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This is a modified version of the Internet RFC suitable for machine-translating. Original version is available here: RFC1444

Obsoleted by: 1904 PROPOSED STANDARD
          Network Working Group                                  J. Case
          Request for Comments: 1444                 SNMP Research, Inc.
                                                           K. McCloghrie
                                                      Hughes LAN Systems
                                                                 M. Rose
                                            Dover Beach Consulting, Inc.
                                                           S. Waldbusser
                                              Carnegie Mellon University
                                                              April 1993
          
          
Conformance Statements for version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)

          Status of this Memo
          
          This RFC specifes an IAB standards track protocol for the
Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "IAB Official Protocol Standards" for the standardization state and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo
          is unlimited.
          
          
          Table of Contents
          
          

1 Introduction .......................................... 2
1.1 A Note on Terminology ............................... 2
2 Definitions ........................................... 3
3.1 The OBJECT-GROUP macro .............................. 3
3.2 The MODULE-COMPLIANCE macro ......................... 4
3.3 The AGENT-CAPABILITIES macro ........................ 7
3 Mapping of the OBJECT-GROUP macro ..................... 10
3.1 Mapping of the OBJECTS clause ....................... 10
3.2 Mapping of the STATUS clause ........................ 10
3.3 Mapping of the DESCRIPTION clause ................... 10
3.4 Mapping of the REFERENCE clause ..................... 11
3.5 Mapping of the OBJECT-GROUP value ................... 11
3.6 Usage Example ....................................... 12
4 Mapping of the MODULE-COMPLIANCE macro ................ 13
4.1 Mapping of the STATUS clause ........................ 13
4.2 Mapping of the DESCRIPTION clause ................... 13
4.3 Mapping of the REFERENCE clause ..................... 13
4.4 Mapping of the MODULE clause ........................ 13
4.4.1 Mapping of the MANDATORY-GROUPS clause ............ 14
4.4.2 Mapping of the GROUP clause ....................... 14
4.4.3 Mapping of the OBJECT clause ...................... 14



          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page  i]

          RFC 1444      Conformance Statements for SNMPv2     April 1993
          
          

4.4.3.1 Mapping of the SYNTAX clause .................... 15
4.4.3.2 Mapping of the WRITE-SYNTAX clause .............. 15
4.4.3.3 Mapping of the MIN-ACCESS clause ................ 15
4.4.3.4 Mapping of the DESCRIPTION clause ............... 16
4.5 Mapping of the MODULE-COMPLIANCE value .............. 16
4.6 Usage Example ....................................... 17
5 Mapping of the AGENT-CAPABILITIES macro ............... 19
5.1 Mapping of the PRODUCT-RELEASE clause ............... 20
5.2 Mapping of the STATUS clause ........................ 20
5.3 Mapping of the DESCRIPTION clause ................... 20
5.4 Mapping of the REFERENCE clause ..................... 20
5.5 Mapping of the SUPPORTS clause ...................... 20
5.5.1 Mapping of the INCLUDES clause .................... 21
5.5.2 Mapping of the VARIATION clause ................... 21
5.5.2.1 Mapping of the SYNTAX clause .................... 21
5.5.2.2 Mapping of the WRITE-SYNTAX clause .............. 21
5.5.2.3 Mapping of the ACCESS clause .................... 22
5.5.2.4 Mapping of the CREATION-REQUIRES clause ......... 22
5.5.2.5 Mapping of the DEFVAL clause .................... 23
5.5.2.6 Mapping of the DESCRIPTION clause ............... 23
5.6 Mapping of the AGENT-CAPABILITIES value ............. 23
5.7 Usage Example ....................................... 24
6 Extending an Information Module ....................... 26
6.1 Conformance Groups .................................. 26
6.2 Compliance Definitions .............................. 26
6.3 Capabilities Definitions ............................ 26
7 Acknowledgements ...................................... 27
8 References ............................................ 31
9 Security Considerations ............................... 32
10 Authors' Addresses ................................... 32



















          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                   [Page 1]

 RFC 1444 Conformance Statements for SNMPv2 April 1993

          1.  Introduction
          
          A network management system contains: several (potentially
many) nodes, each with a processing entity, termed an agent, which has access to management instrumentation; at least one management station; and, a management protocol, used to convey management information between the agents and management stations. Operations of the protocol are carried out under an administrative framework which defines both authentication and
          authorization policies.
          
          Network management stations execute management applications
which monitor and control network elements. Network elements are devices such as hosts, routers, terminal servers, etc., which are monitored and controlled through access to their
          management information.
          
          Management information is viewed as a collection of managed
objects, residing in a virtual information store, termed the Management Information Base (MIB). Collections of related objects are defined in MIB modules. These modules are written using a subset of OSI's Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1)
          [1], termed the Structure of Management Information (SMI) [2].
          
          It may be useful to define the acceptable lower-bounds of
implementation, along with the actual level of implementation achieved. It is the purpose of this document to define the
          notation used for these purposes.
          
