NEC POWERMATE VP, Manual

Page: 58 / 255

Using Your Computer 1-43
DMI allows a computer running a network management
application to retrieve system tracking information such as
memory capacity, disk capacity, expansion board settings,
or applications. It is easy to get the status of each system
via DMI even if the network consists of computers from
different manufacturers. DMI also supplies Plug and Play
capability. DMI is not a protocol but an interface. It com-
plements network protocols like the Simple Network Man-
agement Protocol (SNMP).
The DMI provides support for attributes such as system se-
rial number, product model number, and BIOS revision
number.
DMI Components
The NEC DMI consists of two major functional
components:
n
the Component Interface (CI) module
n
the NEC DMI Browser.
The CI module provides the instrumentation and interface
between the BIOS and the DMI Service Layer (SL). The
DMI Browser displays and manages existing attributes in
the Management Information Format (MIF) database. The
Desktop Management Task Force (DMTF) provides the
DOS Service Layer and MIF database.