RFC2233
Network Working Group K. McCloghrie Request for Comments: 2233 Cisco Systems Obsoletes: 1573 F. Kastenholz Category: Standards Track FTP Software
November 1997
The Interfaces Group MIB using SMIv2
Status of this Memo
This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1997). All Rights Reserved.
Contents
Introduction
This memo defines a portion of the Management Information Base (MIB) for use with network management protocols in the Internet community. In particular, it describes managed objects used for managing Network Interfaces.
This memo discusses the 'interfaces' group of MIB-II, especially the experience gained from the definition of numerous media- specific MIB modules for use in conjunction with the 'interfaces' group for managing various sub-layers beneath the internetwork- layer. It specifies clarifications to, and extensions of, the architectural issues within the previous model used for the 'interfaces' group.
This memo also includes a MIB module. As well as including new MIB definitions to support the architectural extensions, this MIB module also re-specifies the 'interfaces' group of MIB-II in a manner that is both compliant to the SNMPv2 SMI and semantically- identical to the existing SNMPv1-based definitions.
The key words "MUST" and "MUST NOT" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [10].
The SNMP Network Management Framework
The SNMP Network Management Framework presently consists of three major components. They are:
o RFC 1902 which defines the SMI, the mechanisms used for
describing and naming objects for the purpose of management.
o STD 17, RFC 1213 defines MIB-II, the core set of managed
objects for the Internet suite of protocols.
o STD 15, RFC 1157 and RFC 1905 which define two versions of
the protocol used for network access to managed objects.
The Framework permits new objects to be defined for the purpose of experimentation and evaluation.
Object Definitions
Managed objects are accessed via a virtual information store, termed the Management Information Base or MIB. Objects in the MIB are defined using the subset of Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) defined in the SMI. In particular, each object object type is named by an OBJECT IDENTIFIER, an administratively assigned name. The object type together with an object instance serves to uniquely identify a specific instantiation of the object. For human convenience, we often use a textual string, termed the descriptor, to refer to the object type.
Experience with the Interfaces Group
One of the strengths of internetwork-layer protocols such as IP [6] is that they are designed to run over any network interface. In achieving this, IP considers any and all protocols it runs over as a single "network interface" layer. A similar view is taken by other internetwork-layer protocols. This concept is represented in MIB-II by the 'interfaces' group which defines a generic set of managed objects such that any network interface can be managed in an interface-independent manner through these managed objects. The 'interfaces' group provides the means for additional managed objects specific to particular types of network interface (e.g., a specific medium such as Ethernet) to be defined as extensions to the 'interfaces' group for media-specific management. Since the standardization of MIB-II, many such media-specific MIB modules have been defined.
Experience in defining these media-specific MIB modules has shown that the model defined by MIB-II is too simplistic and/or static for some types of media-specific management. As a result, some of these media-specific MIB modules assume an evolution or loosening of the model. This memo documents and standardizes that evolution of the model and fills in the gaps caused by that evolution. This memo also incorporates the interfaces group extensions documented in RFC 1229 [7].
Clarifications/Revisions
There are several areas for which experience has indicated that clarification, revision, or extension of the model would be helpful. The following sections discuss the changes in the interfaces group adopted by this memo in each of these areas.
In some sections, one or more paragraphs contain discussion of rejected alternatives to the model adopted in this memo. Readers not familiar with the MIB-II model and not interested in the rationale behind the new model may want to skip these paragraphs.
Interface Sub-Layers
Experience in defining media-specific management information has shown the need to distinguish between the multiple sub-layers beneath the internetwork-layer. In addition, there is a need to manage these sub-layers in devices (e.g., MAC-layer bridges) which are unaware of which, if any, internetwork protocols run over these sub-layers. As such, a model of having a single conceptual row in the interfaces table (MIB-II's ifTable) represent a whole interface underneath the internetwork-layer, and having a single associated media-specific MIB module (referenced via the ifType object) is too simplistic. A further problem arises with the value of the ifType object which has enumerated values for each type of interface.
Consider, for example, an interface with PPP running over an HDLC link which uses a RS232-like connector. Each of these sub-layers has its own media-specific MIB module. If all of this is represented by a single conceptual row in the ifTable, then an enumerated value for ifType is needed for that specific combination which maps to the specific combination of media- specific MIBs. Furthermore, such a model still lacks a method to describe the relationship of all the sub-layers of the MIB stack.
An associated problem is that of upward and downward multiplexing of the sub-layers. An example of upward multiplexing is MLP (Multi-Link-Procedure) which provides load-sharing over several serial lines by appearing as a single point-to-point link to the sub-layer(s) above. An example of downward multiplexing would be several instances of PPP, each framed within a separate X.25 virtual circuit, all of which run over one fractional T1 channel, concurrently with other uses of the T1 link. The MIB structure must allow these sorts of relationships to be described.
Several solutions for representing multiple sub-layers were rejected. One was to retain the concept of one conceptual row for all the sub-layers of an interface and have each media-specific MIB module identify its "superior" and "subordinate" sub-layers through OBJECT IDENTIFIER "pointers". This scheme would have several drawbacks: the superior/subordinate pointers would be contained in the media-specific MIB modules; thus, a manager could not learn the structure of an interface without inspecting multiple pointers in different MIB modules; this would be overly
complex and only possible if the manager had knowledge of all the relevant media-specific MIB modules; MIB modules would all need to be retrofitted with these new "pointers"; this scheme would not adequately address the problem of upward and downward multiplexing; and finally, enumerated values of ifType would be needed for each combination of sub-layers. Another rejected solution also retained the concept of one conceptual row for all the sub-layers of an interface but had a new separate MIB table to identify the "superior" and "subordinate" sub-layers and to contain OBJECT IDENTIFIER "pointers" to the media-specific MIB module for each sub-layer. Effectively, one conceptual row in the ifTable would represent each combination of sub-layers between the internetwork-layer and the wire. While this scheme has fewer drawbacks, it still would not support downward multiplexing, such as PPP over MLP: observe that MLP makes two (or more) serial lines appear to the layers above as a single physical interface, and thus PPP over MLP should appear to the internetwork-layer as a single interface; in contrast, this scheme would result in two (or more) conceptual rows in the ifTable, both of which the internetwork-layer would run over. This scheme would also require enumerated values of ifType for each combination of sub-layers.
The solution adopted by this memo is to have an individual conceptual row in the ifTable to represent each sub-layer, and have a new separate MIB table (the ifStackTable, see section 6 below) to identify the "superior" and "subordinate" sub-layers through INTEGER "pointers" to the appropriate conceptual rows in the ifTable. This solution supports both upward and downward multiplexing, allows the IANAifType to Media-Specific MIB mapping to identify the media-specific MIB module for that sub-layer, such that the new table need only be referenced to obtain information about layering, and it only requires enumerated values of ifType for each sub-layer, not for combinations of them. However, it does require that the descriptions of some objects in the ifTable (specifically, ifType, ifPhysAddress, ifInUcastPkts, and ifOutUcastPkts) be generalized so as to apply to any sub-layer (rather than only to a sub-layer immediately beneath the network layer as previously), plus some (specifically, ifSpeed) which need to have appropriate values identified for use when a generalized definition does not apply to a particular sub-layer.
In addition, this adopted solution makes no requirement that a device, in which a sub-layer is instrumented by a conceptual row of the ifTable, be aware of whether an internetwork protocol runs on top of (i.e., at some layer above) that sub-layer. In fact, the counters of packets received on an interface are defined as counting the number "delivered to a higher-layer protocol". This meaning of "higher-layer" includes:
(1) Delivery to a forwarding module which accepts
packets/frames/octets and forwards them on at the same
protocol layer. For example, for the purposes of this
definition, the forwarding module of a MAC-layer bridge is
considered as a "higher-layer" to the MAC-layer of each port
on the bridge.
(2) Delivery to a higher sub-layer within a interface stack. For
example, for the purposes of this definition, if a PPP module
operated directly over a serial interface, the PPP module
would be considered the higher sub-layer to the serial
interface.
(3) Delivery to a higher protocol layer which does not do packet
forwarding for sub-layers that are "at the top of" the
interface stack. For example, for the purposes of this
definition, the local IP module would be considered the
higher layer to a SLIP serial interface.
Similarly, for output, the counters of packets transmitted out an interface are defined as counting the number "that higher-level protocols requested to be transmitted". This meaning of "higher- layer" includes:
(1) A forwarding module, at the same protocol layer, which
transmits packets/frames/octets that were received on an
different interface. For example, for the purposes of this
definition, the forwarding module of a MAC-layer bridge is
considered as a "higher-layer" to the MAC-layer of each port
on the bridge.
(2) The next higher sub-layer within an interface stack. For
example, for the purposes of this definition, if a PPP module
operated directly over a serial interface, the PPP module
would be a "higher layer" to the serial interface.
(3) For sub-layers that are "at the top of" the interface stack,
a higher element in the network protocol stack. For example,
for the purposes of this definition, the local IP module
would be considered the higher layer to an Ethernet
interface.
Guidance on Defining Sub-layers
The designer of a media-specific MIB must decide whether to divide the interface into sub-layers or not, and if so, how to make the divisions. The following guidance is offered to assist the media-specific MIB designer in these decisions.
In general, the number of entries in the ifTable should be kept to the minimum required for network management. In particular, a group of related interfaces should be treated as a single interface with one entry in the ifTable providing that:
(1) None of the group of interfaces performs multiplexing for any
other interface in the agent,
(2) There is a meaningful and useful way for all of the ifTable's
information (e.g., the counters, and the status variables),
and all of the ifTable's capabilities (e.g., write access to
ifAdminStatus), to apply to the group of interfaces as a
whole.
Under these circumstances, there should be one entry in the ifTable for such a group of interfaces, and any internal structure which needs to be represented to network management should be captured in a MIB module specific to the particular type of interface.
Note that application of bullet 2 above to the ifTable's ifType object requires that there is a meaningful media-specific MIB and a meaningful ifType value which apply to the group of interfaces as a whole. For example, it is not appropriate to treat an HDLC sub-layer and an RS-232 sub-layer as a single ifTable entry when the media-specific MIBs and the ifType values for HDLC and RS-232 are separate (rather than combined).
Subject to the above, it is appropriate to assign an ifIndex value to any interface that can occur in an interface stack (in the ifStackTable) where the bottom of the stack is a physical interface (ifConnectorPresent has the value 'true') and there is a layer-3 or other application that "points down" to the top of this stack. An example of an application that points down to the top of the stack is the Character MIB [9].
Note that the sub-layers of an interface on one device will sometimes be different from the sub-layers of the interconnected interface of another device; for example, for a frame-relay DTE interface connected a frameRelayService interface, the inter- connected DTE and DCE interfaces have different ifType values and media-specific MIBs.
These guidelines are just that, guidelines. The designer of a media-specific MIB is free to lay out the MIB in whatever SMI conformant manner is desired. However, in doing so, the media- specific MIB MUST completely specify the sub-layering model used for the MIB, and provide the assumptions, reasoning, and rationale used to develop that model.