          
          1.1.  A Note on Terminology
          
          For the purpose of exposition, the original Internet-standard
Network Management Framework, as described in RFCs 1155, 1157, and 1212, is termed the SNMP version 1 framework (SNMPv1). The current framework is termed the SNMP version 2 framework
          (SNMPv2).
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                   [Page 2]

 RFC 1444 Conformance Statements for SNMPv2 April 1993

          2.  Definitions
          
          SNMPv2-CONF DEFINITIONS ::= BEGIN
          
          -- definitions for conformance groups
          
          OBJECT-GROUP MACRO ::=
BEGIN
TYPE NOTATION ::=
ObjectsPart "STATUS" Status "DESCRIPTION" Text
                            ReferPart
          
              VALUE NOTATION ::=
                            value(VALUE OBJECT IDENTIFIER)
          
              ObjectsPart ::=
"OBJECTS" "{" Objects "}"
Objects ::=
Object
| Objects "," Object
Object ::=
                            value(Name ObjectName)
          
              Status ::=
"current"
                          | "obsolete"
          
              ReferPart ::=
"REFERENCE" Text
                          | empty
          
              -- uses the NVT ASCII character set
Text ::= """" string """"
          END
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                   [Page 3]

 RFC 1444 Conformance Statements for SNMPv2 April 1993

          -- definitions for compliance statements
          
          MODULE-COMPLIANCE MACRO ::=
BEGIN
TYPE NOTATION ::=
"STATUS" Status "DESCRIPTION" Text ReferPart
                            ModulePart
          
              VALUE NOTATION ::=
                            value(VALUE OBJECT IDENTIFIER)
          
              Status ::=
"current"
                          | "obsolete"
          
              ReferPart ::=
"REFERENCE" Text
                        | empty
          
              ModulePart ::=
Modules
| empty
Modules ::=
Module
| Modules Module
Module ::=
-- name of module -- "MODULE" ModuleName MandatoryPart
                            CompliancePart
          
              ModuleName ::=
modulereference ModuleIdentifier
-- must not be empty unless contained -- in MIB Module | empty
ModuleIdentifier ::=
value(ModuleID OBJECT IDENTIFIER)
                          | empty
          
              MandatoryPart ::=
"MANDATORY-GROUPS" "{" Groups "}"
                          | empty
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                   [Page 4]

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              Groups ::=
Group
| Groups "," Group
Group ::=
                            value(Group OBJECT IDENTIFIER)
          
              CompliancePart ::=
Compliances
                          | empty
          
              Compliances ::=
Compliance
| Compliances Compliance
Compliance ::=
ComplianceGroup
                          | Object
          
              ComplianceGroup ::=
"GROUP" value(Name OBJECT IDENTIFIER)
                            "DESCRIPTION" Text
          
              Object ::=
"OBJECT" value(Name ObjectName) SyntaxPart WriteSyntaxPart AccessPart
                            "DESCRIPTION" Text
          
              -- must be a refinement for object's SYNTAX clause
SyntaxPart ::=
"SYNTAX" type(SYNTAX)
                          | empty
          
              -- must be a refinement for object's SYNTAX clause
WriteSyntaxPart ::=
"WRITE-SYNTAX" type(WriteSYNTAX)
                          | empty
          
              AccessPart ::=
"MIN-ACCESS" Access
| empty
Access ::=
"not-accessible"
| "read-only"
                          | "read-write"
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                   [Page 5]

 RFC 1444 Conformance Statements for SNMPv2 April 1993

                          | "read-create"
          
              -- uses the NVT ASCII character set
Text ::= """" string """"
          END
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                   [Page 6]

 RFC 1444 Conformance Statements for SNMPv2 April 1993

          -- definitions for capabilities statements
          
          AGENT-CAPABILITIES MACRO ::=
BEGIN
TYPE NOTATION ::=
"PRODUCT-RELEASE" Text "STATUS" Status "DESCRIPTION" Text ReferPart
                            ModulePart
          
              VALUE NOTATION ::=
-- agent's sysObjectID [3] or snmpORID [4]
                            value(VALUE OBJECT IDENTIFIER)
          
              Status ::=
"current"
                          | "obsolete"
          
              ReferPart ::=
"REFERENCE" Text
                        | empty
          
              ModulePart ::=
Modules
| empty
Modules ::=
Module
| Modules Module
Module ::=
-- name of module -- "SUPPORTS" ModuleName "INCLUDES" "{" Groups "}"
                            VariationPart
          
              ModuleName ::=
identifier ModuleIdentifier
ModuleIdentifier ::=
value(ModuleID OBJECT IDENTIFIER)
                          | empty
          
              Groups ::=
Group
| Groups "," Group
              Group ::=
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                   [Page 7]

 RFC 1444 Conformance Statements for SNMPv2 April 1993

                            value(Name OBJECT IDENTIFIER)
          
              VariationPart ::=
Variations
| empty
Variations ::=
Variation
                          | Variations Variation
          
              Variation ::=
"VARIATION" value(Name ObjectName) SyntaxPart WriteSyntaxPart AccessPart CreationPart DefValPart
                            "DESCRIPTION" Text
          
              -- must be a refinement for object's SYNTAX clause
SyntaxPart ::=
"SYNTAX" type(SYNTAX)
                          | empty
          
              -- must be a refinement for object's SYNTAX clause
WriteSyntaxPart ::=
"WRITE-SYNTAX" type(WriteSYNTAX)
                          | empty
          
