Developing WMI Solutions: A Guide to Windows Management Instrumentation

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is an impressive technology that provides, for the first time, an integrated approach to hardware and software management for the Windows operating system. Developing WMI Solutions gives administrators and developers the skills necessary to take advantage of the power of WMI with Windows 2000, XP, and NET Server. Developing WMI Solutions starts with an overview of the concepts behind systems management. The authors then provide a synopsis of existing management architectures, as well as an explanation of the architectural components of WMI and the tools provided by Microsoft for their use. Also included is a WMI scripting boot camp for administrators using samples in VBScript, plus a series of best practices that give scripts a professional edge. You will find thorough coverage of such topics as: The Common Information Model (CIM); Developing CIM extended schemas; Management-application development using C++ and COM for WMI; MMC snap-in development using C++ and COM, presented as a tutorial; WMI providers and the necessary C++ and COM skills needed to expose class schema; Developing management applications using the NET Framework-the first comprehensive guide to the WMI classes in the System. Management namespace. Finally, developers will learn about the often undersold but extremely powerful high-performance event-tracing mechanism available in Windows, which allows developers to expose detailed information about operations in an application. Both a tutorial and a reference, Developing WMI Solutions is an essential companion for network administrators, software, developers, and team leaders looking to become proficient with WMI.