4.2 The WMI object path

To address manageable entities from the real world as defined in the CIM repository, it is necessary to locate their definitions (classes) in the CIM repository. The object path uniquely identifies the definitions made in the CIM repository. This path is used to locate three things:

1. A WMI namespace on a server

2. The classes defined in a particular namespace

3. The instances of a class in particular namespace.

The WMI object path can be compared with the concept of the universal resource locator (URL) used for the Internet. Both are hierarchical and use a number of elements in their structures, although the real representation does not look the same. The number of elements is determined by the nature of the object to locate. We can clearly distinguish three types of WMI object path:

1. The namespace object path: This path is used to locate a particular namespace in the CIM repository on a server. It uses two elements: the server name and the CIM repository namespace name. For example, the following string is a valid namespace object path:

   \\NET-DPEN6400A\Root\CIMv2

   where the server is NET-DPEN6400A and the namespace is Root\CIMv2. The generic representation of a namespace object path is

   \\Server\Namespace

   or

   //Server/Namespace

   or

   \\.\Namespace

   if the local server is referenced.

2. The class object path: This path is used to locate a particular class in a namespace on a server. It uses three elements: the server name, the namespace, and the class name. For example, the...