Microsoft KB Archive/234633

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SMS: WMI, DMI, and Systems Management Server (SMS)

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Q234633

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Driver Development Kit (DDK)
 * Microsoft Systems Management Server version 2.0
 * Microsoft Windows 98 Driver Development Kit (DDK)

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SUMMARY
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) was developed to provide a set of instrumentation capabilities that are tightly linked to the driver models that are found in the Windows family of operating systems. In addition, WMI integrates extremely well into the three-tiered approach to instrumentation infrastructure. This article attempts to explain WMI and to contrast it with other instrumentation technologies, such as Desktop Management Interface (DMI) and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). This article also provides pointers to additional information on WMI. For additional information on terminology used in this article, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

"Q216738 WMI Terms and Concepts"

MORE INFORMATION
Existing instrumentation technologies, such as DMI and SNMP, provide more of a two-tiered approach to instrumenting data and providing it to consumers of management data (these data consumers are typically management applications). The difficulty with this approach is that for a single consumer of management data to understand both DMI and SNMP data, the developer of the management application must do twice as much work--he or she must write an application that can understand two different systems of communicating and representing instrumented data. However, in the WMI/Common Information Model (CIM) environment, the WMI services provide an abstraction layer. Data from many sources can be provided to the CIM schema that is managed by WMI (sources could include WMI itself, Win32, DMI, SNMP, and CMIP), and a management application can use WMI to access all this data.

Besides the lack of a common abstraction layer, DMI does not provide a set of programming interfaces that are tightly integrated with the Windows operating system and its driver models. DMI was not designed with Windows Plug and Play (PnP) and Power Management in mind. However, Microsoft understands that smooth migration of existing instrumentation technologies and management applications is key to the success of WMI.

The WMI infrastructure provides a facility that maps DMI information into the CIM schema. This capability is facilitated by WMI's ability to support multiple instrumentation data providers--sample providers include those for SNMP and Win32 data. Intel Corporation is developing the functionality to allow DMI data to be mapped into CIM, and conversely, to allow CIM data to be accessible to existing DMI- or WMI-based management applications.

Systems Management Server (SMS): Use of WMI and DMI
Systems Management Server version 1.x used the Desktop Management Task Force (DMTF) Managed Information File (MIF) architecture for its own MIF format. IDMIFs could be used to extend the Systems Management schema. NOIDMIFs would be used to customize client hardware inventory.

While Systems Management Server version 2.0 maintains backward compatibility with DMI and can process both IDMIFS and NOIDMIFs, the hardware inventory component now is based on WMI.

There are many third-party DMI applications that generate IDMIFS and NOIDMIFS for use with Systems Management Server. Systems Management Server version 2.0 can process these MIFs if they are placed in the correct client location:

"%windir%\ms\sms\idmifs and %windir%\ms\sms\noidmifs" Many of these utilities are also being updated to support WMI. Check with the utility vendor to get the latest version that supports Systems Management Server 2.0.

Additional Resources and Information:
"http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/WMI/" "http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/technologies/management/default.asp" "http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/default.asp?URL=/code/topic.asp?URL=/MSDN-FILES/028/000/015/topic.xml" Systems Management Server version 1.2 Software Development Kit (SDK).

Back Office Resource Kit, volume 4.5.

Systems Management Server version 2.0 Resource Guide, chapter 10, "Customizing Hardware Inventory."

Additional query words: sms wmi management dmi prodsms wbem wbemdsk

Keywords : kbsms200 kbDSupport

Issue type : kbinfo

Technology : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNT400xsearch kbSMSSearch kbAudDeveloper kbWin98search kbWinDDKSearch kbWin98DDKSearch kbWinNT400DDK kbWin98DDK kbSMS200