Internet DRAFT - draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib
draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 00:19:35 GMT
Server: Apache/1.3.20 (Unix)
Last-Modified: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 16:31:00 GMT
ETag: "2e9af0-17b5d-350ea544"
Accept-Ranges: bytes
Content-Length: 97117
Connection: close
Content-Type: text/plain
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
Harrie Hazewinkel
DESIRE / MUSIQ
CEO Programme
Joint Research Centre of the E.C.
harrie.hazewinkel@jrc.it
July 17 1997
Survey of Defined Managed Objects for Applications Management
<draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt>
Status of this Memo
This document is an Internet-Draft. Internet-Drafts are working
documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its
areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also
distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts.
Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six
months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other
documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-
Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as
``work in progress.''
To learn the current status of any Internet-Draft, please check
the ``1id-abstracts.txt'' listing contained in the Internet-
Drafts Shadow Directories on ftp.is.co.za (Africa),
nic.nordu.net (Europe), munnari.oz.au (Pacific Rim),
ds.internic.net (US East Coast), or ftp.isi.edu (US West Coast).
Distribution of this document is unlimited. Please send comments
to harrie.hazewinkel@jrc.it.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 1]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
Abstract
This document was produced as the result of a survey on MIBs related
to application management. The goal was to identify overlapping or
duplicated objects and discover problems within the relationships
between those MIBs. The survey covered MIBs already defined and those
currently being defined with in IETF WGs, namely:
* the SYSAPPL-MIB,
* teh APPLICATION-MIB,
* the WWW MIB,
* the NSM-MIB,
* the DSA-MIB,
* the HR-MIB, and
* the RDBMS-MIB.
It is interesting to note that both the SYSAPPL-MIB and NSM-MIB claim
to be generic MIBs (the SYSAPPL-MIB under an OS/host perspective and
the NSM-MIB under a networked/distributed perspective). The HR-MIB
describes a host as a set of hardware and software groups. On the
other hand, either the DSA-MIB, the RDBMS-MIB and the WWW-MIB are
application specific MIBs.
There are many overlapping and duplicated objects in the surveyed
MIBs. For example, the software groups of the HR-MIB can be replaced
with the recently defined SYSAPPL-MIB. Other overlaps or duplications
consist mainly of object which have more detail.
The current MIB definitions pose two major problems:
1) indexing with managed objects of other MIBs, and
2) mapping of applications on both in the SYSAPPL-MIB and
the NSM-MIB.
Implementation problems arise when indexes from other MIBs are used.
Is implementation of the MIB containing the objects used for indexes
required? Within the current SNMP framework there are no rules or
hints given to these questions. If an agent implementor decides not
to implement the referred MIB he has to choose his own index values
in such a way that no conflicts will occur.
At the moment, host-based applications map cleanly onto the
SYSAPPL-MIB and networked applications fit onto the NSM-MIB. However,
an application can be made of multiple elements and processes while
being a multiple networked applications (services) at the same time.
Although a mapping into both MIBs is possible, their relation is not
specified anyware in the existing MIBs. A relationship table is,
therefore, required to supplement the existing MIBs.
Otherwise, no coherence between the SYSAPPL-MIB and the NSM-MIB
exists.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 2]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
What's new or updated.
A) The WWW-MIB sections are changed due to changes of the document
itself.
B) The Application Management MIB is added.
C) A possible solution with an integration MIB to bind application
of the SYSAPPL-MIB and NSM-MIB is added in the conclusions.
D) The indexing scheme of the RDBMS-MIB is added.
1. Introduction
Distributed applications became increasingly important for
organisations. Companies are more geographically spread and their
core applications are often connected together across computer
networks. The need for instrumentation that provides realtime
monitoring and configuration capabilites for these systems is of
critical importance. The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
framework can be used to provide this infrastructure.
The SNMP framework is used by operators to manage physical or logical
device remotely. The devices are represented through managed objects
which are accessed via a virtual information store, termed the
Management Information Base or MIB. This MIB (and the SNMP framework)
allows extensions of new defined managed objects according to a
standard scheme.
The IETF continues to make efforts leading to the definition of MIBs
that can be used for applications. This internet draft analysis those
efforts and describes:
1) contents of application MIBs,
2) duplicated and overlapping objects and the
3) indexing scheme of application related MIBs.
The following MIBs are analysed:
* the SYSAPPL-MIB,
* the APPLCIATION-MIB,
* the WWW MIB,
* the NSM-MIB,
* the DSA-MIB,
* the HR-MIB, and
* the RDBMS-MIB.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 3]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
1.1 How to read this internet draft.
This document relates the continuing IETF efforts in application MIB
definition with the related. This internet-draft is organised as
follows:
* Section 2 describes the Working Groups (WG) of the surveyed MIBs.
* Section 3 describes a summary of the surveyed MIBs.
* Section 4 describes the similarities of the MIBs.
* Section 5 describes the indexing scheme within the current MIBs
2. The Working Groups of Application Related MIBs
In this section we provide a short description of the IETF Working
Groups working application management related MIBs and present the
current status of their work. At this moment only the SYSAPPL WG and
the MADMAN WG are defining management objects to manage applications.
The APPLMIB WG is chartered to define managed objects for the
monitoring and control of distributed applications. The desire was to
support distributed applications, but not at the expense of creating a
MIB which cannot or will not be implemented. Consensus was reached on
the fact that the APPLMIB WG would focus initially on applications
resident in a single host, but that there should be a possibility of
additional growth. Features for distributed applications will be added
unless the required support would make the MIB over complex.
The current status is that the first MIB, the SYSAPPL-MIB which does
not require instrumentation of the applications for its population,
is ready. Currently, the APPLMIB WG works on two MIBs, an application
management MIB requiring instrumentation within applications and a
WWW-MIB for monitoring and control of Web servers.
The MADMAN WG is chartered to review the managed objects already
defined by the WG in January 1994. The WG in 1994 finished their work
under the Network Management Area and resulted in 4 internet drafts
which are the Network Services Monitoring MIB, the X.500 Directory
Monitoring MIB, the Mail Monitoring MIB and Directory Alarms MIB. In
this survey only the first two MIBs are described.
The review is currently in its final stage and some changes have been
done the original documents.
The Host Resources WG was chartered to define a set of managed objects
useful for management of host computers, the Host Resources (HR) MIB.
Host computers were defined as a system independent of the operating
system, the network service and the applications running on the host.
An important requirement during the definition of the HR MIB was that
the managed object had to be system independent.
The HR WG has finished their work and results are in RFC 1514.
The Relational DataBase Management System WG was chartered to define a
set of managed objects useful for the management of database systems.
The work is finished and results published in RFC 1697.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 4]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
3. The application related MIBs.
This section is a summary of the documents describing the definition
of application related MIBs.
3.1 The System Application MIB
The SYSAPPL-MIB is designed to provide the requirements for monitoring
the behaviour, the faults and the performance of applications. The
design is made in such a way that no instrumentation of an application
is required. The MIB defines managed objects under an operating system
and a file-system perspective. The structure of the SYSAPPL-MIB
reflects four groups of applications within a system
1) the installed applications
2) the applications that are currently running on the system
3) the applications that have run on the system in the past
4) the mapping from running towards the installed elements
The Installed Applications Group.
--- --------- ------------ ------
The installed applications group provides information on the software
installed on a system. This group has a highly static character, since
installed applications tend to not change very fast. The group makes a
distinction between an application and the elements from which it is
composed. By using the information provided by this group a user can
obtain information about the currently running elements (processes) or
those elements (processes) that have run in applications.
The group consists of:
* "sysApplInstallPkgTable" provides information on the installed
packages such as name, version, location and installed date.
* "sysApplInstallElmtTable" provides detailed information on the
application by means of a set of elements acting together as an
application. Each element is described in an entry and provides
information such as whether the element is executable, name,
installed date.
The Applications Run Group.
--- ------------ --- ------
The applications run group reflects the dynamic information from the
applications on a system. It describes applications that are currently
running or that have run on a system. The elements provide historic
information about the applications. The group is divided in the same
fashion as the installed application group, i.e. an application table
and an element table. Besides that division, the tables are also
divided into applications which are running or have been run.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 5]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
Due to the historical character of this group, the 'have run' tables
can consume an unlimited size and number of resources. Therefore,
managed objects are added to control and limit the amount of used
resources.
The group defines the following objects:
* "sysApplRunTable" provides information on applications currently
running on the system. For instance, the time an application
started running, the number files it has open and the number
of connections it has.
