EZ5 MIB Catalog

ENTERASYS-MAC-AUTHENTICATION-MIB

2015-01-19

This MIB module defines a portion of the SNMP enterprise MIBs under Enterasys Networks' enterprise OID pertaining to MAC-Authentication. This MIB was designed to be used for authentication using source MAC addresses received in traffic on ports under control of MAC-authentication. The security afforded by this approach is neither the primary concern nor intent of this MIB. Rather, this MIB provides a convenient method of associating policy with MAC addresses and applying that policy when the MAC address appears on a pre-approved port in the network. The term MAC-Authentication is used because an authentication backend mechanism is used to allow the MAC onto the network, as well as provide authorization information to the switch.

Download ENTERASYS-MAC-AUTHENTICATION-MIB.txt Open ENTERASYS-MAC-AUTHENTICATION-MIB.txt in a new tab

SCALARS (8) · TABLES (4)

Scalars (8)

NameOID
etsysMACAuthenticationSystemEnable1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.1.1
etsysMACAuthenticationMACUserPassword1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.1.2
etsysMACAuthenticationPortUserNameSignificantBits1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.1.3
etsysMACAuthenticationMode1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.1.4
etsysMACAuthenticationSystemAccountEnable1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.1.5
etsysMACAuthenticationSystemUserNameFormat1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.1.6
etsysMACAuthenticationMaxMACListEntries1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.5.1
etsysMACAuthenticationCurrentMACListEntries1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.5.2

Tables (4)

NameOID
etsysMACAuthenticationPortConfigTable1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.2.1
etsysMACAuthenticationMACConfigTable1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.3.1
etsysMACAuthenticationSessionTable1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.4.1
etsysMACAuthenticationMACListTable1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.5.3

END OF TOC

Scalar details

etsysMACAuthenticationSystemEnable

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.1.1

EnabledStatus1 = enabled2 = disabledA simple status value for the object. · Integer32

When enabled(1), all objects in this MIB are fully active. When disabled(2), this object overrides all other object settings in this MIB without affecting their values.

etsysMACAuthenticationMACUserPassword

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.1.2

SnmpAdminStringAn octet string containing administrative information, preferably in human-readable form. To facilitate internationalization, this information is represented using the ISO/IEC IS 10646-1 character set, encoded as an octet string using the UTF-8 transformation format described in [RFC2279]. Since additional code points are added by amendments to the 10646 standard from time to time, implementations must be prepared to encounter any code point from 0x00000000 to 0x7fffffff. Byte sequences that do not correspond to the valid UTF-8 encoding of a code point or are outside this range are prohibited. The use of control codes should be avoided. When it is necessary to represent a newline, the control code sequence CR LF should be used. The use of leading or trailing white space should be avoided. For code points not directly supported by user interface hardware or software, an alternative means of entry and display, such as hexadecimal, may be provided. For information encoded in 7-bit US-ASCII, the UTF-8 encoding is identical to the US-ASCII encoding. UTF-8 may require multiple bytes to represent a single character / code point; thus the length of this object in octets may be different from the number of characters encoded. Similarly, size constraints refer to the number of encoded octets, not the number of characters represented by an encoding. Note that when this TC is used for an object that is used or envisioned to be used as an index, then a SIZE restriction MUST be specified so that the number of sub-identifiers for any object instance does not exceed the limit of 128, as defined by [RFC3416]. Note that the size of an SnmpAdminString object is measured in octets, not characters. SIZE (0..255) · OCTET STRING · hint 255t

*** This object is deprecated in favor of *** *** the functionality provided by the *** *** etsysMACAuthenticationMACListConfig group *** This is the string to be used as a password credential when authenticating a MAC address when etsysMACAuthenticationMode is set to password(1).

