Creating a MIF File to Add an Object

When creating a MIF file to add or update an object with a custom architecture, observe the following rules:

• The full definition for the object starts with the keyword Start Component and ends with End Component. You should define only one object (component) per MIF file.
• The object definition begins with the Name entry for the object.
• The Identification and Architecture groups must be included in the MIF file, using the structure you defined for the architecture.
• The Class values for the Identification and Architecture groups should be microsoft|identification|1.0 and microsoft|architecture|1.0, respectively.
• If you want the object to appear in the Sites window of the SMS Administrator, you must include the Name, Site, Domain, SystemRole, and SystemType attributes in the Identification group; and the values for the Site and Domain attributes must be those of sites and domains existing in the SMS database.
• The group and attribute identifier values must be 1 or greater.
• The attributes for an object must be specified in groups that adhere to the structure you defined for the architecture.

Important When updating inventory information for an object already existing in the SMS database, make sure to specify values for all of the attributes defined in the previous MIF file for that object; otherwise the values for those attributes will be set to NULL.

To assist you in creating MIF files for objects with custom architectures, this section provides the following information:

• Example MIF File for an Object with a Custom Architecture
• MIF File Syntax for Custom Architectures
• Displaying an Architecture's Objects in the Sites Window