Web-Based Enterprise Management

Last updated
Web-Based Enterprise Management
AbbreviationWBEM
StatusPublished
Year started1996;28 years ago (1996)
Organization Distributed Management Task Force
Base standards CIM and WS-Management
Domain Systems management
Website www.dmtf.org/standards/wbem

In computing, Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) comprises a set of systems-management technologies developed to unify the management of distributed computing environments. The WBEM initiative, initially sponsored in 1996 by BMC Software, Cisco Systems, Compaq Computer, Intel, and Microsoft, is now widely adopted. [1] WBEM is based on Internet standards and Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) open standards:

Contents

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:

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. The client will use the HTTP (or HTTPS) protocol to pass the request, encoding it in CIM-XML, to the WBEM server.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

WBEM specifications

Implementing support

The implementation of the management system requires three components:

Normally done by extending as necessary one of the standard models published by the DMTF.
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)
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

WBEM implementations

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the graphical user interface</span>

The history of the graphical user interface, understood as the use of graphic icons and a pointing device to control a computer, covers a five-decade span of incremental refinements, built on some constant core principles. Several vendors have created their own windowing systems based on independent code, but with basic elements in common that define the WIMP "window, icon, menu and pointing device" paradigm.

Network management is the process of administering and managing computer networks. Services provided by this discipline include fault analysis, performance management, provisioning of networks and maintaining quality of service. Network management software is used by network administrators to help perform these functions.

A web service (WS) is either:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Distributed Management Task Force</span> Organization

Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit industry standards organization that creates open manageability standards spanning diverse emerging and traditional IT infrastructures including cloud, virtualization, network, servers and storage. Member companies and alliance partners collaborate on standards to improve interoperable management of information technologies.

The Service Location Protocol is a service discovery protocol that allows computers and other devices to find services in a local area network without prior configuration. SLP has been designed to scale from small, unmanaged networks to large enterprise networks. It has been defined in RFC 2608 and RFC 3224 as standards track document.

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) consists of a set of extensions to the Windows Driver Model that provides an operating system interface through which instrumented components provide information and notification. WMI is Microsoft's implementation of the Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) and Common Information Model (CIM) standards from the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF).

WS-Management is a DMTF open standard defining a SOAP-based protocol for the management of servers, devices, applications and various Web services. WS-Management provides a common way for systems to access and exchange management information across the IT infrastructure.

The Storage Management Initiative Specification, commonly called SMI-S, is a computer data storage management standard developed and maintained by the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA). It has also been ratified as an ISO standard. SMI-S is based upon the Common Information Model and the Web-Based Enterprise Management standards defined by the Distributed Management Task Force, which define management functionality via HTTP. The most recent approved version of SMI-S is available on the SNIA website.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shell (computing)</span> Computer program that exposes an operating systems services to a human user or other programs

In computing, a shell is a computer program that exposes an operating system's services to a human user or other programs. In general, operating system shells use either a command-line interface (CLI) or graphical user interface (GUI), depending on a computer's role and particular operation. It is named a shell because it is the outermost layer around the operating system.

The Desktop Management Interface (DMI) generates a standard framework for managing and tracking components in a desktop, notebook or server computer, by abstracting these components from the software that manages them. The development of DMI, 2.0 version June 24, 1998, marked the first move by the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) into desktop-management standards. Before the introduction of DMI, no standardized source of information could provide details about components in a personal computer.

The Common Information Model (CIM) is an open standard that defines how managed elements in an IT environment are represented as a common set of objects and relationships between them.

Windows Management Instrumentation Query Language (WQL) is Microsoft's implementation of the CIM Query Language (CQL), a query language for the Common Information Model (CIM) standard from the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF). It is a subset of ANSI standard SQL with minor semantic changes.

JSR 48 Java WBEM API Specification is a Java Specification Request developed under the Java Community Process. It specifies the Java language binding of the DMTF Common Information Model/Web-Based Enterprise Management standards. The JSR 48 Expert Group has completed the public review in 2006 and is now on the way to create a Technology Compatibility Kit in order to finalize the standard. The API can be regarded as stable.

The Common Manageability Programming Interface is an open standard that defines a programming interface between a WBEM server and WBEM providers.

Desktop and mobile Architecture for System Hardware (DASH) is a Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) standard.

OpenLMI provides a common management infrastructure for Linux systems. Available operations include configuration of various operating system parameters and services, hardware components configuration, and monitoring of system resources. Services provided by OpenLMI can be accessed both locally and remotely, using multiple programming languages and standardized APIs.

Cloud Infrastructure Management Interface (CIMI) is an open standard API specification for managing cloud infrastructure.

The Redfish standard is a suite of specifications that deliver an industry standard protocol providing a RESTful interface for the management of servers, storage, networking, and converged infrastructure.

CIM Schema is a computer specification, part of Common Information Model standard, and created by the Distributed Management Task Force.

References

  1. 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.
  2. ""CIM Operations over RESTful Services" (PDF)" (PDF).
  3. "DMTF NetMan page".
  4. "DMTF VMAN webpage".
  5. The Common Manageability Programming Interface
  6. ""CIM Operations Over RESTful Services" (PDF)" (PDF).
  7. ""DSP0202 - CIM Query Language Specification" (PDF)" (PDF).
  8. ""DSP0212 - Filter Query Language" (PDF)" (PDF).
  9. Solaris WBEM Developer's Guide
  10. "Pywbem Documentation".