Windows Server with Powershell: Using WMI and CIM

Name: Windows Server with Powershell: Using WMI and CIM
Rating: 4.5 (68 reviews)

Query hardware, OS and software data with WMI and CIM, use CIM sessions and invoke methods on local and remote computers

Created byVitalii Shumylo

Last updated 10/2026

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

Understand the architecture and technologies behind WMI and CIM
Explore the repository and find the documentation for its classes
Query instances of a class, with demonstrations
Query remote computers and use CIM sessions
Make changes by invoking methods

Course content

3 sections • 15 lectures • 1h 14m total length

Querying Management Information by Using WMI and CIM Course Overview0:58
Learn to query management information with WMI and CIM, gaining local and remote access to system data on the operating system, hardware, and installed software.
Understanding WMI and CIM Section Overview0:49
Explore the architecture of WMI and CIM, distinguish their differences, and learn to select the right technology for a given scenario. Describe WMI architecture and locate repository class documentation online.
Architecture and Technologies8:06
Examine how wmi and cim implement industry standards for cross-platform management, including the wmi repository, powershell support, and remote connections via dcom and winrm, and the common information model.
The Repository. Finding Documentation. Demonstration.3:51
Explore the WMI and CIM repository structure with namespaces, classes, instances, properties, and methods, and learn how to locate class documentation online when native help is limited.

Querying Data by Using WMI and CIM Section Overview0:50
Learn to write commands that list namespaces, retrieve classes, and get instances of a class; connect to remote computers with WMI or CIM and manage CIM sessions.
Listing Namespaces, Classes. Demo8:35
List WMI namespaces and classes with PowerShell, using the default root\cimv2 namespace. Enumerate local and remote namespaces with Get-WmiObject, then sort results and note system classes.
Querying Instances. Demo6:39
Explore querying WMI and CIM class instances with PowerShell using Get-WmiObject and Get-CimInstance, including filtering by drive type equals three to find fixed disks and other class instances.
Remote Computers. Demo7:35
Learn how to connect to remote Windows servers with WMI and CIM using PowerShell, create and reuse sessions for efficient querying, manage credentials, and handle domain constraints.

Making Changes by Using WMI and CIM Section Overview0:36
Make changes using WMI and CIM, discover repository objects, and invoke their methods to manage configurations and access online documentation.
Discovering and Finding Methods. Demo5:48
Explore how to locate and use methods on WMI and CIM objects with PowerShell by listing class methods, inspecting documentation, and demonstrating a change method to reconfigure a service.
Invoking Methods. Demo7:06
Learn to invoke WMI and CIM methods in PowerShell using Invoke-WmiMethod and Get-WmiObject, including remote calls with -computername, the pipeline, argument dictionaries, and examples like reboot and terminate.
Lab: Working with WMI and CIM8:53
Learn to query local and remote computers with WMI and CIM in PowerShell, retrieving IP addresses, OS version, hardware, services, user groups, and to invoke reboot or start-mode changes.
Lab Answers: Working with WMI and CIM9:42
Learn to use WMI and CIM to gather information from multiple computers, including IP addresses, operating system details, and network adapter configuration, and to manage services and user accounts.
Course Review and Takeaways5:02
Review the course takeaways on WMI vs CIM and their remote protocols. Identify best practices with CIM commands for performance and common remote connectivity issues.
Bonus Lecture: What to Learn Next0:14

Requirements

General familiarity with Windows and server administration
First experience with PowerShell commands
A Windows machine, and ideally a second one to query

Description

WMI and CIM give you an inventory of every Windows machine: hardware, operating system, installed software and services. This short course shows how the information is organised, how to find the class you need, and how to query it on your own computer and on remote ones, so you can answer questions about your servers with a few lines of PowerShell.

What the lectures cover

Besides the main topics, you also work through: List namespaces and classes; Discover and find the methods of repository objects; Try the lab, then compare your work with the answer video.

How the course works

Each lecture is short and shows the command on screen before explaining the idea behind it. The overview lectures give you the map of the repository, the demonstrations show the commands, and the lab with its answer video lets you check yourself. You can repeat everything on a lab machine without risk.

Inside the course

The course is organised into these sections: Understanding WMI and CIM; Querying Data by Using WMI and CIM; Making Changes by Using WMI and CIM. Lectures you will find include: Querying Management Information by Using WMI and CIM Course Overview; Understanding WMI and CIM Section Overview; Architecture and Technologies; The Repository. Finding Documentation. Demonstration; Querying Data by Using WMI and CIM Section Overview; Listing Namespaces, Classes. Demo; Querying Instances. Demo; Remote Computers. Demo; Making Changes by Using WMI and CIM Section Overview; Discovering and Finding Methods. Demo; Invoking Methods. Demo; Lab: Working with WMI and CIM; Course Review and Takeaways.

The course runs about 1.2 hours in 15 lectures. It is a focused, short course on WMI and CIM and nothing else, so it is not a complete PowerShell or Windows administration course. The lab at the end lets you check what you have learned.

Who this course is for:

System administrators who need inventory data about servers
IT technicians who want to query hardware and software
DevOps technicians who automate Windows changes

Windows Server with Powershell: Using WMI and CIM

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Understanding WMI and CIM4 lectures • 14min

Querying Data by Using WMI and CIM4 lectures • 24min

Making Changes by Using WMI and CIM7 lectures • 37min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: