Creating computer filters for a virtualization study

Computer filters are used to narrow the list of candidates or targets to be selected for a study.

To create a custom filter for a study

1. Select Create your own filter from the Candidate Filter or Target Filter drop down list on the candidates or targets page.
2. Specify the basic computer identification boxes you are interested in for the filter at the left of the Filter Computers page by selecting the box, if it is listed, and then typing a value in the boxes (using full object name for an exact match or by using any wildcard pattern), or by making a selection from the list.
    You can filter by any of the identification fields shown, such as by operating system or description, or by any combination of fields. Business attribute information specified in tags can be used for filtering by selecting them from the identification box selector lists.
3. You can also add other filter conditions by entering thresholds for any of the metrics listed in the middle of the page. The thresholds are evaluated using a Less Than comparison.
4. Click Add Above Filter Criteria to Table to create the filter and add it to the Filter Criteria Table at the bottom of the page.
5. Optionally, you can repeat the process to create a series of filter conditions.
   This option is useful if you want to create an OR condition for the filter. For example, if you wanted to consolidate all of the Microsoft Windows XP computers and any under-utilized Windows 2003 computer:
   1. Select WindowsXP from the OS list, and click Add Above Filter Criteria to Table.
   2. Select Windows2003 from the OS list, specify an Average CPU Utilization value of 10%, and click Add Above Filter Criteria to Table.
       The resulting filter would find any Windows XP computer and any Windows 2003 computer with CPU usage less than 10%.
6. Click Apply Filter to filter the list of computers shown on the candidate or target page, or click Save Filter and Apply to both apply the filter and add the filter to the filter list, which makes the filter available for future use.

After you apply the filter, the page is refreshed and it lists the computers that meet the filter criteria.