Textual Conventions for Additional High Capacity Data Types
RFC 2856

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Network Working Group                                        A. Bierman
Request for Comments: 2856                                K. McCloghrie
Category: Standards Track                           Cisco Systems, Inc.
                                                             R. Presuhn
                                                     BMC Software, Inc.
                                                              June 2000

      Textual Conventions for Additional High Capacity Data Types

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.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2000).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   This memo specifies new textual conventions for additional high
   capacity data types, intended for SNMP implementations which already
   support the Counter64 data type. The definitions contained in this
   document represent a short term solution which may be deprecated in
   the future.

Table of Contents

   1 The SNMP Management Framework .................................  2
   2 Overview ......................................................  3
   2.1 Short Term and Long Term Objectives .........................  3
   2.2 Limitations of the Textual Convention Approach ..............  3
   3 New Textual Conventions .......................................  4
   3.1 CounterBasedGauge64 .........................................  4
   3.2 ZeroBasedCounter64 ..........................................  4
   4 Definitions ...................................................  4
   5 Intellectual Property .........................................  7
   6 References ....................................................  7
   7 Security Considerations .......................................  9
   8 Authors' Addresses ............................................  9
   9 Full Copyright Statement ...................................... 10

Bierman, et al.             Standards Track                     [Page 1]
RFC 2856                High Capacity Data Types               June 2000

1.  The SNMP Management Framework

   The SNMP Management Framework presently consists of five major
   components:

   o   An overall architecture, described in RFC 2571 [RFC2571].

   o   Mechanisms for describing and naming objects and events for the
       purpose of management. The first version of this Structure of
       Management Information (SMI) is called SMIv1 and described in STD
       16, RFC 1155 [RFC1155], STD 16, RFC 1212 [RFC1212] and RFC 1215
       [RFC1215].  The second version, called SMIv2, is described in STD
       58, RFC 2578 [RFC2578], STD 58, RFC 2579 [RFC2579] and STD 58,
       RFC 2580 [RFC2580].

   o   Message protocols for transferring management information. The
       first version of the SNMP message protocol is called SNMPv1 and
       described in STD 15, RFC 1157 [RFC1157].  A second version of the
       SNMP message protocol, which is not an Internet standards track
       protocol, is called SNMPv2c and described in RFC 1901 [RFC1901]
       and RFC 1906 [RFC1906].  The third version of the message
       protocol is called SNMPv3 and described in RFC 1906 [RFC1906],
       RFC 2572 [RFC2572] and RFC 2574 [RFC2574].

   o   Protocol operations for accessing management information. The
       first set of protocol operations and associated PDU formats is
       described in STD 15, RFC 1157 [RFC1157].  A second set of
       protocol operations and associated PDU formats is described in
       RFC 1905 [RFC1905].

   o   A set of fundamental applications described in RFC 2573 [RFC2573]
       and the view-based access control mechanism described in RFC 2575
       [RFC2575].

   A more detailed introduction to the current SNMP Management Framework
   can be found in RFC 2570 [RFC2570].

   Managed objects are accessed via a virtual information store, termed
   the Management Information Base or MIB.  Objects in the MIB are
   defined using the mechanisms defined in the SMI.

   This memo specifies a MIB module that is compliant to the SMIv2.  The
   textual conventions defined in this MIB module cannot be translated
   to SMIv1 since the Counter64 type does not exist in SMIv1.

Bierman, et al.             Standards Track                     [Page 2]
RFC 2856                High Capacity Data Types               June 2000

2.  Overview

   The Structure of Management Information [RFC2578] does not explicitly
   address the question of how to represent integer objects other than
   counters that would require up to 64 bits to provide the necessary
   range and precision.  There are MIBs in progress targeted for the
   standards track, which need such data types. This memo specifies a