Virtual Circuits
Several of the sub-layers for which media-specific MIB modules have been defined are connection oriented (e.g., Frame Relay, X.25). Experience has shown that each effort to define such a MIB module revisits the question of whether separate conceptual rows in the ifTable are needed for each virtual circuit. Most, if not all, of these efforts to date have decided to have all virtual circuits reference a single conceptual row in the ifTable.
This memo strongly recommends that connection-oriented sub-layers do not have a conceptual row in the ifTable for each virtual circuit. This avoids the proliferation of conceptual rows, especially those which have considerable redundant information. (Note, as a comparison, that connection-less sub-layers do not have conceptual rows for each remote address.) There may, however, be circumstances under which it is appropriate for a virtual circuit of a connection-oriented sub-layer to have its own conceptual row in the ifTable; an example of this might be PPP over an X.25 virtual circuit. The MIB in section 6 of this memo supports such circumstances.
If a media-specific MIB wishes to assign an entry in the ifTable to each virtual circuit, the MIB designer must present the rationale for this decision in the media-specific MIB's specification.
Bit, Character, and Fixed-Length Interfaces
RS-232 is an example of a character-oriented sub-layer over which (e.g., through use of PPP) IP datagrams can be sent. Due to the packet-based nature of many of the objects in the ifTable, experience has shown that it is not appropriate to have a character-oriented sub-layer represented by a whole conceptual row in the ifTable.
Experience has also shown that it is sometimes desirable to have some management information for bit-oriented interfaces, which are similarly difficult to represent by a whole conceptual row in the ifTable. For example, to manage the channels of a DS1 circuit, where only some of the channels are carrying packet-based data.
A further complication is that some subnetwork technologies transmit data in fixed length transmission units. One example of such a technology is cell relay, and in particular Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), which transmits data in fixed-length cells. Representing such a interface as a packet-based interface produces
redundant objects if the relationship between the number of packets and the number of octets in either direction is fixed by the size of the transmission unit (e.g., the size of a cell).
About half the objects in the ifTable are applicable to every type of interface: packet-oriented, character-oriented, and bit- oriented. Of the other half, two are applicable to both character-oriented and packet-oriented interfaces, and the rest are applicable only to packet-oriented interfaces. Thus, while it is desirable for consistency to be able to represent any/all types of interfaces in the ifTable, it is not possible to implement the full ifTable for bit- and character-oriented sub-layers.
A rejected solution to this problem would be to split the ifTable into two (or more) new MIB tables, one of which would contain objects that are relevant only to packet-oriented interfaces (e.g., PPP), and another that may be used by all interfaces. This is highly undesirable since it would require changes in every agent implementing the ifTable (i.e., just about every existing SNMP agent).
The solution adopted in this memo builds upon the fact that compliance statements in SNMPv2 (in contrast to SNMPv1) refer to object groups, where object groups are explicitly defined by listing the objects they contain. Thus, in SNMPv2, multiple compliance statements can be specified, one for all interfaces and additional ones for specific types of interfaces. The separate compliance statements can be based on separate object groups, where the object group for all interfaces can contain only those objects from the ifTable which are appropriate for every type of interfaces. Using this solution, every sub-layer can have its own conceptual row in the ifTable.
Thus, section 6 of this memo contains definitions of the objects of the existing 'interfaces' group of MIB-II, in a manner which is both SNMPv2-compliant and semantically-equivalent to the existing MIB-II definitions. With equivalent semantics, and with the BER ("on the wire") encodings unchanged, these definitions retain the same OBJECT IDENTIFIER values as assigned by MIB-II. Thus, in general, no rewrite of existing agents which conform to MIB-II and the ifExtensions MIB is required.
In addition, this memo defines several object groups for the purposes of defining which objects apply to which types of interface:
(1) the ifGeneralInformationGroup. This group contains those
objects applicable to all types of network interfaces,
including bit-oriented interfaces.
(2) the ifPacketGroup. This group contains those objects
applicable to packet-oriented network interfaces.
(3) the ifFixedLengthGroup. This group contains the objects
applicable not only to character-oriented interfaces, such as
RS-232, but also to those subnetwork technologies, such as
cell-relay/ATM, which transmit data in fixed length
transmission units. As well as the octet counters, there are
also a few other counters (e.g., the error counters) which
are useful for this type of interface, but are currently
defined as being packet-oriented. To accommodate this, the
definitions of these counters are generalized to apply to
character-oriented interfaces and fixed-length-transmission
interfaces.
It should be noted that the octet counters in the ifTable aggregate octet counts for unicast and non-unicast packets into a single octet counter per direction (received/transmitted). Thus, with the above definition of fixed-length-transmission interfaces, where such interfaces which support non-unicast packets, separate counts of unicast and multicast/broadcast transmissions can only be maintained in a media-specific MIB module.
Interface Numbering
MIB-II defines an object, ifNumber, whose value represents:
"The number of network interfaces (regardless of their
current state) present on this system."
Each interface is identified by a unique value of the ifIndex object, and the description of ifIndex constrains its value as follows:
"Its value ranges between 1 and the value of ifNumber. The
value for each interface must remain constant at least from
one re-initialization of the entity's network management
system to the next re-initialization."
This constancy requirement on the value of ifIndex for a particular interface is vital for efficient management. However, an increasing number of devices allow for the dynamic addition/removal of network interfaces. One example of this is a dynamic ability to configure the use of SLIP/PPP over a
character-oriented port. For such dynamic additions/removals, the combination of the constancy requirement and the restriction that the value of ifIndex is less than ifNumber is problematic.
Redefining ifNumber to be the largest value of ifIndex was rejected since it would not help. Such a re-definition would require ifNumber to be deprecated and the utility of the redefined object would be questionable. Alternatively, ifNumber could be deprecated and not replaced. However, the deprecation of ifNumber would require a change to that portion of ifIndex's definition which refers to ifNumber. So, since the definition of ifIndex must be changed anyway in order to solve the problem, changes to ifNumber do not benefit the solution.
The solution adopted in this memo is just to delete the requirement that the value of ifIndex must be less than the value of ifNumber, and to retain ifNumber with its current definition. This is a minor change in the semantics of ifIndex; however, all existing agent implementations conform to this new definition, and in the interests of not requiring changes to existing agent implementations and to the many existing media-specific MIBs, this memo assumes that this change does not require ifIndex to be deprecated. Experience indicates that this assumption does "break" a few management applications, but this is considered preferable to breaking all agent implementations.
This solution also results in the possibility of "holes" in the ifTable, i.e., the ifIndex values of conceptual rows in the ifTable are not necessarily contiguous, but SNMP's GetNext (and SNMPv2's GetBulk) operation easily deals with such holes. The value of ifNumber still represents the number of conceptual rows, which increases/decreases as new interfaces are dynamically added/removed.
The requirement for constancy (between re-initializations) of an interface's ifIndex value is met by requiring that after an interface is dynamically removed, its ifIndex value is not re-used by a *different* dynamically added interface until after the following re-initialization of the network management system. This avoids the need for assignment (in advance) of ifIndex values for all possible interfaces that might be added dynamically. The exact meaning of a "different" interface is hard to define, and there will be gray areas. Any firm definition in this document would likely to turn out to be inadequate. Instead, implementors must choose what it means in their particular situation, subject to the following rules:
(1) a previously-unused value of ifIndex must be assigned to a
dynamically added interface if an agent has no knowledge of
whether the interface is the "same" or "different" to a
previously incarnated interface.
(2) a management station, not noticing that an interface has gone
away and another has come into existence, must not be
confused when calculating the difference between the counter
values retrieved on successive polls for a particular ifIndex
value.
When the new interface is the same as an old interface, but a discontinuity in the value of the interface's counters cannot be avoided, the ifTable has (until now) required that a new ifIndex value be assigned to the returning interface. That is, either all counter values have had to be retained during the absence of an interface in order to use the same ifIndex value on that interface's return, or else a new ifIndex value has had to be assigned to the returning interface. Both alternatives have proved to be burdensome to some implementations:
(1) maintaining the counter values may not be possible (e.g., if
they are maintained on removable hardware),
(2) using a new ifIndex value presents extra work for management
applications. While the potential need for such extra work
is unavoidable on agent re-initializations, it is desirable
to avoid it between re-initializations.
To address this, a new object, ifCounterDiscontinuityTime, has been defined to record the time of the last discontinuity in an interface's counters. By monitoring the value of this new object, a management application can now detect counter discontinuities without the ifIndex value of the interface being changed. Thus, an agent which implements this new object should, when a new interface is the same as an old interface, retain that interface's ifIndex value and update if necessary the interface's value of ifCounterDiscontinuityTime. With this new object, a management application must, when calculating differences between counter values retrieved on successive polls, discard any calculated difference for which the value of ifCounterDiscontinuityTime is different for the two polls. (Note that this test must be performed in addition to the normal checking of sysUpTime to detect an agent re-initialization.) Since such discards are a waste of network management processing and bandwidth, an agent should not update the value of ifCounterDiscontinuityTime unless absolutely necessary.
While defining this new object is a change in the semantics of the ifTable counter objects, it is impractical to deprecate and redefine all these counters because of their wide deployment and importance. Also, a survey of implementations indicates that many agents and management applications do not correctly implement this aspect of the current semantics (because of the burdensome issues mentioned above), such that the practical implications of such a change is small. Thus, this breach of the SMI's rules is considered to be acceptable.
Note, however, that the addition of ifCounterDiscontinuityTime does not change the fact that:
It is necessary at certain times for the assignment of ifIndex
values to change on a reinitialization of the agent (such as a
reboot).
The possibility of ifIndex value re-assignment must be accommodated by a management application whenever the value of sysUpTime is reset to zero.
Note also that some agents support multiple "naming scopes", e.g., for an SNMPv1 agent, multiple values of the SNMPv1 community string. For such an agent (e.g., a CNM agent which supports a different subset of interfaces for different customers), there is no required relationship between the ifIndex values which identify interfaces in one naming scope and those which identify interfaces in another naming scope. It is the agent's choice as to whether the same or different ifIndex values identify the same or different interfaces in different naming scopes.
Because of the restriction of the value of ifIndex to be less than ifNumber, interfaces have been numbered with small integer values. This has led to the ability by humans to use the ifIndex values as (somewhat) user-friendly names for network interfaces (e.g., "interface number 3"). With the relaxation of the restriction on the value of ifIndex, there is now the possibility that ifIndex values could be assigned as very large numbers (e.g., memory addresses). Such numbers would be much less user-friendly. Therefore, this memo recommends that ifIndex values still be assigned as (relatively) small integer values starting at 1, even though the values in use at any one time are not necessarily contiguous. (Note that this makes remembering which values have been assigned easy for agents which dynamically add new interfaces).
A new problem is introduced by representing each sub-layer as an ifTable entry. Previously, there usually was a simple, direct, mapping of interfaces to the physical ports on systems. This mapping would be based on the ifIndex value. However, by having an ifTable entry for each interface sub-layer, mapping from interfaces to physical ports becomes increasingly problematic.
