Managing WMI Classes

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is a component of the Windows operating system that provides management information and control in an enterprise environment. WMI can be used to query and set information about desktop systems, applications, networks, and other enterprise components. Developers can use WMI to create event monitoring applications that alert users when important incidents occur.

WMI provides a standardised means for managing your computer system, be it a local computer or all the computers in an enterprise. It is collecting data about the state of a managed object on the computer system and altering the state of the managed object by changing the data stored about the object. A managed object can be a hardware entity, such as a memory array, a port, or a disk drive. It can also be a software entity, such as a service, a user account, or a page file. WMI can manage the many components of a computer system. In managing a hard disk, WMI can be used to monitor the amount of free space that remains on the disk. You can also use WMI to remotely alter the state of the drive by deleting files, changing file security, or partitioning or formatting the drive.

This tab displays the list of all WMI classes which are available. Be aware, however, that it is not an exhaustive list, it contains the most commonly used classes, to which you can add specific classes if necessary.

Creating WMI class

In WMI, a class is an object that describes some aspect of an enterprise. You can use an object to hold information or control an aspect of your enterprise. For example, you can create a WMI object that describes a CD-ROM drive. An object works with a WMI provider to fill the properties of an object. Creating a class means defining the properties that describe that class. You can also define the functions you can call to manipulate the object that the class represents. Each class has key properties. You cannot create an instance of a class with more than 256 keys. To create a new class, proceed as follows:

1. Select the Hardware Inventory node in the left window pane.
2. Select Edit > Create WMI Class .
   The Create WMI Class dialog box appears.
3. Enter the desired data into the respective boxes.
4. Click OK to create the new class and to close the window.

The newly created class will directly be displayed in the table in the right window pane.