SCCM Chassis Types: Understanding the Reference Values

Configuration Manager Chassis Types Reference

The ChassisTypes property (from Win32_SystemEnclosure, exposed in Configuration Manager hardware inventory as SMS_G_System_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE.ChassisTypes) reports the physical form factor of a machine, as reported by its BIOS/SMBIOS data. It’s a handy field for building collections split by device type — separating laptops from desktops from servers, for example — without relying on model-name string matching, which breaks the moment a new hardware model ships with a name your query doesn’t already account for. A basic WQL query using it to find portable/laptop-type devices looks like:

select SMS_R_SYSTEM.Name, SMS_G_System_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE.ChassisTypes from SMS_R_System inner join SMS_G_System_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE on SMS_G_System_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE.ResourceID = SMS_R_System.ResourceId where SMS_G_System_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE.ChassisTypes in ("8","9","10","11","12","14","30","31","32")

Those numeric codes correspond to portable/laptop/sub-notebook style chassis types in the SMBIOS specification. Because the full list of chassis type codes is fairly long and occasionally gains new values as hardware form factors evolve, it’s worth checking the current SMBIOS chassis type reference if you need a value that isn’t in the common set above, rather than guessing at a number.

Full SMBIOS Chassis Type Reference

The complete set of standard values, as defined by the SMBIOS/DMTF specification and reported through Win32_SystemEnclosure.ChassisTypes, is below. Codes are decimal (WQL string comparisons use them as text, as in the example query above):

1  = Other
2  = Unknown
3  = Desktop
4  = Low Profile Desktop
5  = Pizza Box
6  = Mini Tower
7  = Tower
8  = Portable
9  = Laptop
10 = Notebook
11 = Hand Held
12 = Docking Station
13 = All in One
14 = Sub Notebook
15 = Space-Saving
16 = Lunch Box
17 = Main System Chassis
18 = Expansion Chassis
19 = SubChassis
20 = Bus Expansion Chassis
21 = Peripheral Chassis
22 = Storage Chassis
23 = Rack Mount Chassis
24 = Sealed-Case PC
25 = Multi-System Chassis
26 = Compact PCI
27 = Advanced TCA
28 = Blade
29 = Blade Enclosure
30 = Tablet
31 = Convertible
32 = Detachable
33 = IoT Gateway
34 = Embedded PC
35 = Mini PC
36 = Stick PC

Codes 30 through 36 (Tablet, Convertible, Detachable, IoT Gateway, Embedded PC, Mini PC, Stick PC) were added in later revisions of the SMBIOS spec to cover form factors that didn’t exist when the original list was drawn up, so older hardware and some virtualisation platforms may report a generic value like Other or Unknown for genuinely modern device types rather than the more specific code — worth bearing in mind if a query built around the newer codes seems to be missing devices you’d expect it to catch. Virtual machines commonly report chassis type 1 (Other) or, on some hypervisors, one of the standard desktop/tower codes rather than anything VM-specific, so chassis type alone isn’t a reliable way to separate physical hardware from VMs — a dedicated query against BIOS/manufacturer strings works better for that particular split. If you’re building a “laptop-like devices” collection today, it’s worth extending the original example query’s code list to include the newer mobile form factors:

where SMS_G_System_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE.ChassisTypes in ("8","9","10","11","12","14","30","31","32")

already covers Portable, Laptop, Notebook, Hand Held, Docking Station, Sub Notebook, Tablet, Convertible, and Detachable — a reasonably complete mobile/portable set for most current fleets.

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