To address this issue, a new object, ifName, is added to the MIB. This object contains the device's local name (e.g., the name used at the device's local console) for the interface of which the relevant entry in the ifTable is a component. For example, consider a router having an interface composed of PPP running over an RS-232 port. If the router uses the name "wan1" for the (combined) interface, then the ifName objects for the corresponding PPP and RS-232 entries in the ifTable would both have the value "wan1". On the other hand, if the router uses the name "wan1.1" for the PPP interface and "wan1.2" for the RS-232 port, then the ifName objects for the corresponding PPP and RS-232 entries in the ifTable would have the values "wan1.1" and "wan1.2", respectively. As an another example, consider an agent which responds to SNMP queries concerning an interface on some other (proxied) device: if such a proxied device associates a particular identifier with an interface, then it is appropriate to use this identifier as the value of the interface's ifName, since the local console in this case is that of the proxied device.
In contrast, the existing ifDescr object is intended to contain a description of an interface, whereas another new object, ifAlias, provides a location in which a network management application can store a non-volatile interface-naming value of its own choice. The ifAlias object allows a network manager to give one or more interfaces their own unique names, irrespective of any interface- stack relationship. Further, the ifAlias name is non-volatile, and thus an interface must retain its assigned ifAlias value across reboots, even if an agent chooses a new ifIndex value for the interface.
Counter Size
As the speed of network media increase, the minimum time in which a 32 bit counter will wrap decreases. For example, a 10Mbs stream of back-to-back, full-size packets causes ifInOctets to wrap in just over 57 minutes; at 100Mbs, the minimum wrap time is 5.7 minutes, and at 1Gbs, the minimum is 34 seconds. Requiring that interfaces be polled frequently enough not to miss a counter wrap is increasingly problematic.
A rejected solution to this problem was to scale the counters; for example, ifInOctets could be changed to count received octets in, say, 1024 byte blocks. While it would provide acceptable functionality at high rates of the counted-events, at low rates it suffers. If there is little traffic on an interface, there might be a significant interval before enough of the counted-events occur to cause the scaled counter to be incremented. Traffic would then appear to be very bursty, leading to incorrect conclusions of the network's performance.
Instead, this memo adopts expanded, 64 bit, counters. These counters are provided in new "high capacity" groups. The old, 32-bit, counters have not been deprecated. The 64-bit counters are to be used only when the 32-bit counters do not provide enough capacity; that is, when the 32 bit counters could wrap too fast.
For interfaces that operate at 20,000,000 (20 million) bits per second or less, 32-bit byte and packet counters MUST be used. For interfaces that operate faster than 20,000,000 bits/second, and slower than 650,000,000 bits/second, 32-bit packet counters MUST be used and 64-bit octet counters MUST be used. For interfaces that operate at 650,000,000 bits/second or faster, 64-bit packet counters AND 64-bit octet counters MUST be used.
These speed thresholds were chosen as reasonable compromises based on the following:
(1) The cost of maintaining 64-bit counters is relatively high,
so minimizing the number of agents which must support them is
desirable. Common interfaces (such as 10Mbs Ethernet) should
not require them.
(2) 64-bit counters are a new feature, introduced in SNMPv2. It
is reasonable to expect that support for them will be spotty
for the immediate future. Thus, we wish to limit them to as
few systems as possible. This, in effect, means that 64-bit
counters should be limited to higher speed interfaces.
Ethernet (10,000,000 bps) and Token Ring (16,000,000 bps) are
fairly wide-spread so it seems reasonable to not require 64-
bit counters for these interfaces.
(3) The 32-bit octet counters will wrap in the following times,
for the following interfaces (when transmitting maximum-sized
packets back-to-back):
- 10Mbs Ethernet: 57 minutes,
- 16Mbs Token Ring: 36 minutes,
- a US T3 line (45 megabits): 12 minutes,
- FDDI: 5.7 minutes
(4) The 32-bit packet counters wrap in about 57 minutes when 64-
byte packets are transmitted back-to-back on a 650,000,000
bit/second link.
As an aside, a 1-terabit/second (1,000 Gbs) link will cause a 64 bit octet counter to wrap in just under 5 years. Conversely, an 81,000,000 terabit/second link is required to cause a 64-bit counter to wrap in 30 minutes. We believe that, while technology rapidly marches forward, this link speed will not be achieved for at least several years, leaving sufficient time to evaluate the introduction of 96 bit counters.
When 64-bit counters are in use, the 32-bit counters MUST still be available. They will report the low 32-bits of the associated 64-bit count (e.g., ifInOctets will report the least significant 32 bits of ifHCInOctets). This enhances inter-operability with existing implementations at a very minimal cost to agents.
The new "high capacity" groups are:
(1) the ifHCFixedLengthGroup for character-oriented/fixed-length
interfaces, and the ifHCPacketGroup for packet-based interfaces;
both of these groups include 64 bit counters for octets, and
(2) the ifVHCPacketGroup for packet-based interfaces; this group
includes 64 bit counters for octets and packets.
Interface Speed
Network speeds are increasing. The range of ifSpeed is limited to reporting a maximum speed of (2**31)-1 bits/second, or approximately 2.2Gbs. SONET defines an OC-48 interface, which is defined at operating at 48 times 51 Mbs, which is a speed in excess of 2.4Gbs. Thus, ifSpeed is insufficient for the future, and this memo defines an additional object: ifHighSpeed.
The ifHighSpeed object reports the speed of the interface in 1,000,000 (1 million) bits/second units. Thus, the true speed of the interface will be the value reported by this object, plus or minus 500,000 bits/second.
Other alternatives considered (but rejected) were:
(1) Making the interface speed a 64-bit gauge. This was rejected
since the current SMI does not allow such a syntax.
Furthermore, even if 64-bit gauges were available, their use
would require additional complexity in agents due to an
increased requirement for 64-bit operations.
(2) We also considered making "high-32 bit" and "low-32-bit"
objects which, when combined, would be a 64-bit value. This
simply seemed overly complex for what we are trying to do.
Furthermore, a full 64-bits of precision does not seem
necessary. The value of ifHighSpeed will be the only report of
interface speed for interfaces that are faster than
4,294,967,295 bits per second. At this speed, the granularity
of ifHighSpeed will be 1,000,000 bits per second, thus the error
will be 1/4294, or about 0.02%. This seems reasonable.
(3) Adding a "scale" object, which would define the units which
ifSpeed's value is.
This would require two additional objects; one for the scaling
object, and one to replace the current ifSpeed. This later
object is required since the semantics of ifSpeed would be
significantly altered, and manager stations which do not
understand the new semantics would be confused.
Multicast/Broadcast Counters
In MIB-II, the ifTable counters for multicast and broadcast packets are combined as counters of non-unicast packets. In contrast, the ifExtensions MIB [7] defined one set of counters for multicast, and a separate set for broadcast packets. With the separate counters, the original combined counters become redundant. To avoid this redundancy, the non-unicast counters are deprecated.
For the output broadcast and multicast counters defined in RFC 1229, their definitions varied slightly from the packet counters in the ifTable, in that they did not count errors/discarded packets. Thus, this memo defines new objects with better aligned definitions. Counters with 64 bits of range are also needed, as explained above.
Trap Enable
In the multi-layer interface model, each sub-layer for which there is an entry in the ifTable can generate linkUp/Down Traps. Since interface state changes would tend to propagate through the interface (from top to bottom, or bottom to top), it is likely that several traps would be generated for each linkUp/Down occurrence.
It is desirable to provide a mechanism for manager stations to control the generation of these traps. To this end, the ifLinkUpDownTrapEnable object has been added. This object allows managers to limit generation of traps to just the sub-layers of interest.
The default setting should limit the number of traps generated to one per interface per linkUp/Down event. Furthermore, it seems that the state changes of most interest to network managers occur at the lowest level of an interface stack. Therefore we specify that by default, only the lowest sub-layer of the interface generate traps.
3.1.10. Addition of New ifType values
Over time, there is the need to add new ifType enumerated values for new interface types. If the syntax of ifType were defined in the MIB in section 6, then a new version of this MIB would have to be re- issued in order to define new values. In the past, re- issuing of a MIB has occurred only after several years.
Therefore, the syntax of ifType is changed to be a textual convention, such that the enumerated integer values are now defined in the textual convention, IANAifType, defined in a different document. This allows additional values to be documented without having to re-issue a new version of this document. The Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA) is responsible for the assignment of all Internet numbers, including various SNMP-related numbers, and specifically, new ifType values.
3.1.11. InterfaceIndex Textual Convention
A new textual convention, InterfaceIndex, has been defined. This textual convention "contains" all of the semantics of the ifIndex object. This allows other mib modules to easily import the semantics of ifIndex.
3.1.12. New states for IfOperStatus
Three new states have been added to ifOperStatus: 'dormant', 'notPresent', and 'lowerLayerDown'.
The dormant state indicates that the relevant interface is not actually in a condition to pass packets (i.e., it is not "up") but is in a "pending" state, waiting for some external event. For "on- demand" interfaces, this new state identifies the situation where the interface is waiting for events to place it in the up state. Examples of such events might be:
(1) having packets to transmit before establishing a connection
to a remote system;
(2) having a remote system establish a connection to the
interface (e.g. dialing up to a slip-server).
The notPresent state is a refinement on the down state which indicates that the relevant interface is down specifically because some component (typically, a hardware component) is not present in the managed system. Examples of use of the notPresent state are:
(1) to allow an interface's conceptual row including its counter
values to be retained across a "hot swap" of a card/module,
and/or
(2) to allow an interface's conceptual row to be created, and
thereby enable interfaces to be pre-configured prior to
installation of the hardware needed to make the interface
operational.
Agents are not required to support interfaces in the notPresent state. However, from a conceptual viewpoint, when a row in the ifTable is created, it first enters the notPresent state and then subsequently transitions into the down state; similarly, when a row in the ifTable is deleted, it first enters the notPresent state and then subsequently the object instances are deleted. For an agent with no support for notPresent, both of these transitions (from the notPresent state to the down state, and from the notPresent state to the instances being removed) are immediate, i.e., the transition does not last long enough to be recorded by ifOperStatus. Even for those agents which do support interfaces in the notPresent state, the length of time and conditions under which an interface stays in the notPresent state is implementation-specific.
The lowerLayerDown state is also a refinement on the down state. This new state indicates that this interface runs "on top of" one or more other interfaces (see ifStackTable) and that this interface is down specifically because one or more of these lower-layer interfaces are down.
3.1.13. IfAdminStatus and IfOperStatus
The down state of ifOperStatus now has two meanings, depending on the value of ifAdminStatus.
(1) if ifAdminStatus is not down and ifOperStatus is down then a
fault condition is presumed to exist on the interface.
(2) if ifAdminStatus is down, then ifOperStatus will normally
also be down (or notPresent) i.e., there is not (necessarily) a
fault condition on the interface.