etsysMACAuthenticationPortUserNameSignificantBits

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.1.3

INTEGER (1..48) · Integer32

*** This object is deprecated in favor of *** *** the functionality provided by the *** *** etsysMACAuthenticationMACListConfig group *** This object represents the number of significant bits in the MAC addresses to be used starting with the left-most bit of the vendor portion of the MAC address. The significant portion of the MAC address is sent as a user-name credential when the primary attempt to authenticate the full MAC address fails. Any other failure to authenticate the full address, (i.e. authentication server timeout) causes the the next attempt to start once again with a full MAC authentication. This value is only applicable when the etsysMACAuthenticationMode is set to a value of password(1) or radiusUsername(2).

etsysMACAuthenticationMode

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.1.4

INTEGER1 = password2 = radiusUsername3 = macList · Integer32

This object selects the credentials to use when authenticating a MAC address. password(1) - Attempt to authenticate a user with the password credential provided by etsysMACAuthenticationMACUserPassword. radiusUsername(2) - Attempt to authenticate a user with a password credential that is the same as the radius username credential. macList(3) - Attempt to authenticate a user with credentials provided by mac-list configuration.

etsysMACAuthenticationSystemAccountEnable

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.1.5

EnabledStatus1 = enabled2 = disabledA simple status value for the object. · Integer32

When enabled(1), RADIUS accounting start, interim and stop frames are sent to the configured RADIUS server(s). When disabled(2), accounting packets are not sent to the RADIUS server.

etsysMACAuthenticationSystemUserNameFormat

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.1.6

INTEGER1 = hyphen2 = none · Integer32

When hyphen(1), the user-name credential is the MAC address formatted as 'xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx'. When set to none(2), the user-name credential is the MAC address formatted as 'xxxxxxxxxxxx'.

etsysMACAuthenticationMaxMACListEntries

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.5.1

Unsigned32

Maximum number of entries allowed in the etsysMACAuthenticationMACListTable.

etsysMACAuthenticationCurrentMACListEntries

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.5.2

Unsigned32

The current number of entries in the etsysMACAuthenticationMACListTable.

Table details

etsysMACAuthenticationPortConfigTable

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.2.1

Index: etsysMACAuthenticationPort

A table containing configuration objects for each MAC authentication port. The configuration for each port in this table must be non-volatile.

etsysMACAuthenticationPort

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.2.1.1.1

InterfaceIndexA unique value, greater than zero, for each interface or interface sub-layer in the managed system. It is recommended that values are assigned contiguously starting from 1. The value for each interface sub-layer must remain constant at least from one re-initialization of the entity's network management system to the next re-initialization. (1..2147483647) · Integer32 · hint d

This is the InterfaceIndex associated with this row.

etsysMACAuthenticationPortInitialize

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.2.1.1.2

TruthValue1 = true2 = falseRepresents a boolean value. · Integer32

When set to true(1), the MAC authentication logic on this port is initialized, forcibly ending all MAC authentication sessions currently in existence on this port. A set with the value false(2) has no affect and a read always returns false.

etsysMACAuthenticationPortReauthenticate

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.2.1.1.3

TruthValue1 = true2 = falseRepresents a boolean value. · Integer32

When set to true(1), the MAC authentication entity on this port is required to immediately verify all currently authenticated MACs on this port. This requires that each MAC address be authenticated with the authentication server through the local authentication client or some other authentication mechanism. Each supplicant remains authenticated pending the outcome.

etsysMACAuthenticationPortEnable

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.2.1.1.4

EnabledStatus1 = enabled2 = disabledA simple status value for the object. · Integer32

When set to enabled(1), a platform dependent triggering mechanism initiates an authentication exchange using a MAC address for authentication credentials. When disabled(2), authentication attempts are disabled and all currently authenticated MAC sessions or those in the process of authentication on this port are terminated.

etsysMACAuthenticationPortQuietPeriod

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.2.1.1.5

Unsigned32

The value, in seconds, following a failed authentication before another may be attempted on this port. This object allows network management to provide hysteresis for failed authentication requests from the same port.

etsysMACAuthenticationPortReauthPeriod

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.2.1.1.6

Unsigned32

The value, in seconds, between attempts to re-authenticate any current MAC authenticated on this port.

etsysMACAuthenticationPortReauthEnabled

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.2.1.1.7

EnabledStatus1 = enabled2 = disabledA simple status value for the object. · Integer32

