Web-Based Enterprise Management Tools

The Solaris 9 release includes the following enhancements for web-based enterprise management.

Solaris WBEM Services 2.5

Solaris WBEM Services 2.5 is Sun Microsystems' implementation of Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM). WBEM is a set of management and Internet-related technologies. These technologies are intended to unify the management of enterprise computing environments. Developed by the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF), WBEM enables organizations to deliver an integrated set of standards-based management tools. These tools support and promote World Wide Web technology. Solaris WBEM Services was updated to version 2.5 in the Solaris 9 release.

For further information about WBEM, see the new Solaris WBEM Developer’s Guide, which has replaced the Solaris WBEM Services Administration Guide and the Solaris WBEM SDK Developer's Guide.

New WBEM Batching API Added

The Java Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) client application programming interface (API) now supports the batching of multiple Common Information Model (CIM) operations by a client into a single “request and response.” The CIM Object Manager now accepts and services these batched requests as well. This facility is defined in the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) Specification for CIM Operations Over HTTP.

The number of remote calls that a client needs to make is consequently reduced.

For further information about WBEM, see the new Solaris WBEM Developer’s Guide, which has replaced the Solaris WBEM Services Administration Guide and the Solaris WBEM SDK Developer's Guide.

WBEM CIM WorkShop Enhanced

CIM WorkShop provides a graphical user interface for the WBEM development tool. CIM WorkShop can be used by instrumentation, system, and network application developers. These developers can view and create WBEM classes and WBEM instances through CIM WorkShop.

In CIM WorkShop, you can do following:

• View and select namespaces

• Add and delete namespaces

• View, create, modify, and delete classes

• Add and delete properties, qualifiers, and methods to new classes

• View, create, and delete instances

• View, modify, and delete instance values

• Traverse associations

• Execute methods

• Display contextual help

Enhancements and new features that are available in CIM Workshop include the following:

• Updated and corrected contextual help.

• Ability to traverse associations.

• Ability to subscribe to and display information about events for a selected class, thus enabling you to debug applications that use events more easily. You can use this new feature only when you select the RMI protocol.

• Ability to submit WBEM Query Language (WQL) queries that search for and display WBEM information.

For further information about WBEM, see the new Solaris WBEM Developer’s Guide, which has replaced the Solaris WBEM Services Administration Guide and the Solaris WBEM SDK Developer's Guide.

Support for WBEM Process Indication (Extrinsic) Events Added

Currently, WBEM event services enable client applications to asynchronously receive indications when conditions of interest are met. However, the only supported indications belong to the class life cycle indications. Life cycle indications denote the modification, the creation, and the deletion of an instance.

While this class of indications is very flexible and wide ranging, instrumentation might need to publish indications that do not fall into this category. Given this requirement, the DMTF introduced the process indication hierarchy as an extension to the current indication hierarchy. The process indications for WBEM services now handle this extended hierarchy.

Process indications for WBEM services is Sun Microsystems' implementation of the process indication portion of the event model. The process indication class is the superclass of all indications that are published by instrumentation. This superclass also includes the life cycle indications.

The process of subscribing to process indications is the same as the process of subscribing to life cycle indications.

For further information about WBEM, see the new Solaris WBEM Developer’s Guide, which has replaced the Solaris WBEM Services Administration Guide and the Solaris WBEM SDK Developer's Guide.

WBEM mofcomp Command Enhanced

The Managed Object Format (MOF) compiler (mofcomp) now allows you to specify a namespace on the command line. If the namespace does not exist, it is created.

In addition, the MOF Compiler now generates Java interface and class source files. This feature enables you to use standard Java interfaces rather than CIM constructs and CIM object model application programming interfaces (APIs).

For each CIMClass, an interface and a class file are generated. The interface is generated to enable you to create different implementations while maintaining interoperability.

For further information about WBEM, see the new Solaris WBEM Developer’s Guide, which has replaced the Solaris WBEM Services Administration Guide and the Solaris WBEM SDK Developer's Guide.

Sample Programs Are Added for New Java WBEM SDK

The Java WBEM Software Developer's Kit (SDK) now includes a new sample Java applet and sample programs. The Java applet and sample programs are installed in /usr/demo/wbem.

The Java WBEM SDK sample programs show you how to use events, queries, and batching. You can use these samples as a basis for developing your own programs.

For further information about WBEM, see the new Solaris WBEM Developer’s Guide, which has replaced the Solaris WBEM Services Administration Guide and the Solaris WBEM SDK Developer's Guide.

Solaris WBEM Software Developer's Kit

The Solaris Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) Software Developer's Kit (SDK) includes APIs that developers use to create applications. Based on WBEM, these applications can access data and manage resources in the Solaris operating environment. The Solaris WBEM SDK also includes CIM WorkShop. The CIM WorkShop is a Java application that developers can use to create WBEM applications. With the CIM WorkShop, developers can view the sample WBEM client and provider programs that are included with the software.

For further information about WBEM, see the new Solaris WBEM Developer’s Guide, which has replaced the Solaris WBEM Services Administration Guide and the Solaris WBEM SDK Developer's Guide.

New Solaris Providers

The new Solaris Providers enable developers to create software that gets and sets information about managed devices in a Common Information Model (CIM) environment. A Solaris Provider provides the CIM Object Manager with instances of managed resources in the Solaris operating environment.

Five new Solaris Providers are available in the Solaris 9 software:

• WBEM Performance Monitor for Solaris devices and systems – Provides a variety of statistical information about a system on which the Solaris operating environment is running.

• WBEM Product Registry – Provides the ability to add, delete, or modify new or existing products that are installed on a system.

• WBEM SNMP Provider – Enables WBEM services to deliver information by means of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), a protocol of the Internet reference model that is used for network management.

• WBEM EEPROM Provider – Enables the display and modification of configuration information in the EEPROM.

• Provider for WBEM System Availability – Provides reboot information about a system. This information enables applications to compute the percentage of time that a system has been up and running. This provider also supplies reasons why a system failed:

  • System panic occurred

  • System halted by a user

  • System shut down by a user

For further information about WBEM, see the new Solaris WBEM Developer’s Guide, which has replaced the Solaris WBEM Services Administration Guide and the Solaris WBEM SDK Developer's Guide.