* "sysApplPastRunTable" provides historical information about
applications that have been running. For instance, the time an
application started running, the time it stopped and the last
known number of connections.
* "sysApplElmtRunTable" provides information on all processes
running and (if known) to which application a process belongs. For
instance, the time the process started running and the number of
connections the process has.
* "sysApplElmtPastRunTable" provides information on processes that
have been running. For instance, the time a process started
running and the time it stopped running.
* "sysApplPastRunTableSizeLimit" provides the maximum number of
entries in the "sysApplPastRunTable". When this limit is reached
the oldest entry will be removed.
* "sysApplPastRunTableItemsRem" provides a count of the number of
items removed from the "sysApplPastRunTable".
* "sysApplPastRunTimeLimit" provides the minimum time that should
pass before an entry may be removed from the
"sysApplPastRunTable".
* "sysApplElemPastRunSizeLimit" provides the maximum size of entry
growth of the "sysApplElmtPastRunTable" before the oldest entry
will be removed.
* "sysApplElmtPastRunTableItemsRem" provides a count of the number
of items removed from the "sysApplElmtPastRunTable".
* "sysApplPastRunTimeLimit" provid the minimum amount of time
before an entry may be removed from the "sysApplPastRunTable".
* "sysApplPollInterval" provides the minimum time in seconds that
an agent will poll the status of the managed resources.
The Mapping Group
--- ------- -----
The mapping group provides an easy mapping from running elements
in the running element table towards the installed elements table.
The managed objects are:
* "sysApplMapTable" provides the mapping from a running element
entry to an installed element entry.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 6]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
3.2 The Application Management MIB
The Application Management MIB defines a set of managed object to
monitor 'internal' application behavior. This requires that
applications has to be instrumented in order to populate this MIB.
This is in contrast of the SYSAPPL-MIB which does not require the
instrumentation of applications. This MIB focusses on the management
of running elements. Therefore, this MIB should be used in conjunction
with SYSAPPL-MIB.
The structure of the MIB reflects the throughput, reports of unit of
work, and generic resource management and can be grouped like:
1) relations group,
2) files group,
3) connections group,
4) transaction statistics group,
5) running element behavior.
The Relation Group
--- -------- -----
The relation group connects the 'active' running elements of an
application to the networked applications as defined in the NSM-MIB.
This mapping is required, since there is no 1:1 relationship between
the networked applcation and the running element. Multiple relations
(both ways) are possible.
The managed objects are:
* "nsmToSysApplElmtRunTable" provides a linking between running
elements as managed in this MIB and both the NSM-MIB and
SYSAPPL-MIB.
The files group
--- ----- -----
This group provides information about the use of files. The group is
organised per running application element and connects them to the
open files.
The managed objects of this group are:
* "applOpenFileTable" provides management information about the
file and in perticular the activity of the application element
with this file.
The table consists of objects like the number of read requests,
last time the file was read and the numebr of bytes associated
with the read requests.
* "applOpenFileXrefTable" provides an alternative for the indexing
used in the "applOpenFileTable".
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 7]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
The connections group
--- ----------- -----
The connections group maintains usefull management information about
the current and previous network connections at a per running element
sorting. Although, the description of the group implies a very tight
connection to the NSM-MIB.
The managed objects of this group are:
* "applOpenConnectionTable" provides information about connections
of a running element. This table explicitly provides only managed
information of the connections and it doesn't interpret the
passed information in any form.
* "applExConnectionControlTable" allows a manager to set the
boundaries of the "applExConnectionTable". The boundaries are the
amount and the 'time-to-live' of the entries in the
"applExConnectionTable".
* "applExConnectionTable" provides a history of the connection of
the running elements. Entries exists only in this table after the
connection is closed and existed in the "applOpenConnectionTable".
The Transaction Group
--- ----------- -----
The transaction group provides besides the connection group also
network traffic related management information. This group looks with
detail to the traffic past at the connections of the running element.
The managed objects are:
* "applTransactionControltable" provides a manager a to set up
for which open files or connections transactions are defined
and the unit of work.
* "applTransactionStreamTable" provides information about units of
work in streams, such as number of requests, number of responses
and the accumulated time between tehm seen from the running
element.
The running element behavior group
--- ------- ------- -------- -----
This group provides monitor and control functionality for the running
elements within the system.
The managed objects are:
* "applElmtRunStatusTable" provides the ability to monitor the
behavior of the running element.
* "applElmtRunControlTable" provides the control to, for instance,
suspend or reconfigure the running element.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 8]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
3.3 The World Wide Web MIB
The WWW-MIB is designed to fulfil the requirements to manage entities
responsible for documents exchange over the World Wide Web. The
emphasis of the definitions is at the service provided by the entity.
An entity is defined as a logical device which can behave as a client,
a server, a proxy or a cached-proxy accessible via an unique fully
qualified domain name and service port. Between the entities
documents are transported through a 'Document Transfer Protocol' (DTP)
which is based on the request/response paradigm and abstracts from
the actual used protocol. Therefore, the WWW-MIB can be used in a
wide range of document transfer protocols and also allows the
introduction of new DTPs based on the client-server paradigm. HTTP,
FTP and NNTP are examples of such protocols.
The structure of the WWW-MIB reflects the four major groups:
1) entity administration ("wwwSystem"),
2) DTP traffic ("wwwServiceStatistics"),
3) accessed or stored document ("wwwDocuments").
The System Group
--- ------ -----
The system group provides general information on the WWW entities in
the system. Those entities exchange messages (PDUs) between each
other with the abstract defined 'Document Transfer Protocol'.
The group consists of one table.
* "wwwEntityTable" provides general administrative information of
an entity. For instance, contact address, the used 'DTP' protocol
and the fully qulified domain name the entity listens to. The
index used to uniquely define the entities is an WWW-MIB internal
arbitrary number.
The Service Statistics Group
--- ------- ---------- -----
The service statistics group provides network management information
on network traffic transmitted and/or received by the WWW-entity.
The group consists of the following tables.
* "wwwSummaryTable" provides a summary on the network traffic
statistics of the associated entity. The index used is equal to
the "wwwEntityTable". For instance, the number of requests
received or transmitted and the number of unknown protocol type
messages.
* "wwwRequestInTable" provides the statistics on the received
requests whereby for each request type statistics is maintained.
The indexing of this table is defined by the "wwwRequestInIndex"
and the "wwwEntityIndex" which associates the requesttype with an
entity. For instance, a recieved GET-request of HTTP is kept in
an entry.
* "wwwRequestOutTable" provides the statistics on the transmitted
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 9]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
responses whereby for each response type statistics is
maintained. The indexing of this table is defined by the
"wwwRequestInIndex" and the "wwwEntityIndex" which associates
the requesttype with an entity.
For instance, a transmitted GET-request of HTTP is kept in an
entry.
* "wwwResponseInTable" provides the statistics on the received
responses whereby for each response type statistics is
maintained. The indexing of this table is defined by the
"wwwResponseInIndex" and the "wwwEntityIndex" which associates
the responsetype with an entity. For instance, a received
200-reply (OK) of HTTP is kept in an entry.
* "wwwResponseOutTable" provides the statistics on the transmitted
responses whereby for each response type statistics is
maintained. The indexing of this table is defined by the
"wwwResponseOutIndex" and the "wwwEntityIndex" which associates
the responsetype with an entity. For instance, a transmitted
200-reply (OK) of HTTP is kept in an entry.
The Document Group
--- -------- -----
The "wwwDocumentGroup" defines management information on the
documents which in the past were attempted to read. The management
information is ordered by the entities and has a bucket approach.
The bucket approach is used to reduce unmeaningfull information, but
document statistics should still be possible.
The document group has the following defined objects:
* "wwwDocCtrlTable" provides the manager the possiblity to
configure the document statistics tables, such as table size and
bucket creation time.
* "wwwDocLastNTable" provides a list of the last N documents which
were attempted to read.
* "wwwDocBucketTable" provides the summary statistics of the read
attempts which were captured by the bucket.
* "wwwDocBucketTopNtable" provides a 'top N' of the documents which
were attempted to read. The sort order with which the 'top N' is
created can be configured with the "wwwDocCtrlTable".
3.4 The Network Services Monitoring MIB
The NSM-MIB is designed to monitor the behaviour of networked
applications. No application specific objects are defined in the
NSM-MIB. Therefore, it can be used for a wide range of applications
which make use of network services and are distributed.
