Chapter 9. WMI Provider for Configuration Management

Since the release of Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Microsoft has included two WMI providers for SQL Server: the WMI Provider for Configuration Management to manage SQL Server services and network connectivity, and the WMI Provider for Server Events, to manage SQL Server events. This chapter illustrates how to access the SQL Server 2008 WMI providers using Windows PowerShell, and how to perform administrative tasks using the WMI Provider for Configuration Management. The WMI Provider for Server Events is explained in detail in Chapter 10.

The WMI Provider for Configuration Management is a published layer that is used with the SQL Server Configuration Manager snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) and the Microsoft SQL Server Configuration Manager. By writing a Windows PowerShell script, you can connect to the Configuration Manager and take advantage of all the services it provides.