Editing Web-Based Enterprise Management (section)

==Architecture==
To understand the WBEM architecture, consider the components which lie between the operator trying to manage a device (configure it, turn it off and on, collect alarms, etc.) and the actual hardware and software of the device:

# The operator will invoke some form of [[graphical user interface]] (GUI), [[Browser User Interface]] (BUI), or [[command-line interface]] (CLI). The WBEM standard has nothing to say about this interface (although the definition of a CLI for specific applications has started): WBEM operates independently of the human interface, since human interfaces can change without the rest of the system needing to note such changes.
# The GUI, BUI or CLI will interface with a WBEM client through a small set of [[application programming interface]]s (APIs). This client will find the WBEM server for the managed device (typically on the device itself) and construct an XML message containing the request.
# The client will use the HTTP (or [[https|HTTPS]]) protocol to pass the request, encoding it in [[CIM-XML]], to the WBEM server.
# The WBEM server will decode the incoming request, perform the necessary authentication and authorization checks and then consult the previously defined model of the managed device to see how to handle the request. This model provides the power of the architecture: it represents the pivot point of the transaction, with the client simply interacting with the model and the model interacting with the real hardware or software. The model uses the Common Information Model standard; the [[Distributed Management Task Force|DMTF]] has published many models for commonly managed devices and services: [[multilayer switch|IP routers]], [[file server|storage servers]], [[desktop computer]]s, etc.
# For most operations, the WBEM server determines from the model that it needs to communicate with the actual hardware or software. So-called "providers" handle the interaction: small pieces of code interface between the WBEM server (using a standardized interface known as [[Common Manageability Programming Interface|CMPI]])<ref>
[http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/linuxonibm/liaav/cmpi-overview.pdf The Common Manageability Programming Interface]
</ref> and the real hardware or software. Because the interface is well-defined and the number of types of call is small, it is normally easy to write providers. In particular, the writer of the provider knows nothing of the GUI, BUI, or CLI used by the operator.