The structure of the NSM-MIB reflects the coherent behavior of
applications in conjunction with the network service on which the
applications rely.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 10]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
The NSM-MIB definitions consists of the following objects.
* "applTable" provides information on the networked application. For
instance, the name of the application, the number of inbound and
outbound connections.
* "assocTable" provides information on the associations with the
other/remote applications. For instance, the remote address and
the duration.
3.5 The X.500 Directory Monitoring MIB
The X.500 Directory Monitoring MIB (DSA-MIB) is designed to manage a
Directory Systems Agent (DSA), a component of the OSI Directory
Framework. The MIB allows managers to monitor operational aspects and
performance of a DSA. The DSA-MIB is an application specific and
relies on the NSM-MIB.
The structure of the DSA-MIB reflects only the DSA-applications
specific parts in 3 defined object groups the DSA operations, the
DSA statistics and cache performance and the interaction with peer
DSAs.
The DSA-MIB definitions consist of the following objects.
* "dsaOpsTable" provides the summary information on accesses,
operations and errors occurred within the DSA.
* "dsaEntriesTable" provides statistical and cache performance
information on DSA applications.
* "dsaIntTable" provides some information on interactions done with
their respective peer DSAs. These interaction are done in the past
by the monitored DSAs.
3.6 The Host Resources MIB
The Host Resources MIB (HR-MIB) contains a set of management objects
useful for hosts system. The term 'host' refers to any type of
computer connected with other computers via a network. Although
MIB-II is especially defined for the protocol stacks used in the
host, the HR-MIB supplies additional information on the hardware,
operating system, installed and running software.
The HR-MIB is structured by three hardware groups ("hrSystem",
"hrStorage" and "hrDevice") and three software groups ("hrSWRun",
"hrSWRunPerf" and "hrSWInstalled").
NOTE: The operating system is seen as having both hardware and
software components.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 11]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
The Hardware Groups
--- -------- ------
The system group, "hrSystem", provides additional system information
besides the system group of MIB-II. The group provides general
hardware variables and OS parameters.
The definitions consists of the following scalars.
* "hrSystemUpTime" provides the amount of time since the host was
last initialized. The difference with the "sysUpTime" is that the
"hrSystemUpTime" provides the host up time and the "sysUpTime"
the SNMP-entity uptime.
* "hrSystemDate" provides the date and time of the system.
* "hrSystemInitialLoadDevice" provides a pointer to the device in
the "hrDevicetable" from which the system is booted.
* "hrSystemInitialLoadParameters" provides the parameters with
which the system is booted.
* "hrSystemNumUsers" provides the number of user on the system.
* "hrSystemProcesses" provides the number of processes currently
loaded or running
* "hrSystemMaxProcesses" provides the maximum number of processes
which the context can support.
The storage group, "hrStorage", describes all logical components
which can store data. The group definitions abstracts from the
implemented storage techniques; it only provides a clustering of
those techniques.
The group definitions consist of:
* the definitions of storage types, "hrStorageTypes". For instance,
the type `floppy-disc' is defined.
* "hrMemorySize" provides the amount of main memory contained by
the system.
* "hrStorageTable" provides information of all data storage
components of the system. For example, if the system contains a
floppy-disc the storage table has an entry describing that
floppy-disc.
The device group, "hrDevice", contains information of all hardware
components of the system. This group is useful for identifying and
diagnosing faulty devices on a system.
The group definitions consist of the following objects:
* the definitions of device types, "hrDeviceTypes". For instance,
types are defined for processor and co-processor.
* "hrDeviceTable" provides general information on the devices such
as type, description and status. The table also references if a
more detailed table of the device is available.
* "hrProcessorTable" provides additional information on the device
type "hrDeviceProcessor".
* "hrNetworkTable" provides the relationship between the network
devices of the "hrDeviceTable" and the associating interface in
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 12]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
the "ifTable".
* "hrPrintertable" provides additional information on printer
devices.
* "hrDiskStorageTable" provides additional type information on the
disk storage devices.
* "hrPartitionsTable" provides information on partitions in a
storage device used for long-term storage in a system.
* "hrFSTable" provides information on the local or remotely mounted
file system components.
* the definitions of file system types ("hrFSTypes"). For instance,
the Andrew file system and Windows NT file system.
The Software Groups
--- -------- ------
The software groups define management information on the software
used in the system. The information provided is grouped in (1) the
currently running, (2) the performance and (3) the installed
applications.
The software run group, "hrSWRun", contains information of each
software part that is running or loaded into the physical or virtual
memory in preparation of running.
The group definitions consist of the following objects:
* "hrSWOSIndex" provides the index of the entry of the
"hrSWRunTable" which represents the operating system.
* "hrSWRunTable" provides detailed information on each piece of
software which runs or will be loaded in preparation of running
on the system.
The software run performance group, "hrSWRunPerf", consists of
objects providing the performance of the running software.
The group consists of one table:
* "hrSWRunTable" provides performance information on every piece of
software running on the system. The entries of the table are link
to the "hrSWRunTable" by "hrSWRunIndex".
The HR software installed group, "hrSWInstalled", is useful for
identifying and inventoring software installed on the system. This
does not include software loadable remotely from the network.
The group definitions consist of the following objects:
* "hrSWInstalledlastChange" provides the "sysUpTime" of the last
change of an entry in the "hrSWInstalledtable".
* "hrSWInstalledlastChange" provides the "sysUpTime" of the last
complete change of the "hrSWInstalledtable".
* "hrSWinstalledTable" provides information on the installed
software.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 13]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
3.7 The Relational Database Management System MIB
The Relational Database Management System MIB (RDBMS-MIB) consists of
a set of management objects for relational databases. In this MIB a
separation is made between a database which is seen as a collection
of interrelated data organized according a relational schema and an
entity which provides access to the database, termed the database
server. The database server may exist independently of the database,
but this condition is not required. The server can be seen as an
extra layer with a well defined API through which the data is
accessed.
The structure of the RDBMS-MIB reflects the separation of (1) the
database - where the actual data is stored - , (2) the server -
access mechanism to the data and (3) the relationship between a
database and an access mechanism.
The Database Group
--- -------- -----
Meaningful information on the databases installed on the system.
The group consists of the following 4 tables:
* "rdbmsDbTable" provides the general management information on the
database. General parameters such as vendor name and contact for
the database.
* "rdbmsDbInfoTable" provides administrative information required
when the database is actively opened on a host.
* "rdbmsDbParamTable" describes the parameter for the configuration
of the database (This table describes on a per entry basis for
each parameter).
* "rdbmsDbLimitedResourceTable" provides the limitations in
resources per database (The provision of this information may
only be done if the database is in operation (actively open)).
The Database Server Group
--- -------- ------ -----
This group provides more detailed information on the servers used for
accessing of the databases:
The group consists of the following 4 tables:
* "rdbmsSrvTable" provides general administrative information on
running or installed database servers on a system.
* "rdbmsSrvInfoTable" provides database server specific
information which requires additional semantics then defined in
the "applTable" of the NSM-MIB. (An entry may only available in
this table if the associated "applOperStatus" has the value
"up(1)").
* "rdbmsSrvParamTable" provides the configuration parameters of the
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 14]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
database server.
* "rdbmsSrvLimitedResourceTable" provides the limitations of
resources used by the database server.
The Relations Group
--- --------- -----
A relationship between database servers and databases is not uniquely
defined. The design of the MIB allows cross connections between
different databases and database servers.
The group consists of the following object:
* "rdbmsRelTable" provides the relationship by the index of the
"rdbmsDbIndex" and the "applTable". the supported relationships
are 1:1, 1:many, many:1 and many:many. The table also provides
the status of the relationship.
Traps
-----
Two traps are defined to inform the manager of urgent matters
concerning databases.
The following traps can be generated:
* "rdbmsStateChange" provides that a certain relationship between a
database server and a database has hanged in state and the state
change made it less accessible for use.
* "rdbmsOutOfSpace" provides that one of the databases is unable to
allocate more space for its operation.
4 The overlapping objects of the MIBs
All of the surveyed MIBs in this document define managed objects for
applications. That makes it possible to have certain overlaps
duplications in their defintions. This section describes duplications
or overlaps recognized between the surveyed MIBs.
NOTE: Whenever there is an overlap or duplication recognized between
MIBs both are are mentioned in the title of the section. In these
sections is then a detailed comparison made on scalar- or
columnar-object level (the managed objects). The arrows between the
objects express the relation and scaled in a certain level. If an
arrow is draw with a '=' symbol object objects can be seen as equal.
