When installing the Core Agent or other MSI based files your system throws and error similar to: "WMI method invocation of Faronics Core Agent install failed"
What is this and how do you resolve this?
"Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is the Microsoft implementation of Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM), which is an industry initiative to develop a standard technology for accessing management information in an enterprise environment. WMI uses the Common Information Model (CIM) industry standard to represent systems, applications, networks, devices, and other managed components. CIM is developed and maintained by the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF).
Managing Remote Computer Systems with WMI
The ability to obtain management data from remote computers is what makes WMI useful. Remote WMI connections are made through DCOM. An alternative is to use Windows Remote Management (WinRM), which obtains remote WMI management data using the WS-Management SOAP-based protocol. "
[ Source : http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa384642(v=vs.85).aspx ]
MSI files can be installed using MSIEXEC which allows for logging of the installation process.
In Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows XP with Microsoft Installer 4.0 or higher installed, the Core Agent Installer will log the installation, upgrade, or uninstallation with full verbose logging by default.
C:\Users\<AdminUser>\AppData\Local\Temp or <SystemDrive>:\Windows\temp folder if the installer was pushed). Automatic Core Agent Installer logging will only occur if the Agent is being installed on a machine with Microsoft Installer 4.0 or higher. Windows Vista and Windows 7 come with Microsoft Installer 4.5 or higher. Note that Windows XP comes with Microsoft Installer 2.0 installed out-of-the-box, so logging will not be done automatically on workstations with Windows XP without a Microsoft Installer upgrade to 4.0 or higher.
Manual installer logging can be done using the same way as in previous releases, namely, through a msiexec command-line parameter. That is,
msiexec /i "MyFaronicsCoreAgentInstallerFile.msi" /L*vx "MyInstallerLogFile.txt"Review of the installation log file - either the automatic log found in the temp folder or the log file specified in the above command will point you in the direction of your solution. If WMI is suspected to be corrupt use of the WMI Diagnosis Utility will examine the WMI infrastructure to ensure it is functioning correctly and provide a report as to the status of WMI on the system.
The WMI Diagnosis Utility -- Version 2.0
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=d7ba3cd6-18d1-4d05-b11e-4c64192ae97d&displaylang=en
Secrets of Windows Management Instrumentation
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/resources/wmifaq.mspx#EHAA
WMI Troubleshooting
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa394603(VS.85).aspx
To determine the version and build number of WMI, click the Version tab for the properties for %Windir%\System32\Wbem\Winmgmt.exe.
Alternately you can type msiexec /? in a command window.
Windows XP is currently using Windows Installer v. 3.01.4000.3959 and can be upgraded to 4.5 Windows 7 uses 5.0
If you are running an older build you may need to update.
Windows Installer 4.5 Redistributable:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=5a58b56f-60b6-4412-95b9-54d056d6f9f4&displaylang=en
WMI: Rebuilding the WMI Repository
http://blogs.technet.com/b/askperf/archive/2009/04/13/wmi-rebuilding-the-wmi-repository.aspx
Ask the Performance Team Blog - Thoughts from the EPS Windows Server Performance Team
Scenario Windows Management Instrumentation fails due to repository corruption or the repository is too large
The WMI Repository "%windir%System32\Wbem\Repository" is the database that stores meta-information and definitions for WMI classes; in some cases the repository also stores static class data as well. If the Repository becomes corrupted, then the WMI service will not be able to function correctly.
If you suspect WMI or repository corruption, rebuilding repository is the last thing you should do. Deleting and rebuilding the repository can cause damage to the system or to installed applications. Other steps should be taken first to eliminate other possibilities or to confirm we have repository corruption. An extremely large Repository also creates problems and can sometimes be interpreted as a corrupt repository, which is not always the case. If issues are due to a large repository, rebuilding the repository is currently the only method available to reduce the repository size.
It's a good idea to always capture a WMIDiag report for any WMI related issues:
If WMI is corrupted, you can receive various errors depending on what activity was being accomplished at the time.
Below are a few scenarios/errors that indicate repository corruption:
Unable to connect to root\default or root\cimv2 namespaces thru wbemtest. Fails returning error code 0x80041002 pointing to WBEM_E_NOT_FOUND
When we open Computer Management and Right Click on Computer Management(Local) and select Properties, you get the following error: "WMI: Not Found" or it hangs trying connect
0x80041010 WBEM_E_INVALID_CLASS
Trying to use wbemtest, it hangs
Ask the Performance Team Blog - SEE: http://blogs.technet.com/b/askperf/archive/2009/04/13/wmi-rebuilding-the-wmi-repository.aspx