IndexIntegerNextFreeAn integer which may be used as a new Index in a table.
The special value of 0 indicates that no more new entries can be created in the relevant table.
When a MIB is used for configuration, an object with this SYNTAX always contains a legal value (if non-zero) for an index that is not currently used in the relevant table. The Command Generator (Network Management Application) reads this variable and uses the (non-zero) value read when creating a new row with an SNMP SET. When the SET is performed, the Command Responder (agent) must determine whether the value is indeed still unused; Two Network Management Applications may attempt to create a row (configuration entry) simultaneously and use the same value. If it is currently unused, the SET succeeds and the Command Responder (agent) changes the value of this object, according to an implementation-specific algorithm. If the value is in use, however, the SET fails. The Network Management Application must then re-read this variable to obtain a new usable value.
An OBJECT-TYPE definition using this SYNTAX MUST specify the relevant table for which the object is providing this functionality. · Unsigned32 · hint d
This object contains an unused value for agentDiffServAuxMfClfrId , or a zero to indicate that none exist.
agentDiffServAssignQueueNextFree
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.6
IndexIntegerNextFreeAn integer which may be used as a new Index in a table.
The special value of 0 indicates that no more new entries can be created in the relevant table.
When a MIB is used for configuration, an object with this SYNTAX always contains a legal value (if non-zero) for an index that is not currently used in the relevant table. The Command Generator (Network Management Application) reads this variable and uses the (non-zero) value read when creating a new row with an SNMP SET. When the SET is performed, the Command Responder (agent) must determine whether the value is indeed still unused; Two Network Management Applications may attempt to create a row (configuration entry) simultaneously and use the same value. If it is currently unused, the SET succeeds and the Command Responder (agent) changes the value of this object, according to an implementation-specific algorithm. If the value is in use, however, the SET fails. The Network Management Application must then re-read this variable to obtain a new usable value.
An OBJECT-TYPE definition using this SYNTAX MUST specify the relevant table for which the object is providing this functionality. · Unsigned32 · hint d
This object contains an unused value for agentDiffServAssignIndex, or a zero to indicate that none exist.
agentDiffServRedirectNextFree
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.8
IndexIntegerNextFreeAn integer which may be used as a new Index in a table.
The special value of 0 indicates that no more new entries can be created in the relevant table.
When a MIB is used for configuration, an object with this SYNTAX always contains a legal value (if non-zero) for an index that is not currently used in the relevant table. The Command Generator (Network Management Application) reads this variable and uses the (non-zero) value read when creating a new row with an SNMP SET. When the SET is performed, the Command Responder (agent) must determine whether the value is indeed still unused; Two Network Management Applications may attempt to create a row (configuration entry) simultaneously and use the same value. If it is currently unused, the SET succeeds and the Command Responder (agent) changes the value of this object, according to an implementation-specific algorithm. If the value is in use, however, the SET fails. The Network Management Application must then re-read this variable to obtain a new usable value.
An OBJECT-TYPE definition using this SYNTAX MUST specify the relevant table for which the object is providing this functionality. · Unsigned32 · hint d
This object contains an unused value for agentDiffServRedirectId, or a zero to indicate that none exist.
agentDiffServMirrorNextFree
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.10
IndexIntegerNextFreeAn integer which may be used as a new Index in a table.
The special value of 0 indicates that no more new entries can be created in the relevant table.
When a MIB is used for configuration, an object with this SYNTAX always contains a legal value (if non-zero) for an index that is not currently used in the relevant table. The Command Generator (Network Management Application) reads this variable and uses the (non-zero) value read when creating a new row with an SNMP SET. When the SET is performed, the Command Responder (agent) must determine whether the value is indeed still unused; Two Network Management Applications may attempt to create a row (configuration entry) simultaneously and use the same value. If it is currently unused, the SET succeeds and the Command Responder (agent) changes the value of this object, according to an implementation-specific algorithm. If the value is in use, however, the SET fails. The Network Management Application must then re-read this variable to obtain a new usable value.