If enabled(1), then every etsysMACAuthenticationReauthPeriod the switch attempts to validate all currently authenticated MACs on this port. When set to disabled(2) all current re-authentications in progress are allowed to complete and the requisite actions are taken. When set to disabled(2), no further re-authentications are attempted.

etsysMACAuthenticationAuthenticationsAllowed

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.2.1.1.8

Unsigned32

The maximum number of concurrent authentications supported on this port on this module. The default value of this object is platform and resource dependent.

etsysMACAuthenticationAuthenticationsAllocated

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.2.1.1.9

Unsigned32

The maximum number of MAC authentications permitted on this port on this module. This value must be non-zero and be less than or equal to the value of etsysMACAuthenticationAuthenticationsAllowed. Setting this object to a value less than the current number of authenticated MACs on this port prevents further authentications, but has no affect on the current sessions.

etsysMACAuthenticationLastFailedAuthCause

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.2.1.1.10

SnmpAdminStringAn octet string containing administrative information, preferably in human-readable form. To facilitate internationalization, this information is represented using the ISO/IEC IS 10646-1 character set, encoded as an octet string using the UTF-8 transformation format described in [RFC2279]. Since additional code points are added by amendments to the 10646 standard from time to time, implementations must be prepared to encounter any code point from 0x00000000 to 0x7fffffff. Byte sequences that do not correspond to the valid UTF-8 encoding of a code point or are outside this range are prohibited. The use of control codes should be avoided. When it is necessary to represent a newline, the control code sequence CR LF should be used. The use of leading or trailing white space should be avoided. For code points not directly supported by user interface hardware or software, an alternative means of entry and display, such as hexadecimal, may be provided. For information encoded in 7-bit US-ASCII, the UTF-8 encoding is identical to the US-ASCII encoding. UTF-8 may require multiple bytes to represent a single character / code point; thus the length of this object in octets may be different from the number of characters encoded. Similarly, size constraints refer to the number of encoded octets, not the number of characters represented by an encoding. Note that when this TC is used for an object that is used or envisioned to be used as an index, then a SIZE restriction MUST be specified so that the number of sub-identifiers for any object instance does not exceed the limit of 128, as defined by [RFC3416]. Note that the size of an SnmpAdminString object is measured in octets, not characters. SIZE (0..255) · OCTET STRING · hint 255t

The string will be formatted with 'XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX: TIME&DATE: Textual failure reason'; where XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX is the MAC address and TIME&DATE is the time (hh/mm/ss) and date (mm/dd/yyyy) of the failure. It is also only best effort; as there could be multiple failures per port and the agent may query this at any random time.

etsysMACAuthenticationMACConfigTable

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.3.1

Index: etsysMACAuthenticationMACAddress

A table containing configuration objects for each MAC authenticated on a port. Each row in this table is created dynamically when a MAC authenticates on a port.

etsysMACAuthenticationMACAddress

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.3.1.1.1

MacAddressRepresents an 802 MAC address represented in the `canonical' order defined by IEEE 802.1a, i.e., as if it were transmitted least significant bit first, even though 802.5 (in contrast to other 802.x protocols) requires MAC addresses to be transmitted most significant bit first. SIZE (6) · OCTET STRING · hint 1x:

This is the MAC address that was authenticated on this port.

etsysMACAuthenticationSupplicantPort

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.3.1.1.2

InterfaceIndexA unique value, greater than zero, for each interface or interface sub-layer in the managed system. It is recommended that values are assigned contiguously starting from 1. The value for each interface sub-layer must remain constant at least from one re-initialization of the entity's network management system to the next re-initialization. (1..2147483647) · Integer32 · hint d

This is the InterfaceIndex associated with this rows authenticated MAC.

etsysMACAuthenticationMACInitialize

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.3.1.1.3

TruthValue1 = true2 = falseRepresents a boolean value. · Integer32

When set to true(1), this MAC session terminates causing the corresponding row in this table and in the etsysMACAuthenticationSessionTable to be removed. Setting this object to false(2) has no effect on the system. Reads of this object always return false(2).

