WMI Service

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

The WMI Service is the Windows implementation of a Common Information Model Object Manager (CIMOM) as defined by the Desktop Management Task Force (DMTF). It mediates the interactions between a client application using WMI and the WMI repository and providers.

The WMI service should be automatically started by the Service Control Manager (SCM).

Aspects

The following is a list of all aspects that are part of this managed entity:

Name Description

Provider Host Quota Maintenance

The provider host quota allows limits to be set on the host process usage of system resources.

WMI Provider Hosting

WMI resides in a shared service host with several other services. To avoid stopping all of the services when a provider fails, providers are loaded into a separate host process named "Wmiprvse.exe." More than one process with this name can be running. Each can run under a different account with different security. For computers running on the Vista operating system, use the winmgmt command to run WMI in a separate process, by itself, using a fixed port.

The shared host can run under one of the following system accounts in a Wmiprvse.exe host process:

  • LocalSystem
  • NetworkService
  • LocalService

A provider can also be a local COM server (.exe), or self-hosted, which does not require a WMI provider host.

WMI Repository Availability and Integrity

The WMI repository is the Windows implementation of the CIM Repository as defined by the Deskop Management Task Force (DMTF). It is a database managed by the WMI Service that stores WMI class and instance information. Static classes with static instances store class definitions and instances in the WMI repository. Static classes with dynamic instances store only the definitions. Dynamic classes store neither the class definitions nor the instances. Dynamic information is supplied on-demand by a WMI provider.

WMI Service Availability

The WMI Service (winmgmt) must be available for the WMI infrastructure to operate properly.

Management Infrastructure