An OBJECT-TYPE definition using this SYNTAX MUST specify the relevant table for which the object is providing this functionality. · Unsigned32 · hint d
This object contains an unused value for agentDiffServMirrorId, or a zero to indicate that none exist.
Table details
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrTable
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2
Index: agentDiffServAuxMfClfrId
A table of Auxiliary Multi-field Classifier filter entries that a system may use to identify IP traffic.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrId
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.1
IndexIntegerAn integer which may be used as a table index. (1..4294967295) · Unsigned32 · hint d
An index that enumerates the Auxiliary MultiField Classifier filter entries. Managers obtain new values for row creation in this table by reading agentDiffServAuxMfClfrNextFree.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrDstAddr
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.2
IpAddress SIZE (4)
The IP address to match against the packet's destination IP address.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrDstMask
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.3
IpAddress SIZE (4)
This mask value identifies the portion of agentDiffServAuxMfClfrDstAddr that is compared against a packet. A non-contiguous mask value is permitted. A mask of 0 indicates a match of any address.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrSrcAddr
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.4
IpAddress SIZE (4)
The IP address to match against the packet's source IP address.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrSrcMask
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.5
IpAddress SIZE (4)
This mask value identifies the portion of agentDiffServAuxMfClfrSrcAddr that is compared against a packet. A non-contiguous mask value is permitted. A mask of 0 indicates a match of any address.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrProtocol
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.6
Unsigned32 (0..255)
The IP protocol to match against the IPv4 protocol number. A value of 255 means match all.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrDstL4PortMin
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.7
InetPortNumberRepresents a 16 bit port number of an Internet transport layer protocol. Port numbers are assigned by IANA. A current list of all assignments is available from <http://www.iana.org/>.
The value zero is object-specific and must be defined as part of the description of any object that uses this syntax. Examples of the usage of zero might include situations where a port number is unknown, or when the value zero is used as a wildcard in a filter.Reference: STD 6 (RFC 768), STD 7 (RFC 793) and RFC 2960 (0..65535) · Unsigned32 · hint d
The minimum value that the layer-4 destination port number in the packet must have in order to match this classifier entry.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrDstL4PortMax
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.8
InetPortNumberRepresents a 16 bit port number of an Internet transport layer protocol. Port numbers are assigned by IANA. A current list of all assignments is available from <http://www.iana.org/>.
The value zero is object-specific and must be defined as part of the description of any object that uses this syntax. Examples of the usage of zero might include situations where a port number is unknown, or when the value zero is used as a wildcard in a filter.Reference: STD 6 (RFC 768), STD 7 (RFC 793) and RFC 2960 (0..65535) · Unsigned32 · hint d
The maximum value that the layer-4 destination port number in the packet must have in order to match this classifier entry. This value must be equal to or greater than the value specified for this entry in agentDiffServAuxMfClfrDstL4PortMin.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrSrcL4PortMin
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.9
InetPortNumberRepresents a 16 bit port number of an Internet transport layer protocol. Port numbers are assigned by IANA. A current list of all assignments is available from <http://www.iana.org/>.
The value zero is object-specific and must be defined as part of the description of any object that uses this syntax. Examples of the usage of zero might include situations where a port number is unknown, or when the value zero is used as a wildcard in a filter.Reference: STD 6 (RFC 768), STD 7 (RFC 793) and RFC 2960 (0..65535) · Unsigned32 · hint d
The minimum value that the layer-4 source port number in the packet must have in order to match this classifier entry.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrSrcL4PortMax
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.10
InetPortNumberRepresents a 16 bit port number of an Internet transport layer protocol. Port numbers are assigned by IANA. A current list of all assignments is available from <http://www.iana.org/>.
