HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage Concepts Guide (OS 3.1.2 MU2) (QR482-96384, June 2013)

14 The HP 3PAR CIM API
Overview
This chapter describes the HP 3PAR CIM Application Programming Interface (API), HP’s
industry-standard API based on SNIA’s Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S). For
detailed information about the HP 3PAR CIM API, refer to the HP 3PAR CIM API Programming
Reference.
About SMI-S
SMI-S enables management of storage area networks (SANs) in a heterogeneous multi-vendor
environment. SMI-S uses an object-oriented model based on the Common Information Model (CIM)
to define objects and services which comprise a SAN. By leveraging vendor and technology
independent standards, SMI-S allows management application vendors to create applications that
work across products from multiple vendors.
The SMI-S model is divided into several profiles, each of which describes a particular class of SAN
entities (such as disk arrays). These profiles allow for differences in implementations but provide
a consistent approach for clients to discover and manage SAN resources and facilitate
interoperability across vendor products within the SAN.
SMI-S also defines an automated resource discovery process using Service Location Protocol version
2 (SLPv2). This allows management applications to automatically find SAN resources and then
probe them to determine which of the SMI-S profiles and features they support.
For more information about SMI-S, refer to the Storage Management Initiative web site at http://
www.snia.org/smi/home.
About the WBEM Initiative
SMI-S is based on the Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) Initiative, which is defined by
the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF). WBEM is a set of management and Internet
standard technologies developed to unify the management of distributed computing environments.
The DMTF has developed a core set of standards that make up WBEM:
• The Common Information Model (CIM) standard
The CIM standard is the data model for WBEM. CIM provides a conceptual framework for
describing management data for systems, networks, applications and services, and allows for
vendor extensions. SMI-S uses CIM to model those objects and relationships that comprise a SAN.
• CIM-XML
CIM-XML is a method of exchanging CIM management data. CIM-XML uses an xmlCIM payload
and HTTP(s) as the transport mechanism.
78 The HP 3PAR CIM API