              AccessPart ::=
"ACCESS" Access
                          | empty
          
              Access ::=
"not-implemented"
| "read-only" | "read-write" | "read-create" -- following is for backward-compatibility only
                          | "write-only"
          
              CreationPart ::=
"CREATION-REQUIRES" "{" Cells "}"
                          | empty
          
              Cells ::=
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                   [Page 8]

 RFC 1444 Conformance Statements for SNMPv2 April 1993

                            Cell
                          | Cells "," Cell
          
              Cell ::=
                            value(Cell ObjectName)
          
              DefValPart ::=
"DEFVAL" "{" value(Defval ObjectSyntax) "}"
                          | empty
          
              -- uses the NVT ASCII character set
Text ::= """" string """"
          END
          
          
          END
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                   [Page 9]

 RFC 1444 Conformance Statements for SNMPv2 April 1993

          3.  Mapping of the OBJECT-GROUP macro
          
          For conformance purposes, it is useful to define a collection
of related managed objects. The OBJECT-GROUP macro is used to define each such collection of related objects. It should be noted that the expansion of the OBJECT-GROUP macro is something which conceptually happens during implementation and
          not during run-time.
          
          To "implement" an object, a SNMPv2 entity acting in an agent
role must return a reasonably accurate value for management protocol retrieval operations; similarly, if the object is writable, then in response to a management protocol set operation, a SNMPv2 entity must accordingly be able to reasonably influence the underlying managed entity. If a SNMPv2 entity acting in an agent role can not implement an object, the management protocol provides for the SNMPv2 entity to return an exception or error, e.g, noSuchObject [6]. Under no circumstances shall a SNMPv2 entity return a value for objects which it does not implement -- it must always return the appropriate exception or error, as described in the
          protocol specification [6].
          
          
          3.1.  Mapping of the OBJECTS clause
          
          The OBJECTS clause which must be present, is used to name each
object contained in the conformance group. Each of the named objects must be defined in the same information module as the OBJECT-GROUP macro appears, and must have a MAX-ACCESS clause
          value of "read-only", "read-write", or "read-create".
          
          
          3.2.  Mapping of the STATUS clause
          
          The STATUS clause, which must be present, indicates whether
          this definition is current or historic.
          
          The values "current", and "obsolete" are self-explanatory.
          
          
          3.3.  Mapping of the DESCRIPTION clause
          
          The DESCRIPTION clause, which must be present, contains a
          textual definition of that group, along with a description of
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 10]

 RFC 1444 Conformance Statements for SNMPv2 April 1993

          any relations to other groups.  Note that generic compliance
requirements should not be stated in this clause. However, implementation relationships between this group and other
          groups may be defined in this clause.
          
          
          3.4.  Mapping of the REFERENCE clause
          
          The REFERENCE clause, which need not be present, contains a
textual cross-reference to a group defined in some other information module. This is useful when de-osifying a MIB
          module produced by some other organization.
          
          
          3.5.  Mapping of the OBJECT-GROUP value
          
          The value of an invocation of the OBJECT-GROUP macro is the
name of the group, which is an OBJECT IDENTIFIER, an
          administratively assigned name.
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 11]

 RFC 1444 Conformance Statements for SNMPv2 April 1993

          3.6.  Usage Example
          
          Consider how the system group from MIB-II [3] might be
          described:
          
          systemGroup OBJECT-GROUP
OBJECTS { sysDescr, sysObjectID, sysUpTime,
sysContact, sysName, sysLocation, sysServices } STATUS current DESCRIPTION "The system group defines objects which are common to all managed systems."
              ::= { mibIIGroups 1 }
          
          According to this invocation, the conformance group named
          
               { mibIIGroups 1 }
          
          contains 7 objects.
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 12]

 RFC 1444 Conformance Statements for SNMPv2 April 1993

          4.  Mapping of the MODULE-COMPLIANCE macro
          
          The MODULE-COMPLIANCE macro is used to convey a minimum set of
requirements with respect to implementation of one or more MIB modules. It should be noted that the expansion of the MODULE-COMPLIANCE macro is something which conceptually
          happens during implementation and not during run-time.
          
          A requirement on all "standard" MIB modules is that a
corresponding MODULE-COMPLIANCE specification is also defined, either in the same information module or in a companion
          information module.
          
          
          4.1.  Mapping of the STATUS clause
          
          The STATUS clause, which must be present, indicates whether
          this definition is current or historic.
          
          The values "current", and "obsolete" are self-explanatory.
The "deprecated" value indicates that that object is obsolete, but that an implementor may wish to support that object to
          foster interoperability with older implementations.
          
          
          4.2.  Mapping of the DESCRIPTION clause
          
          The DESCRIPTION clause, which must be present, contains a
textual definition of this compliance statement and should embody any information which would otherwise be communicated in any ASN.1 commentary annotations associated with the
          statement.
          
          
          4.3.  Mapping of the REFERENCE clause
          
          The REFERENCE clause, which need not be present, contains a
textual cross-reference to a compliance statement defined in
          some other information module.
          
          
          4.4.  Mapping of the MODULE clause
          
          The MODULE clause, which must be present, is repeatedly used
          to name each MIB module for which compliance requirements are
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 13]

 RFC 1444 Conformance Statements for SNMPv2 April 1993

          being specified.  Each MIB module is named by its module name,
and optionally, by its associated OBJECT IDENTIFIER as well. The module name can be omitted when the MODULE-COMPLIANCE invocation occurs inside a MIB module, to refer to the
          encompassing MIB module.
          
