Resource discovery and enumeration in meta-data driven instrumentation

1. A method for enumerating an asset using at least one processor, the method comprising:

receiving an enumeration request for enumerating the asset;

translating the enumeration request from an information model format to a data acquisition (DAQ) format to obtain a translated request;

obtaining a DAQ definition from the translated request, wherein the DAQ definition complies with the DAQ format;

identifying an actual uniform resource identifier (URI) from the DAQ definition, wherein the identifying is based on the enumeration request, wherein the actual URI comprises an identifier of an enumeration mechanism and an identifier of a protocol;

triggering, according to the protocol, a protocol handler to enumerate the asset using the enumeration mechanism identified in the actual URI;

obtaining information about at least one instance of the asset from the protocol handler after the protocol handler enumerates the asset;

managing the at least one instance of the asset using the information, wherein the asset is at least one selected from a group consisting of a hardware component in a computer and software executing on the computer;

determining a relative URI of the enumeration mechanism; and

setting the relative URI in a native asset interface (NAI) definition before receiving the enumeration request, wherein the DAQ definition is a runtime binding of the NAI definition.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the enumeration request specifies an asset type.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the enumeration mechanism is a script.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: replacing a variable in the relative URI to obtain the actual URI.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting the information to a management application.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the NAI definition is defined in extensible markup language.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying an asset type of the asset from an enumeration request, wherein the DAQ definition is based on the asset type.

8. A system for enumerating an asset comprising:

a processor;

a data acquisition (DAQ) definition;

a DAQ manager executing on the processor and configured to:

receive an enumeration request for enumerating the asset;

obtain the DAQ definition associated with the enumeration request;

identify an actual uniform resource identifier (URI) from the DAQ definition, wherein the identifying is based on the enumeration request, wherein the URI comprises an identifier of an enumeration mechanism and an identifier of a protocol;

trigger, according to the protocol, a protocol handler to enumerate the asset using the enumeration mechanism identified in the actual URI; and

obtain information about at least one instance of the asset from the protocol handler after the protocol handler enumerates the asset; and

a developer environment configured to:

determine a relative URI of the enumeration mechanism; and

set the relative URI in an NAI definition before receiving the enumeration request, wherein the DAQ definition is a runtime binding of the NAI definition,

wherein an information model request is translated from an information model format to a DAQ format to obtain the enumeration request, wherein the DAQ definition complies with the DAQ format, and

wherein the at least one instance of the asset is managed using the information, wherein the asset is at least one selected from a group consisting of a hardware component in a computer and software executing on the computer.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the enumeration request specifies an asset type.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the enumeration mechanism is a script.

11. The system of claim 8 , further comprising:

an administrator environment configured to:

replace a variable in the relative URI to obtain the actual URI.

12. The system of claim 8 , further comprising:

an information model runtime configured to:

transmit the information to a management application.

13. The system of claim 8 , wherein the NAI definition is in extensible markup language.

14. The system of claim 8 , further comprising:

an information model runtime configured to translate the information model request from the information model format to the DAQ format.

15. A distributed computer system having a plurality of nodes, wherein at least one node of the plurality of nodes comprises a processor configured to execute instructions for performing a method, the method comprising:

receiving an enumeration request for enumerating an asset;

translating the enumeration request from an information model format to a data acquisition (DAQ) format to obtain a translated request;

obtaining a DAQ definition from the translated request, wherein the DAQ definition complies with the DAQ format;

identifying an actual uniform resource identifier (URI) from the DAQ definition, wherein the identifying is based on the enumeration request, wherein the actual URI comprises an identifier of an enumeration mechanism and an identifier of a protocol;

triggering, according to the protocol, a protocol handler to enumerate the asset using the enumeration mechanism identified in the actual URI;

obtaining information about at least one instance of the asset from the protocol handler after the protocol handler enumerates the asset;

managing the at least one instance of the asset using the information, wherein the asset is at least one selected from a group consisting of a hardware component in a computer and software executing on the computer;

determining a relative URI of the enumeration mechanism; and

setting the relative URI in a native asset interface (NAI) definition before receiving the enumeration request, wherein the DAQ definition is a runtime binding of the NAI definition,

wherein the protocol handler and the enumeration mechanism are distributed across one or more of the plurality of nodes.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the enumeration request is received from a management application, wherein the enumeration request complies with the information model format, and wherein the method further comprises:

identifying an asset type of the asset from the enumeration request;

identifying a mapping specification entry matching the type of the asset, wherein the enumeration request is translated based on the mapping specification entry to create the translated request.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the asset comprises at least one selected from a group consisting of an application and a hardware device, and wherein the DAQ definition is identified based on an asset type of the asset.