HP WBEM Services Software Developer's Kit for HP-UX Provider and Client Developer's Guide A.01

Introduction to WBEM, CIM, CIM Server, and Providers
The CIM Server
Chapter 118
The CIM Server
A WBEM/CIM Server can operate directly on the underlying system by
calling the system's commands, services, and library functions, or it can
pass requests from clients onward to plug-in modules called Object
Providers or simply Providers. This plug-in approach is preferred for
general-purpose computer systems, which may have hundreds of
different classes of objects and an almost unlimited number of possible
configurations.
For a device like a network printer or a SOHO (Small Office Home
Office) router, where memory and other resources are limited, an
appropriate optimization may be a monolithic server: that is, one that
does all the work in a single program and does not use plug-ins.
A general-purpose WBEM server, implemented using the plug-in
approach, contains a CIM Server that directs the communication
between clients and providers. HP WBEM Services for HP-UX contains a
CIM Server. (other components such as an HTTP server, as well as
utilities and administrative commands, are also included in the product.)
The CIM Server maintains the information it needs to direct client
requests, as well as other information that controls its behavior, in a type
of database called a repository. In future discussion, we will use the term
CIM Server to refer to the combined HTTP server and CIM Object
Manager request director system.