etsysMACAuthenticationMACReauthenticate

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.3.1.1.4

TruthValue1 = true2 = falseRepresents a boolean value. · Integer32

When set to true(1), this MAC authentication session on this port is required to immediately verify it's credentials. This requires that each MAC address be authenticated with the authentication server through the local authentication client or some other authentication mechanism. Setting this object to false(2) has no effect on the system. Reads of this object always return false(2).

etsysMACAuthenticationMACReauthPeriod

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.3.1.1.5

Unsigned32

The value, in seconds, between attempts to re-authenticate the MAC associated with this row.

etsysMACAuthenticationMACReauthEnabled

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.3.1.1.6

EnabledStatus1 = enabled2 = disabledA simple status value for the object. · Integer32

If enabled(1), then every etsysMACAuthenticationReauthPeriod the switch attempts to validate all currently authenticated MACs on this port. If disabled(2), reauthentication is not attempted.

etsysMACAuthenticationSessionTable

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.4.1

Index: etsysMACAuthenticationMACAddress

A table containing configuration objects for each MAC authentication on a port. The successful completion of an authentication causes the creation of a new row in this table. When a MAC becomes unauthenticated because of a link-down, a management change, or system re-initialization, then the corresponding row is removed from this table.

etsysMACAuthenticationSessionPort

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.4.1.1.1

InterfaceIndexA unique value, greater than zero, for each interface or interface sub-layer in the managed system. It is recommended that values are assigned contiguously starting from 1. The value for each interface sub-layer must remain constant at least from one re-initialization of the entity's network management system to the next re-initialization. (1..2147483647) · Integer32 · hint d

This is the InterfaceIndex associated with the authenticated MACs session.

etsysMACAuthenticationDuration

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.4.1.1.2

Unsigned32

The value, in seconds, which have elapsed since the start of this session.

etsysMACAuthenticationMACListTable

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.5.3

Index: etsysMACAuthenticationMACListAddress · etsysMACAuthenticationMACListMaskLen

This table provides configuration objects for the MAC List functionality. When an unauthenticated MAC address is received a longest prefix search is performed. If more than one match is made -- the one with the longest mask length -- is called the longest prefix match. Authentication is blocked when no match is found, or the matching entry's etsysMACAuthenticationMACListPorts value is not the empty string and the ingress port is not set in the list. To create a default entry that matches any MAC address, configure a row with a MAC address of all FFs. The user-name credential will be the portion of the MAC address specified by etsysMACAuthenticationMACListMaskLen. If the etsysMACAuthenticationMACListPassword is set, it will be used as the password credential for authentication. Otherwise, the user-name credential will be used as the password credential.

etsysMACAuthenticationMACListAddress

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.5.3.1.1

MacAddressRepresents an 802 MAC address represented in the `canonical' order defined by IEEE 802.1a, i.e., as if it were transmitted least significant bit first, even though 802.5 (in contrast to other 802.x protocols) requires MAC addresses to be transmitted most significant bit first. SIZE (6) · OCTET STRING · hint 1x:

The MAC address to match.

etsysMACAuthenticationMACListMaskLen

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.5.3.1.2

Unsigned32 (1..48)

This object represents the number of significant bits in the MAC address to match starting with the left-most bit of the vendor portion of the MAC address. The significant portion of the MAC address is sent as a user-name credential.