If an '~' symbol is used there is no real duplication, but only more
detail is provided. It is also possible that multiple object can
express something similar than other objects.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 15]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
4.1 The SYSAPPL-MIB and the HR-MIB.
The SYSAPPL-MIB provides information on installed applications and
monitoring of processes which are running or have been running on a
system. Basically the software groups of the HR-MIB provide the same
kind of information. Both do not require instrumentation of
applications in order to populate the MIBs.
Therefore, both MIBs could be interchanged without loosing the
ability to manage the processes/applications in a system. However,
there is also a huge difference between both MIBs. The HR-MIB also
provides information on hardware, not available in the SYSAPPL-MIB.
The Installed Software
--- --------- --------
The "hrSWInstalledTable" is somehow a subset of the
"sysApplCfgElmtTable". The reasoning behind this is that the
"hrSWInstalledTable" has an entry for each installed piece of
runnable software which is also provided by the
"sysApplCfgElmntTable", but the "sysApplCfgElmntTable" has also
information of non runnable elements of an applications. Below a
detailed comparison at the level of the objects instances is shown
in figure 1.
SYSAPPL-MIB HR-MIB
sysApplInstalledTable hrSWInstalledLastChange
sysApplInstalledEntry hrSWInstalledLastUpdateTime
sysApplInstalledIndex<----------+ hrSWInstalledTable
sysApplInstalledManufacturer<-+ | hrSWInstalledEntry
sysApplInstalledProductName<--+ +-- = --->hrSWInstalledIndex
sysApplInstalledVersion<------+ | +->hrSWInstalledName
sysApplInstalledSerialNumber<-+-|-- ~ -+->hrSWInstalledID
sysApplInstalledDate<-------+ | | +- = -->hrSWInstalledType
sysApplInstalledLocation +------ ~ --->hrSWInstalledDate
| | | |
sysApplInstallElmtTable | | | |
sysApplInstallElmtEntry | | | |
sysApplInstallElmtIndex<----|---+ |
sysApplInstallElmtName<-----|-+ |
sysApplInstallElmtType<-----|-----+
sysApplInstallElmtDate<-----+
sysApplInstallElmtPath
sysApplInstallElmtSize
sysApplInstallElmtRole
sysApplInstallElmtModifyDate
Figure 1: Installed package overlap of the SYSAPPL-MIB and HR-MIB.
Although the HR-MIB has two objects to provide a time indication of
the change in the "hrSWInstaledTable", the information can be seen
as a subset provided of the SYSAPPL-MIB.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 16]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
The Running Processes
--- ------- ---------
The "sysApplRunTable" and the "sysApplElmntRunTable" of the
SYSAPPL-MIB and the "hrSWRunTable" of the HR-MIB provide information
about the running processes. In grounds the "hrSWRunTable" provides
the same information as the "sysApplRunTable". The difference is
that in the SYSAPPL-MIB the running processes can also be grouped
into (if the information is available) applications built of
multiple processes, through the "sysApplRunTable". Thus, a
conclusion could be that the "hrSWOSRunTable" could be obsoleted and
replaced by the associated objects of the SYSAPPL-MIB.
SYSAPPL-MIB HR-MIB
sysApplRunTable hrSWOSIndex
sysApplRunEntry
sysApplRunIndex hrSWRunTable
sysApplRunInstalledIndex hrSWRunEntry
sysApplRunLastStarted +-------------->hrSWRunIndex
sysApplRunCurrentState | hrSWRunName
sysApplRunEnded | hrSWRunID
| +----------->hrSWRunPath
sysApplElmtRunTable | | +-------->hrSWRunParameters
sysApplElmtRunEntry | | | hrSWRunType
sysApplElmtRunInvocID<- ~ -+ | | +----->hrSWRunStatus
sysApplElmtRunIndex | | |
sysApplElmtRunInstallID = = ~
sysApplElmtRunTimeStarted | | |
sysApplElmtRunState<----------------+
sysApplElmtRunName<-----------+ |
sysApplElmtRunParameters<--------+
sysApplElmtRunCPU
sysApplElmtRunMemory
sysApplElmtRunNumTCon
sysApplElmtRunNumFiles
Figure 2: Running processes overlap of the SYSAPPL-MIB and HR-MIB.
The figure above shows that there isn't a complete overlap or
duplication, but certain information can be retrieved otherwise. The
"hrSWRunType" expresses for instance whether the process of the entry
is running. This sort of information can also be retrieved from the
SYSAPPL-MIB. In that MIB the process is in the "sysApplElmtRunTable"
or "sysApplElmtPastRunTable". One difference is that in the HR-MIB
you can set the type to `invalid' causing that it is unloaded from
the system. This is not possible in the SYSAPPL-MIB.
The "hrSWRunName" and "hrSWRunID" do not have similar objects in the
run groups of the SYSAPPL-MIB, but this information can be retrieved
from the SYSAPPL-MIB through the "sysApplElmtRunInstallID", which
points to the "sysApplInstallElmtTable".
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 17]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
Although the overlap is here not direct recognisable, the software
run group is contained by the more recent SYSAPPL-MIB. The exception
is the "hrSWOSIndex" providing the index of the process which
instantiates the OS (kernel).
4.2 The SYSAPPL-MIB and the NSM-MIB.
The NSM-MIB provides a subset of applications of the SYSAPPL-MIB.
That is, the subset consists of only those applications which have
networked associations with other applications. Currently, the
SYSAPPL-MIB is defined as the MIB with which the basic management
operations can be done in respect of applications management.
Strangely enough the NSM-MIB is the same, but the only for networked
applications. The overlap between these MIBs consists of some general
administrative data and some basic objects providing some running
information.
The Administrative Application Objects
--- -------------- ----------- -------
Since both MIBs are seen as the basis and generic platform on which
other MIBs should be based, both define some administrative managed
objects. In fact, there is no complete overlap, only partial overlap
as it can be seen from figure 3.
SYSAPPL-MIB NSM-MIB
sysApplInstalledTable applTable
sysApplInstalledEntry applEntry
sysApplInstalledIndex applIndex
sysApplInstalledManufacturer +->applName
sysApplInstalledProductName<-+ ~ -+->applDirectoryName
sysApplInstalledVersion<-----|-- = ->applVersion
sysApplInstalledSerialNumber | applUptime
sysApplInstalledDate | applOperStatus
sysApplInstalledLocation<----+ applLastChange
| applInboundAssociations
sysApplInstallElmtTable | applOutboundAssociations
sysApplInstallElmtEntry | applAccumulatedInboundAss..
sysApplInstallElmtIndex | applAccumulatedOutboundAss..
sysApplInstallElmtName<------+ applLastInboundActivity
sysApplInstallElmtType applLastOutboundActivity
sysApplInstallElmtDate applRejectedInboundAssoc..
sysApplInstallElmtPath applFailedOutboundAssiations
sysApplInstallElmtSize applDescription
sysApplInstallElmtRole applURL
Figure 3: Administrative overlap of the SYSAPPL-MIB and NSM-MIB.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 18]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
The Overlap Of Runtime Objects
--- ------- -- ------- -------
Since both MIBs are seen as the basis and generic platform on which
other MIBs should be based, both define some administrative managed
objects. In fact, there is no complete overlap only partial overlap
which can be seen in the figure 4.
SYSAPPL-MIB NSM-MIB
sysApplRunTable applTable
sysApplRunEntry applEntry
sysApplRunIndex applIndex
sysApplRunInstalledIndex applName
sysApplRunLastStarted<----------+ applDirectoryName
sysApplRunCurrentState<-------+ | applVersion
| +- ~ ->applUptime
sysApplElmtRunTable +--- ~ ->applOperStatus
sysApplElmtRunEntry | | applLastChange
sysApplElmtRunInvocId | | applInboundAssociations
sysApplElmtRunIndex | | applOutboundAssociations
sysApplElmtRunInstallID | | applAccumulatedInbound..
sysApplElmtRunTimeStarted<----|-+ applAccumulatedOutbound..
sysApplElmtRunState<----------+ applLastInboundActivity
sysApplElmtRunName applLastOutboundActivity
sysApplElmtRunParameters applRejectedInbound..
sysApplElmtRunCPU applFailedOutbound..
sysApplElmtRunMemory applDescription
sysApplElmtRunNumTCon applURL
sysApplElmtRunNumFiles
Figure 4: Runtime overlap of the SYSAPPL-MIB and NSM-MIB.
