There are several tools available to query and browse WMI
information. These tools can be very useful in situations in which
you want to access WMI information but do not want to write a script
to do it.
26.4.1 WMI from a Command line
The WMI command-line tool (WMIC) is a powerful
tool that can expose virtually any WMI information you want to
access. It is available in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
Unfortunately, WMIC does not run on Windows 2000, but it can still be
used to query WMI on a Windows 2000 machine.
WMIC maps certain WMI classes to
"aliases." Aliases are used as
shorthand so that you only need to type
"logicaldisk" instead of
"Win32_LogicalDisk". An easy way to
get started with WMIC is to type the alias name of the class you are
interested in. A list of all the objects that match that alias/class
will be listed.
wmic:root\cli>logicaldisk list brief
DeviceID DriveType FreeSpace ProviderName Size VolumeName
A: 2
C: 3 1540900864 4296498688 W2K
D: 3 15499956224 15568003072
Z: 5 0 576038912 NR1EFRE_EN
Most aliases have a list brief subcommand that
will display a subset of the properties for each object. You can run
similar queries for services, CPUs, processes, and so on. For a
complete list of the aliases, type alias at the
WMIC prompt.
The creators of WMIC didn't stop with simple lists.
You can also utilize WQL to do more complex queries. This next
example displays all logical disks with a drivetype of 3 (local hard
drive):
wmic:root\cli>logicaldisk where (drivetype = '3') list brief
DeviceID DriveType FreeSpace ProviderName Size VolumeName
C: 3 1540806144 4296498688 W2K
D: 3 15499956224 15568003072
We have just touched the surface of the capabilities of WMIC. You can
invoke actions, such as creating or killing a process or service, and
modify WMI data through WMIC as well. For more information, check out
the Support WebCast "WMIC: A New Approach to
Managing Windows Infrastructure from a Command
Line," available at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/webcasts/.
Help information is also available on Windows XP and Windows Server
2003 computers by going to Start 
Help, and search
on WMIC.
26.4.2 WMI from the Web
Included as sample applications with the original
WMI SDK, the WMI CIM Studio and WMI Object browser are web-based
applications that provide much more benefit than just being example
applications provided in the SDK. The following is a list of the
tools and their purpose:
The WMI CIM Studio is a generic WMI management tool that allows you
to browse namespaces, instantiate objects, view the instances of a
class, run methods, edit properties, and even perform WQL queries.
The WMI Object Browser allows you to view the properties for a
specific object, look at the class hierarchy, view any associations,
run methods, and edit properties for an object.
The WMI Event Registration allows you to create, view, and configure
event consumers.
The WMI Event Viewer displays events of configured event consumers.
The web-based WMI tools can be obtained separately from the WMI SDK
at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=6430F853-1120-48DB-8CC5-F2ABDC3ED314.
26.4.3 WMI SDK
The WMI SDK provides the
complete WMI reference documentation along with numerous sample
scripts and programs. It also includes the web-based WMI tools
described in the previous section. The WMI SDK can be downloaded from
the Platform SDK site located at http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/platformsdk/sdkupdate/default.htm.
