Although the name labels WBEM as "web-based", it is not necessarily dependent on any particular user interface (see below). Other systems-management approaches include remote shells, proprietary solutions and IETF standardized network-management architectures like the SNMP and Netconf.
Features
WBEM allows the management of any element in a standard and inter-operable manner.
WBEM provides the technology underlying different management initiatives in information technology:
There is a DMTF page that shows a number of DSP pdfs that are the published profiles of the VMAN Initiative[4]
Architecture
To understand the WBEM architecture, consider the components which lie between the operator trying to manage a device (configure it, turn it off and on, collect alarms, etc.) and the actual hardware and software of the device:
The operator will invoke some form of graphical user interface (GUI), Browser User Interface (BUI), or command-line interface (CLI). The WBEM standard has nothing to say about this interface (although the definition of a CLI for specific applications has started): WBEM operates independently of the human interface, since human interfaces can change without the rest of the system needing to note such changes.
The GUI, BUI or CLI will interface with a WBEM client through a small set of application programming interfaces (APIs). This client will find the WBEM server for the managed device (typically on the device itself) and construct an XML message containing the request.
The client will use the HTTP (or HTTPS) protocol to pass the request, encoding it in CIM-XML, to the WBEM server.
The WBEM server will decode the incoming request, perform the necessary authentication and authorization checks and then consult the previously defined model of the managed device to see how to handle the request. This model provides the power of the architecture: it represents the pivot point of the transaction, with the client simply interacting with the model and the model interacting with the real hardware or software. The model uses the Common Information Model standard; the DMTF has published many models for commonly managed devices and services: IP routers, storage servers, desktop computers, etc.
For most operations, the WBEM server determines from the model that it needs to communicate with the actual hardware or software. So-called "providers" handle the interaction: small pieces of code interface between the WBEM server (using a standardized interface known as CMPI)[5] and the real hardware or software. Because the interface is well-defined and the number of types of call is small, it is normally easy to write providers. In particular, the writer of the provider knows nothing of the GUI, BUI, or CLI used by the operator.
The implementation of the management system requires three components:
The model
Normally done by extending as necessary one of the standard models published by the DMTF.
The BUI, GUI, or CLI.
The client and server usually do not need to be written because there are many open-source and commercial implementations available. (see External links below)
The providers
WBEM architecture allows the manufacturer of a device or developer of a service to provide a standards-compliant management interface to that device simply and cheaply.
Implementations
WBEM in operating systems
Apple Inc. uses an implementation of WBEM in its Apple Remote Desktop management tool, and Mac OS X clients ship with support for Remote Management.
Hewlett-Packard has included WBEM Services CORE Product in the HP-UX operating system (with all operating environments) since version 11iv1 and OpenVMS V8.3-1H1 and V8.4
SBLIM (pronounced "sublime") Standards Based Linux Instrumentation for Manageability, C, C++, Java
Pywbem,[10] open-source WBEM library written in Python
WBEM Solutions J WBEM Server and SDK
See also
SMI-S, Storage Management Initiative - Specification. Based on WBEM, used for SAN devices
JSR-48, Java API for developing WBEM Clients and WBEM Providers
CMPI, C provider API for developing WBEM Providers
References
^Todd, Greg (June 30, 1998). "What is WBEM?". Windows IT Pro. Archived from the original on 13 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015. In 1996, BMC Software, Cisco Systems, Compaq Computer, Intel, and Microsoft sponsored the Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) initiative, an effort to provide a unifying mechanism for describing and sharing management information.
