WMI Status

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is the Microsoft implementation of Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM), which is an industry initiative to develop a standard technology for accessing management information in an enterprise environment. WMI uses the Common Information Model (CIM) industry standard to represent systems, applications, networks, devices, and other managed components. CIM is developed and maintained by the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF). PowerShell is just one of the scripting technologies that can utilize CIM providers.

Microsoft has stated that the next generation of WMI, now known as the Windows Management Infrastructure (MI), is currently available. According to Microsoft, MI is fully compatible with previous versions of WMI and provides a host of features and benefits that make designing and developing providers and clients easier.

For example, Microsoft promotes MI as a new way of creating PowerShell cmdlets (called “CIM-based cmdlets”). These cmdlets use XML to map PowerShell commands and parameters to any new or existing MI classes, methods, and properties. The new APIs also include support for PowerShell semantics, such as PromptUser and Warning.