etsysMACAuthenticationMACListPassword

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.5.3.1.3

SnmpAdminStringAn octet string containing administrative information, preferably in human-readable form. To facilitate internationalization, this information is represented using the ISO/IEC IS 10646-1 character set, encoded as an octet string using the UTF-8 transformation format described in [RFC2279]. Since additional code points are added by amendments to the 10646 standard from time to time, implementations must be prepared to encounter any code point from 0x00000000 to 0x7fffffff. Byte sequences that do not correspond to the valid UTF-8 encoding of a code point or are outside this range are prohibited. The use of control codes should be avoided. When it is necessary to represent a newline, the control code sequence CR LF should be used. The use of leading or trailing white space should be avoided. For code points not directly supported by user interface hardware or software, an alternative means of entry and display, such as hexadecimal, may be provided. For information encoded in 7-bit US-ASCII, the UTF-8 encoding is identical to the US-ASCII encoding. UTF-8 may require multiple bytes to represent a single character / code point; thus the length of this object in octets may be different from the number of characters encoded. Similarly, size constraints refer to the number of encoded octets, not the number of characters represented by an encoding. Note that when this TC is used for an object that is used or envisioned to be used as an index, then a SIZE restriction MUST be specified so that the number of sub-identifiers for any object instance does not exceed the limit of 128, as defined by [RFC3416]. Note that the size of an SnmpAdminString object is measured in octets, not characters. SIZE (0..48) · OCTET STRING · hint 255t

The password to use to authenticate the MAC address. On a read this object will always return an empty string.

etsysMACAuthenticationMACListPasswordValid

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.5.3.1.4

TruthValue1 = true2 = falseRepresents a boolean value. · Integer32

true(1) - indicates that etsysMACAuthenticationMACListPassword was last set with some value other than the empty string. false(2) - indicates that etsysMACAuthenticationMACListPassword has never been set, or was last set to the empty string. In this case, the password used to authenticate will be the same as the user-name credential.

etsysMACAuthenticationMACListPorts

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.5.3.1.5

PortListEach octet within this value specifies a set of eight ports, with the first octet specifying ports 1 through 8, the second octet specifying ports 9 through 16, etc. Within each octet, the most significant bit represents the lowest numbered port, and the least significant bit represents the highest numbered port. Thus, each port of the bridge is represented by a single bit within the value of this object. If that bit has a value of '1', then that port is included in the set of ports; the port is not included if its bit has a value of '0'. · OCTET STRING

The set of ports to allow authentication on. If this object is the empty string then authentication is allowed on all ports.

