Re: [wsdm][uplat]meta data definiton

["M. Homayoun Pourheidari" <homayoun@hp.com>]

Thanks Fred,

Here is the new text for meta data.

Cheers,
H.
---
what?

Meta data is generally defined as data about data. In the context of
management, it is additional information about all the components of
an information model that describe a managed resource.  These
components include: attributes, operations, events, interface
categories, and the service representing the managed resource.  Meta
data may include descriptive information about the context, quality
and condition, or characteristics of the data.  Meta data can be
introspected  at design time and runtime.

why?

In IT management, it is important to describe data in richer ways so
that it can ultimately be linked to the goals that drive the existence
of the source of this data.  For example, information like
limitations, purpose, context, quality, and characteristics of
management data as an associated piece of that data will help to
describe how the data is related to the objectives of an IT
environment.  Meta data is one of the means through which such
descriptions are provided.

Meta data values can include units, volatility, modifiability,
aliases, policies, duration, etc. For example, Meta data values for
attributes can include units, volatility, modifiability, aliases, and
Meta data values for operations can include end state.

In the management space, the manageability capabilities are likely to
be provided by a number of different providers. That is, the
management space is likely to be an integration issue. To aid the
manageability consumer in integrating the information from these
dissimilar sources, the meta data is of increased importance.