A machine folder contains group subfolders. Group folders represent distinct parts of the object. A group combines a set of attributes into a single, identifiable entity.
For example, Processor, Network, and Operating System are some of the groups that can exist on a computer with the Personal Computer architecture. In the Personal Computer architecture, groups can be used to store the properties of a hardware device (such as a COM port or mouse), a piece of software (such as the operating system or a defined software package), or any logical entity (such as asset or employee information through custom MIFs).
A group folder contains scalars that represent the actual properties (or attributes) of the group. Each attribute is assigned a value. The set of attribute values for a group makes up the inventory for a specific item. For example, a Disk group on a computer has attributes such as Drive Index, Storage Type, Free Storage, and so on. In a workstation's inventory, a Disk's Drive Letter attribute can be assigned a value such as A, B, C, and so on.
There is only one defined scalar for group folders in general (the LastChanged scalar; see MIF Group Folder Scalars). A group folder will usually also contain many scalars specific to the group. The set of scalars within a group folder depends on its group class.
The set of scalars within a group folder is also dependent on the instance of the group—all attributes defined for the group may not have been included by the MIF that reported the inventory. Indeed, different instances of the same group may contain completely different sets of attributes.
A group folder has the following properties:
| Property | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tag | "Group" | String. A description of the folder type. |
| Folder type | F_GROUP | Integer. Folder type. |
| ID | Group class name of the form: organization:name:version. For example, the Identification group for the Personal Computer architecture has the class name: "MICROSOFT|IDENTIFICATION|1.0". | String. Class name of the group. |
| Active filters | None | Integer. Filters that are directly activated on the folder. These filter types are used to retrieve the subfolders in the folder. |
| Immediate subfolders | None | Integer. Types of subfolders that the folder type can contain. |
| Number of scalars | Dependent on the group. | Integer. Number of scalars for the folder type. |