CIM Reference Guide

84 Glossary
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IHV
Acronym for independent hardware vendor. IHVs often
develop their own SNMP MIBs for components that
they manufacture.
IT Assistant
A comprehensive systems management application
that integrates event management, configuration
management, and asset management for systems
distributed throughout an enterprise.
MIB
Acronym for management information base. A MIB is
used to send detailed status/commands from or to an
SNMP managed device.
MOF
Acronym for managed object format, which is an ASCII file
that contains the formal definition of a CIM schema.
NIC
Acronym for network interface controller.
property
A property is a capability or characteristic of a CIM
class. The temperature probe class, for example, has a
property that describes its thresholds for normal, lower
critical, and upper critical ranges of operation. Defining
where normal operation ends and where critical
temperatures begin determines when warnings should
be sent to the systems manager for corrective action.
Every property has a Description and a Data Type
. The
Description provides a brief explanation of what a particular
managed object does. The Data Type specifies the form
that the values of a property must take. For example, some
values are bit fields and others are integers or strings.
provider
A provider is an extension of a CIM schema that
communicates with managed objects. The provider
accesses data and generates event notifications from a
variety of sources. The Dell CIM provider extends the
standard CIM schema to make it easier to
manage systems.
MOF
A MOF is a management object file that models objects
in a systems management environment. The MOF
models the relationships between different managed
objects. For example, the CIM_RedundancyGroup is
a parent class for components that are so critical to the
proper functioning of a system that the system is
designed to have additional critical components.
When a critical component fails, redundancy allows
the system to continue operation because there are
other components that can compensate for the loss.
The DELL_PowerSupply and DELL_FanRedundancy
classes are derived from the CIM redundancy group.
The relationship is one of child to parent.
RAID
Acronym for redundant array of independent disks.
response file
The file that records the features that an administrator
wants to incorporate into an unattended installation is
called a “response file” or an “answer file.”
set operation
An operation used to write or “set” data to MIB
variables maintained by the SNMP agent.
SNMP
Abbreviation for Simple Network Management Protocol.
SNMP is an industry-standard interface that allows a
network manager to remotely monitor and manage
workstations.
unattended installation
An unattended installation requires far less operator
involvement than an interactive installation. Also
called a “silent installation,” unattended installation
programs record the administrator’s preferences about
which features of an application program to install. The
file that records these installation feature preferences
is called a “response file” or an “answer file.” System
administrators typically create packages that include
the response file and any other files needed to install
the program, distribute the package to multiple
systems, and activate the unattended installation.