          
          4.4.1.  Mapping of the MANDATORY-GROUPS clause
          
          The MANDATORY-GROUPS clause, which need not be present, names
the one or more groups within the correspondent MIB module which are unconditionally mandatory for implementation. If a SNMPv2 entity acting in an agent role claims compliance to the MIB module, then it must implement each and every object within each conformance group listed. That is, if a SNMPv2 entity returns a noSuchObject exception in response to a management protocol get operation [5] for any object within any mandatory conformance group for every MIB view, then that SNMPv2 entity is not a conformant implementation of the MIB
          module.
          
          
          4.4.2.  Mapping of the GROUP clause
          
          The GROUP clause which need not be present, is repeatedly used
to name each MIB group which is conditionally mandatory or unconditionally optional for compliance to the MIB module. A MIB group named in a GROUP clause must be absent from the
          correspondent MANDATORY-GROUPS clause.
          
          Conditionally mandatory groups include those which are
mandatory only if a particular protocol is implemented, or only if another group is implemented. A GROUP clause's DESCRIPTION specifies the conditions under which the group is
          conditionally mandatory.
          
          A MIB group which is named in neither a MANDATORY-GROUPS
clause nor a GROUP clause, is unconditionally optional for
          compliance to the MIB module.
          
          
          4.4.3.  Mapping of the OBJECT clause
          
          The OBJECT clause which need not be present, is repeatedly
          used to name each MIB object for which compliance has a
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 14]

 RFC 1444 Conformance Statements for SNMPv2 April 1993

          refined requirement with respect to the MIB module definition.
The MIB object must be present in one of the conformance groups named in the correspondent MANDATORY-GROUPS clause or
          GROUP clauses.
          
          
          4.4.3.1.  Mapping of the SYNTAX clause
          
          The SYNTAX clause, which need not be present, is used to
provide a refined SYNTAX for the object named in the correspondent OBJECT clause. Note that if this clause and a WRITE-SYNTAX clause are both present, then this clause only applies when instances of the object named in the
          correspondent OBJECT clause are read.
          
          Consult Section 10 of [2] for more information on refined
          syntax.
          
          
          4.4.3.2.  Mapping of the WRITE-SYNTAX clause
          
          The WRITE-SYNTAX clause, which need not be present, is used to
provide a refined SYNTAX for the object named in the correspondent OBJECT clause when instances of that object are
          written.
          
          Consult Section 10 of [2] for more information on refined
          syntax.
          
          
          4.4.3.3.  Mapping of the MIN-ACCESS clause
          
          The MIN-ACCESS clause, which need not be present, is used to
define the minimal level of access for the object named in the correspondent OBJECT clause. If this clause is absent, the minimal level of access is the same as the maximal level specified in the correspondent invocation of the OBJECT-TYPE macro. If present, this clause must not specify a greater level of access than is specified in the correspondent
          invocation of the OBJECT-TYPE macro.
          
          The level of access for certain types of objects is fixed
according to their syntax definition. These types are: conceptual tables and rows, auxiliary objects, and objects
          with the syntax of Counter32, Counter64, or certain types of
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 15]

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          textual conventions (e.g., RowStatus [6]).  A MIN-ACCESS
          clause should not be present for such objects.
          
          An implementation is compliant if the level of access it
provides is greater or equal to the minimal level in the MODULE-COMPLIANCE macro and less or equal to the maximal level
          in the OBJECT-TYPE macro.
          
          
          4.4.3.4.  Mapping of the DESCRIPTION clause
          
          The DESCRIPTION clause must be present for each use of the
GROUP or OBJECT clause. For an OBJECT clause, it contains a textual description of the refined compliance requirement. For a GROUP clause, it contains a textual description of the conditions under which the group is conditionally mandatory or
          unconditionally optional.
          
          
          4.5.  Mapping of the MODULE-COMPLIANCE value
          
          The value of an invocation of the MODULE-COMPLIANCE macro is
an OBJECT IDENTIFIER. As such, this value may be authoritatively used when referring to the compliance
          statement embodied by that invocation of the macro.
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 16]

 RFC 1444 Conformance Statements for SNMPv2 April 1993

          4.6.  Usage Example
          
          Consider how a compliance statement might be included at the
end of the MIB-II document [3], assuming that conformance
          groups were defined therein:
          
          mibIICompliances
OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { mibIIConformance 1 }
          mibIIGroups    OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { mibIIConformance 2 }
          
          mibIICompliance MODULE-COMPLIANCE
STATUS current DESCRIPTION "The compliance statement for SNMPv2 entities residing on systems which implement the Internet suite of protocols."
MODULE -- compliance to the containing MIB module
                  MANDATORY-GROUPS   { systemGroup, snmpGroup }
          
                  GROUP       interfacesGroup
DESCRIPTION
"The interfaces group is mandatory for systems
                      with network interfaces."
          
                  GROUP       ipGroup
DESCRIPTION
"The ip group is mandatory for systems which
                      implement IP."
          
                  GROUP       icmpGroup
DESCRIPTION
"The icmp group is mandatory for systems which
                      implement ICMP."
          
