RFC 3419 (rfc3419) - Page 2 of 18
Textual Conventions for Transport Addresses
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
RFC 3419 Textual Conventions for Transport Addresses December 2002
1. Introduction
Several MIB modules need to represent transport-layer addresses in a
generic way. Typical examples are MIBs for application protocols
that can operate over several different transports or application
management MIBs that need to model generic communication endpoints.
The SMIv2 in STD 58, RFC 2579 [RFC 2579] defines the textual
conventions TDomain and TAddress to represent generic transport layer
endpoints. A generic TAddress value is interpreted in a given
transport domain which is identified by a TDomain value. The TDomain
is an object identifier which allows MIB authors to extend the set of
supported transport domains by providing suitable definitions in
standardized or enterprise specific MIB modules.
An initial set of TDomain values and concrete TAddress formats has
been standardized in STD 62, RFC 3417 [RFC 3417]. These definitions
are however mixed up with SNMP semantics. Furthermore, definitions
for Internet transport protocols over IPv4 and IPv6 are missing.
The purpose of this memo is to introduce a set of well-known textual
conventions to represent commonly used transport-layer addressing
information which is compatible with the original TDomain and
TAddress approach and which includes definitions for additional
Internet transport protocols over IPv4 and IPv6. This memo also
introduces a new textual convention which enumerates the well-known
transport domains since such an enumeration provides in many cases
sufficient flexibility and is more efficient compared to object
identifiers.
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT" and "MAY" in
this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14, RFC 2119
[RFC 2119].
2. The Internet-Standard Management Framework
For a detailed overview of the documents that describe the current
Internet-Standard Management Framework, please refer to section 7 of
RFC 3410 [RFC 3410].
Managed objects are accessed via a virtual information store, termed
the Management Information Base or MIB. MIB objects are generally
accessed through the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).
Objects in the MIB are defined using the mechanisms defined in the
Structure of Management Information (SMI). This memo specifies a MIB
module that is compliant to the SMIv2, which is described in STD 58,
RFC 2578 [RFC 2578], STD 58, RFC 2579 [RFC 2579] and STD 58, RFC 2580
[RFC 2580].
Daniele & Schoenwaelder Standards Track