Defining and Viewing Dimensions

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A dimension describes a characteristic of a client computer, such as the computer’s processor architecture or the version of the operating system that is installed on the computer. Dimensions are defined on the DTM controller, and then values are given to the dimension on each client computer.

If a dimension and its value are stored in a client computer’s registry, then the value of the dimension will be restored when the client computer restarts.

To set the value of a dimension from the command line, see Appendix A: WttCmd.

To view the dimensions that are defined on the DTM controller

  1. Switch to the Management Console window.
    You can also open a new Management Console window by clicking Tools, and then clicking Management Console.

  2. In the left pane of the Management Console window, expand Console Root, expand your Datastore, and then select Dimensions.

    A list of the dimensions that are defined on the controller is displayed in the right pane.

To define a new dimension on the DTM controller

  1. Switch to the Management Console window.
    You can also open a new Management Console window by clicking Tools, and then clicking Management Console.
  2. In the left pane of the Management Console window, expand Console Root, expand your Datastore, right-click Dimensions, and then select New Dimension.
  3. In the Add Dimension dialog box, select the type of dimension that you are defining, and then click Next. The type of the dimension can be:****
    • String: The value of this dimension will be a string of fifty or fewer characters.
    • Numeric: The value of this dimension will be a number.
    • List: The value of this dimension will be one of a set of predefined strings.
    • Machine Configuration Query: The value of this dimension will be populated automatically by a gatherer each time the client computer restarts. Machine configuration queries are used in advanced situations and are not yet described in this procedure.
  4. Type a name for the dimension.
  5. Select Is Explicit if you want DTM to schedule only jobs that require this dimension on a client computer that has this dimension defined.
  6. If you are defining a string or numeric dimension, click Finish.
  7. If you are defining a list dimension, click Next, enter one of the valid values for the dimension, and then click Add. Continue entering values and clicking Add until you have entered the last valid value for the dimension, and then click Finish.

To view the values of dimensions on a client computer

  1. Switch to the Job Monitor window.
    You can also open a new Job Monitor window by clicking Explorers, and then clicking Job Monitor.
  2. In the Machine Pool tab of the Job Monitor window, select the machine pool that contains the computer whose dimensions you want to view.
    A list of computers in the machine pool appears in the Machines pane.
  3. Double-click the computer whose dimensions you want to view.
  4. Select the Machine Dimensions tab.
    Every dimension that is defined for this client computer is listed in the Dimension column. The value of each dimension is presented in the corresponding entry in the Value column.

To provide a value for a dimension on a client computer

  1. Switch to the Job Monitor window.
    You can also open a new Job Monitor window by clicking Explorers, and then clicking Job Monitor.
  2. In the Machine Pool tab of the Job Monitor window, select the machine pool that contains the computer whose dimensions you want to edit.
    A list of computers in the machine pool appears in the Machines pane.
  3. Right-click the computer whose dimension you want to edit, and then select Edit.
  4. Select the Machine Dimensions tab.
  5. Double-click the cell in the Dimension column of the first empty row. An arrow will appear to the right of the cell.
    A list of all of the dimensions that are defined on the DTM controller is displayed.
  6. Select the name of the dimension that you want to define, and then press the TAB key to move the cursor to the Value column.
  7. If this is a string or numeric dimension, type the value for the dimension in the Value cell.
  8. If this is a list dimension, click the arrow at the end of the Value cell, and then select the value for the dimension from the list.
  9. Click Save (Bb931869.save-icon(en-us,MSDN.10).gif) to save the dimension and its value.

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Built on December 10, 2009