etsysMACAuthenticationMACListRowStatus

1.3.6.1.4.1.5624.1.2.25.1.5.3.1.6

RowStatus1 = active2 = notInService3 = notReady4 = createAndGo5 = createAndWait6 = destroyThe RowStatus textual convention is used to manage the creation and deletion of conceptual rows, and is used as the value of the SYNTAX clause for the status column of a conceptual row (as described in Section 7.7.1 of [2].) The status column has six defined values: - `active', which indicates that the conceptual row is available for use by the managed device; - `notInService', which indicates that the conceptual row exists in the agent, but is unavailable for use by the managed device (see NOTE below); 'notInService' has no implication regarding the internal consistency of the row, availability of resources, or consistency with the current state of the managed device; - `notReady', which indicates that the conceptual row exists in the agent, but is missing information necessary in order to be available for use by the managed device (i.e., one or more required columns in the conceptual row have not been instanciated); - `createAndGo', which is supplied by a management station wishing to create a new instance of a conceptual row and to have its status automatically set to active, making it available for use by the managed device; - `createAndWait', which is supplied by a management station wishing to create a new instance of a conceptual row (but not make it available for use by the managed device); and, - `destroy', which is supplied by a management station wishing to delete all of the instances associated with an existing conceptual row. Whereas five of the six values (all except `notReady') may be specified in a management protocol set operation, only three values will be returned in response to a management protocol retrieval operation: `notReady', `notInService' or `active'. That is, when queried, an existing conceptual row has only three states: it is either available for use by the managed device (the status column has value `active'); it is not available for use by the managed device, though the agent has sufficient information to attempt to make it so (the status column has value `notInService'); or, it is not available for use by the managed device, and an attempt to make it so would fail because the agent has insufficient information (the state column has value `notReady'). NOTE WELL This textual convention may be used for a MIB table, irrespective of whether the values of that table's conceptual rows are able to be modified while it is active, or whether its conceptual rows must be taken out of service in order to be modified. That is, it is the responsibility of the DESCRIPTION clause of the status column to specify whether the status column must not be `active' in order for the value of some other column of the same conceptual row to be modified. If such a specification is made, affected columns may be changed by an SNMP set PDU if the RowStatus would not be equal to `active' either immediately before or after processing the PDU. In other words, if the PDU also contained a varbind that would change the RowStatus value, the column in question may be changed if the RowStatus was not equal to `active' as the PDU was received, or if the varbind sets the status to a value other than 'active'. Also note that whenever any elements of a row exist, the RowStatus column must also exist. To summarize the effect of having a conceptual row with a status column having a SYNTAX clause value of RowStatus, consider the following state diagram: STATE +--------------+-----------+-------------+------------- | A | B | C | D | |status col.|status column| |status column | is | is |status column ACTION |does not exist| notReady | notInService| is active --------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+------------- set status |noError ->D|inconsist- |inconsistent-|inconsistent- column to | or | entValue| Value| Value createAndGo |inconsistent- | | | | Value| | | --------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+------------- set status |noError see 1|inconsist- |inconsistent-|inconsistent- column to | or | entValue| Value| Value createAndWait |wrongValue | | | --------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+------------- set status |inconsistent- |inconsist- |noError |noError column to | Value| entValue| | active | | | | | | or | | | | | | | |see 2 ->D|see 8 ->D| ->D --------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+------------- set status |inconsistent- |inconsist- |noError |noError ->C column to | Value| entValue| | notInService | | | | | | or | | or | | | | | |see 3 ->C| ->C|see 6 --------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+------------- set status |noError |noError |noError |noError ->A column to | | | | or destroy | ->A| ->A| ->A|see 7 --------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+------------- set any other |see 4 |noError |noError |see 5 column to some| | | | value | | see 1| ->C| ->D --------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+------------- (1) goto B or C, depending on information available to the agent. (2) if other variable bindings included in the same PDU, provide values for all columns which are missing but required, and all columns have acceptable values, then return noError and goto D. (3) if other variable bindings included in the same PDU, provide legal values for all columns which are missing but required, then return noError and goto C. (4) at the discretion of the agent, the return value may be either: inconsistentName: because the agent does not choose to create such an instance when the corresponding RowStatus instance does not exist, or inconsistentValue: if the supplied value is inconsistent with the state of some other MIB object's value, or noError: because the agent chooses to create the instance. If noError is returned, then the instance of the status column must also be created, and the new state is B or C, depending on the information available to the agent. If inconsistentName or inconsistentValue is returned, the row remains in state A. (5) depending on the MIB definition for the column/table, either noError or inconsistentValue may be returned. (6) the return value can indicate one of the following errors: wrongValue: because the agent does not support notInService (e.g., an agent which does not support createAndWait), or inconsistentValue: because the agent is unable to take the row out of service at this time, perhaps because it is in use and cannot be de-activated. (7) the return value can indicate the following error: inconsistentValue: because the agent is unable to remove the row at this time, perhaps because it is in use and