What are WMI filters in group policy?
WMI filters in Group Policy (GPO) allow you to more flexibly apply policies to clients by using different rules. A WMI filter is a set of WMI queries (the WMI Query Language / WQL is used) that you can use to target computers to which a specific group policy should be applied.
How do I assign a WMI filter to a GPO?
To link a WMI filter to a GPO
- Open the Group Policy Management console.
- In the navigation pane, find and then click the GPO that you want to modify.
- Under WMI Filtering, select the correct WMI filter from the list.
- Click Yes to accept the filter.
How do WMI filters work?
WMI filters will run against WMI data of the computers and decide if it should apply policy or not. If its match the WMI query it will process the group policy and if its false it will not process the group policy. This method was first introduced with windows server 2003. We can use GPMC to create/manage WMI filters.
Where are WMI filters stored?
Active Directory
WMI filters are stored in Active Directory while ILT filters are stored as files in SYSVOL. If a WMI filter returns false the GPO’s CSE settings files need not be fetched. In order to run ILT filters all CSE settings files need to be fetched because the filters are defined in them.
What does WMI stand for?
Windows Management Instrumentation
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is the infrastructure for management data and operations on Windows-based operating systems.
What is the difference between security filtering and WMI filtering?
So as long as an object can read the GPO, it will then read the WMI filter to determine whether or not to apply the GPO. So security filtering determines who can read the GPO and WMI filtering determines whether or not the GPO should be applied.
What are WMI filters used for?
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) filters let you dynamically detect the scope of Group Policy objects (GPOs), based on the attributes of the targeted computer.
What is WMI and how it works?
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is a subsystem of PowerShell that gives admins access to powerful system monitoring tools. Though this system has been designed to allow for fast, efficient system administration, it also has a spookier side: it can be abused by insiders as a tool to surveil other employees.
Is WMI enabled by default?
By default, only local administrators can have access to WMI remotely. Then allow a user to have access via WMI Control Properties: Open the WMI Control console: Click Start, choose Run and type wmimgmt.
What is an example of a GPO?
For example, a Group Policy can be used to enforce a password complexity policy that prevents users from choosing an overly simple password. Other examples include: allowing or preventing unidentified users from remote computers to connect to a network share, or to block/restrict access to certain folders.
How to restrict group policy with WMI filtering?
To filter only server operating systems you can use following Wmi Filter: SELECT * FROM Win32_OperatingSystem WHERE ProductType = “2” OR ProductType = “3” 2. Enable Loopback Processing mode in GPO ( Administrative Templates-> System-> Group Policy-> Configure user Group Policy loopback processing mode) – merge
Which is an example of a WMI filter?
As an example, WMI filters can use to filter out different operating system versions, processor architecture (32bit/64bit), Windows server roles, Registry settings, Event id etc. WMI filters will run against WMI data of the computers and decide if it should apply policy or not.
When to use WMI filter in gpresult report?
If the policy affects the client, but doesn’t apply due to the WMI filter restrictions, such a policy will have the status Filtering: Denied (WMI Filter) in the gpresult report. Let’s take a look at the various examples of WMI GPO filters that are most commonly used.
Are there WMI filter strings for Windows 10?
As an administrator we are tasked to do many things and items like group policy and WMI objects help greatly. However, not every Administrator has the confidence to use WMI filters. Below is a bunch of OS WMI filter strings that should help any Administrator in a pinch.
