Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)

Chapter 1. Introduction to WMI

Managing a Windows-based network should be a system administrator’s dream: The Windows 2000 operating system is highly configurable; the domain-based security model, although it isn’t exactly the most flexible in the world, is simple and ample for most environments; and the logging and auditing facilities provide a wealth of management data. Nothing should ever go wrong—or, if it does, at least it should be easy to diagnose and fix.

Unfortunately, anyone who has ever been responsible for a Windows-based network knows that the picture painted here is far from accurate: Far too often, administration can be a challenge; at its worst, it can be a dark, miserable nightmare. The problem is that information on configuration ...