Entity MIB using SMIv2
RFC 2037

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• 06

Network Working Group                                     K. McCloghrie
Request for Comments: 2037                                   A. Bierman
Category: Standards Track                                 Cisco Systems
                                                           October 1996

                         Entity MIB using SMIv2

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 ..............................................    2
   2. The SNMP Network Management Framework .....................    2
   2.1 Object Definitions .......................................    2
   3. Overview ..................................................    3
   3.1 Terms ....................................................    4
   3.2 Relationship to Community Strings ........................    5
   3.3 Relationship to Proxy Mechanisms .........................    5
   3.4 Relationship to a Chassis MIB ............................    5
   3.5 Relationship to the Interfaces MIB .......................    6
   3.6 Relationship to the Other MIBs ...........................    6
   3.7 Relationship to Naming Scopes ............................    6
   3.8 Multiple Instances of the Entity MIB .....................    7
   3.9 Re-Configuration of Entities .............................    7
   3.10 MIB Structure ...........................................    7
   3.10.1 entityPhysical Group ..................................    8
   3.10.2 entityLogical Group ...................................    8
   3.10.3 entityMapping Group ...................................    8
   3.10.4 entityGeneral Group ...................................    9
   3.10.5 entityNotifications Group .............................    9
   3.11 Multiple Agents .........................................    9
   4. Definitions ...............................................   10
   5. Usage Examples ............................................   26
   5.1 Router/Bridge ............................................   26
   5.2 Repeaters ................................................   30
   6. Acknowledgements ..........................................   33
   7. References ................................................   34
   8. Security Considerations ...................................   35
   9. Authors' Addresses ........................................   35

McCloghrie & Bierman        Standards Track                     [Page 1]
RFC 2037                 Entity MIB using SMIv2             October 1996

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 managed objects used for managing
   multiple logical and physical entities managed by a single SNMP
   agent.

2.  The SNMP Network Management Framework

   The SNMP Network Management Framework presently consists of three
   major components.  They are:

   o    the SMI, described in RFC 1902 [1], - the mechanisms used for
        describing and naming objects for the purpose of management.

   o    the MIB-II, STD 17, RFC 1213 [2], - the core set of managed
        objects for the Internet suite of protocols.

   o    the protocol, RFC 1157 [6] and/or RFC 1905 [4], - the protocol
        for accessing managed information.

   Textual conventions are defined in RFC 1903 [3], and conformance
   statements are defined in RFC 1904 [5].

   The Framework permits new objects to be defined for the purpose of
   experimentation and evaluation.

   This memo specifies a MIB module that is compliant to the SNMPv2 SMI.
   A semantically identical MIB conforming to the SNMPv1 SMI can be
   produced through the appropriate translation.

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 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.

McCloghrie & Bierman        Standards Track                     [Page 2]
RFC 2037                 Entity MIB using SMIv2             October 1996

3.  Overview

   There is a need for a standardized way of representing a single agent
   which supports multiple instances of one MIB.  This is presently true