The value zero is object-specific and must be defined as part of the description of any object that uses this syntax. Examples of the usage of zero might include situations where a port number is unknown, or when the value zero is used as a wildcard in a filter.Reference: STD 6 (RFC 768), STD 7 (RFC 793) and RFC 2960 (0..65535) · Unsigned32 · hint d
The maximum value that the layer-4 source port number in the packet must have in order to match this classifier entry. This value must be equal to or greater than the value specified for this entry in diffServMultiFieldClfrSrcL4PortMin.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrCos
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.11
CosOrAnyThe 802.1p header Class of Service field that may be used for discriminating among traffic streams. Also known as the Ethernet frame priority. The value -1 is used to indicate a wild card i.e. any value. (-1 | 0..7) · Integer32 · hint d
Three-bit user priority field in the 802.1Q tag header of a tagged Ethernet frame used as a class-match parameter. For frames containing a double VLAN tag, this field is located in the first/outer tag. A value of -1 indicates that a specific COS value has not been defined and thus all COS values are considered a match.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrTos
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.12
OCTET STRING SIZE (1)
IP TOS bits value, defined as all eight bits of the Service Type octet in the IPv4 header. There are multiple, overlapping, meanings of the TOS octet in use today:
Precedence (bits 7-5): IP Precedence, values 0-7
DSCP (bits 7-2): IP DiffServ Code Point, values 0-63
TOS (bits 7-0): IP Type of Service, by bits, values 0-255
Each of these definitions can be produced using the appropriate agentDiffServAuxMfClfrTosMask mask value. These definitions are mutually-exclusive, so only one is allowed for any given classifier element.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrTosMask
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.13
OCTET STRING SIZE (1)
IP TOS bits mask value. It identifies the portion of agentDiffServAuxMfClfrTos that is compared against a packet. A non-contiguous mask value is permitted. A mask of 0 indicates a match of any TOS value.
There are multiple, overlapping meanings of the TOS octet in use today. These are represented by the following specific mask values:
Precedence (bits 7-5): 224 (bit mask '11100000')
DSCP (bits 7-2): 252 (bit mask '11111100')
TOS (bits 7-0): 255 (bit mask '11111111')
Other mask values are also permitted.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrDstMac
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.14
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:
Destination MAC address.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrDstMacMask
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.15
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:
Destination MAC address mask value. This mask value identifies the portion of agentDiffServAuxMfClfrDstMac that is compared against a packet. A non-contiguous mask value is permitted. A mask of 0 indicates a match of any MAC address.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrSrcMac
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.16
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:
Source MAC address.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrSrcMacMask
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.17
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:
Source MAC address mask value. This mask value identifies the portion of agentDiffServAuxMfClfrSrcMac that is compared against a packet. A non-contiguous mask value is permitted. A mask of 0 indicates a match of any MAC address.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrVlanId
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.18
VlanIdOrAnyThe virtual LAN identifier (VLAN ID) that may be used to differentiate among traffic streams. The value -1 is used to indicate a wild card i.e. any value. (-1 | 1..4094) · Integer32 · hint d
VLAN ID value for the classifier. A value of -1 indicates that
a specific VLAN ID value has not been defined and thus all VLAN ID values are considered a match.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrStorage
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.19
StorageType1 = other2 = volatile3 = nonVolatile4 = permanent5 = readOnlyDescribes the memory realization of a conceptual row. A row which is volatile(2) is lost upon reboot. A row which is either nonVolatile(3), permanent(4) or readOnly(5), is backed up by stable storage. A row which is permanent(4) can be changed but not deleted. A row which is readOnly(5) cannot be changed nor deleted.
If the value of an object with this syntax is either permanent(4) or readOnly(5), it cannot be written. Conversely, if the value is either other(1), volatile(2) or nonVolatile(3), it cannot be modified to be permanent(4) or readOnly(5). (All illegal modifications result in a 'wrongValue' error.)