Note that when ifAdminStatus transitions to down, ifOperStatus will normally also transition to down. In this situation, it is possible that ifOperStatus's transition will not occur immediately, but rather after a small time lag to complete certain operations before going "down"; for example, it might need to finish transmitting a packet. If a manager station finds that ifAdminStatus is down and ifOperStatus is not down for a particular interface, the manager station should wait a short while and check again. If the condition still exists, only then should it raise an error indication. Naturally, it should also ensure that ifLastChange has not changed during this interval.
Whenever an interface table entry is created (usually as a result of system initialization), the relevant instance of ifAdminStatus is set to down, and presumably ifOperStatus will be down or notPresent.
An interface may be enabled in two ways: either as a result of explicit management action (e.g. setting ifAdminStatus to up) or as a result of the managed system's initialization process. When ifAdminStatus changes to the up state, the related ifOperStatus should do one of the following:
(1) Change to the up state if and only if the interface is able
to send and receive packets.
(2) Change to the lowerLayerDown state if and only if the
interface is prevented from entering the up state because of the
state of one or more of the interfaces beneath it in the
interface stack.
(3) Change to the dormant state if and only if the interface is
found to be operable, but the interface is waiting for other,
external, events to occur before it can transmit or receive
packets. Presumably when the expected events occur, the
interface will then change to the up state.
(4) Remain in the down state if an error or other fault condition
is detected on the interface.
(5) Change to the unknown state if, for some reason, the state of
the interface can not be ascertained.
(6) Change to the testing state if some test(s) must be performed
on the interface. Presumably after completion of the test, the
interface's state will change to up, dormant, or down, as
appropriate.
(7) Remain in the notPresent state if interface components are
missing.
3.1.14. IfOperStatus in an Interface Stack
When an interface is a part of an interface-stack, but is not the lowest interface in the stack, then:
(1) ifOperStatus has the value 'up' if it is able to pass packets
due to one or more interfaces below it in the stack being 'up',
irrespective of whether other interfaces below it are 'down',
'dormant', 'notPresent', 'lowerLayerDown', 'unknown' or
'testing'.
(2) ifOperStatus may have the value 'up' or 'dormant' if one or
more interfaces below it in the stack are 'dormant', and all
others below it are either 'down', 'dormant', 'notPresent',
'lowerLayerDown', 'unknown' or 'testing'.
(3) ifOperStatus has the value 'lowerLayerDown' while all
interfaces below it in the stack are either 'down',
'notPresent', 'lowerLayerDown', or 'testing'.
3.1.15. Traps
The exact definition of when linkUp and linkDown traps are generated has been changed to reflect the changes to ifAdminStatus and ifOperStatus.
Operational experience indicates that management stations are most concerned with an interface being in the down state and the fact that this state may indicate a failure. Thus, it is most useful to instrument transitions into/out of either the up state or the down state.
Instrumenting transitions into or out of the up state was rejected since it would have the drawback that a demand interface might have many transitions between up and dormant, leading to many linkUp traps and no linkDown traps. Furthermore, if a node's only interface is the demand interface, then a transition to dormant would entail generation of a linkDown trap, necessitating bringing the link to the up state (and a linkUp trap)!!
On the other hand, instrumenting transitions into or out of the down state (to/from all other states except notPresent) has the advantages:
(1) A transition into the down state (from a state other than
notPresent) will occur when an error is detected on an
interface. Error conditions are presumably of great interest to
network managers.
(2) Departing the down state (to a state other than the
notPresent state) generally indicates that the interface is
going to either up or dormant, both of which are considered
"healthy" states.
Furthermore, it is believed that generating traps on transitions into or out of the down state (except to/from the notPresent state) is generally consistent with current usage and interpretation of these traps by manager stations.
Transitions to/from the notPresent state are concerned with the insertion and removal of hardware, and are outside the scope of these traps.
Therefore, this memo defines that LinkUp and linkDown traps are generated on just after ifOperStatus leaves, or just before it enters, the down state, respectively; except that LinkUp and linkDown traps never generated on transitions to/from the notPresent state.
Note that this definition allows a node with only one interface to transmit a linkDown trap before that interface goes down. (Of course, when the interface is going down because of a failure condition, the linkDown trap probably cannot be successfully transmitted anyway.)
Some interfaces perform a link "training" function when trying to bring the interface up. In the event that such an interface were defective, then the training function would fail and the interface would remain down, and the training function might be repeated at appropriate intervals. If the interface, while performing this training function, were considered to the in the testing state, then linkUp and linkDown traps would be generated for each start and end of the training function. This is not the intent of the linkUp and linkDown traps, and therefore, while performing such a training function, the interface's state should be represented as down.
An exception to the above generation of linkUp/linkDown traps on changes in ifOperStatus, occurs when an interface is "flapping", i.e., when it is rapidly oscillating between the up and down states. If traps were generated for each such oscillation, the network and the network management system would be flooded with unnecessary traps. In such a situation, the agent should rate- limit its generation of traps.
3.1.16. ifSpecific
The original definition of the OBJECT IDENTIFIER value of ifSpecific was not sufficiently clear. As a result, different implementors used it differently, and confusion resulted. Some implementations set the value of ifSpecific to the OBJECT IDENTIFIER that defines the media- specific MIB, i.e., the "foo" of:
foo OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { transmission xxx }
while others set it to be OBJECT IDENTIFIER of the specific table or entry in the appropriate media-specific MIB (i.e., fooTable or fooEntry), while still others set it be the OBJECT IDENTIFIER of the index object of the table's row, including instance identifier, (i.e., fooIfIndex.ifIndex). A definition based on the latter would not be sufficient unless it also allowed for media- specific MIBs which include several tables, where each table has its own (different) indexing.
The only definition that can both be made explicit and can cover all the useful situations is to have ifSpecific be the most general value for the media-specific MIB module (the first example given above). This effectively makes it redundant because it contains no more information than is provided by ifType. Thus, ifSpecific has been deprecated.
3.1.17. Creation/Deletion of Interfaces
While some interfaces, for example, most physical interfaces, cannot be created via network management, other interfaces such as logical interfaces sometimes can be. The ifTable contains only generic information about an interface. Almost all 'create-able' interfaces have other, media-specific, information through which configuration parameters may be supplied prior to creating such an interface. Thus, the ifTable does not itself support the creation or deletion of an interface (specifically, it has no RowStatus [2] column). Rather, if a particular interface type supports the dynamic creation and/or deletion of an interface of that type, then that media-specific MIB should include an appropriate RowStatus object (see the ATM LAN- Emulation Client MIB [8] for an example of a MIB which does this). Typically, when such a RowStatus object is created/deleted, then the conceptual row in the ifTable appears/disappears as a by-product, and an ifIndex value (chosen by the agent) is stored in an appropriate object in the media-specific MIB.
3.1.18. All Values Must be Known
There are a number of situations where an agent does not know the value of one or more objects for a particular interface. In all such circumstances, an agent MUST NOT instantiate an object with an incorrect value; rather, it MUST respond with the appropriate error/exception condition (e.g., noSuchInstance for SNMPv2).
One example is where an agent is unable to count the occurrences defined by one (or more) of the ifTable counters. In this circumstance, the agent MUST NOT instantiate the particular counter with a value of, say, zero. To do so would be to provide mis- information to a network management application reading the zero value, and thereby assuming that there have been no occurrences of the event (e.g., no input errors because ifInErrors is always zero).
Sometimes the lack of knowledge of an object's value is temporary. For example, when the MTU of an interface is a configured value and a device dynamically learns the configured value through (after) exchanging messages over the interface (e.g., ATM LAN- Emulation [8]). In such a case, the value is not known until after the ifTable entry has already been created. In such a case, the ifTable entry should be created without an instance of the object whose value is unknown; later, when the value becomes known, the missing object can then be instantiated (e.g., the instance of ifMtu is only instantiated once the interface's MTU becomes known).
As a result of this "known values" rule, management applications MUST be able to cope with the responses to retrieving the object instances within a conceptual row of the ifTable revealing that some of the row's columnar objects are missing/not available.
Media-Specific MIB Applicability
The exact use and semantics of many objects in this MIB are open to some interpretation. This is a result of the generic nature of this MIB. It is not always possible to come up with specific, unambiguous, text that covers all cases and yet preserves the generic nature of the MIB.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon a media-specific MIB designer to, wherever necessary, clarify the use of the objects in this MIB with respect to the media-specific MIB.
Specific areas of clarification include
Layering Model
The media-specific MIB designer MUST completely and
unambiguously specify the layering model used. Each individual
sub-layer must be identified, as must the ifStackTable's
portrayal of the relationship(s) between the sub-layers.
Virtual Circuits
The media-specific MIB designer MUST specify whether virtual
circuits are assigned entries in the ifTable or not. If they
are, compelling rationale must be presented.
ifRcvAddressTable
The media-specific MIB designer MUST specify the applicability
of the ifRcvAddressTable.
ifType
For each of the ifType values to which the media-specific MIB
applies, it must specify the mapping of ifType values to media-
specific MIB module(s) and instances of MIB objects within those
modules.
However, wherever this interface MIB is specific in the semantics, DESCRIPTION, or applicability of objects, the media-specific MIB designer MUST NOT change said semantics, DESCRIPTION, or applicability.
Overview
This MIB consists of 4 tables:
ifTable
This table is the ifTable from MIB-II.
ifXTable
This table contains objects that have been added to the
Interface MIB as a result of the Interface Evolution effort, or
replacements for objects of the original (MIB-II) ifTable that
were deprecated because the semantics of said objects have
significantly changed. This table also contains objects that
were previously in the ifExtnsTable.
ifStackTable
This table contains objects that define the relationships among
the sub-layers of an interface.
ifRcvAddressTable
This table contains objects that are used to define the media-
level addresses which this interface will receive. This table
is a generic table. The designers of media- specific MIBs must
define exactly how this table applies to their specific MIB.
Interfaces Group Definitions
IF-MIB DEFINITIONS ::= BEGIN
IMPORTS
MODULE-IDENTITY, OBJECT-TYPE, Counter32, Gauge32, Counter64, Integer32, TimeTicks, mib-2, NOTIFICATION-TYPE FROM SNMPv2-SMI TEXTUAL-CONVENTION, DisplayString, PhysAddress, TruthValue, RowStatus, TimeStamp, AutonomousType, TestAndIncr FROM SNMPv2-TC MODULE-COMPLIANCE, OBJECT-GROUP FROM SNMPv2-CONF snmpTraps FROM SNMPv2-MIB IANAifType FROM IANAifType-MIB;
ifMIB MODULE-IDENTITY
LAST-UPDATED "9611031355Z"
ORGANIZATION "IETF Interfaces MIB Working Group"
CONTACT-INFO
" Keith McCloghrie
Cisco Systems, Inc.
170 West Tasman Drive
San Jose, CA 95134-1706
US
408-526-5260
[email protected]"
DESCRIPTION
"The MIB module to describe generic objects for
network interface sub-layers. This MIB is an updated
version of MIB-II's ifTable, and incorporates the
extensions defined in RFC 1229."
REVISION "9602282155Z"
DESCRIPTION
"Revisions made by the Interfaces MIB WG."