                  GROUP       tcpGroup
DESCRIPTION
"The tcp group is mandatory for systems which implement TCP." OBJECT tcpConnState MIN-ACCESS read-only DESCRIPTION
"A compliant system need not allow
                           write-access to this object."
          
                  GROUP       udpGroup
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 17]

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                  DESCRIPTION
"The udp group is mandatory for systems which
                      implement UDP."
          
                  GROUP       egpGroup
DESCRIPTION
"The egp group is mandatory for systems which
                      implement EGP."
          
          ::= { mibIICompliances 1 }
          
          According to this invocation, to claim alignment with the
          compliance statement named
          
               { mibIICompliances 1 }
          
          a system must implement RFC1213's systemGroup and snmpGroup
conformance groups. If the system implements any network interfaces, then RFC1213's interfacesGroup conformance group must be implemented. Further, if the system implements any of the IP, ICMP, TCP, UDP, or EGP protocols, then the correspondent conformance group in RFC1213 must be implemented, if compliance is to be claimed. Finally, although RFC1213 specifies that it makes "protocol sense" for the tcpConnState object to be writable, this specification allows the system to permit only read-only access and still
          claim compliance.
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 18]

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          5.  Mapping of the AGENT-CAPABILITIES macro
          
          The AGENT-CAPABILITIES macro is used to convey the
capabilities present in a SNMPv2 entity acting in an agent role. It should be noted that the expansion of the AGENT- CAPABILITIES macro is something which conceptually happens
          during implementation and not during run-time.
          
          When a MIB module is written, it is divided into units of
conformance termed groups. If a SNMPv2 entity acting in an agent role claims to implement a group, then it must implement each and every object within that group. Of course, for whatever reason, a SNMPv2 entity might implement only a subset of the groups within a MIB module. In addition, the definition of some MIB objects leave some aspects of the
          definition to the discretion of an implementor.
          
          Practical experience has demonstrated a need for concisely
describing the capabilities of an agent with respect to one or more MIB modules. The AGENT-CAPABILITIES macro allows an agent implementor to describe the precise level of support which an agent claims in regards to a MIB group, and to bind that description to the value of sysObjectID [3] associated with the agent, or to the value of an instance of the snmpORID object in the snmpORTable [4]. In particular, some objects
          may have restricted or augmented syntax or access-levels.
          
          If the AGENT-CAPABILITIES invocation is given to a
management-station implementor, then that implementor can build management applications which optimize themselves when communicating with a particular agent. For example, the management-station can maintain a database of these invocations. When a management-station interacts with an agent, it retrieves the agent's sysObjectID [3]. Based on this, it consults the database. If an entry is found, then the management application can optimize its behavior
          accordingly.
          
          Note that this binding to sysObjectID may not always suffice
to define all MIB objects to which an agent can provide access. In particular, this situation occurs where the agent dynamically learns of the objects it supports. In these cases, the snmpORID column of snmpORTable [4] contains
          information which should be used in addition to sysObjectID.
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 19]

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          Note that the AGENT-CAPABILITIES macro specifies refinements
or variations with respect to OBJECT-TYPE macros in MIB modules, NOT with respect to MODULE-COMPLIANCE macros in
          compliance statements.
          
          
          5.1.  Mapping of the PRODUCT-RELEASE clause
          
          The PRODUCT-RELEASE clause, which must be present, contains a
textual description of the product release which includes this
          agent.
          
          
          5.2.  Mapping of the STATUS clause
          
          The STATUS clause, which must be present, indicates whether
          this definition is current or historic.
          
          The values "current", and "obsolete" are self-explanatory.
The "deprecated" value indicates that that object is obsolete, but that an implementor may wish to support that object to
          foster interoperability with older implementations.
          
          
          5.3.  Mapping of the DESCRIPTION clause
          
          The DESCRIPTION clause, which must be present, contains a
          textual description of this agent.
          
          
          5.4.  Mapping of the REFERENCE clause
          
          The REFERENCE clause, which need not be present, contains a
textual cross-reference to a capability statement defined in
          some other information module.
          
          
          5.5.  Mapping of the SUPPORTS clause
          
          The SUPPORTS clause, which need not be present, is repeatedly
used to name each MIB module for which the agent claims a complete or partial implementation. Each MIB module is named by its module name, and optionally, by its associated OBJECT
          IDENTIFIER as well.
          
          
          
          
          
          
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          5.5.1.  Mapping of the INCLUDES clause
          
          The INCLUDES clause, which must be present for each use of the
SUPPORTS clause, is used to name each MIB group associated
          with the SUPPORT clause, which the agent claims to implement.
          
          
          5.5.2.  Mapping of the VARIATION clause
          
          The VARIATION clause, which need not be present, is repeatedly
used to name each MIB object which the agent implements in some variant or refined fashion with respect to the
          correspondent invocation of the OBJECT-TYPE macro.
          
          Note that the variation concept is meant for generic
implementation restrictions, e.g., if the variation for an object depends on the values of other objects, then this
          should be noted in the appropriate DESCRIPTION clause.
          