Overlap in runtime information exists only for the objects expressing
the state of the application and time it is running.
4.3 The HR-MIB and the NSM-MIB.
The Host Resources MIB was the early start in which managed objects
are defined to manage applications. In relation with the NSM they
both provide management information of applications/software. The
HR-MIB does this with respect to the running processes and the
installed software in the system. The NSM-MIB shows only a part of
this information with the extension of network related issues. The
overlap consists only in some general administrative objects
describing the application.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 19]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
HR-MIB NSM-MIB
hrSWOSIndex applTable
applEntry
hrSWRunTable applIndex
hrSWRunEntry +--- ~ ->applName
hrSWRunIndex +----- = ->applDirectoryName
hrSWRunName<----------|-+ +- ~ ->applVersion
hrSWRunID<------------|-|-+ applUptime
hrSWRunPath<----------+ | | applOperStatus
hrSWRunParameters | | applLastChange
hrSWRunType | | applInboundAssociations
| | applOutboundAssociations
hrSWInstalledLastChange | | applAccumulatedInboundAss..
| | applAccumulatedOutboundAss..
hrSWInstalledLastUpdateTime | | applLastInboundActivity
| | applLastOutboundActivity
hrSWInstalledTable | | applRejectedInboundAssociations
hrSWInstalledentry | | applFailedOutboundAssociations
hrSWInstalledIndex | | applDescription
hrSWInstalledName<------+ | applURL
hrSWInstalledID<----------+
hrSWInstalledType
hrSWInstalledDate
Figure 5: Runtime overlap of the HR-MIB and NSM-MIB.
4.4 The WWW-MIB and the SYSAPPL-MIB
The WWW-MIB is defined at almost the same period as the SYSAPPL-MIB.
Therefore, certain objects can be overlapping or redundant. This is
due to changes made to the SYSAPPL-MIB. Both MIBs have more groups,
but the only groups with some overlap are the "wwwSystem" and the
"sysApplInstalled" group.
WWW-MIB SYSAPPL-MIB
wwwEntityTable sysApplInstalledTable
wwwEntityEntry sysApplInstalledEntry
wwwEntityDescription<------+ sysApplInstalledIndex
wwwEntityContact +-- ~ --->sysApplInstalledManufacturer
wwwEntityProtocol +-- ~ --->sysApplInstalledProductName
wwwEntityProtocolVersion +-- ~ --->sysApplInstalledVersion
wwwEntityName sysApplInstalledSerialNumber
wwwEntityAddress sysApplInstalledDate
wwwEntityType sysApplInstalledLocation
wwwEntityUptime
wwwEntityOperStatus
wwwEntityLastChange
Figure 6: Administrative overlap of the WWW-MIB and SYSAPPL-MIB.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 20]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
As seen above (in figure 6) there is no big overlap in information.
Only a sort of summarizing object within the WWW-MIB to describe an
installed package.
4.5 The WWW-MIB and the NSM-MIB
These MIBs are related since they both provide network management
information concerning network traffic with a certain underlying
services.
The Administrative Objects
--- -------------- -------
In the tables which describe the general information only the version
describing objects can be seen as overlapping. This is not completely
true, because an application can have a total different version then
its protocol. Also a newer version of an application can still
implement the same protocol version.
WWW-MIB NSM-MIB
wwwEntityTable applTable
wwwEntityEntry applEntry
wwwEntityDescription<-------+ applIndex
wwwEntityContact +--- ~ -->applName
wwwEntityProtocol<----------+ applDirectoryName
wwwEntityName +--- ~ -->applVersion
wwwEntityType +-------- = -->applUptime
wwwEntityUpTime<-------+ +---- = -->applOperStatus
wwwEntityOperStatus<-------+ + = -->applLastChange
wwwEntityLastChange<-----------+ applInboundAssociations
applOutboundAssociations
applAccumulatedInboundAs..
applAccumulatedOutboundAs..
applLastInboundActivity
applLastOutboundActivity
applRejectedInboundAss..
applFailedOutboundAss..
applDescription
applURL
Figure 7: Administrative overlap of the WWW-MIB and NSM-MIB.
The "wwwEntityTable" defines more detail on the networked
application. Overlap does not really exists. In the "wwwEntityTable"
is an entry uniquely defined through its Fully Qualified Domain Name
which is not reuiqred for the applTable.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 21]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
The Network Traffic Objects
--- ------- ------- -------
The overlap at the network traffic level is far obvious. Within the
WWW-MIB a summary table is providing a quick view of the network
traffic. This is almost similar to the network information which is
provided by the application table of the NSM-MIB.
WWW-MIB NSM-MIB
wwwSummaryTable applTable
wwwSummaryEntry applEntry
wwwSummaryInRequests<----+ applIndex
wwwSummaryOutRequest<------+ applName
wwwSummaryInResponses<---+ | applDirectoryName
wwwSummaryOutResponses<----+ applVersion
wwwSummaryInBytes | | applUptime
wwwSummaryOutBytes | | applOperStatus
| | applLastChange
| | applInboundAssociations
| | applOutboundAssociations
+-|- (sum) ->applAccumulatedInboundAs..
+- (sum) ->applAccumulatedOutboundAs..
applLastInboundActivity
applLastOutboundActivity
applRejectedInboundAss..
applFailedOutboundAss..
applDescription
applURL
Figure 8: Network traffic overlap of the WWW-MIB and NSM-MIB.
All indexes could be coupled between both MIBs. The difference is
that the WWW-MIB is much more detailed information concerning the
used document transfer protocol. This is due to the fact that the
WWW-MIB describes network management information for the instantiated
protocol providing a certain service. On the contrary, the NS-MIB
defines the network management information of the provided service
and abstract from protocol issues.
The relation between the WWW MIB and the NSM MIB isnot very explicit
and built on the fact that a certain service is provided both by a
protocol and an underlying service ( a stack of protocol layers).
Although entities and services are distributed, these MIBs define
only information for one specific point (address/ host). To fill the
gap for the remote relations/ connections the NSM-MIB has an
association table in which the information of the current connections
are kept.
In a certain way the network service information at a service access
point can be seen as a summary of the underlying protocol
information.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 22]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
4.6 The WWWW-MIB and the HR-MIB
The overlap between the WWW-MIB and the HR MIB is similar as between
the WWW-MIB and the SYSAPPL-MIB.
WWW-MIB HR-MIB
wwwEntityTable hrSWOSIndex
wwwEntityEntry
wwwEntityDescription<--------+ hrSWRunTable
wwwEntityContact | hrSWRunEntry
wwwEntityProtocol<-----------+ hrSWRunIndex
wwwEntityName +--- ~ ---->hrSWRunName
wwwEntityType | hrSWRunID
wwwEntityUpTime | hrSWRunPath
wwwEntityOperStatus | hrSWRunParameters
wwwEntityLastChange | hrSWRunType
| hrSWRunStatus
|
| hrSWInstalledTable
| hrSWInstalledEntry
| hrSWInstalledIndex
+--- ~ ----->hrSWInstalledName
hrSWInstalledID
hrSWInstalledType
hrSWInstalledDate
Figure 9: Administrative overlap of the WWW-MIB and HR-MIB.
Some way all indexes could be coupled, but the Host Resources
Software tables are similar to the system application MIB. Therefore,
I propose that no links towards this MIB will be added. If the HR-MIB
will be implemented the Software parts (which are optional) will not
be implemented.
5. Relationships/Indexing between managed objects.
Managed objects or groupings of managed objects (such as entries) are
sometimes related. The most common technique to relate such objects
is indexing. The index is an auxiliar managed object which uniquely
identifies a group of objects (entry). If another group of objects is
related you can use the same index value and they are all uniquely
related.
The other technique is the use of pointers which are managed objects
referring to a managed object by containing an object identifier or
unique `reference' number. This technique can be used if there is a
possibility that the referred object/entry doesn't exist.
In this section all the index links, pointers within one of the
surveyed MIBs or between two of them are described. Mostly these
pointers or indexes are quite straightforward, but it provides also
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 23]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
great difficulties for agent implementors to implement all the
indexes and pointers in the correct way.
NOTE: The managed objects preceeded by '*' are indexes and preceeded
by an '&' are pointers. The arrows indicate the indexes or pointers
between the managed objects. In a table where '(no object)' is used
is no object defined there, but the value of the referred object is
used. In this
internet-draft such links are called 'direct index'.
