Accessing the WMI Repository with the WMI ODBC Adapter

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By using the WMI Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) adapter, applications can get information from WMI without using the Component Object Model (COM) API or the ActiveX controls. This makes it possible for you to use WMI without having to write programs. For example, you could create a report that contains current statistics, graphs, and charts showing the health of your network.

Note  For more information about support and installation of this component on a specific operating system, see Operating System Availability of WMI Components.

The WMI ODBC adapter provides a standard API that allows ODBC-based applications to use the data in the Common Information Management (CIM) repository as if the repository were a database. By providing information to ODBC, the WMI ODBC adapter acts as a driver to the ODBC driver architecture.

For more information about the WMI ODBC adapter, see:

General Information About the WMI ODBC Adapter

The following list contains some general issues that may be helpful when working with the WMI ODBC adapter:

  • Microsoft supports the WMI ODBC adapter only in conjunction with Access; no other applications are supported by Microsoft.
  • The information you get using the WMI ODBC adapter is read-only, which means you cannot edit any information in the CIM repository.
  • The WMI ODBC adapter supports only SQL SELECT statements.
  • The WMI ODBC adapter is only compliant with ODBC 2.x and therefore does not support Unicode.
  • To view WMI system classes (those classes beginning with a double underscore, such as __Namespace) you must invoke SQLTables with a "SYSTEM TABLE" TABLE_TYPE. For more information, see the Microsoft ODBC Programmer's Reference.
  • You can view the system class properties by selecting the check box in the Configure Connection dialog box. You can also turn on system properties by adding SYSPROPS=TRUE to the connection string.
  • There are limitations you should be aware of when working with applications that can connect to a WMI ODBC data source. For more information, see WMI ODBC Adapter Limitations.