cannot be de-activated. (8) the transition to D can fail, e.g., if the values of the conceptual row are inconsistent, then the error code would be inconsistentValue. NOTE: Other processing of (this and other varbinds of) the set request may result in a response other than noError being returned, e.g., wrongValue, noCreation, etc. Conceptual Row Creation There are four potential interactions when creating a conceptual row: selecting an instance-identifier which is not in use; creating the conceptual row; initializing any objects for which the agent does not supply a default; and, making the conceptual row available for use by the managed device. Interaction 1: Selecting an Instance-Identifier The algorithm used to select an instance-identifier varies for each conceptual row. In some cases, the instance- identifier is semantically significant, e.g., the destination address of a route, and a management station selects the instance-identifier according to the semantics. In other cases, the instance-identifier is used solely to distinguish conceptual rows, and a management station without specific knowledge of the conceptual row might examine the instances present in order to determine an unused instance-identifier. (This approach may be used, but it is often highly sub-optimal; however, it is also a questionable practice for a naive management station to attempt conceptual row creation.) Alternately, the MIB module which defines the conceptual row might provide one or more objects which provide assistance in determining an unused instance-identifier. For example, if the conceptual row is indexed by an integer-value, then an object having an integer-valued SYNTAX clause might be defined for such a purpose, allowing a management station to issue a management protocol retrieval operation. In order to avoid unnecessary collisions between competing management stations, `adjacent' retrievals of this object should be different. Finally, the management station could select a pseudo-random number to use as the index. In the event that this index was already in use and an inconsistentValue was returned in response to the management protocol set operation, the management station should simply select a new pseudo-random number and retry the operation. A MIB designer should choose between the two latter algorithms based on the size of the table (and therefore the efficiency of each algorithm). For tables in which a large number of entries are expected, it is recommended that a MIB object be defined that returns an acceptable index for creation. For tables with small numbers of entries, it is recommended that the latter pseudo-random index mechanism be used. Interaction 2: Creating the Conceptual Row Once an unused instance-identifier has been selected, the management station determines if it wishes to create and activate the conceptual row in one transaction or in a negotiated set of interactions. Interaction 2a: Creating and Activating the Conceptual Row The management station must first determine the column requirements, i.e., it must determine those columns for which it must or must not provide values. Depending on the complexity of the table and the management station's knowledge of the agent's capabilities, this determination can be made locally by the management station. Alternately, the management station issues a management protocol get operation to examine all columns in the conceptual row that it wishes to create. In response, for each column, there are three possible outcomes: - a value is returned, indicating that some other management station has already created this conceptual row. We return to interaction 1. - the exception `noSuchInstance' is returned, indicating that the agent implements the object-type associated with this column, and that this column in at least one conceptual row would be accessible in the MIB view used by the retrieval were it to exist. For those columns to which the agent provides read-create access, the `noSuchInstance' exception tells the management station that it should supply a value for this column when the conceptual row is to be created. - the exception `noSuchObject' is returned, indicating that the agent does not implement the object-type associated with this column or that there is no conceptual row for which this column would be accessible in the MIB view used by the retrieval. As such, the management station can not issue any management protocol set operations to create an instance of this column. Once the column requirements have been determined, a management protocol set operation is accordingly issued. This operation also sets the new instance of the status column to `createAndGo'. When the agent processes the set operation, it verifies that it has sufficient information to make the conceptual row available for use by the managed device. The information available to the agent is provided by two sources: the management protocol set operation which creates the conceptual row, and, implementation-specific defaults supplied by the agent (note that an agent must provide implementation-specific defaults for at least those objects which it implements as read-only). If there is sufficient information available, then the conceptual row is created, a `noError' response is returned, the status column is set to `active', and no further interactions are necessary (i.e., interactions 3 and 4 are skipped). If there is insufficient information, then the conceptual row is not created, and the set operation fails with an error of `inconsistentValue'. On this error, the management station can issue a management protocol retrieval operation to determine if this was because it failed to specify a value for a required column, or, because the selected instance of the status column already existed. In the latter case, we return to interaction 1. In the former case, the management station can re-issue the set operation with the additional information, or begin interaction 2 again using `createAndWait' in order to negotiate creation of the conceptual row. NOTE WELL Regardless of the method used to determine the column requirements, it is possible that the management station might deem a column necessary when, in fact, the agent will not allow that particular columnar instance to be created or written. In this case, the management protocol set operation will fail with an error such as `noCreation' or `notWritable'. In this case, the management station decides whether it needs to be able to set a value for that particular columnar instance. If not, the management station re-issues the management protocol set operation, but without setting a value for that particular columnar instance; otherwise, the management station