Article
07/27/2015

How to Create Queries in Configuration Manager

Updated: May 14, 2015

Applies To: System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1, System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP2, System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager, System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager SP1

Use the following sections in this topic to help you create or import queries in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager.

How to Create Queries
How to Import Queries
Example WQL Queries

How to Create Queries

Use this procedure to help you create queries in Configuration Manager.

To create a query

In the Configuration Manager console, click Monitoring.
In the Monitoring workspace, click Queries and then, in the Home tab, in the Create group, click Create Query.
On the General tab of the Create Query Wizard, specify a unique name and an optional comment for the query.
If you want to import an existing query to use as a basis for the new query, click Import Query Statement and then, in the Browse Query dialog box, select an existing query that you want to import, and then click OK.

In the Object Type list, select the type of object you want the query to return. The following table describes some examples of the type of object you can search for:

Object type	Description
System Resource	Use to search for typical system attributes, such as the NetBIOS name of a device, the client version, the client IP address, and Active Directory Domain Services information.
User Resource	Use to search for typical user information such as user names, user group names, and security group names.
Deployment	Use to search for typical attributes of a deployment, such as the deployment name, schedule, and the collection to which it was deployed.

Click Edit Query Statement to open the <Query Name> Statement Properties dialog box.
On the General tab in the <Query Name> Statement Properties dialog box, specify the attributes that this query returns and how they are to be displayed. Click the New icon to add a new attribute. You can also click Show Query Language to enter or edit the query directly in WMI Query Language (WQL). For examples of WMI queries, see the Example WQL Queries section in this topic.
Tip

You can use the following MSDN reference documentation to help you construct your own WQL queries:
On the Criteria tab of the <Query Name> Statement Properties dialog box, specify criteria that are used to refine the results of the query. For example, you could return only resources that have a site code of XYZ in the query results. You can configure multiple criteria for a query.

Important

If you create a query that contains no criteria, the query will return all devices in the All Systems collection.

On the Joins tab in the <Query Name> Statement Properties dialog box, you can combine data from two different attributes into your query results. Although Configuration Manager automatically creates query joins when you choose different attributes for your query result, the Joins tab provides more advanced options. The attribute classes supported by System Center 2012 Configuration Manager are shown in the following table:

Join type	Description
Inner	Displays only matching results — always used by joins that are created automatically.
Left	Displays all results for the base attribute and only the matching results for the join attribute.
Right	Displays all the results for the join attribute and only the matching results for the base attribute.
Full	Displays all the results for both the base attribute and the join attribute.

For more information about how to use Join operations, see your SQL Server documentation.

Click OK to close the <Query Name> Statement Properties dialog box.
On the General tab of the Create Query Wizard, specify whether the results of this query are not limited to the members of a collection, are limited to the members of a specified collection, or prompt for a collection each time the query is run.
Complete the wizard to create the query. The new query is displayed in the Queries node in the Monitoring workspace.

How to Import Queries

Use this procedure to help you import a query into Configuration Manager. For information about how to export queries, see How to Manage Queries in Configuration Manager.

To import a query

In the Configuration Manager console, click Monitoring.
In the Monitoring workspace, click Queries and then, in the Home tab, in the Create group, click Import Objects.
On the MOF File Name page of the Import Objects Wizard, click Browse to select the Managed Object Format (MOF) file containing the query that you want to import.
Review information about the query to be imported and then complete the wizard. The new query is displayed in the Queries node in the Monitoring workspace.

Example WQL Queries

This section contains example WMI queries that you can use in your hierarchy or modify for other purposes. To use these queries, click Show Query Language in the Query Statement Properties dialog box, and then copy and paste the query into the Query Statement field.

Tip

Use the wildcard character % to signify any string of characters. For example, %Visio% returns Microsoft Office Visio 2010.

Computers that run Windows 7

Use the following query to return the NetBIOS name and operating system version of all computers that run Windows 7.

Tip

To return computers that run Windows Server 2008 R2, change %Workstation 6.1% to %Server 6.1%.

select SMS_R_System.NetbiosName,
SMS_R_System.OperatingSystemNameandVersion from  
SMS_R_System where 
SMS_R_System.OperatingSystemNameandVersion like "%Workstation 6.1%"

Computers with a specific software package installed

Use the following query to return the NetBIOS name and software package name of all computers that have a specific software package installed. This example displays all computers with a version of Microsoft Visio installed. Replace %Visio% with the software package you want to query for.

Tip

This query searches for the software package by using the names that are displayed in the programs list in Windows Control Panel.

select SMS_R_System.NetbiosName, 
SMS_G_System_ADD_REMOVE_PROGRAMS.DisplayName from  
SMS_R_System inner join SMS_G_System_ADD_REMOVE_PROGRAMS on 
SMS_G_System_ADD_REMOVE_PROGRAMS.ResourceId = 
SMS_R_System.ResourceId where 
SMS_G_System_ADD_REMOVE_PROGRAMS.DisplayName like "%Visio%"

Computers that are in a specific Active Directory Domain Services Organizational Unit (OU)

Use the following query to return the NetBIOS name and OU name of all computers in a specified OU. Replace the text OU Name with the name of the OU that you want to query for.

select SMS_R_System.NetbiosName, 
SMS_R_System.SystemOUName from  
SMS_R_System where 
SMS_R_System.SystemOUName = "OU Name"

Computers with a specific NetBIOS name

Use the following query to return the NetBIOS name of all computers that begin with a specific string of characters. In this example, the query returns all computers with a NetBIOS name that begins with ABC.

select SMS_R_System.NetbiosName from  
SMS_R_System where SMS_R_System.NetbiosName like "ABC%"

Devices of a specific type

Device types are stored in the Configuration Manager database under the resource class sms_r_system and the attribute name AgentEdition. Use the following query to retrieve only the devices that match the agent edition of the device type you specify:

Select SMS_R_System.ClientEdition from SMS_R_System where SMS_R_System.ClientEdition = <Device ID>

Use one of the following values for <Device ID>:

Device type	Value of AgentEdition
Windows Desktop or laptop computer	0
Windows ARM-based device (running Windows RT)	1
Windows Mobile 6.5	2
Nokia Symbian	3
Windows Phone	4
Mac computer	5
Windows CE	6
Windows Embedded	7
iOS	8
iPad	9
iPod Touch	10
Android	11
Intel System On a Chip	12
Unix and Linux servers	13

For example, if you want the query to return only Mac computers, use the following query:

Select SMS_R_System.ClientEdition from SMS_R_System where SMS_R_System.ClientEdition = 5

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