REVISION "9311082155Z"
DESCRIPTION
"Initial revision, published as part of RFC 1573."
::= { mib-2 31 }
ifMIBObjects OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { ifMIB 1 }
interfaces OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { mib-2 2 }
OwnerString ::= TEXTUAL-CONVENTION
DISPLAY-HINT "255a"
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"This data type is used to model an administratively
assigned name of the owner of a resource. This
information is taken from the NVT ASCII character set.
It is suggested that this name contain one or more of
the following: ASCII form of the manager station's
transport address, management station name (e.g.,
domain name), network management personnel's name,
location, or phone number. In some cases the agent
itself will be the owner of an entry. In these cases,
this string shall be set to a string starting with
'agent'."
SYNTAX OCTET STRING (SIZE(0..255))
-- InterfaceIndex contains the semantics of ifIndex and -- should be used for any objects defined on other mib -- modules that need these semantics.
InterfaceIndex ::= TEXTUAL-CONVENTION
DISPLAY-HINT "d"
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A unique value, greater than zero, for each interface
or interface sub-layer in the managed system. It is
recommended that values are assigned contiguously
starting from 1. The value for each interface sub-
layer must remain constant at least from one re-
initialization of the entity's network management
system to the next re-initialization."
SYNTAX Integer32 (1..2147483647)
InterfaceIndexOrZero ::= TEXTUAL-CONVENTION
DISPLAY-HINT "d"
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"This textual convention is an extension of the
InterfaceIndex convention. The latter defines a
greater than zero value used to identify an interface
or interface sub-layer in the managed system. This
extension permits the additional value of zero. the
value zero is object-specific and must therefore be
defined as part of the description of any object which
uses this syntax. Examples of the usage of zero might
include situations where interface was unknown, or
when none or all interfaces need to be referenced."
SYNTAX Integer32 (0..2147483647)
ifNumber OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Integer32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of network interfaces (regardless of their
current state) present on this system."
::= { interfaces 1 }
ifTableLastChange OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX TimeTicks
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The value of sysUpTime at the time of the last
creation or deletion of an entry in the ifTable. If
the number of entries has been unchanged since the
last re-initialization of the local network management
subsystem, then this object contains a zero value."
::= { ifMIBObjects 5 }
-- the Interfaces table
-- The Interfaces table contains information on the entity's -- interfaces. Each sub-layer below the internetwork-layer -- of a network interface is considered to be an interface.
ifTable OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX SEQUENCE OF IfEntry
MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A list of interface entries. The number of entries
is given by the value of ifNumber."
::= { interfaces 2 }
ifEntry OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX IfEntry
MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"An entry containing management information applicable
to a particular interface."
INDEX { ifIndex }
::= { ifTable 1 }
IfEntry ::=
SEQUENCE {
ifIndex InterfaceIndex,
ifDescr DisplayString,
ifType IANAifType,
ifMtu Integer32,
ifSpeed Gauge32,
ifPhysAddress PhysAddress,
ifAdminStatus INTEGER,
ifOperStatus INTEGER,
ifLastChange TimeTicks,
ifInOctets Counter32,
ifInUcastPkts Counter32,
ifInNUcastPkts Counter32, -- deprecated
ifInDiscards Counter32,
ifInErrors Counter32,
ifInUnknownProtos Counter32,
ifOutOctets Counter32,
ifOutUcastPkts Counter32,
ifOutNUcastPkts Counter32, -- deprecated
ifOutDiscards Counter32,
ifOutErrors Counter32,
ifOutQLen Gauge32, -- deprecated
ifSpecific OBJECT IDENTIFIER -- deprecated
}
ifIndex OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX InterfaceIndex
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A unique value, greater than zero, for each
interface. It is recommended that values are assigned
contiguously starting from 1. The value for each
interface sub-layer must remain constant at least from
one re-initialization of the entity's network
management system to the next re-initialization."
::= { ifEntry 1 }
ifDescr OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX DisplayString (SIZE (0..255)) MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A textual string containing information about the
interface. This string should include the name of the
manufacturer, the product name and the version of the
interface hardware/software."
::= { ifEntry 2 }
ifType OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX IANAifType
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The type of interface. Additional values for ifType
are assigned by the Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority (IANA), through updating the syntax of the
IANAifType textual convention."
::= { ifEntry 3 }
ifMtu OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Integer32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The size of the largest packet which can be
sent/received on the interface, specified in octets.
For interfaces that are used for transmitting network
datagrams, this is the size of the largest network
datagram that can be sent on the interface."
::= { ifEntry 4 }
ifSpeed OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Gauge32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"An estimate of the interface's current bandwidth in
bits per second. For interfaces which do not vary in
bandwidth or for those where no accurate estimation
can be made, this object should contain the nominal
bandwidth. If the bandwidth of the interface is
greater than the maximum value reportable by this
object then this object should report its maximum
value (4,294,967,295) and ifHighSpeed must be used to
report the interace's speed. For a sub-layer which
has no concept of bandwidth, this object should be
zero."
::= { ifEntry 5 }
ifPhysAddress OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX PhysAddress MAX-ACCESS read-only STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The interface's address at its protocol sub-layer.
For example, for an 802.x interface, this object
normally contains a MAC address. The interface's
media-specific MIB must define the bit and byte
ordering and the format of the value of this object.
For interfaces which do not have such an address
(e.g., a serial line), this object should contain an
octet string of zero length."
::= { ifEntry 6 }
ifAdminStatus OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX INTEGER {
up(1), -- ready to pass packets
down(2),
testing(3) -- in some test mode
}
MAX-ACCESS read-write
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The desired state of the interface. The testing(3)
state indicates that no operational packets can be
passed. When a managed system initializes, all
interfaces start with ifAdminStatus in the down(2)
state. As a result of either explicit management
action or per configuration information retained by
the managed system, ifAdminStatus is then changed to
either the up(1) or testing(3) states (or remains in
the down(2) state)."
::= { ifEntry 7 }
ifOperStatus OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX INTEGER {
up(1), -- ready to pass packets
down(2),
testing(3), -- in some test mode
unknown(4), -- status can not be determined
-- for some reason.
dormant(5),
notPresent(6), -- some component is missing
lowerLayerDown(7) -- down due to state of
-- lower-layer interface(s)
}
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The current operational state of the interface. The
testing(3) state indicates that no operational packets
can be passed. If ifAdminStatus is down(2) then
ifOperStatus should be down(2). If ifAdminStatus is
changed to up(1) then ifOperStatus should change to
up(1) if the interface is ready to transmit and
receive network traffic; it should change to
dormant(5) if the interface is waiting for external
actions (such as a serial line waiting for an incoming
connection); it should remain in the down(2) state if
and only if there is a fault that prevents it from
going to the up(1) state; it should remain in the
notPresent(6) state if the interface has missing
(typically, hardware) components."
::= { ifEntry 8 }
ifLastChange OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX TimeTicks
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The value of sysUpTime at the time the interface
entered its current operational state. If the current
state was entered prior to the last re-initialization
of the local network management subsystem, then this
object contains a zero value."
::= { ifEntry 9 }
ifInOctets OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The total number of octets received on the interface,
including framing characters.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifEntry 10 }
ifInUcastPkts OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of packets, delivered by this sub-layer to
a higher (sub-)layer, which were not addressed to a
multicast or broadcast address at this sub-layer.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifEntry 11 }
ifInNUcastPkts OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"The number of packets, delivered by this sub-layer to
a higher (sub-)layer, which were addressed to a
multicast or broadcast address at this sub-layer.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime.
This object is deprecated in favour of
ifInMulticastPkts and ifInBroadcastPkts."
::= { ifEntry 12 }
ifInDiscards OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of inbound packets which were chosen to be
discarded even though no errors had been detected to
prevent their being deliverable to a higher-layer
protocol. One possible reason for discarding such a
packet could be to free up buffer space.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifEntry 13 }
ifInErrors OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"For packet-oriented interfaces, the number of inbound
packets that contained errors preventing them from
being deliverable to a higher-layer protocol. For
character-oriented or fixed-length interfaces, the
number of inbound transmission units that contained
errors preventing them from being deliverable to a
higher-layer protocol.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifEntry 14 }
ifInUnknownProtos OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"For packet-oriented interfaces, the number of packets
received via the interface which were discarded
because of an unknown or unsupported protocol. For
character-oriented or fixed-length interfaces that
support protocol multiplexing the number of
transmission units received via the interface which
were discarded because of an unknown or unsupported
protocol. For any interface that does not support
protocol multiplexing, this counter will always be 0.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifEntry 15 }
ifOutOctets OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The total number of octets transmitted out of the
interface, including framing characters.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifEntry 16 }
ifOutUcastPkts OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The total number of packets that higher-level
protocols requested be transmitted, and which were not
addressed to a multicast or broadcast address at this
sub-layer, including those that were discarded or not
sent.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifEntry 17 }
ifOutNUcastPkts OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"The total number of packets that higher-level
protocols requested be transmitted, and which were
addressed to a multicast or broadcast address at this
sub-layer, including those that were discarded or not
sent.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime.
This object is deprecated in favour of
ifOutMulticastPkts and ifOutBroadcastPkts."
::= { ifEntry 18 }
ifOutDiscards OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of outbound packets which were chosen to
be discarded even though no errors had been detected
to prevent their being transmitted. One possible
reason for discarding such a packet could be to free
up buffer space.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifEntry 19 }
ifOutErrors OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"For packet-oriented interfaces, the number of
outbound packets that could not be transmitted because
of errors. For character-oriented or fixed-length
interfaces, the number of outbound transmission units
that could not be transmitted because of errors.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifEntry 20 }
ifOutQLen OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Gauge32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"The length of the output packet queue (in packets)."
::= { ifEntry 21 }
ifSpecific OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX OBJECT IDENTIFIER
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"A reference to MIB definitions specific to the
particular media being used to realize the interface.
It is recommended that this value point to an instance
of a MIB object in the media-specific MIB, i.e., that
this object have the semantics associated with the
InstancePointer textual convention defined in RFC
1903. In fact, it is recommended that the media-
specific MIB specify what value ifSpecific should/can
take for values of ifType. If no MIB definitions
specific to the particular media are available, the
value should be set to the OBJECT IDENTIFIER { 0 0 }."
::= { ifEntry 22 }
-- -- Extension to the interface table -- -- This table replaces the ifExtnsTable table. --
ifXTable OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX SEQUENCE OF IfXEntry
MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A list of interface entries. The number of entries
is given by the value of ifNumber. This table
contains additional objects for the interface table."
::= { ifMIBObjects 1 }
ifXEntry OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX IfXEntry
MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"An entry containing additional management information
applicable to a particular interface."