          
          5.5.2.1.  Mapping of the SYNTAX clause
          
          The SYNTAX clause, which need not be present, is used to
provide a refined SYNTAX for the object named in the correspondent VARIATION clause. Note that if this clause and a WRITE-SYNTAX clause are both present, then this clause only applies when instances of the object named in the
          correspondent VARIATION clause are read.
          
          Consult Section 10 of [2] for more information on refined
          syntax.
          
          
          5.5.2.2.  Mapping of the WRITE-SYNTAX clause
          
          The WRITE-SYNTAX clause, which need not be present, is used to
provide a refined SYNTAX for the object named in the correspondent VARIATION clause when instances of that object
          are written.
          
          Consult Section 10 of [2] for more information on refined
          syntax.
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 21]

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          5.5.2.3.  Mapping of the ACCESS clause
          
          The ACCESS clause, which need not be present, is used to
indicate the agent provides less than the maximal level of access to the object named in the correspondent VARIATION
          clause.
          
          The value "not-implemented" indicates the agent does not
implement the object, and in the ordering of possible values
          is equivalent to "not-accessible".
          
          The value "write-only" is provided solely for backward
compatibility, and shall not be used for newly-defined object types. In the ordering of possible values, "write-only" is
          less than "not-accessible".
          
          
          5.5.2.4.  Mapping of the CREATION-REQUIRES clause
          
          The CREATION-REQUIRES clause, which need not be present, is
used to name the columnar objects of a conceptual row to which values must be explicitly assigned, by a management protocol set operation, before the agent will allow the instance of the status column of that row to be set to `active'. (Consult the
          definition of RowStatus [6].)
          
          If the conceptual row does not have a status column (i.e., the
objects corresponding to the conceptual table were defined using the mechanisms in [7,8]), then the CREATION-REQUIRES clause, which need not be present, is used to name the columnar objects of a conceptual row to which values must be explicitly assigned, by a management protocol set operation, before the agent will create new instances of objects in that
          row.
          
          This clause must not present unless the object named in the
correspondent VARIATION clause is a conceptual row, i.e., has a syntax which resolves to a SEQUENCE containing columnar objects. The objects named in the value of this clause usually will refer to columnar objects in that row. However,
          objects unrelated to the conceptual row may also be specified.
          
          All objects which are named in the CREATION-REQUIRES clause
for a conceptual row, and which are columnar objects of that
          row, must have an access level of "read-create".
          
          
          
          
          
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          5.5.2.5.  Mapping of the DEFVAL clause
          
          The DEFVAL clause, which need not be present, is used to
provide a refined DEFVAL value for the object named in the correspondent VARIATION clause. The semantics of this value are identical to those of the OBJECT-TYPE macro's DEFVAL
          clause.
          
          
          5.5.2.6.  Mapping of the DESCRIPTION clause
          
          The DESCRIPTION clause, which must be present for each use of
the VARIATION clause, contains a textual description of the
          variant or refined implementation.
          
          
          5.6.  Mapping of the AGENT-CAPABILITIES value
          
          The value of an invocation of the AGENT-CAPABILITIES macro is
an OBJECT IDENTIFIER, which names the value of sysObjectID [3] or snmpORID [4] for which this capabilities statement is
          valid.
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 23]

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          5.7.  Usage Example
          
          Consider how a capabilities statement for an agent might be
          described:
          
          exampleAgent AGENT-CAPABILITIES
PRODUCT-RELEASE "ACME Agent release 1.1 for 4BSD"
              STATUS               current
              DESCRIPTION          "ACME agent for 4BSD"
          
              SUPPORTS             RFC1213-MIB
INCLUDES { systemGroup, interfacesGroup,
atGroup, ipGroup, icmpGroup,
                                     tcpGroup, udpGroup, snmpGroup }
          
                  VARIATION        ifAdminStatus
SYNTAX INTEGER { up(1), down(2) }
                      DESCRIPTION  "Unable to set test mode on 4BSD"
          
                  VARIATION        ifOperStatus
SYNTAX INTEGER { up(1), down(2) }
                      DESCRIPTION  "Information limited on 4BSD"
          
                  VARIATION        atEntry
CREATION-REQUIRES { atPhysAddress } DESCRIPTION "Address mappings on 4BSD require
                                   both protocol and media addresses"
          
                  VARIATION        ipDefaultTTL
SYNTAX INTEGER (255..255)
                      DESCRIPTION  "Hard-wired on 4BSD"
          
                  VARIATION        ipInAddrErrors
ACCESS not-implemented
                      DESCRIPTION  "Information not available on 4BSD"
          
                  VARIATION        ipRouteType
SYNTAX INTEGER { direct(3), indirect(4) } WRITE-SYNTAX INTEGER { invalid(2), direct(3),
indirect(4) }
                      DESCRIPTION  "Information limited on 4BSD"
          
                  VARIATION        tcpConnState
ACCESS read-only
                      DESCRIPTION  "Unable to set this on 4BSD"
          
          
          
          
          
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              SUPPORTS             EVAL-MIB
INCLUDES { functionsGroup, expressionsGroup } VARIATION exprEntry
CREATION-REQUIRES { evalString }
                      DESCRIPTION "Conceptual row creation supported"
          
              ::= { acmeAgents 1 }
          
          
          According to this invocation, an agent with a sysObjectID (or
          snmpORID) value of
          
               { acmeAgents 1 }
          
          supports two MIB modules.
          
