Solstice Enterprise Manager 4.1 Managing Your Network

Appendix B

Managed Object Definitions

This appendix provides explanatory and reference information about the Management Information Base (MIB), an important part of the Solstice Enterprise Manager (Solstice EM) architecture, and MIBs supported by Solstice EM.

B.1 The Management Information Base

In the physical, tangible world of daily life, managed objects are generally contained in a database reserved for the storage of managed object data, including attributes and values. The definitions of the characteristics of managed objects are contained in a Management Information Base (MIB), a paper document also available online that delineates and describes each managed object and attribute. As an example of why this data is important and how it is used, when you query for data about a network device in a tool such as the Data Collections tool, and after your query, you receive a collections file filled with data, the values listed inside the file are explained in the MIB for that object. So, if you perform a query and in your collection file you find the following data:

ipRouteType 4

to understand this data, you need to know what ipRouteType is and the meaning of the value 4.The definition of these values is contained in the MIB that contains this attribute. In the example, the attribute ipRouteType is described in the RFC 1213 MIB. The definition includes its syntax, descriptions of its associated parameters, and a topical description. To find out about an attribute of a managed object, you can refer to the MIB that contains its definition.

B.2 MIB Terminology

Inside the MIB, all stored data, including the attributes of objects, is referred to as an object. Consequently, from the perspective of a developer of software applications for network management, attributes, the logical representation of the characteristics of objects, are also objects. In the graphical environment of Solstice EM, however, attributes are considered to be characteristics of managed objects, and are not considered to be objects themselves.

The remainder of this appendix refers to all data contained in a subtree as an object, to remain consistent with industry terminology. At the same time, this appendix provides parallels between the objects described and the user interfaces of Solstice EM applications in which these subtree objects are represented as attributes of a network resource.

B.2.1 Organization of the MIB

Inside the MIB, attributes are organized in groups and subsets of groups as specified in the ISO Abstract Syntax Notation One (ISO ASN.1), the document that details the syntax of a MIB. The MIB is divided into the following four groups where object data is contained:

• Directory group
• Management group
• Experimental group
• Private group

B.2.1.1 Directory Group

The directory group is currently not in use; it is allocated to contain future data about the OSI directory service (X.500).

B.2.1.2 Management Group

The management group contains object data used most often. Objects used in software applications for network management are typically built upon the object data provided in this group. Eleven categories of object data are provided.

TABLE B-1   Attribute Categories in Management Group and Example Attributes

Attribute Category	Example Attribute	Description of Data Provided
system (sys)		Specifies data about the operating system on the network resource, i.e., the operating system on a host.
	sysName	Specifies the name of the resource.
interfaces (if)		Specifies data about the availability of user interfaces on the system.
	ifAdminStatus	Specifies data about whether the system is up, down, or in a test state.
address translation (at)		Specifies mappings of internet protocol and physical, geographical addresses for a particular resource.
	atNetAddress	Specifies the internet address for a particular resource.
Internet Protocol (ip)		Specifies data about the IP attributes of an object.
	ipRouteTable	Specifies the internet protocol routing table of the device.
Internet Control Network Protocol (icmp)		Specifies ICMP protocol data.
	icmpInErrors	Specifies the rate of ICMP input errors.
Transmission Protocol (tcp)	tcpInErrors	Specifies the rate of TCP data.
		Specifies the rate of TCP input errors.
User Datagram Protocol (udp)	udpInDatagrams	Specifies UDP data. UDP is a simple protocol for the transmission of data. The UDP group contains few object attributes.
		Specifies the total number of UDP datagrams received for any given period of time.
Exterior Gateway Protocol (egp)		Specifies EGP data, Object attributes in this subtree are further divided to provide data useful to configuration, performance, and fault management.
	egpNeighAddr	Specifies the internet address of a neighboring system using EGP.
Common Management data Services (cmot)		This group is no longer used. It remains for historical significance. CMOT was designed to facilitate the transition from SNMP to CMIP/CMIS.
Transmission Media- Specific		Specifies data about the media underlying system interfaces.
Simple Network Management Protocol (snmp)		Specifies the number of SNMP errors and packets entering and leaving a system.
	snmpInPkts	Specifies the rate of SNMP packets entering a system.