AUGMENTS { ifEntry }
::= { ifXTable 1 }
IfXEntry ::=
SEQUENCE {
ifName DisplayString,
ifInMulticastPkts Counter32,
ifInBroadcastPkts Counter32,
ifOutMulticastPkts Counter32,
ifOutBroadcastPkts Counter32,
ifHCInOctets Counter64,
ifHCInUcastPkts Counter64,
ifHCInMulticastPkts Counter64,
ifHCInBroadcastPkts Counter64,
ifHCOutOctets Counter64,
ifHCOutUcastPkts Counter64,
ifHCOutMulticastPkts Counter64,
ifHCOutBroadcastPkts Counter64,
ifLinkUpDownTrapEnable INTEGER,
ifHighSpeed Gauge32,
ifPromiscuousMode TruthValue,
ifConnectorPresent TruthValue,
ifAlias DisplayString,
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime TimeStamp
}
ifName OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX DisplayString
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The textual name of the interface. The value of this
object should be the name of the interface as assigned
by the local device and should be suitable for use in
commands entered at the device's `console'. This
might be a text name, such as `le0' or a simple port
number, such as `1', depending on the interface naming
syntax of the device. If several entries in the
ifTable together represent a single interface as named
by the device, then each will have the same value of
ifName. Note that for an agent which responds to SNMP
queries concerning an interface on some other
(proxied) device, then the value of ifName for such an
interface is the proxied device's local name for it.
If there is no local name, or this object is otherwise
not applicable, then this object contains a zero-
length string."
::= { ifXEntry 1 }
ifInMulticastPkts OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of packets, delivered by this sub-layer to
a higher (sub-)layer, which were addressed to a
multicast address at this sub-layer. For a MAC layer
protocol, this includes both Group and Functional
addresses.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifXEntry 2 }
ifInBroadcastPkts OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of packets, delivered by this sub-layer to
a higher (sub-)layer, which were addressed to a
broadcast address at this sub-layer.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifXEntry 3 }
ifOutMulticastPkts OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The total number of packets that higher-level
protocols requested be transmitted, and which were
addressed to a multicast address at this sub-layer,
including those that were discarded or not sent. For
a MAC layer protocol, this includes both Group and
Functional addresses.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifXEntry 4 }
ifOutBroadcastPkts OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The total number of packets that higher-level
protocols requested be transmitted, and which were
addressed to a broadcast address at this sub-layer,
including those that were discarded or not sent.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifXEntry 5 }
-- -- High Capacity Counter objects. These objects are all -- 64 bit versions of the "basic" ifTable counters. These -- objects all have the same basic semantics as their 32-bit -- counterparts, however, their syntax has been extended -- to 64 bits. --
ifHCInOctets OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter64 MAX-ACCESS read-only STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The total number of octets received on the interface,
including framing characters. This object is a 64-bit
version of ifInOctets.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifXEntry 6 }
ifHCInUcastPkts OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter64
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of packets, delivered by this sub-layer to
a higher (sub-)layer, which were not addressed to a
multicast or broadcast address at this sub-layer.
This object is a 64-bit version of ifInUcastPkts.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifXEntry 7 }
ifHCInMulticastPkts OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter64
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of packets, delivered by this sub-layer to
a higher (sub-)layer, which were addressed to a
multicast address at this sub-layer. For a MAC layer
protocol, this includes both Group and Functional
addresses. This object is a 64-bit version of
ifInMulticastPkts.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifXEntry 8 }
ifHCInBroadcastPkts OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter64
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of packets, delivered by this sub-layer to
a higher (sub-)layer, which were addressed to a
broadcast address at this sub-layer. This object is a
64-bit version of ifInBroadcastPkts.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifXEntry 9 }
ifHCOutOctets OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter64
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The total number of octets transmitted out of the
interface, including framing characters. This object
is a 64-bit version of ifOutOctets.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifXEntry 10 }
ifHCOutUcastPkts OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter64
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The total number of packets that higher-level
protocols requested be transmitted, and which were not
addressed to a multicast or broadcast address at this
sub-layer, including those that were discarded or not
sent. This object is a 64-bit version of
ifOutUcastPkts.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifXEntry 11 }
ifHCOutMulticastPkts OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter64
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The total number of packets that higher-level
protocols requested be transmitted, and which were
addressed to a multicast address at this sub-layer,
including those that were discarded or not sent. For
a MAC layer protocol, this includes both Group and
Functional addresses. This object is a 64-bit version
of ifOutMulticastPkts.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifXEntry 12 }
ifHCOutBroadcastPkts OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter64
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The total number of packets that higher-level
protocols requested be transmitted, and which were
addressed to a broadcast address at this sub-layer,
including those that were discarded or not sent. This
object is a 64-bit version of ifOutBroadcastPkts.
Discontinuities in the value of this counter can occur
at re-initialization of the management system, and at
other times as indicated by the value of
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime."
::= { ifXEntry 13 }
ifLinkUpDownTrapEnable OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX INTEGER { enabled(1), disabled(2) }
MAX-ACCESS read-write
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"Indicates whether linkUp/linkDown traps should be
generated for this interface.
By default, this object should have the value
enabled(1) for interfaces which do not operate on
'top' of any other interface (as defined in the
ifStackTable), and disabled(2) otherwise."
::= { ifXEntry 14 }
ifHighSpeed OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Gauge32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"An estimate of the interface's current bandwidth in
units of 1,000,000 bits per second. If this object
reports a value of `n' then the speed of the interface
is somewhere in the range of `n-500,000' to
`n+499,999'. For interfaces which do not vary in
bandwidth or for those where no accurate estimation
can be made, this object should contain the nominal
bandwidth. For a sub-layer which has no concept of
bandwidth, this object should be zero."
::= { ifXEntry 15 }
ifPromiscuousMode OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX TruthValue
MAX-ACCESS read-write
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"This object has a value of false(2) if this interface
only accepts packets/frames that are addressed to this
station. This object has a value of true(1) when the
station accepts all packets/frames transmitted on the
media. The value true(1) is only legal on certain
types of media. If legal, setting this object to a
value of true(1) may require the interface to be reset
before becoming effective.
The value of ifPromiscuousMode does not affect the
reception of broadcast and multicast packets/frames by
the interface."
::= { ifXEntry 16 }
ifConnectorPresent OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX TruthValue
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"This object has the value 'true(1)' if the interface
sublayer has a physical connector and the value
'false(2)' otherwise."
::= { ifXEntry 17 }
ifAlias OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX DisplayString (SIZE(0..64))
MAX-ACCESS read-write
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"This object is an 'alias' name for the interface as
specified by a network manager, and provides a non-
volatile 'handle' for the interface.
On the first instantiation of an interface, the value
of ifAlias associated with that interface is the
zero-length string. As and when a value is written
into an instance of ifAlias through a network
management set operation, then the agent must retain
the supplied value in the ifAlias instance associated
with the same interface for as long as that interface
remains instantiated, including across all re-
initializations/reboots of the network management
system, including those which result in a change of
the interface's ifIndex value.
An example of the value which a network manager might
store in this object for a WAN interface is the
(Telco's) circuit number/identifier of the interface.
Some agents may support write-access only for
interfaces having particular values of ifType. An
agent which supports write access to this object is
required to keep the value in non-volatile storage,
but it may limit the length of new values depending on
how much storage is already occupied by the current
values for other interfaces."
::= { ifXEntry 18 }
ifCounterDiscontinuityTime OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX TimeStamp
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The value of sysUpTime on the most recent occasion at
which any one or more of this interface's counters
suffered a discontinuity. The relevant counters are
the specific instances associated with this interface
of any Counter32 or Counter64 object contained in the
ifTable or ifXTable. If no such discontinuities have
occurred since the last re-initialization of the local
management subsystem, then this object contains a zero
value."
::= { ifXEntry 19 }
-- The Interface Stack Group -- -- Implementation of this group is mandatory for all systems --
ifStackTable OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX SEQUENCE OF IfStackEntry
MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The table containing information on the relationships
between the multiple sub-layers of network interfaces.
In particular, it contains information on which sub-
layers run 'on top of' which other sub-layers, where
each sub-layer corresponds to a conceptual row in the
ifTable. For example, when the sub-layer with ifIndex
value x runs over the sub-layer with ifIndex value y,
then this table contains:
ifStackStatus.x.y=active
For each ifIndex value, I, which identifies an active
interface, there are always at least two instantiated
rows in this table associated with I. For one of
these rows, I is the value of ifStackHigherLayer; for
the other, I is the value of ifStackLowerLayer. (If I
is not involved in multiplexing, then these are the
only two rows associated with I.)
For example, two rows exist even for an interface
which has no others stacked on top or below it:
ifStackStatus.0.x=active
ifStackStatus.x.0=active "
::= { ifMIBObjects 2 }
ifStackEntry OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX IfStackEntry
MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"Information on a particular relationship between two
sub-layers, specifying that one sub-layer runs on
'top' of the other sub-layer. Each sub-layer
corresponds to a conceptual row in the ifTable."
INDEX { ifStackHigherLayer, ifStackLowerLayer }
::= { ifStackTable 1 }
IfStackEntry ::=
SEQUENCE {
ifStackHigherLayer Integer32,
ifStackLowerLayer Integer32,
ifStackStatus RowStatus
}
ifStackHigherLayer OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Integer32
MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The value of ifIndex corresponding to the higher
sub-layer of the relationship, i.e., the sub-layer
which runs on 'top' of the sub-layer identified by the
corresponding instance of ifStackLowerLayer. If there
is no higher sub-layer (below the internetwork layer),
then this object has the value 0."
::= { ifStackEntry 1 }
ifStackLowerLayer OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Integer32
MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The value of ifIndex corresponding to the lower sub-
layer of the relationship, i.e., the sub-layer which
runs 'below' the sub-layer identified by the
corresponding instance of ifStackHigherLayer. If
there is no lower sub-layer, then this object has the
value 0."
::= { ifStackEntry 2 }
ifStackStatus OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX RowStatus
MAX-ACCESS read-create
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The status of the relationship between two sub-
layers.
Changing the value of this object from 'active' to
'notInService' or 'destroy' will likely have
consequences up and down the interface stack. Thus,
write access to this object is likely to be
inappropriate for some types of interfaces, and many
implementations will choose not to support write-
access for any type of interface."
::= { ifStackEntry 3 }
ifStackLastChange OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX TimeTicks MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The value of sysUpTime at the time of the last change
of the (whole) interface stack. A change of the
interface stack is defined to be any creation,
deletion, or change in value of any instance of
ifStackStatus. If the interface stack has been
unchanged since the last re-initialization of the
local network management subsystem, then this object
contains a zero value."
::= { ifMIBObjects 6 }
-- Generic Receive Address Table -- -- This group of objects is mandatory for all types of -- interfaces which can receive packets/frames addressed to -- more than one address. -- -- This table replaces the ifExtnsRcvAddr table. The main -- difference is that this table makes use of the RowStatus -- textual convention, while ifExtnsRcvAddr did not.
ifRcvAddressTable OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX SEQUENCE OF IfRcvAddressEntry
MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"This table contains an entry for each address
(broadcast, multicast, or uni-cast) for which the
system will receive packets/frames on a particular
interface, except as follows:
- for an interface operating in promiscuous mode,
entries are only required for those addresses for
which the system would receive frames were it not
operating in promiscuous mode.
