1.5 Master Agent

The Master Agent acts as the primary interface between the network manager and the subagents. The requests received from the manager are parsed by the Master Agent. If necessary, the original requests are broken into multiple requests. The original request is distributed by the Master Agent based on the manageability provided by each subagent. The request is then forwarded to the appropriate subagents, which provide a response to each request. After collecting all the responses from each subagent, the final response is sent to the network manager.

Only one Master Agent presides over the Master/subagent model. The Master Agent acts as a request scheduler and dispatcher for all subscribed subagents. In addition, the subagents send traps to the Master Agent, that are then forwarded to the manager.

Figure 1-2 illustrates the Master Agent as it relates to the architecture of SEA.

Figure 1-2 Architecture of the Master Agent