Every usage of this textual convention is required to specify the columnar objects which a permanent(4) row must at a minimum allow to be writable. · Integer32
The storage type for this conceptual row.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrStatus
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.20
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 conceptual row.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrCos2
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.21
CosOrAnyThe 802.1p header Class of Service field that may be used for discriminating among traffic streams. Also known as the Ethernet frame priority. The value -1 is used to indicate a wild card i.e. any value. (-1 | 0..7) · Integer32 · hint d
Three-bit user priority field in the second/inner 802.1Q tag header of a double VLAN tagged Ethernet frame used as a class-match parameter A value of -1 indicates that a specific Secondary COS value has not been defined and thus all Secondary COS values are considered a match.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrEtypeVal1
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.22
EtypeOrAnyEthertype value field that may be used to differentiate among traffic streams. The allowed value is 0x0600 to 0xFFFF, with a value of 0 used to indicate this object is not involved in the classifier entry. (0 | 1536..65535) · Unsigned32 · hint x
Ethertype value to be compared in order to match this classifier entry. The allowed value for this object is 0x0600 to 0xFFFF, with a value of 0 used to indicate this object is not involved in the classifier entry.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrEtypeVal2
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.23
EtypeOrAnyEthertype value field that may be used to differentiate among traffic streams. The allowed value is 0x0600 to 0xFFFF, with a value of 0 used to indicate this object is not involved in the classifier entry. (0 | 1536..65535) · Unsigned32 · hint x
A second Ethertype value to be compared in order to match this classifier entry. This value is considered in addition to the value specified by agentDiffServAuxMfClfrEtypeVal1 and serves as a second possible match value (i.e. a packet can match either EtypeVal1 or EtypeVal2). The allowed value for this object is 0x0600 to 0xFFFF, with a value of 0 used to indicate this object is not involved in the classifier entry.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrVlanIdMin
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.24
Unsigned32 (1..4094)
The minimum value that the VLAN ID in the packet must have in order to match this classifier entry. This field is defined as the 12-bit VLAN identifier in the 802.1Q tag header of a tagged Ethernet frame. For a double VLAN tagged frame, this field is contained in the first/outer tag.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrVlanIdMax
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.25
Unsigned32 (1..4094)
The maximum value that the VLAN ID in the packet must have in order to match this classifier entry. This field is defined as the 12-bit VLAN identifier in the 802.1Q tag header of a tagged Ethernet frame. For a double VLAN tagged frame, this field is contained in the first/outer tag. This value must be equal to or greater than the value specified for the entry in agentDiffServAuxMfClfrVlanIdMin.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrVlanId2Min
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.26
Unsigned32 (1..4094)
The minimum value that the Secondary VLAN ID in the packet must have in order to match this classifier entry. This field is defined as the 12-bit VLAN identifier in the second/inner 802.1Q tag header of a double VLAN tagged Ethernet frame.
agentDiffServAuxMfClfrVlanId2Max
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.1.2.1.27
Unsigned32 (1..4094)
The maximum value that the Secondary VLAN ID in the packet must have in order to match this classifier entry. This field is defined as the 12-bit VLAN identifier in the second/inner 802.1Q tag header of a double VLAN tagged Ethernet frame. This value must be equal to or greater than the value specified for the entry in agentDiffServAuxMfClfrVlanId2Min.
agentDiffServCosMarkActTable
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.2
Index: agentDiffServCosMarkActCos
This table enumerates specific Class of Service values used for marking or remarking the priority bits in the 802.1p header. The entries of this table may be referenced by a diffServActionSpecific attribute.
agentDiffServCosMarkActCos
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.2.1.1
CosThe 802.1p header Class of Service field that may be used for marking a traffic streams. Also known as the Ethernet frame priority. (0..7) · Integer32 · hint d
The Class of Service value that this Action will store into the priority bits of the 802.1p header. It is quite possible that the only packets subject to this Action are already marked with this COS value.
agentDiffServIpPrecMarkActTable
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.4
Index: agentDiffServIpPrecMarkActPrecedence
This table enumerates specific IP Precedence values used for marking or remarking the Precedence field of IP packets. The entries of this table may be referenced by a diffServActionSpecific attribute.
agentDiffServIpPrecMarkActPrecedence
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.4.1.1
IpPrecedenceAn IP Precedence value that may be used for marking a traffic stream. (0..7) · Integer32 · hint d
The IP Precedence that this Action will store into the Precedence field of the IP packet. It is quite possible that the only packets subject to this Action are already marked with this IP Precedence. Note also that Differentiated Services processing may result in a packet being marked on both ingress to a network and on egress from it, and that ingress and egress can occur in the same router.