5.1 The SYSAPPL-MIB.
The SYSAPPL-MIB has no external indexes or pointers. The reason is
that the SYSAPPL-MIB is the generic MIB for management of
applications. Other MIBs should refer to the SYSAPPL-MIB and the
SYSAPPL-MIB in the centre aroung the application specific MIBs should
be implemented. The internal indexes shown in the following figure
10. (The MIB prefix "sysAppl" is deleted for the columnar objects)
+-------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|sysApplInstallPkgTable | |sysApplInstallElmtTable |
+-------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|* InstallPkgIndex |<----+---<----<------ (no object) |
| | ^ +------>* InstallElmtIndex |
| | | | | |
+-------------------------+ | ^ +-------------------------+
| |
^ |
+-------------------------+ | | +-------------------------+
|sysApplRunTable | | ^ |sysApplRunElmtTable |
+-------------------------+ | | +-------------------------+
| (no object) ----------->+<---------* ElmtRunInvocID |
|* RunIndex | ^ | |* ElmtRunIndex |
| | | +----<----ElmtRunInstallID |
+-------------------------+ | ^ +-------------------------+
| |
^ |
+-------------------------+ | | +-------------------------+
|sysApplRunPastTable | | ^ |sysApplRunPastElmtTable |
+-------------------------+ | | +-------------------------+
| (no object) ----------->+<---------* ElmtPastRunInvocID |
|* PastRunIndex | | |* ElmtPastRunIndex |
| | +----<----ElmtPastRunInstallID |
+-------------------------+ +-------------------------+
Figure 10: Links within the SYSAPPL-MIB.
As figure 10 (above) shows, all indexes (except one) are made with
pointers. The reason for this is that in the RunTables and
RunPastTables every process should be shown and if possible grouped
by application. The direct index is only possible between the
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 24]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
"sysApplInstallPackageTable" and the "sysApplInstallElementTable"
because it is not required that every process is registered within
an "sysApplInstallPackageTable".
A problem with this MIB (especially under an implementing point of
view) is the grouping of the elements into a composite application.
This could be done by reading the element organisation from a
configuration file. The configuration file should also provide the
information on what element is from which application during runtime.
The element could be a part of an already started application (an
entry already exists in the "sysApplRunTable") or a complete new
application (a new entry has to be inserted in the
"sysApplRunTable").
+-------------------------+
|sysApplMapTable |
+-------------------------+ +-------------------------+
| (no object) ---------->-----+ |sysApplInstallElmtTable |
| (no object) ----------<-----|--+ +-------------------------+
| (no object) ----------<--------|-<-- * InstallElmtIndex |
| MapInstallElmntIndex ----->+ | | | |
+-------------------------+ | ^ ^ +-------------------------+
| | |
V | |
+-------------------------+ | | | +-------------------------+
|sysApplInstallElmtTable | | ^ ^ |sysApplRunElmtTable |
+-------------------------+ V | | +-------------------------+
|* sysApplInstallPkgIndex <---+ | +<--- * ElmtRunInvocID |
|* RunIndex | +------- * ElmtRunIndex |
| | | |
+-------------------------+ +-------------------------+
Figure 11: Links sysApplMapTable.
Although the linkage for this table is very complex, it provides
the manager an easy mapping between running elements and the
installed elements. The burden for this table is, therefore,
put in the SNMP-agent and not in the SNMP-manager application.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 25]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
5.2 The Application Management MIB
The Application Management MIB provides the management information
per running element for which it requires instrumentation inside
the running element.
+-----------------------------------------+
|nsmToSysApplElmtRunTable |
+-----------------------------------------+
|* nsmToSysApplElmtRunIndex |
| nsmToSysApplElmtRunApplIndex <----------------+
| nsmToSysApplElmtRunSysApplRunIndex <-----------+ |
| nsmToSysApplElmtRunSysApplRunElmtIndex <------+ | |
| | | | |
+-----------------------------------------+ | | |
| | |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + | | |
SYSAPPL-MIB | | | |
+------------------------+ | | |
|sysApplRunElmtTable | | | | |
+------------------------+ | | |
|* sysApplRunElmtIndex ----->----------->--|-----+ | |
| | | |
+------------------------+ | | |
| |
+------------------------+ | | |
|sysApplRunTable | | |
+------------------------+ | | |
|* sysApplRunIndex ----->----------->-------------+ |
| | | |
+------------------------+ |
| |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + |
NSM-MIB |
+------------------------+ | |
|applTable | |
+------------------------+ | |
|* applIndex ----->----------->------------------+
| | |
+------------------------+
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - +
Figure 12: The relationships with the SYSAPPL-MIB and NSM-MIB.
The indexing scheme within this MIB relies on the existance of the
"sysapplElmtRunIndex" of the SYSAPPL-MIB. Therefore, it is required
to at least implement this object. Seen from the goals for as well
the SYSAPPL-MIB as the Application Management MIB you should
use/implement the framework which exists of the indexing scheme.
An overview of the relationships of the Application Management MIB
is given in Figure 13.
As seen in the MIB definitions of the Application MIB most of the
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 26]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
tables are combined for counter of both Counter32 and Counter64
application types. It is the editor's view that in order to create
less overhead and a more clearly structure the tables should be
split in a table defining the Counter32 counters and a table for
the Counter64 counters. The Implementor should teh be able to choose
via MODULE-COMPLIANCE statements which complaince he selects.
of course, this choice depends highly on the used SNMP version
and the architecture the MIB is implemented on.
|
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|sysApplElmtRunTable | | |applOpenFileTable |
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|* sysApplElmtRunIndex |<-|------+--<---< -----(no object) |
| | ^ +-->* applOpenFileId |
+------------------------+ | +----------> applOpenFileName |
SYSAPPL-MIB | | | | |
- - - - - - - - - - - - -- - + | | | +-------------------------+
| | |
+------------------------+ ^ | |
|applOpenFileXRefTable | | | | +-------------------------+
+------------------------+ | | | |applOpenConnectionTable |
| (no object) --->--->+ | | +-------------------------+
| (no object) ----->----->+<--|--- (no object) |
| (no object) ----->----------+ |* applOpenIndex |
| | | | |
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
|
+-----------------------------+ ^ +-------------------------+
|applExConnectionControlTable | | |applExConnectionTable |
+-----------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
| (no object) ----->----->+<---<--- (no object) |
| | | |* applExConnectionId |
+-----------------------------+ | | |
| +-------------------------+
|
+----------------------------+ ^ +---------------------------+
|applTransactionControlTable | | |applTransactionStreamTable |
+----------------------------+ | +---------------------------+
| (no object) ----->----->+<----- (no object) |
|* applTransactionStreamId <-------------- (no object) |
| | | | |
+----------------------------+ | +---------------------------+
|
+----------------------------+ ^ +---------------------------+
|applAlmtRunStatusTable | | |applElmtRunControlTable |
+----------------------------+ | +---------------------------+
| (no object) ----->----->+<------ (no object) |
| | | |
+----------------------------+ +---------------------------+
Figure 13: The Application Management MIB indexing scheme.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 27]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
5.3 The WWW-MIB.
The WWW-MIB is a specific MIB of a network and distributed
application (in the sense of the NSM-MIB), but it is also an normal
application (in terms of the SYSAPPL-MIB). And since both generic
application MIBs lack consistency in there defintions of an
application, the core of the WWW-MIB is made independently of both
MIBs.
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|wwwEntityTable | |wwwSummaryTable |
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|* wwwEntityIndex |<------+--<---<-----(no object) |
| | ^ | |
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
|
+------------------------+ ^ +-------------------------+
|wwwRequestInTable | | |wwwRequestOutTable |
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
| (no object) ----->--->+<---<------- (no object) |
|* wwwRequestInIndex | | |* wwwRequestOutIndex |
| | | | |
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
|
+------------------------+ ^ +-------------------------+
|wwwResponseInTable | | |wwwResponseOutTable |
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
| (no object) ----->--->+<---<------- (no object) |
|* wwwResponseInIndex | | |* wwwresponseOutIndex |
| | | | |
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
|
+------------------------+ ^ +-------------------------+
|wwwDocCtrlTable | | |wwwDocLastNTable |
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
| (no object) ----->--->+<---<-------- (no object) |
| | | |* wwwDocLastNIndex |
| | | | |
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
|
+------------------------+ ^ +-------------------------+
|wwwDocBucketTable | | |wwwDocBucketTopNTable |
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
| (no object) ----->--->+<--<-------- (no object) |
|* wwwDocBucketIndex | |* wwwDocBucketTopNIndex |
| | | |
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
Figure 14: Links within the core of the WWW-MIB.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 28]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
In the latest version of the WWW-MIB is the defined relationship
(with "applIndex") taken away and a internal indexing scheme is
used. This solution is choosen because the NSM-MIB is not precise
enough in what is a networked service and how can they be
distinguished. This solution benefits also that no instrumentation
is required from the NSM-MIB to implement the WWW-MIB.