          From MIB-II, all conformance groups except the egpGroup
conformance group are supported. However, the object
          ipInAddrErrors is not implemented, whilst the objects
          
               ifAdminStatus
ifOperStatus ipDefaultTTL
               ipRouteType
          
          have a restricted syntax, and the object
          
               tcpConnState
          
          is available only for reading.  Note that in the case of the
object ipRouteType the set of values which may be read is different than the set of values which may be written. Finally, when creating a new instance in the atTable, the
          set-request must create an instance of atPhysAddress.
          
          From the EVAL-MIB, all the objects contained in the
functionsGroup and expressionsGroup conformance groups are supported, without variation. In addition, creation of new
          instances in the expr table is supported.
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 25]

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          6.  Extending an Information Module
          
          As experience is gained with a published information module,
          it may be desirable to revise that information module.
          
          Section 10 of [2] defines the rules for extending an
information module. The remainder of this section defines how conformance groups, compliance statements, and capabilities
          statements may be extended.
          
          
          6.1.  Conformance Groups
          
          If any non-editorial change is made to any clause of an object
group then the OBJECT IDENTIFIER value associated with that object group must also be changed, along with its associated
          descriptor.
          
          
          6.2.  Compliance Definitions
          
          If any non-editorial change is made to any clause of a
compliance definition, then the OBJECT IDENTIFIER value associated with that compliance definition must also be
          changed, along with its associated descriptor.
          
          
          6.3.  Capabilities Definitions
          
          If any non-editorial change is made to any clause of a
capabilities definition, then the OBJECT IDENTIFIER value associated with that capabilities definition must also be
          changed, along with its associated descriptor.
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 26]

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          7.  Acknowledgements
          
          The section on compliance statements is based, in part, on a
          conversation with James R. Davin in December, 1990.
          
          The section on capabilities statements is based, in part, on
          RFC 1303.
          
          Finally, the comments of the SNMP version 2 working group are
          gratefully acknowledged:
          
               Beth Adams, Network Management Forum
Steve Alexander, INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation David Arneson, Cabletron Systems Toshiya Asaba Fred Baker, ACC Jim Barnes, Xylogics, Inc. Brian Bataille Andy Bierman, SynOptics Communications, Inc. Uri Blumenthal, IBM Corporation Fred Bohle, Interlink Jack Brown Theodore Brunner, Bellcore Stephen F. Bush, GE Information Services Jeffrey D. Case, University of Tennessee, Knoxville John Chang, IBM Corporation Szusin Chen, Sun Microsystems Robert Ching Chris Chiotasso, Ungermann-Bass Bobby A. Clay, NASA/Boeing John Cooke, Chipcom Tracy Cox, Bellcore Juan Cruz, Datability, Inc. David Cullerot, Cabletron Systems Cathy Cunningham, Microcom James R. (Chuck) Davin, Bellcore Michael Davis, Clearpoint Mike Davison, FiberCom Cynthia DellaTorre, MITRE Taso N. Devetzis, Bellcore Manual Diaz, DAVID Systems, Inc. Jon Dreyer, Sun Microsystems David Engel, Optical Data Systems Mike Erlinger, Lexcel
               Roger Fajman, NIH
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 27]

 RFC 1444 Conformance Statements for SNMPv2 April 1993

               Daniel Fauvarque, Sun Microsystems
Karen Frisa, CMU Shari Galitzer, MITRE Shawn Gallagher, Digital Equipment Corporation Richard Graveman, Bellcore Maria Greene, Xyplex, Inc. Michel Guittet, Apple Robert Gutierrez, NASA Bill Hagerty, Cabletron Systems Gary W. Haney, Martin Marietta Energy Systems Patrick Hanil, Nokia Telecommunications Matt Hecht, SNMP Research, Inc. Edward A. Heiner, Jr., Synernetics Inc. Susan E. Hicks, Martin Marietta Energy Systems Geral Holzhauer, Apple John Hopprich, DAVID Systems, Inc. Jeff Hughes, Hewlett-Packard Robin Iddon, Axon Networks, Inc. David Itusak Kevin M. Jackson, Concord Communications, Inc. Ole J. Jacobsen, Interop Company Ronald Jacoby, Silicon Graphics, Inc. Satish Joshi, SynOptics Communications, Inc. Frank Kastenholz, FTP Software Mark Kepke, Hewlett-Packard Ken Key, SNMP Research, Inc. Zbiginew Kielczewski, Eicon Jongyeoi Kim Andrew Knutsen, The Santa Cruz Operation Michael L. Kornegay, VisiSoft Deirdre C. Kostik, Bellcore Cheryl Krupczak, Georgia Tech Mark S. Lewis, Telebit David Lin David Lindemulder, AT&T/NCR Ben Lisowski, Sprint David Liu, Bell-Northern Research John Lunny, The Wollongong Group Robert C. Lushbaugh Martin, Marietta Energy Systems Michael Luufer, BBN Carl Madison, Star-Tek, Inc. Keith McCloghrie, Hughes LAN Systems Evan McGinnis, 3Com Corporation Bill McKenzie, IBM Corporation
               Donna McMaster, SynOptics Communications, Inc.
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 28]

