3. Structure and Identification of Management Information
3. Structure and Identification of Management Information
Managed objects are accessed via a virtual information store, termed
the Management Information Base or MIB. Objects in the MIB are
defined using Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) [1].
Each type of object (termed an object type) has a name, a syntax, and
an encoding. The name is represented uniquely as an OBJECT
IDENTIFIER. An OBJECT IDENTIFIER is an administratively assigned
name. The administrative policies used for assigning names are
discussed later in this memo.
The syntax for an object type defines the abstract data structure
corresponding to that object type. For example, the structure of a
given object type might be an INTEGER or OCTET STRING. Although in
general, we should permit any ASN.1 construct to be available for use
in defining the syntax of an object type, this memo purposely
restricts the ASN.1 constructs which may be used. These restrictions
are made solely for the sake of simplicity.
The encoding of an object type is simply how instances of that object
type are represented using the object's type syntax. Implicitly tied
to the notion of an object's syntax and encoding is how the object is
represented when being transmitted on the network. This memo
specifies the use of the basic encoding rules of ASN.1 [7].
It is beyond the scope of this memo to define either the MIB used for
network management or the network management protocol. As mentioned
earlier, these tasks are left to companion memos. This memo attempts
to minimize the restrictions placed upon its companions so as to
maximize generality. However, in some cases, restrictions have been
made (e.g., the syntax which may be used when defining object types
in the MIB) in order to encourage a particular style of management.
Future editions of this memo may remove these restrictions.
