Dell Command | Monitor Version 9.1 User's Guide

CIM

The CIM, created by the DMTF as part of the Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM) initiative, provides a unified view of physical and logical objects in the managed environment.

The following are important CIM details:

• CIM is an object-oriented data model for used to describe management information. CIM describes the way the data is organized, not necessarily the transport model used to transport the data. The most prevalent transport method is WMI.
• CIM-capable management applications gather information from a variety of CIM objects and devices, including client and server systems, network infrastructure devices, and applications.
• The CIM specification details mapping techniques for improved compatibility with other management protocols.
• The CIM data model abstracts and describes all elements in a network environment. The CIM schema provides the actual data model descriptions and arranges the network into a series of managed objects, all interrelated and broadly classified.
• The CIM schema is defined by the Managed Object Format (MOF) file, which provides a standardized model for describing management information between clients in a management system. The MOF file is not bound to a particular implementation, and it allows the interchange of management information among different management systems and clients.

SNMP

SNMP is a widely accepted solution used to manage devices on Internet Protocol (IP) networks. SNMP is developed and maintained by Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Dell Command | Monitor accesses information and monitors client systems using SNMP. Devices that typically support SNMP include routers, switches, servers, workstations and most of the hardware components. SNMP consists of a set of standards for network management, including an application layer protocol, a database schema, and a set of data objects. SNMP exposes management data in the form of variables on the managed systems, which describe the system configuration. These variables can then be queried by managing applications.

SNMP does not define what information (which variables) a managed system should offer. Rather, SNMP uses an extensible design, where the list of available information is defined by management information bases (MIBs). MIBs describe the structure of the management data of a device and its subsystems. MIBs use a hierarchical namespace containing object identifiers (OID). Each OID identifies a variable that can be read through SNMP.

WMI

WMI is the Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM) effort implementation by Microsoft. It is implemented on the Microsoft Windows platforms. WMI supports CIM and Microsoft-specific CIM extensions.

WMI includes:

• A powerful set of native services such as query-based information retrieval and event notification.
• Extensive scripting capabilities through the Windows Scripting Host (WSH).
• The CIMOM, which is the interface and manipulation point for CIM objects and information.
• The repository, where CIMOM stores management data.

In the Dell Command | Monitor architecture, CIMOM and the repository are represented by the Microsoft WMI Object Manager. The CIMOM is the interface and manipulation point for CIM objects and information. CIMOM acts as a facilitator in gathering information and manipulating object properties. Microsoft has implemented this component as the Windows management (winmgmt) service. The CIMOM is a software middle layer that mediates interactions between high-level management applications and low-level instrumentation, such as Dell Command | Monitor, and other providers. The CIMOM ensures that data supplied by providers is presented to management applications in a uniform and provider-independent way. The CIMOM does this by using the Component Object Model (COM) Application Programming Interface (API).

The repository is a binary file where the CIMOM stores management data. The data includes information from the compiled Managed Object Format (MOF) file(s), including the CIM class definitions, properties, qualifiers, and hierarchical relationships. Instance data, as it becomes available, is also stored in the repository.

WMI provides a scripting interface. Using VBScript or JScript, you can write scripts, connect to WMI services locally or remotely, retrieve information, or run methods. You can script most of the Dell Command | Monitor tasks as Dell Command | Monitor is implemented through WMI.

For more information on VBScript and sample scripts, see the Dell Command | Monitor Reference Guide available at dell.com/dellclientcommandsuitemanuals.

For more information on WMI, see technet.microsoft.com.

WSMAN

The WSMAN protocol is a DMTF open standard defining a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)-based protocol for managing servers, devices, applications, and web services. It uses data from CIMOM to facilitate the management.

WSMAN is a protocol that provides an abstraction layer to access the CIM information. The reason is that the console can use WSMAN to communicate with in-band or out-of-band systems to gather asset inventory and to set information or run methods. In in-band systems, the WSMAN layer also abstracts the operating system present underneath. However, Dell Command | Monitor does not require WSMAN and it does not directly enable WSMAN as it is only a protocol.

For more information on managing WSMAN from DMTF, see dmtf.org/standards/wsman.

For more information on enabling WSMAN based management of WMI on a system running the Windows operating system, see msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa384426%28v=VS.85%29.aspx.

For more information on the DMTF profiles used in Dell Command | Monitor, see Dell Command | Monitor Reference Guide at dell.com/dellclientcommandsuitemanuals.

PowerShell

Windows PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management framework from Microsoft. PowerShell consists of a command-line shell and associated scripting language built on the .NET Framework. PowerShell provides full access to COM and WMI, enabling administrators to perform administrative tasks such as configuration and monitoring on both local and remote systems running the Windows operating system using the services of Dell Command | Monitor.

Administrators can write custom PowerShell scripts (files suffixed by .ps1) that connect to the DCIM namespace and allows monitoring custom actions on the system.