Low Profile Desktop
5	Pizza Box
6	Mini Tower
7	Tower
8	Portable
9	Laptop
10	Notebook
11	Hand Held
12	Docking Station
13	All in One
14	Sub Notebook
15	Space-Saving
16	Lunch Box
17	Main System Chassis
18	Expansion Chassis
19	Sub Chassis
20	Bus Expansion Chassis
21	Peripheral Chassis
22	Storage Chassis
23	Rack Mount Chassis
24	Sealed-Case PC

Thus, the following Chassis Types are typical to:

• laptops: 8 , 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 18, 21
• desktops: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 15, 16
• servers: 17,23

The final version of a WMI filter looks like this:

select * from Win32_SystemEnclosure where ChassisTypes = "8" or ChassisTypes = "9" or ChassisTypes = "10" or ChassisTypes = "11" or ChassisTypes = "12" or ChassisTypes = "14" or ChassisTypes = "18" or ChassisTypes = "21"

This WMI filter can be easily transformed into an SCCM query, which allows to build a collection with all laptops in the network.

select SMS_R_SYSTEM.ResourceID,SMS_R_SYSTEM.ResourceType,SMS_R_SYSTEM.Name, SMS_R_SYSTEM.SMSUniqueIdentifier,SMS_R_SYSTEM.ResourceDomainORWorkgroup, SMS_R_SYSTEM.Client from SMS_R_System inner join SMS_G_System_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE on SMS_G_System_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE.ResourceID = SMS_R_System.ResourceId where
SMS_G_System_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE.ChassisTypes in ( "8", "9", "10","11", "12", "14","18","21")

Finally, to provide a comprehensive view about the quantitative ratio of desktops and laptops in the network, you can make an SCCM report:

SELECT
CASE ChassisTypes0
WHEN '8' THEN 'Notebooks'
WHEN '9' THEN 'Notebooks'
WHEN '10' THEN 'Notebooks'
WHEN '11' THEN 'Notebooks'
WHEN '12' THEN 'Notebooks'
WHEN '14' THEN 'Notebooks'
WHEN '18' THEN 'Notebooks'
ELSE 'Desktops'
END AS "Workstation Type", count(distinct sys.name0) as ClientCount from
v_GS_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE ENC
INNER JOIN
v_R_System SYS ON ENC.ResourceID = SYS.ResourceID
WHERE
sys.client0=1 AND sys.obsolete0=0 AND active0=1
GROUP BY
CASE ChassisTypes0
WHEN '8' THEN 'Notebooks'
WHEN '9' THEN 'Notebooks'
WHEN '10' THEN 'Notebooks'
WHEN '11' THEN 'Notebooks'
WHEN '12' THEN 'Notebooks'
WHEN '14' THEN 'Notebooks'
WHEN '18' THEN 'Notebooks'
ELSE 'Desktops'
END
ORDER BY 2 desc

In our case, the proportion of desktop PCs and laptops is 2832 to 109.

So, we have considered how to create an SCCM collection or a GPO WMI filter that allows to select all laptops in the network using ChassisTypes attribute of SystemEnclosure class.