Device Collections
5/4/2012
This section provides information about device collections. This information does not apply if you opted to turn device collections off.
Device Manager 2011 creates two types of device collections:
- Predefined collections
- Dynamic collections
Predefined collections are installed with Device Manager 2011 and group devices by type, such as digital signage devices or kiosk devices. Predefined collections are created under the Computer Management node in the Configuration Manager console. Predefined collections cannot be deleted and their names cannot be changed. If you attempt to delete a predefined collection or change its name, the collection will appear with its original name after the next scheduled collection update. The following list shows the predefined collections installed with Device Manager 2011:
- All Windows Embedded Devices (top level node)
- All Digital Signage Devices
- All Handheld Devices
- All Other Devices
- All Point of Service Devices
- All Thin Client Devices
- All Kiosk Devices
Warning
If you use the Link to Collection command to set the All Windows Embedded Devices collection as a linked subcollection, do not turn off the device collections. If you turn off device collections, the collection will be permanently deleted as a linked subcollection.
Device Manager 2011 creates dynamic collections during collection update as subcollections under the predefined collections nodes. A dynamic collection is created for each group of devices with a unique combination of the following attributes (typically set with registry keys by the device manufacturer):
- Manufacturer name
- Unique model number
- Device type
The membership of predefined collections is updated with each scheduled collection update. Membership of dynamic collections is updated by the collection update cycle, which by default is every 24 hours, and cannot start until the first hardware inventory cycle completes successfully. Therefore, it may take 24 hours before you begin to see devices listed in the All Windows Embedded Devices collection and its subnodes. You can also manually update the collection membership.
Note
When you upgrade to the latest version of Device Manager 2011, device collections from the earlier version are retained under the All Windows Embedded Legacy Devices collections node. All collections in that node have the word “Legacy” added to their name. You should re-create any collections that you or a third party created in the appropriate location in the collection hierarchy under All Windows Embedded Devices. After the first scheduled inventory is completed, all devices that belong in the predefined collections are added to the new predefined collections under All Windows Embedded Devices. Before you delete the All Windows Embedded Legacy collections node, associate any existing advertisements with the new device collections and wait for any actions associated with the legacy collections, such as advertisements, to finish.