agentDiffServCos2MarkActTable
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.5
Index: agentDiffServCos2MarkActCos
This table enumerates specific Secondary Class of Service values used for marking or remarking the priority bits in the second/inner 802.1Q tag header of a double VLAN tagged Ethernet packet. The entries of this table may be referenced by a diffServActionSpecific attribute.
agentDiffServCos2MarkActCos
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.5.1.1
CosThe 802.1p header Class of Service field that may be used for marking a traffic streams. Also known as the Ethernet frame priority. (0..7) · Integer32 · hint d
The Secondary Class of Service value that this Action will store into the priority bits of the second/inner 802.1p tag header. It is quite possible that the only packets subject to this Action are already marked with this COS value.
agentDiffServAssignQueueTable
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.7
Index: agentDiffServAssignQueueIndex
A table used for assigning a stream of Differentiated Services traffic to a specific quality of service (QoS) queue. The traffic stream is identified by the upstream Functional Data Path Element(s), i.e. by the object(s) that point to each entry in this table. This may include all traffic on an interface or just a portion thereof.
agentDiffServAssignQueueIndex
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.7.1.1
IndexIntegerAn integer which may be used as a table index. (1..4294967295) · Unsigned32 · hint d
An index that enumerates the Assign Queue entries. Managers obtain new values for row creation in this table by reading agentDiffServAssignQueueNextFree.
agentDiffServAssignQueueQnum
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.7.1.2
Unsigned32 (0..7)
The queue identifier value. This value indicates the QoS queue number to which the traffic stream for this data path is directed for egress from the device.
agentDiffServAssignQueueStorage
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.7.1.3
StorageType1 = other2 = volatile3 = nonVolatile4 = permanent5 = readOnlyDescribes the memory realization of a conceptual row. A row which is volatile(2) is lost upon reboot. A row which is either nonVolatile(3), permanent(4) or readOnly(5), is backed up by stable storage. A row which is permanent(4) can be changed but not deleted. A row which is readOnly(5) cannot be changed nor deleted.
If the value of an object with this syntax is either permanent(4) or readOnly(5), it cannot be written. Conversely, if the value is either other(1), volatile(2) or nonVolatile(3), it cannot be modified to be permanent(4) or readOnly(5). (All illegal modifications result in a 'wrongValue' error.)
Every usage of this textual convention is required to specify the columnar objects which a permanent(4) row must at a minimum allow to be writable. · Integer32
The storage type for this conceptual row. Conceptual rows having the value 'permanent' need not allow write-access to any columnar objects in the row.
agentDiffServAssignQueueStatus
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.7.1.4
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 conceptual row. All writable objects in this row may be modified at any time. Setting this variable to 'destroy' when the MIB contains one or more RowPointers pointing to it results in destruction being delayed until the row is no longer used.
agentDiffServRedirectTable
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.9
Index: agentDiffServRedirectId
A table used for redirecting a stream of Differentiated Services traffic to a specific egress interface, bypassing any normal device forwarding decision. The traffic stream is identified by the upstream Functional Data Path Element(s), i.e. by the object(s) that point to each entry in this table. This may include all traffic on an interface or just a portion thereof.
agentDiffServRedirectId
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.9.1.1
IndexIntegerAn integer which may be used as a table index. (1..4294967295) · Unsigned32 · hint d
An index that enumerates the Redirect entries. Managers obtain new values for row creation in this table by reading agentDiffServRedirectNextFree.
agentDiffServRedirectIntf
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.9.1.2
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
The external interface number identifier value. This value indicates the egress interface to which the traffic stream for this data path is directed. Normal traffic forwarding decisions are bypassed.
agentDiffServRedirectStorage
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.9.1.3
StorageType1 = other2 = volatile3 = nonVolatile4 = permanent5 = readOnlyDescribes the memory realization of a conceptual row. A row which is volatile(2) is lost upon reboot. A row which is either nonVolatile(3), permanent(4) or readOnly(5), is backed up by stable storage. A row which is permanent(4) can be changed but not deleted. A row which is readOnly(5) cannot be changed nor deleted.