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               John Medicke, IBM Corporation
Doug Miller, Telebit Dave Minnich, FiberCom Mohammad Mirhakkak, MITRE Rohit Mital, Protools George Mouradian, AT&T Bell Labs Patrick Mullaney, Cabletron Systems Dan Myers, 3Com Corporation Rina Nathaniel, Rad Network Devices Ltd. Hien V. Nguyen, Sprint Mo Nikain Tom Nisbet William B. Norton, MERIT Steve Onishi, Wellfleet Communications, Inc. David T. Perkins, SynOptics Communications, Inc. Carl Powell, BBN Ilan Raab, SynOptics Communications, Inc. Richard Ramons, AT&T Venkat D. Rangan, Metric Network Systems, Inc. Louise Reingold, Sprint Sam Roberts, Farallon Computing, Inc. Kary Robertson, Concord Communications, Inc. Dan Romascanu, Lannet Data Communications Ltd. Marshall T. Rose, Dover Beach Consulting, Inc. Shawn A. Routhier, Epilogue Technology Corporation Chris Rozman Asaf Rubissa, Fibronics Jon Saperia, Digital Equipment Corporation Michael Sapich Mike Scanlon, Interlan Sam Schaen, MITRE John Seligson, Ultra Network Technologies Paul A. Serice, Corporation for Open Systems Chris Shaw, Banyan Systems Timon Sloane Robert Snyder, Cisco Systems Joo Young Song Roy Spitier, Sprint Einar Stefferud, Network Management Associates John Stephens, Cayman Systems, Inc. Robert L. Stewart, Xyplex, Inc. (chair) Kaj Tesink, Bellcore Dean Throop, Data General Ahmet Tuncay, France Telecom-CNET
               Maurice Turcotte, Racal Datacom
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 29]

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               Warren Vik, INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation
Yannis Viniotis Steven L. Waldbusser, Carnegie Mellon Universitty Timothy M. Walden, ACC Alice Wang, Sun Microsystems James Watt, Newbridge Luanne Waul, Timeplex Donald E. Westlake III, Digital Equipment Corporation Gerry White Bert Wijnen, IBM Corporation Peter Wilson, 3Com Corporation Steven Wong, Digital Equipment Corporation Randy Worzella, IBM Corporation Daniel Woycke, MITRE Honda Wu Jeff Yarnell, Protools Chris Young, Cabletron
               Kiho Yum, 3Com Corporation
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 30]

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          8.  References
          
          [1]  Information processing systems - Open Systems
Interconnection - Specification of Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1), International Organization for Standardization. International Standard 8824, (December,
               1987).
          
          [2]  Case, J., McCloghrie, K., Rose, M., and Waldbusser, S.,
"Structure of Management Information for version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)", RFC 1442, SNMP Research, Inc., Hughes LAN Systems, Dover Beach
               Consulting, Inc., Carnegie Mellon University, April 1993.
          
          [3]  McCloghrie, K., and Rose, M., "Management Information
Base for Network Management of TCP/IP-based internets:
               MIB-II", STD 17, RFC 1213, March 1991.
          
          [4]  Case, J., McCloghrie, K., Rose, M., and Waldbusser, S.,
"Management Information Base for version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)", RFC 1450, SNMP Research, Inc., Hughes LAN Systems, Dover Beach
               Consulting, Inc., Carnegie Mellon University, April 1993.
          
          [5]  Case, J., McCloghrie, K., Rose, M., and Waldbusser, S.,
"Protocol Operations for version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)", RFC 1448, SNMP Research, Inc., Hughes LAN Systems, Dover Beach Consulting, Inc.,
               Carnegie Mellon University, April 1993.
          
          [6]  Case, J., McCloghrie, K., Rose, M., and Waldbusser, S.,
"Textual Conventions for version 2 of the the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)", RFC 1443, SNMP Research, Inc., Hughes LAN Systems, Dover Beach
               Consulting, Inc., Carnegie Mellon University, April 1993.
          
          [7]  Rose, M., and McCloghrie, K., "Structure and
Identification of Management Information for TCP/IP-based
               internets", STD 16, RFC 1155, May 1990.
          
          [8]  Rose, M., and McCloghrie, K., "Concise MIB Definitions",
               STD 16, RFC 1212, March 1991.
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 31]

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          9.  Security Considerations
          
          Security issues are not discussed in this memo.
          
          
          10.  Authors' Addresses
          
               Jeffrey D. Case
SNMP Research, Inc. 3001 Kimberlin Heights Rd. Knoxville, TN 37920-9716
               US
          
               Phone: +1 615 573 1434
               Email: case@snmp.com
          
          
               Keith McCloghrie
Hughes LAN Systems 1225 Charleston Road Mountain View, CA 94043
               US
          
               Phone: +1 415 966 7934
               Email: kzm@hls.com
          
          
               Marshall T. Rose
Dover Beach Consulting, Inc. 420 Whisman Court Mountain View, CA 94043-2186
               US
          
               Phone: +1 415 968 1052
               Email: mrose@dbc.mtview.ca.us
          
               Steven Waldbusser
Carnegie Mellon University 4910 Forbes Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15213
               US
          
               Phone: +1 412 268 6628
               Email: waldbusser@cmu.edu
          
          
          
          
          
          
          Case, McCloghrie, Rose & Waldbusser                  [Page 32]



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