- for 802.5 functional addresses, only one entry is
required, for the address which has the functional
address bit ANDed with the bit mask of all functional
addresses for which the interface will accept frames.
A system is normally able to use any unicast address
which corresponds to an entry in this table as a
source address."
::= { ifMIBObjects 4 }
ifRcvAddressEntry OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX IfRcvAddressEntry
MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A list of objects identifying an address for which
the system will accept packets/frames on the
particular interface identified by the index value
ifIndex."
INDEX { ifIndex, ifRcvAddressAddress }
::= { ifRcvAddressTable 1 }
IfRcvAddressEntry ::=
SEQUENCE {
ifRcvAddressAddress PhysAddress,
ifRcvAddressStatus RowStatus,
ifRcvAddressType INTEGER
}
ifRcvAddressAddress OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX PhysAddress
MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"An address for which the system will accept
packets/frames on this entry's interface."
::= { ifRcvAddressEntry 1 }
ifRcvAddressStatus OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX RowStatus
MAX-ACCESS read-create
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"This object is used to create and delete rows in the
ifRcvAddressTable."
::= { ifRcvAddressEntry 2 }
ifRcvAddressType OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX INTEGER {
other(1),
volatile(2),
nonVolatile(3)
}
MAX-ACCESS read-create STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"This object has the value nonVolatile(3) for those
entries in the table which are valid and will not be
deleted by the next restart of the managed system.
Entries having the value volatile(2) are valid and
exist, but have not been saved, so that will not exist
after the next restart of the managed system. Entries
having the value other(1) are valid and exist but are
not classified as to whether they will continue to
exist after the next restart."
DEFVAL { volatile }
::= { ifRcvAddressEntry 3 }
-- definition of interface-related traps.
linkDown NOTIFICATION-TYPE
OBJECTS { ifIndex, ifAdminStatus, ifOperStatus }
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A linkDown trap signifies that the SNMPv2 entity,
acting in an agent role, has detected that the
ifOperStatus object for one of its communication links
is about to enter the down state from some other state
(but not from the notPresent state). This other state
is indicated by the included value of ifOperStatus."
::= { snmpTraps 3 }
linkUp NOTIFICATION-TYPE
OBJECTS { ifIndex, ifAdminStatus, ifOperStatus }
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A linkDown trap signifies that the SNMPv2 entity,
acting in an agent role, has detected that the
ifOperStatus object for one of its communication links
left the down state and transitioned into some other
state (but not into the notPresent state). This other
state is indicated by the included value of
ifOperStatus."
::= { snmpTraps 4 }
-- conformance information
ifConformance OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { ifMIB 2 }
ifGroups OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { ifConformance 1 } ifCompliances OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { ifConformance 2 }
-- compliance statements
ifCompliance2 MODULE-COMPLIANCE
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The compliance statement for SNMPv2 entities which
have network interfaces."
MODULE -- this module
MANDATORY-GROUPS { ifGeneralInformationGroup, ifStackGroup2,
ifCounterDiscontinuityGroup }
GROUP ifFixedLengthGroup
DESCRIPTION
"This group is mandatory for all network interfaces
which are character-oriented or transmit data in
fixed-length transmission units."
GROUP ifHCFixedLengthGroup
DESCRIPTION
"This group is mandatory only for those network
interfaces which are character-oriented or transmit
data in fixed-length transmission units, and for which
the value of the corresponding instance of ifSpeed is
greater than 20,000,000 bits/second."
GROUP ifPacketGroup
DESCRIPTION
"This group is mandatory for all network interfaces
which are packet-oriented."
GROUP ifHCPacketGroup
DESCRIPTION
"This group is mandatory only for those network
interfaces which are packet-oriented and for which the
value of the corresponding instance of ifSpeed is
greater than 650,000,000 bits/second."
GROUP ifRcvAddressGroup
DESCRIPTION
"The applicability of this group MUST be defined by
the media-specific MIBs. Media-specific MIBs must
define the exact meaning, use, and semantics of the
addresses in this group."
OBJECT ifLinkUpDownTrapEnable
MIN-ACCESS read-only
DESCRIPTION
"Write access is not required."
OBJECT ifPromiscuousMode
MIN-ACCESS read-only
DESCRIPTION
"Write access is not required."
OBJECT ifStackStatus
SYNTAX INTEGER { active(1) } -- subset of RowStatus
MIN-ACCESS read-only
DESCRIPTION
"Write access is not required, and only one of the six
enumerated values for the RowStatus textual convention
need be supported, specifically: active(1)."
OBJECT ifAdminStatus
SYNTAX INTEGER { up(1), down(2) }
MIN-ACCESS read-only
DESCRIPTION
"Write access is not required, nor is support for the
value testing(3)."
OBJECT ifAlias
MIN-ACCESS read-only
DESCRIPTION
"Write access is not required."
::= { ifCompliances 2 }
-- units of conformance
ifGeneralInformationGroup OBJECT-GROUP
OBJECTS { ifIndex, ifDescr, ifType, ifSpeed, ifPhysAddress,
ifAdminStatus, ifOperStatus, ifLastChange,
ifLinkUpDownTrapEnable, ifConnectorPresent,
ifHighSpeed, ifName, ifNumber, ifAlias,
ifTableLastChange }
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A collection of objects providing information
applicable to all network interfaces."
::= { ifGroups 10 }
-- the following five groups are mutually exclusive; at most -- one of these groups is implemented for any interface
ifFixedLengthGroup OBJECT-GROUP
OBJECTS { ifInOctets, ifOutOctets, ifInUnknownProtos,
ifInErrors, ifOutErrors }
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A collection of objects providing information
specific to non-high speed (non-high speed interfaces
transmit and receive at speeds less than or equal to
20,000,000 bits/second) character-oriented or fixed-
length-transmission network interfaces."
::= { ifGroups 2 }
ifHCFixedLengthGroup OBJECT-GROUP
OBJECTS { ifHCInOctets, ifHCOutOctets,
ifInOctets, ifOutOctets, ifInUnknownProtos,
ifInErrors, ifOutErrors }
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A collection of objects providing information
specific to high speed (greater than 20,000,000
bits/second) character-oriented or fixed-length-
transmission network interfaces."
::= { ifGroups 3 }
ifPacketGroup OBJECT-GROUP
OBJECTS { ifInOctets, ifOutOctets, ifInUnknownProtos,
ifInErrors, ifOutErrors,
ifMtu, ifInUcastPkts, ifInMulticastPkts,
ifInBroadcastPkts, ifInDiscards,
ifOutUcastPkts, ifOutMulticastPkts,
ifOutBroadcastPkts, ifOutDiscards,
ifPromiscuousMode }
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A collection of objects providing information
specific to non-high speed (non-high speed interfaces
transmit and receive at speeds less than or equal to
20,000,000 bits/second) packet-oriented network
interfaces."
::= { ifGroups 4 }
ifHCPacketGroup OBJECT-GROUP
OBJECTS { ifHCInOctets, ifHCOutOctets,
ifInOctets, ifOutOctets, ifInUnknownProtos,
ifInErrors, ifOutErrors,
ifMtu, ifInUcastPkts, ifInMulticastPkts,
ifInBroadcastPkts, ifInDiscards,
ifOutUcastPkts, ifOutMulticastPkts,
ifOutBroadcastPkts, ifOutDiscards,
ifPromiscuousMode }
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A collection of objects providing information
specific to high speed (greater than 20,000,000
bits/second but less than or equal to 650,000,000
bits/second) packet-oriented network interfaces."
::= { ifGroups 5 }
ifVHCPacketGroup OBJECT-GROUP
OBJECTS { ifHCInUcastPkts, ifHCInMulticastPkts,
ifHCInBroadcastPkts, ifHCOutUcastPkts,
ifHCOutMulticastPkts, ifHCOutBroadcastPkts,
ifHCInOctets, ifHCOutOctets,
ifInOctets, ifOutOctets, ifInUnknownProtos,
ifInErrors, ifOutErrors,
ifMtu, ifInUcastPkts, ifInMulticastPkts,
ifInBroadcastPkts, ifInDiscards,
ifOutUcastPkts, ifOutMulticastPkts,
ifOutBroadcastPkts, ifOutDiscards,
ifPromiscuousMode }
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A collection of objects providing information
specific to higher speed (greater than 650,000,000
bits/second) packet-oriented network interfaces."
::= { ifGroups 6 }
ifRcvAddressGroup OBJECT-GROUP
OBJECTS { ifRcvAddressStatus, ifRcvAddressType }
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A collection of objects providing information on the
multiple addresses which an interface receives."
::= { ifGroups 7 }
ifStackGroup2 OBJECT-GROUP
OBJECTS { ifStackStatus, ifStackLastChange }
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A collection of objects providing information on the
layering of MIB-II interfaces."
::= { ifGroups 11 }
ifCounterDiscontinuityGroup OBJECT-GROUP
OBJECTS { ifCounterDiscontinuityTime }
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"A collection of objects providing information
specific to interface counter discontinuities."
::= { ifGroups 13 }
-- Deprecated Definitions - Objects
-- -- The Interface Test Table -- -- This group of objects is optional. However, a media-specific -- MIB may make implementation of this group mandatory. -- -- This table replaces the ifExtnsTestTable --
ifTestTable OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX SEQUENCE OF IfTestEntry
MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"This table contains one entry per interface. It
defines objects which allow a network manager to
instruct an agent to test an interface for various
faults. Tests for an interface are defined in the
media-specific MIB for that interface. After invoking
a test, the object ifTestResult can be read to
determine the outcome. If an agent can not perform
the test, ifTestResult is set to so indicate. The
object ifTestCode can be used to provide further
test-specific or interface-specific (or even
enterprise-specific) information concerning the
outcome of the test. Only one test can be in progress
on each interface at any one time. If one test is in
progress when another test is invoked, the second test
is rejected. Some agents may reject a test when a
prior test is active on another interface.
Before starting a test, a manager-station must first
obtain 'ownership' of the entry in the ifTestTable for
the interface to be tested. This is accomplished with
the ifTestId and ifTestStatus objects as follows:
try_again:
get (ifTestId, ifTestStatus)
while (ifTestStatus != notInUse)
/*
* Loop while a test is running or some other
* manager is configuring a test.
*/
short delay
get (ifTestId, ifTestStatus)
}
/*
* Is not being used right now -- let's compete
* to see who gets it.
*/
lock_value = ifTestId
if ( set(ifTestId = lock_value, ifTestStatus = inUse,
ifTestOwner = 'my-IP-address') == FAILURE)
/*
* Another manager got the ifTestEntry -- go
* try again
*/
goto try_again;
/*
* I have the lock
*/
set up any test parameters.
