Providers

When a WBEM client application accesses CIM data, the WBEM system validates the user's login information on the current host. By default, a user is granted read access to the CIM Schema and the Solaris Schema. The CIM Schema describes managed objects on your system in a standard format that all WBEM-enabled systems and applications can interpret.

Providers are classes that communicate with managed objects to access data. Providers forward this information to the CIM Object Manager for integration and interpretation. When the CIM Object Manager receives a request from a management application for data that is not available from the CIM Object Manager Repository, it forwards the request to a provider.

The CIM Object Manager uses object provider APIs to communicate with providers. When an application requests dynamic data from the CIM Object Manager, the CIM Object Manager uses the provider interfaces to pass the request to the provider.

Providers perform the following functions in response to a request from the CIM Object Manager:

• Map the native information format to CIM classes

  • Get information from a device

  • Pass the information to the CIM Object Manager in the form of CIM classes

• Map the information from CIM classes to native device format

  • Get the required information from the CIM class

  • Pass the information to the device in native device format