Device Query

Understanding Device query for multiple devices

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This week is all about Device query for multiple devices. A long awaited feature. With that, this will also be a follow up on this post about getting started with Device query and this post adding additional hardware properties to the device inventory. Especially the latter might be a little bit surprising, but will be explained throughout this post. Device query for multiple devices provides IT administrators with the ability to easily query for devices with specific properties and values (e.g. all Windows devices with specific application crash events) and the ability to easily summarize data about devices (e.g. count all devices with a specific CPU). Those queries, however, are not performed in real-time on the Windows devices within the environment, but are relying on …

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Quick tip: Only turn off notifications network usage when there is a direct requirement

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This week is a relatively short post, mainly focused on providing a warning around turning off notifications network usage on Windows devices. Turning off notifications network usage can be used to prevent applications from using the notifications network the send notifications. No matter if that notification is a tile update, tile badge, toast, or any raw updates. It basically turns off the connection between Windows and the Windows Push Notification Services (WNS). WNS enables third-party developers to send those notifications. It provides a mechanism to deliver updates to users and devices in a power-efficient and dependable way. The important thing, however, is to keep in mind that WNS is not only used by third-party developers. It’s also used by many different Microsoft products, including Microsoft …

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