RFC 2262 (rfc2262) - Page 3 of 39

Message Processing and Dispatching for the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)

RFC 2262               SNMPv3 Management Protocol           January 1998


   interact with other subsystems within the architecture.  The reader
   is expected to have read and understood the description of the SNMP
   architecture, defined in [RFC 2261].

   The Dispatcher in the SNMP engine sends and receives SNMP messages.
   It also dispatches SNMP PDUs to SNMP applications. When an SNMP
   message needs to be prepared or when data needs to be extracted from
   an SNMP message, the Dispatcher delegates these tasks to a message
   version-specific Message Processing Model within the Message
   Processing Subsystem.

   A Message Processing Model is responsibile for processing a SNMP
   version-specific message and for coordinating the interaction with
   the Security Subsystem to ensure proper security is applied to the
   SNMP message being handled.

   Interactions between the Dispatcher, the Message Processing
   Subsystem, and applications are modelled using abstract data elements
   and abstract service interface primitives defined by the SNMP
   architecture.

   Similarly, interactions between the Message Processing Subsystem and
   the Security Subsystem are modelled using abstract data elements and
   abstract service interface primitives as defined by the SNMP
   architecture.

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED",  "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.

2.  Overview

   The following illustration depicts the Message Processing in relation
   to  SNMP applications, the Security Subsystem and Transport Mappings.

















Case, et. al.               Standards Track