5.4 The NSM-MIB
This MIB does not have pointers to other MIBs, due to its generic
nature for management of networked applications. Compared with the
SYSAPPL-MIB the NSM-MIB is much simpler, consisting only of two
tables. One of the tables provides more detailed information on the
application and the other tables provides the associations with
remote (other) applications. Figure 15 shows the internal linking
structure of the NSM-MIB.
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|applTable | |assocTable |
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|* applIndex |<------<------<------ (no object) |
| | |* assocIndex |
| | | |
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
Figure 15: Links within the NSM MIB.
5.5 The X.500 DSA-MIB.
This MIB consists of three tables providing application specific
information for a networked and distributed application. Therefore,
the DSA MIB is connected to the NSM-MIB through the "applIndex".
As figure 17 shows (next page), the core of the WWW MIB is defined
without using external indexes. Previously, the indexing of the
WWW-MIB was done by means of the "applIndex" defined in the NSM-MIB.
Due to no clear definitions used in the NSM-MIB and indexing
problems. The WWW-MIB will not be defined with the indexing scheme
of the NSM-MIB. The problem is that unclaer definitions makes it
possible to have lots of non-unique relations between both MIBs.
During the implementation of the WWW-MIB the problem is how to
uniquely define the index. Questions such as "May I choose my own
index number?" or "Is it required to implement the NSM-MIB?" can
be raised. Unfortenately, the SNMP-framework doesn't give an
concrete answer based on arguments consistent with the SNMP framework
documents. A solution is only to implement the "applIndex" of the
"applTable", due to the maximum access cluase of "not-accessible" the
"applIndex"-instance can never be retrieved.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 29]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|applTable | | |dsaOpsTable |
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|* applIndex |<--------+<------(no object) |
| | ^ | |
+------------------------+ | | +-------------------------+
NSM-MIB |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + |
|
+------------------------+ ^ +-------------------------+
|dsaEntriesTable | | |dsaIntTable |
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
| (no object) --->------->+<------- (no object) |
| | |* dsaIntIndex |
| | | |
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
Figure 16: Links within the DSA MIB.
5.6 The HR-MIB.
The Host resources MIB was one of the first MIBs for management of
applications or software on a host. It is generic and has
almost no external pointers. The only external pointer not internal
for this MIB is the "hrNetworkIfIndex", referring to the "ifIndex" of
the IF-MIB.
Figure 17 (next page) shows a lot of links of indexes within the
HR-MIB. These links are quite straigthforward, except the
"hrNetworkIfIndex". The "hrNetworkIfIndex" links the network devices
with the interfaces defined in the "iftable". Due to this two-step
link of a Device -> Network Device -> Interface, there is no
requirement for the "ifTable" to be implemented. In case the
"iftable" is not implemented the "hrNetworktable" can be left as
not implemented.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 30]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
The hardware groups
--- -------- ------
+-------------------------+
|hrDeviceTable |
+---------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|hsSystemInitialLoadDevice ----->+------->* hrDeviceIndex |
+---------------------------+ | | |
| +-------------------------+
|
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
|hrStorageTable | | |hrNetworkTable |
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
| (no object) ------------>+<---------- (no object) |
| index of table <-----+ | +----> hrNetworkIfIndex |
+------------------------+ | | | +-------------------------+
| | |
+------------------------+ | | | +-------------------------+
|hrProcessorTable | | | | |hrDiskStorageTable |
+------------------------+ | | | +-------------------------+
| (no object) ---------|-->+<--|------- (no object) |
| | | ^ ^ | |
+------------------------+ | | | +-------------------------+
| | |
+------------------------+ | | | +-------------------------+
|hrPrinterTable | | | | |hrPartitionTable |
+------------------------+ | | | +-------------------------+
| (no object) ---------|-->+<--|------- (no object) |
| | | | |* hrPartitionIndex |
| | | +---|----> hrPartitionFSIndex |
+------------------------+ | | | +-------------------------+
| | |
| | | + - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
+------------------------+ | | | IF-MIB
|hrFSTable | | | | | -------------------------+
+------------------------+ | | | |interfaceTable |
|* hrFSIndex <-------|---+ | | +-------------------------+
| hrFSStorageIndex --------+ +----* ifIndex |
| | | | |
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|
Figure 17: Links of the hardware groups within the HR MIB.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 31]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
The software groups
--- -------- ------
+-------------------------+
|hrSWRunPerfTable |
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|hrSWOSIndex ------------>+------->*hrSWRunIndex |
+------------------------+ | | |
| +-------------------------+
^
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
|hrSWRunPerfTable | | |hrSWInstalledTable |
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
| (no object) ------------>+ |* hrSWInstalledIndex |
| | | |
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
Figure 18: Links of the software within the HR MIB.
The above figure (18) shows that there are a few links between the
tables and that no connection is made to other MIBs. Therefore, the
software groups can be implemented without big difficulties, not
requiring instrumentation of other MIBs, whether or not available.
5.7 The RDBMS-MIB.
The RDBMS-MIB is an application specific MIB which is used for
DataBase Management.
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|rdbmsDbTable | |rdbmsDbInfoTable |
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|* rdbmsDbIndex |<------+--- * <--------(no object) |
| | ^ | |
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
|
+------------------------+ ^ +----------------------------+
|rdbmsDbParamTable | | |rdbmsDbLimitedResourceTable |
+------------------------+ | +----------------------------+
| (no object) --------->+<---<----- (no object) |
|* rdbmsDbParamName | |* rdbmsDbLimitedResourceName|
|* rdbmsDbParamSubIndex | | |
| | | |
+------------------------+ +----------------------------+
Figure 19: Links within the database group of the RDBMS MIB.
The database group complete depends of the rdbmsDbTable in which
general management data is defined for a database.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 32]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
|
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|applTable | | |rdbmsSrvTable |
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|* applIndex |<--------+--<----------(no object) |
| | ^ | |
+------------------------+ | | +-------------------------+
NSM-MIB |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + |
|
+------------------------+ ^ +-------------------------+
|rdbmsServerInfoTable | | |rdbmsSrvParamTable |
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
| (no object) --->------->+<------- (no object) |
| | | |* rdbmsSrvParamName |
| | | |* rdbmsSrvParamSubIndex |
| | | | |
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
|
+-----------------------------+ |
|rdbmsSrvLimitedResourceTable | |
+-----------------------------+ |
| (no object) --->---+
|* rdbmsSrvLimitedResourceName|
| |
+-----------------------------+
Figure 20: Links within the database server group of the RDBMS MIB.
This figure (20) shows that the database server is seen in terms of a
network service, since its indexing shceme depends on the applIndex.
The applIndex is defined withi the NSM-MIB.
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
|rdbmsRelTable | |rdbmsDbTable |
+------------------------+ +-------------------------+
| (no object) <-------------<----- rdbmsDbIndex |
| (no object) <----------+ | |
+------------------------+ | +-------------------------+
|
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - + |
NSM-MIB |
+------------------------+ | |
|applTable | |
+------------------------+ | |
|* applIndex --->------->+
| | |
+------------------------+
|
Figure 21: Links connecting the database and database server group.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 33]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
In order to have full control of which database is used by which
database server a relations table is added. An advantage of this
method is that a user can decide which database and/or which database
server he uses and at the same time the manager has enough
information for proper management.
6 Conclusions
This section presents the major conclusions found during this study.
The study analysed the currently existing MIBs defined in IETF WGs
which can be used for application management. The investigated MIBs
were:
* the SYSAPPL-MIB,
* the APLICATION-MIB,
* the WWW MIB,
* the NSM-MIB,
* the DSA-MIB,
* the HR-MIB, and
* the RDBMS-MIB.
The objective of the analyses was to identify:
a) the contents of the MIBs,
b) the duplications and the overlaps of the MIBs, and
c) the indexing scheme of the MIBs.