aborts the row creation algorithm. Interaction 2b: Negotiating the Creation of the Conceptual Row The management station issues a management protocol set operation which sets the desired instance of the status column to `createAndWait'. If the agent is unwilling to process a request of this sort, the set operation fails with an error of `wrongValue'. (As a consequence, such an agent must be prepared to accept a single management protocol set operation, i.e., interaction 2a above, containing all of the columns indicated by its column requirements.) Otherwise, the conceptual row is created, a `noError' response is returned, and the status column is immediately set to either `notInService' or `notReady', depending on whether it has sufficient information to (attempt to) make the conceptual row available for use by the managed device. If there is sufficient information available, then the status column is set to `notInService'; otherwise, if there is insufficient information, then the status column is set to `notReady'. Regardless, we proceed to interaction 3. Interaction 3: Initializing non-defaulted Objects The management station must now determine the column requirements. It issues a management protocol get operation to examine all columns in the created conceptual row. In the response, for each column, there are three possible outcomes: - a value is returned, indicating that the agent implements the object-type associated with this column and had sufficient information to provide a value. For those columns to which the agent provides read-create access (and for which the agent allows their values to be changed after their creation), a value return tells the management station that it may issue additional management protocol set operations, if it desires, in order to change the value associated with this column. - the exception `noSuchInstance' is returned, indicating that the agent implements the object-type associated with this column, and that this column in at least one conceptual row would be accessible in the MIB view used by the retrieval were it to exist. However, the agent does not have sufficient information to provide a value, and until a value is provided, the conceptual row may not be made available for use by the managed device. For those columns to which the agent provides read-create access, the `noSuchInstance' exception tells the management station that it must issue additional management protocol set operations, in order to provide a value associated with this column. - the exception `noSuchObject' is returned, indicating that the agent does not implement the object-type associated with this column or that there is no conceptual row for which this column would be accessible in the MIB view used by the retrieval. As such, the management station can not issue any management protocol set operations to create an instance of this column. If the value associated with the status column is `notReady', then the management station must first deal with all `noSuchInstance' columns, if any. Having done so, the value of the status column becomes `notInService', and we proceed to interaction 4. Interaction 4: Making the Conceptual Row Available Once the management station is satisfied with the values associated with the columns of the conceptual row, it issues a management protocol set operation to set the status column to `active'. If the agent has sufficient information to make the conceptual row available for use by the managed device, the management protocol set operation succeeds (a `noError' response is returned). Otherwise, the management protocol set operation fails with an error of `inconsistentValue'. NOTE WELL A conceptual row having a status column with value `notInService' or `notReady' is unavailable to the managed device. As such, it is possible for the managed device to create its own instances during the time between the management protocol set operation which sets the status column to `createAndWait' and the management protocol set operation which sets the status column to `active'. In this case, when the management protocol set operation is issued to set the status column to `active', the values held in the agent supersede those used by the managed device. If the management station is prevented from setting the status column to `active' (e.g., due to management station or network failure) the conceptual row will be left in the `notInService' or `notReady' state, consuming resources indefinitely. The agent must detect conceptual rows that have been in either state for an abnormally long period of time and remove them. It is the responsibility of the DESCRIPTION clause of the status column to indicate what an abnormally long period of time would be. This period of time should be long enough to allow for human response time (including `think time') between the creation of the conceptual row and the setting of the status to `active'. In the absence of such information in the DESCRIPTION clause, it is suggested that this period be approximately 5 minutes in length. This removal action applies not only to newly-created rows, but also to previously active rows which are set to, and left in, the notInService state for a prolonged period exceeding that which is considered normal for such a conceptual row. Conceptual Row Suspension When a conceptual row is `active', the management station may issue a management protocol set operation which sets the instance of the status column to `notInService'. If the agent is unwilling to do so, the set operation fails with an error of `wrongValue' or `inconsistentValue'. Otherwise, the conceptual row is taken out of service, and a `noError' response is returned. It is the responsibility of the DESCRIPTION clause of the status column to indicate under what circumstances the status column should be taken out of service (e.g., in order for the value of some other column of the same conceptual row to be modified). Conceptual Row Deletion For deletion of conceptual rows, a management protocol set operation is issued which sets the instance of the status column to `destroy'. This request may be made regardless of the current value of the status column (e.g., it is possible to delete conceptual rows which are either `notReady', `notInService' or `active'.) If the operation succeeds, then all instances associated with the conceptual row are immediately removed. · Integer32

The status of this row. active(1) -- Indicates that this entry is available for use by the managed device. createAndGo(4) -- A new entry will be created in this table and the new entry will transition to the active state. destroy(6) -- Deletes this row.

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