How the Master Agent Routes a Request: SNMP Adapter for WBEM Compared to the Sun SNMP Agent

Until the release of the SNMP Adapter for WBEM, when an SNMP Manager sent a Get-request for an SNMP MIB-2 variable to the Solstice Enterprise Agents Master Agent, the Master Agent routed the request to the Sun SNMP MIB-2 Agent (mibiisa). Because the Adapter also handles SNMP MIB-2 requests, what happens if the Sun SNMP Agent and the SNMP Adapter for WBEM are both running at the same time? How does the Master Agent route a request?

The Master Agent builds a node table based on the subtrees that are defined in each subagent registration file. The mibiisa subagent registers the entire MIB-2 subtree and the Sun Microsystems MIB subtree. The Adapter registers the MIB-2.system subtree and the hostRsrc subtree. The Master Agent does not allow two agents to register the same subtree.

The Sun SNMP MIB-2 Agent is described in mibiisa(1M). The Master Agent is described in the Solstice Enterprise Agents 1.0 User Guide.

At initialization, the Master Agent creates a node table that contains each subtree that is registered. The Master Agent forwards each Get-request to the agent whose subtree best matches the OID that is included in the request. A request for mib-2.system.5.0, for example, is forwarded to the Adapter. A request for mib-2.interfaces.1.0, on the other hand, is forwarded to the mibiisa subagent. If the OID is not defined within any subtree that is registered by the Master Agent, the Master Agent returns an error in the Get-response.

The SNMP Adapter for WBEM supports SNMP V1 requests only.