DNS Server MIB Extensions
RFC 1611
Network Working Group R. Austein
Request for Comments: 1611 Epilogue Technology Corporation
Category: Standards Track J. Saperia
Digital Equipment Corporation
May 1994
DNS Server MIB Extensions
Status of this Memo
This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction .............................................. 1
2. The SNMPv2 Network Management Framework ................... 2
2.1 Object Definitions ....................................... 2
3. Overview .................................................. 2
3.1 Resolvers ................................................ 3
3.2 Name Servers ............................................. 3
3.3 Selected Objects ......................................... 4
3.4 Textual Conventions ...................................... 4
4. Definitions ............................................... 5
5. Acknowledgements .......................................... 28
6. References ................................................ 28
7. Security Considerations ................................... 29
8. Authors' Addresses ........................................ 30
1. Introduction
This memo defines a portion of the Management Information Base (MIB)
for use with network management protocols in the Internet community.
In particular, it describes a set of extensions which instrument DNS
name server functions. This memo was produced by the DNS working
group.
With the adoption of the Internet-standard Network Management
Framework [4,5,6,7], and with a large number of vendor
implementations of these standards in commercially available
products, it became possible to provide a higher level of effective
network management in TCP/IP-based internets than was previously
available. With the growth in the use of these standards, it has
become possible to consider the management of other elements of the
infrastructure beyond the basic TCP/IP protocols. A key element of
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RFC 1611 DNS Server MIB Extensions May 1994
the TCP/IP infrastructure is the DNS.
Up to this point there has been no mechanism to integrate the
management of the DNS with SNMP-based managers. This memo provides
the mechanisms by which IP-based management stations can effectively
manage DNS name server software in an integrated fashion.
We have defined DNS MIB objects to be used in conjunction with the
Internet MIB to allow access to and control of DNS name server
software via SNMP by the Internet community.
2. The SNMPv2 Network Management Framework
The SNMPv2 Network Management Framework consists of four major
components. They are:
o RFC 1442 which defines the SMI, the mechanisms used for
describing and naming objects for the purpose of management.
o STD 17, RFC 1213 defines MIB-II, the core set of managed objects
for the Internet suite of protocols.
o RFC 1445 which defines the administrative and other architectural
aspects of the framework.
o RFC 1448 which defines the protocol used for network access to
managed objects.
The Framework permits new objects to be defined for the purpose of
experimentation and evaluation.
2.1. Object Definitions
Managed objects are accessed via a virtual information store, termed
the Management Information Base or MIB. Objects in the MIB are
defined using the subset of Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1)
defined in the SMI. In particular, each object object type is named
by an OBJECT IDENTIFIER, an administratively assigned name. The
object type together with an object instance serves to uniquely
identify a specific instantiation of the object. For human
convenience, we often use a textual string, termed the descriptor, to
refer to the object type.
3. Overview
In theory, the DNS world is pretty simple. There are two kinds of
entities: resolvers and name servers. Resolvers ask questions. Name
servers answer them. The real world, however, is not so simple.
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RFC 1611 DNS Server MIB Extensions May 1994
Implementors have made widely differing choices about how to divide
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