WMI first shipped in Windows 2000 (and was available down-level to NT4). It used a COM-based development model and writing class providers was not for the faint of heart. Frankly, it was difficult to write them and more difficult to write them correctly. In addition to a difficult programming model teams had to also learn the new world of standards-based management with CIM schemas, the Managed Object Format (MOF) language, and other new terms, mechanisms and tools. We got quite good coverage in the first few releases but many teams were not satisfied with the effort-to-benefit ratio.
A big part of that equation is the benefit side. Starting a management ecosystem from scratch is incredibly difficult. If you write a provider and no one calls it, what value was generated? None. This is why Systems Management Server (SMS), now known as the System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), added support for WMI around the same time we released it (WMI was actually spawned out of the SMS team.) This was great, but it had two problems:
To learn more and to read the entire article at its source, please refer to the following page, Standards-based Management in Windows Server “8”- Windows Server Division WebLog
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