If the value of an object with this syntax is either permanent(4) or readOnly(5), it cannot be written. Conversely, if the value is either other(1), volatile(2) or nonVolatile(3), it cannot be modified to be permanent(4) or readOnly(5). (All illegal modifications result in a 'wrongValue' error.)
Every usage of this textual convention is required to specify the columnar objects which a permanent(4) row must at a minimum allow to be writable. · Integer32
The storage type for this conceptual row. Conceptual rows having the value 'permanent' need not allow write-access to any columnar objects in the row.
agentDiffServRedirectStatus
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.9.1.4
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 conceptual row. All writable objects in this row may be modified at any time. Setting this variable to 'destroy' when the MIB contains one or more RowPointers pointing to it results in destruction being delayed until the row is no longer used.
agentDiffServMirrorTable
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.11
Index: agentDiffServMirrorId
A table used for mirroring a stream of Differentiated Services traffic to a specific egress interface, in addition to any normal device forwarding decision. The traffic stream is identified by the upstream Functional Data Path Element(s), i.e. by the object(s) that point to each entry in this table. This may include all traffic on an interface or just a portion thereof.
agentDiffServMirrorId
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.11.1.1
IndexIntegerAn integer which may be used as a table index. (1..4294967295) · Unsigned32 · hint d
An index that enumerates the Mirror entries. Managers obtain new values for row creation in this table by reading agentDiffServMirrorNextFree.
agentDiffServMirrorIntf
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.11.1.2
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
The external interface number identifier value. This value indicates the egress interface to which the traffic stream for this data path is copied. Normal traffic forwarding decisions are still performed on the traffic stream.
agentDiffServMirrorStorage
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.11.1.3
StorageType1 = other2 = volatile3 = nonVolatile4 = permanent5 = readOnlyDescribes the memory realization of a conceptual row. A row which is volatile(2) is lost upon reboot. A row which is either nonVolatile(3), permanent(4) or readOnly(5), is backed up by stable storage. A row which is permanent(4) can be changed but not deleted. A row which is readOnly(5) cannot be changed nor deleted.
If the value of an object with this syntax is either permanent(4) or readOnly(5), it cannot be written. Conversely, if the value is either other(1), volatile(2) or nonVolatile(3), it cannot be modified to be permanent(4) or readOnly(5). (All illegal modifications result in a 'wrongValue' error.)
Every usage of this textual convention is required to specify the columnar objects which a permanent(4) row must at a minimum allow to be writable. · Integer32
The storage type for this conceptual row. Conceptual rows having the value 'permanent' need not allow write-access to any columnar objects in the row.
agentDiffServMirrorStatus
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.2.11.1.4
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 conceptual row. All writable objects in this row may be modified at any time. Setting this variable to 'destroy' when the MIB contains one or more RowPointers pointing to it results in destruction being delayed until the row is no longer used.
A table used for augmenting the Differentiated Services meter information with information describing the packet coloration characteristics for a color-aware mode of policing. The diffServMeterId is used as the index to this table, which logically extends the Meter table row with the columnar objects defined in this Color Aware table row.
The metering conformance level of this table entry. A policing meter represents either a conforming or an exceeding level of traffic in the traffic stream for this data path. The color characteristics used by the meter are relevant to this conformance level. This object is set to unused(3) when the meter is not being used for policing.
The color mode indicator for the meter. When set to blind(1), metering is performed in a color-blind manner such that any packet markings are ignored by the meter. The other values listed for this object indicate the packet field used for determining its pre-existing color marking. In color-aware mode, the current color of a packet (e.g. green, yellow, red) influences the metering outcome. The object value awareunused(6) is special in that it denotes that the specific field attributes are not specified for the meter even though a color aware scheme is in use for policing. This object always returns blind(1) when the agentDiffServColorAwareLevel is set to unused(3).
agentDiffServColorAwareValue
1.3.6.1.4.1.4526.10.3.6.1.3.1.1.3
Unsigned32 (0..63)
The value of the color aware table entry. This value is used to compare the field indicated in agentDiffServColorAwareMode against packets in a traffic stream along the data path supplying the meter for a given conformance level. This object always returns 0 when the agentDiffServColorAwareMode is set to blind(1) or awareunused(6).