You use the SMS Provider to access and modify Configuration Manager 2007 data. The SMS Provider is a Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) provider that can be accessed through either WMI or managed classes.

WMI Architecture

WMI is designed to function as a middle layer, by serving as a standard interface between management applications and the systems that they manage.

WMI Object Model

Management applications and scripts work with WMI through the WMI Object Model. The object model defines the programming interface to WMI.

For more information about WMI, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43950.

The main elements of the WMI Object Model are shown in the following table:

Element Description

Locator

Used to locate a WMI Service that is running on a local or remote computer.

Service object

Represents an actual connection to a WMI provider. This is the main point of contact to WMI programs.

Objects

A managed object is a logical or physical enterprise component, such as a hard drive, network adapter, database system, operating system, process, or service. A managed object communicates with WMI through a WMI provider.

Events

Used to track changes to WMI objects at run time. Events can be captured as objects and then manipulated in the same ways that any other objects, except that they cannot be changed or saved in WMI.

Properties

Supplies descriptive or operational information about an object. For example, a Win32_DiskDrive object includes a property called InterfaceType, which might have the value of IDE for your C: drive. Properties can also be set to particular values, if the property is changeable. Setting InterfaceType to SCSI is not appropriate, because the only way to change the actual interface type is to replace the controller card. However, you can set a share name to a different value.

Methods

Actions that you can execute on objects. For example, a Win32_Directory object includes a method called Compress() that allows the contents of a folder to be compressed in the same way as compressing the contents by using the Windows graphical user interface.

Qualifiers

Characteristics of objects, properties, and methods. For example, a qualifier for a property might indicate that it is read-only, or it might list the allowable values for the property. A qualifier for an object might be that it is read-only.

Schema

WMI objects are described by classes, providing definitions of their properties, attributes, and other information. These classes are organized into an inheritance hierarchy supporting object associations and grouped by areas of interest, such as networking, applications, and systems. Each area of interest represents a schema, which is a subset of the information that is available about the managed environment.

For more information about the Configuration Manager schema, see Configuration Manager Schema.

For information about accessing the SMS Provider using WMI, see WMI Configuration Manager Provider Fundamentals

WMI and .NET Framework applications

Configuration Manager has a .NET Framework library, Microsoft.ConfigurationManager.ManagementProvider, that wraps WMI and allows you to write managed applications.

For information about accessing the SMS Provider by using .NET Framework, see Managed SMS Provider Fundamentals in Configuration Manager

You can also use the .NET Framework WMI management namespace System.Management, but this does not provide any Configuration Manager-specific interfaces. It is, however, the recommended way to use managed code on a Configuration Manager 2007 client. For more information, see Configuration Manager Client WMI Programming.

See Also


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