/*
* This starts the test
*/
set(ifTestType = test_to_run);
wait for test completion by polling ifTestResult
when test completes, agent sets ifTestResult
agent also sets ifTestStatus = 'notInUse'
retrieve any additional test results, and ifTestId
if (ifTestId == lock_value+1) results are valid
A manager station first retrieves the value of the
appropriate ifTestId and ifTestStatus objects,
periodically repeating the retrieval if necessary,
until the value of ifTestStatus is 'notInUse'. The
manager station then tries to set the same ifTestId
object to the value it just retrieved, the same
ifTestStatus object to 'inUse', and the corresponding
ifTestOwner object to a value indicating itself. If
the set operation succeeds then the manager has
obtained ownership of the ifTestEntry, and the value of
the ifTestId object is incremented by the agent (per
the semantics of TestAndIncr). Failure of the set
operation indicates that some other manager has
obtained ownership of the ifTestEntry.
Once ownership is obtained, any test parameters can be
setup, and then the test is initiated by setting
ifTestType. On completion of the test, the agent sets
ifTestStatus to 'notInUse'. Once this occurs, the
manager can retrieve the results. In the (rare) event
that the invocation of tests by two network managers
were to overlap, then there would be a possibility that
the first test's results might be overwritten by the
second test's results prior to the first results being
read. This unlikely circumstance can be detected by a
network manager retrieving ifTestId at the same time as
retrieving the test results, and ensuring that the
results are for the desired request.
If ifTestType is not set within an abnormally long
period of time after ownership is obtained, the agent
should time-out the manager, and reset the value of the
ifTestStatus object back to 'notInUse'. It is
suggested that this time-out period be 5 minutes.
In general, a management station must not retransmit a
request to invoke a test for which it does not receive
a response; instead, it properly inspects an agent's
MIB to determine if the invocation was successful.
Only if the invocation was unsuccessful, is the
invocation request retransmitted.
Some tests may require the interface to be taken off-
line in order to execute them, or may even require the
agent to reboot after completion of the test. In these
circumstances, communication with the management
station invoking the test may be lost until after
completion of the test. An agent is not required to
support such tests. However, if such tests are
supported, then the agent should make every effort to
transmit a response to the request which invoked the
test prior to losing communication. When the agent is
restored to normal service, the results of the test are
properly made available in the appropriate objects.
Note that this requires that the ifIndex value assigned
to an interface must be unchanged even if the test
causes a reboot. An agent must reject any test for
which it cannot, perhaps due to resource constraints,
make available at least the minimum amount of
information after that test completes."
::= { ifMIBObjects 3 }
ifTestEntry OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX IfTestEntry
MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"An entry containing objects for invoking tests on an
interface."
AUGMENTS { ifEntry }
::= { ifTestTable 1 }
IfTestEntry ::=
SEQUENCE {
ifTestId TestAndIncr,
ifTestStatus INTEGER,
ifTestType AutonomousType,
ifTestResult INTEGER,
ifTestCode OBJECT IDENTIFIER,
ifTestOwner OwnerString
}
ifTestId OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX TestAndIncr
MAX-ACCESS read-write
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"This object identifies the current invocation of the
interface's test."
::= { ifTestEntry 1 }
ifTestStatus OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX INTEGER { notInUse(1), inUse(2) }
MAX-ACCESS read-write
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"This object indicates whether or not some manager
currently has the necessary 'ownership' required to
invoke a test on this interface. A write to this
object is only successful when it changes its value
from 'notInUse(1)' to 'inUse(2)'. After completion of
a test, the agent resets the value back to
'notInUse(1)'."
::= { ifTestEntry 2 }
ifTestType OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX AutonomousType
MAX-ACCESS read-write
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"A control variable used to start and stop operator-
initiated interface tests. Most OBJECT IDENTIFIER
values assigned to tests are defined elsewhere, in
association with specific types of interface.
However, this document assigns a value for a full-
duplex loopback test, and defines the special meanings
of the subject identifier:
noTest OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { 0 0 }
When the value noTest is written to this object, no
action is taken unless a test is in progress, in which
case the test is aborted. Writing any other value to
this object is only valid when no test is currently in
progress, in which case the indicated test is
initiated.
When read, this object always returns the most recent
value that ifTestType was set to. If it has not been
set since the last initialization of the network
management subsystem on the agent, a value of noTest
is returned."
::= { ifTestEntry 3 }
ifTestResult OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX INTEGER {
none(1), -- no test yet requested
success(2),
inProgress(3),
notSupported(4),
unAbleToRun(5), -- due to state of system
aborted(6),
failed(7)
}
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"This object contains the result of the most recently
requested test, or the value none(1) if no tests have
been requested since the last reset. Note that this
facility provides no provision for saving the results
of one test when starting another, as could be
required if used by multiple managers concurrently."
::= { ifTestEntry 4 }
ifTestCode OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX OBJECT IDENTIFIER
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"This object contains a code which contains more
specific information on the test result, for example
an error-code after a failed test. Error codes and
other values this object may take are specific to the
type of interface and/or test. The value may have the
semantics of either the AutonomousType or
InstancePointer textual conventions as defined in RFC
1903. The identifier:
testCodeUnknown OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { 0 0 }
is defined for use if no additional result code is
available."
::= { ifTestEntry 5 }
ifTestOwner OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX OwnerString
MAX-ACCESS read-write
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"The entity which currently has the 'ownership'
required to invoke a test on this interface."
::= { ifTestEntry 6 }
-- Deprecated Definitions - Groups
ifGeneralGroup OBJECT-GROUP
OBJECTS { ifDescr, ifType, ifSpeed, ifPhysAddress,
ifAdminStatus, ifOperStatus, ifLastChange,
ifLinkUpDownTrapEnable, ifConnectorPresent,
ifHighSpeed, ifName }
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"A collection of objects deprecated in favour of
ifGeneralInformationGroup."
::= { ifGroups 1 }
ifTestGroup OBJECT-GROUP
OBJECTS { ifTestId, ifTestStatus, ifTestType,
ifTestResult, ifTestCode, ifTestOwner }
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"A collection of objects providing the ability to
invoke tests on an interface."
::= { ifGroups 8 }
ifStackGroup OBJECT-GROUP
OBJECTS { ifStackStatus }
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"The previous collection of objects providing
information on the layering of MIB-II interfaces."
::= { ifGroups 9 }
ifOldObjectsGroup OBJECT-GROUP
OBJECTS { ifInNUcastPkts, ifOutNUcastPkts,
ifOutQLen, ifSpecific }
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"The collection of objects deprecated from the
original MIB-II interfaces group."
::= { ifGroups 12 }
-- Deprecated Definitions - Compliance
ifCompliance MODULE-COMPLIANCE
STATUS deprecated
DESCRIPTION
"The previous compliance statement for SNMPv2 entities
which have network interfaces."
MODULE -- this module
MANDATORY-GROUPS { ifGeneralGroup, ifStackGroup }
GROUP ifFixedLengthGroup
DESCRIPTION
"This group is mandatory for all network interfaces
which are character-oriented or transmit data in
fixed-length transmission units."
GROUP ifHCFixedLengthGroup
DESCRIPTION
"This group is mandatory only for those network
interfaces which are character-oriented or transmit
data in fixed-length transmission units, and for which
the value of the corresponding instance of ifSpeed is
greater than 20,000,000 bits/second."
GROUP ifPacketGroup
DESCRIPTION
"This group is mandatory for all network interfaces
which are packet-oriented."
GROUP ifHCPacketGroup
DESCRIPTION
"This group is mandatory only for those network
interfaces which are packet-oriented and for which the
value of the corresponding instance of ifSpeed is
greater than 650,000,000 bits/second."
GROUP ifTestGroup
DESCRIPTION
"This group is optional. Media-specific MIBs which
require interface tests are strongly encouraged to use
this group for invoking tests and reporting results.
A medium specific MIB which has mandatory tests may
make implementation of this group mandatory."
GROUP ifRcvAddressGroup
DESCRIPTION
"The applicability of this group MUST be defined by
the media-specific MIBs. Media-specific MIBs must
define the exact meaning, use, and semantics of the
addresses in this group."
OBJECT ifLinkUpDownTrapEnable
MIN-ACCESS read-only
DESCRIPTION
"Write access is not required."
OBJECT ifPromiscuousMode
MIN-ACCESS read-only
DESCRIPTION
"Write access is not required."
OBJECT ifStackStatus
SYNTAX INTEGER { active(1) } -- subset of RowStatus
MIN-ACCESS read-only
DESCRIPTION
"Write access is not required, and only one of the six
enumerated values for the RowStatus textual convention
need be supported, specifically: active(1)."
OBJECT ifAdminStatus
SYNTAX INTEGER { up(1), down(2) }
MIN-ACCESS read-only
DESCRIPTION
"Write access is not required, nor is support for the
value testing(3)."
::= { ifCompliances 1 }
END
Acknowledgements
This memo has been produced by the IETF's Interfaces MIB working- group.
The original proposal evolved from conversations and discussions with many people, including at least the following: Fred Baker, Ted Brunner, Chuck Davin, Jeremy Greene, Marshall Rose, Kaj Tesink, and Dean Throop.
References
[1] Case, J., McCloghrie, K., Rose, M., and
S. Waldbusser, "Structure of Management Information for
version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol
(SNMPv2)", RFC 1902, January 1996.
[2] Case, J., McCloghrie, K., Rose, M., and
S. Waldbusser, "Textual Conventions for version 2 of the
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)", RFC 1903,
January 1996.
[3] Case, J., McCloghrie, K., Rose, M., and
S. Waldbusser, "Protocol Operations for version 2 of the
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)", RFC 1905,
January 1996.
[4] McCloghrie, K., and M. Rose, "Management Information Base for
Network Management of TCP/IP-based internets - MIB-II", STD
17, RFC 1213, March 1991.
[5] Case, J., Fedor, M., Schoffstall, M., and J. Davin, "Simple
Network Management Protocol", STD 15, RFC 1157, May 1990.
[6] Postel, J., "Internet Protocol", STD 5, RFC 791, September 1981.
[7] McCloghrie, K., "Extensions to the Generic-Interface MIB", RFC
1229, May 1991.
[8] ATM Forum Technical Committee, "LAN Emulation Client
Management: Version 1.0 Specification", af-lane-0044.000, ATM
Forum, September 1995.
[9] Stewart, B., "Definitions of Managed Objects for Character
Stream Devices using SMIv2", RFC 1658, July 1994.
[10] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
Requirements Levels", RFC 2119, March 1997.
Security Considerations
This MIB contains both readable objects whose values provide the number and status of a device's network interfaces, and write-able objects which allow an administrator to control the interfaces and to perform tests on the interfaces. Unauthorized access to the readable objects is relatively innocuous. Unauthorized access to the write- able objects could cause a denial of service, or in combination with other (e.g., physical) security breaches, could cause unauthorized connectivity to a device.
10. Authors' Addresses
Keith McCloghrie Cisco Systems, Inc. 170 West Tasman Drive San Jose, CA 95134-1706
Phone: 408-526-5260 EMail: [email protected]
Frank Kastenholz FTP Software 2 High Street North Andover, Mass. USA 01845
Phone: 508-685-4000 EMail: [email protected]
11. Full Copyright Statement
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1997). All Rights Reserved.
This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than English.
The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.
This document and the information contained herein is provided on an "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