The SYSAPPL-MIB framework
--- ----------- ---------
Within the APPLMIB WG a complete framework is defined for proper
management of applications using SNMP. The output of this WG will be
3 MIBs which are the SYSAPPL-MIB, Application Management MIB, and the
WWW-MIB. This also requires that a complete indexing scheme must be
setup and except for the WWW-MIB the MIBs have a complex network of
indexing. Especially, the indexing scheme with in the SYSAPPL-MIB.
A good reason for this is that an application only once installed
may only be once in the 'installed'-tables, but they certainly can
be run multiple times and spin-off multple running elements.
Although, the WWW-MIB is defined within the APPLMIB WG and therefore
must fullfill the requirements of the framework, a service view is
selected for this MIB. The service view allows the WWW-MIB to be
independent of the others. Managers of application software, and in
perticular WWW-servers, do not have to implement the full framework
and carry the burden which comes with it.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 34]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
The NSM-MIB
--- -------
Although a definition of a networked application in the NSM-MIB is
provided, but it defines not properly a service on which the
definition depends. Questions like `Is a networked application only
listening to one single transport address or listening to multiple?'
or `What mapping into the "applTable" has to be used in case of a
networked application using the "multi-home-host" approach?' can be
raised.
This last question presents an arbitrary choice for MIB implementors
to define the "applTable" entries for such a networked application.
For example, a "multi-homed-host" with a networked application can
be defined in one entry, but also in multiple entries. It is not even
required that in case of multiple host and entries the relation is
1:1.
SYSAPPL MIB overlapping the HR MIB software groups
------- --- ----------- --- -- --- -------- ------
The managed objects in the software groups of the HR MIB are almost
completely overlap by the newer SYSAPPL MIB. Although the HR MIB is
more process oriented, this information can extracted from the
SYSAPPL-MIB which even combines the processes into a coherent
application.
Linking with other MIBs
------- ---- ----- ----
There are two general approaches in linking objects across different
MIBs. The first approach is to define an object which contain a
value, object identifier (OID) of the refered object. This approach
is simple and even possible to use whenever the referred object is
not defined in the SNMP agent, where the zero pointer can be used.
The second approach is to use the value of the referred object as an
index (is in this draft called a "direct index"). This approach is
more consistent since links are uniquely defined. On the contrary,
it raises problems when the referred object is not implemented in
the SNMP agent. In such a case, the referred index cannot be
discovered and the agent implementor has to make his own decision
regarding the index values.
Mapping between the SYSAPPL-MIB and the NSM-MIB
------- ------- --- ----------- --- --- -------
Nowadays two 'major' MIBs, SYSAPPL-MIB and NSM-MIB, are available for
application management. Both claim to be generic and could,
therefore, be used as platform to hook on other application specific
MIBs.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 35]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
The definition of an application within the SYSAPPL-MIB is:
"An application is one or more units of executable code and
other resources, installed on a single host system that a
manager may think of as a single object for management
purposes."
The definition of an application (or networked application) within
the NSM-MIB is not really defined, but implicit within the draft as:
"A networked application is a unit (executable code) within a
single host which operates in conjunction with other units
over a network."
Unfortunately, the mapping between both types of applications is not
well and uniquely defined. This is what we directly see taking
WWW-servers as an example. Normally, the mapping between an
application in the SYSAPPL-MIB and an application in the NSM-MIB
should be no problem. However, when using virtual hosts on a single
machine the application components are going to behave very
differently. WWW-servers, like Apache, is one application (as seen
from a SYSAPPL-MIB point of view), but it are also multiple networked
applications (as seen from a NSM-MIB point of view) by using virtual
hosts.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 36]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
7 References
[] McCloghrie, K., and M. Rose, Editors, "Management Information
Base for Network Management of TCP/IP-based internets: MIB-
II", STD 17, RFC 1213, Hughes LAN Systems, Performance
Systems International, March 1991.
[] Grillo, P., and S. Waldbusser, "Host Resources MIB", RFC 1514,
Network Innovations, Intel Corporation, Carnegie Mellon
University, September 1993.
[] Kille, S., and N. Freed, "Network Services Monitoring MIB",
RFC 1565, ISODE Consortium, Innosoft, January 1994
[] Saperia, J., C. Krupczak, R. Sturm, and J. Weinstock, "Definition
of Managed Objects for Applications",
draft-ietf-applmib-sysapplmib-08.txt, BGS Systems, Empire
Technologies, Enterprise Management Professional Services,
Bellcore, April 1997.
[] Kalbfleisch, C., C. Krupczak, R. Presuhn, J. Saperia,
"Application Management MIB", draft-ietf-applmib-mib-03.txt,
September 1997.
[] Kalbfleisch, C., Hazewinkel, H., Schoenwaelder, J., "Definitions
of Managed Objects for WWW Servers",
draft-ietf-applmib-wwwmib-03.txt, June 1997.
[] Krupczak, C. and S. Waldbusser, "Applicability of Host Resources
MIB to Application Management", Empire Technologies, Inc.,
International Network Services, October 1995.
[] Kille, S., and N. Freed, "Mail Monitoring MIB", RFC 1566, ISODE
Consortium, Innosoft, January 1994.
[] Mansfield, G., and S. Kille, "X.500 Directory Monitoring MIB",
RFC 1567, AIC Systems Laboratory, ISODE Consortium, January 1994.
[] Mansfield, G., and S. Kille, "X.500 Directory Monitoring MIB",
RFC 1567, AIC Systems Laboratory, ISODE Consortium, January 1994.
[] brower, D., Purvy, B., Daniel, A., Sinykin, M., Smith, J.,
"Relational Database management System (RDBMS) Management
Information Base (MIB) using SMIv2", RFC1697, INGRES DBMS
Development, August 1994.
[] Kalbfleisch, C., "Applicability of Standards Track MIBs to
Management of World Wide Web Servers", RFC-2039, OnRamp
Technologies, November 1996.
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 37]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
8 Authors address
Harrie Hazewinkel
postal: CEO Programme
Joint Research Centre of the E.C
TP 950
21020 Ispra Italy
email: harrie.hazewinkel@jrc.it
www: http://porto.jrc.it/~harrie
9 Acknowledgements
This document benefited from the comments of the following persons:
Eric van Hengstum <hengstum@cs.utwente.nl>
Carl Kalbfleish <cwk@verio.net>
Cheryl Krupczak <cheryl@empiretech.com>
Rui Meneses <rui.meneses@jrc.it>
Aiko Pras <pras@cs.uwtente.nl>
randy Presuhn <rpresuhn@peer.com>
Jon Saperia <saperia@networks.bgs.com>
Jeurgen Schoenwaelder <schoenw@cs.utwente.nl>
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 38]
INTERNET-DRAFT draft-hazewinkel-appl-mib-01.txt July 18, 1997
10. Table of Contents
Abstract ...........................................................2
1. Introduction ....................................................3
1.1 How to read this internet draft ................................4
2. The Working Groups of Application Related MIBs .................4
3. The application related MIBs ...................................5
3.1 The System Application MIB .....................................5
3.2 The Application Management MIB .................................7
3.3 The World Wide Web MIB .........................................9
3.4 The Network Services Monitoring MIB ...........................10
3.5 The X.500 Directory Monitoring MIB ............................11
3.6 The Host Resources MIB ........................................11
3.7 The Relational Database Management System MIB .................14
4. The overlapping objects of the MIBs ...........................15
4.1 The SYSAPPL-MIB and the HR-MIB ................................16
4.2 The SYSAPPL-MIB and the NSM-MIB ...............................18
4.3 The HR-MIB and the NSM-MIB ....................................19
4.4 The WWWW-MIB and the SYSAPPL-MIB ..............................20
4.5 The WWWW-MIB and the NSM-MIB ..................................21
4.6 The WWW-MIB and the HR-MIB ....................................23
5. Relationships/Indexing between managed objects ................23
5.1 The SYSAPPL-MIB ...............................................24
5.2 The Application Management MIB ................................26
5.3 The WWW-MIB ...................................................28
5.4 The NSM-MIB ...................................................29
5.5 The X.500 DSA-MIB .............................................29
5.6 The HR-MIB ....................................................30
5.7 The RDBMS-MIB .................................................32
6. Conclusions ...................................................34
7. References ....................................................37
8. Author's address ..............................................38
9. Acknowledgements ..............................................38
10. Table of Contents ..............................................39
Epires January 18, 1998 [Page 39]
