RFC 2064 (rfc2064) - Page 2 of 38
Traffic Flow Measurement: Meter MIB
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
RFC 2064 Meter MIB January 1997
RFC 1156 defines MIB-I, the core set of managed objects for the
Internet suite of protocols. STD 17, RFC 1213 [1] defines MIB-II,
an evolution of MIB-I based on implementation experience and new
operational requirements.
STD 15, RFC 1157 defines the SNMP, the protocol used for network
access to managed objects.
RFC 1442 [2] defines the SMI for version 2 of the Simple Network
Management Protocol.
RFCs 1443 and 1444 [3,4] define Textual Conventions and
Conformance Statements for version 2 of the Simple Network
Management Protocol.
RFC 1452 [5] describes how versions 1 and 2 of the Simple Network
Management Protocol should coexist.
The Framework permits new objects to be defined for the purpose of
experimentation and evaluation.
2 Objects
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) [6]
defined in the SMI. In particular, each object has a name, a syntax,
and an encoding. The name is an object identifier, an
administratively assigned name, which specifies an object type. 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 OBJECT
DESCRIPTOR, to also refer to the object type.
The syntax of an object type defines the abstract data structure
corresponding to that object type. The ASN.1 language is used for
this purpose. However, the SMI [2] purposely restricts the ASN.1
constructs which may be used. These restrictions are explicitly made
for simplicity.
The encoding of an object type is simply how that object type is
represented using the object type's syntax. Implicitly tied to the
notion of an object type's syntax and encoding is how the object type
is represented when being transmitted on the network.
The SMI specifies the use of the basic encoding rules of ASN.1 [7],
subject to the additional requirements imposed by the SNMP.
Brownlee Experimental