Inventory Traversal and Object Selection

PropertyCollector filter properties identify object properties and paths that define inventory traversal. For example, you can retrieve the properties for a VirtualMachine object and specify a traversal path using the VirtualMachine.network property to obtain the properties for the associated Network objects.

You can use vSphere view objects (for example, ContainerView) in filters to simplify traversal specification. A view maintains a subset of inventory objects, so if there is a change in the inventory hierarchy, you do not have to recreate the view. Use a view to specify a set of objects that the PropertyCollector can use for data collection.

A best practice when using views is to call the DestroyView() method when a view is no longer needed. This practice frees memory on the server.

For more information about the vSphere inventory, browse the managed object definitions in the vSphere Web Services API Reference.