B.2.1.3 Experimental Group

This group contains data about experimental objects that have the potential to become future standards.

B.2.1.4 Private Group

This group is reserved for objects developed by a company and that have a specific purpose in the network environment. For example, U.S. Robotics has its own MIB that defines data about its modems.

B.3 Managed Objects by Function

Objects of the Management Group play an important role in Solstice EM. Polling frequently for attribute data can help you to proactively determine potential problem areas of the network; then you can set conditions to ensure that these problems do not occur. The data provided by managed objects assists you in the five main areas of network management:

• Fault management--Detecting and fixing network problems.
• Configuration management--Setting up and tweaking network resources, including routers, bridges, and hosts, to ensure that they function effectively.
• Security management--Setting up permissions for users and groups to access software applications and network resources.
• Performance management--Monitoring your network to determine the effectiveness of resources. Also, proactively making changes to hardware and software to enhance their effectiveness.
• Accounting management--Monitoring resources used by individuals and groups to ensure that users have appropriate versions of hardware and software and to maintain the cost effectiveness of the network installation.

The following table shows the functional areas of network management for which the MIB groups provide objects.

TABLE B-2   Solstice EM Objects Provided, Per MIB Group, For Network Management

Management (2) Subtree Group	Functional Areas of Network Management
	Fault Management	Configuration Management	Security Management	Performance Management	Accounting Management
sys	X	X
if	X	X		X	X
at	Objects developed in this group are incorporated into and represented in the other groups shown in this table.
ip	X	X		X	X
icmp				X	X
tcp	X		X	X	X
udp		X	X	X	X
egp	X	X		X
cmot	No objects are contained in this group.
transmission	Objects in this group pertain to the specific technology underlying the interfaces of an application. The objects in this group align with the types of technology, including Token Ring and FDDI, rather than functional areas of network management.
snmp	X	X	X	X	X

B.4 Objects and Solstice EM

Solstice EM provides three tools for retrieving data about attributes and attribute values of objects:

• RPC/CMIP Data
• SNMP Data
• Data Collections

B.4.1 Solstice EM Applications and Supported Protocols

In the RPC/CMIP Data tool and the SNMP Data tool, you can poll and view non-persistent data about an object. In the Data Collections tool, you can also poll and view data. You can also record the data retrieved to a collection or graph trends in the Grapher tool. The following table lists the protocols supported by each tool.

TABLE B-3   Table of Protocols Accepted by Solstice EM Data Collecting Tools

Application	Protocol Accepted
	RPC	CMIP	SNMP
RPC/CMIP Data	X	X
SNMP Data			X
Data Collections	X	X	X

B.4.2 MIBs Supported by Solstice EM

Solstice EM supports many MIBs supporting third-party products including Cisco routers, Synoptic Token Ring and Ethernet networks, and others. The default Solstice EM agent also supports two kinds of MIBs:

• RFC 1213 MIB
• Solstice MIB

For each of these MIBs, you can retrieve data about the objects and attributes of objects contained in them. TABLE B-4 provides a listing and description of all Solstice MIB objects and attributes supported by Solstice EM. Unless specified in the table, these attributes are read-only, which means that they can be viewed in RPC/CMIP Data, SNMP Data, or Data Collections tools but cannot be modified. Read-write attributes, which can be modified, are noted in the table.

TABLE B-4   Objects and Attributes of Solstice MIB Supported by Solstice EM Default Agent

Object	Attribute	Description
psEntry		Specifies the sequence of attributes for the Sun Processes group.
	psParentProcessID	Specifies the unique identifier of the parent process of the current process.
	psProcessCpuTime	Specifies the CPU time (including both system and user time) consumed thus far.
	psProcessID	Specifies a unique identifier for the process.
	psProcessName	Specifies the name of the process as a character string.
	psProcessSize	Specifies the combined size of the data and stack segments in kilobytes.)
	psProcessState	Specifies the run state of the process. Returns any of the following letters: R - Runnable T - Stopped P - In page wait D - Non-interruptable wait S - Sleeping (less than 20 seconds) I - Idle (more than 20 seconds) Z - Zombie
	psProcessStatus	Specifies whether or not a signal will be sent to the process. This attribute is read-write and can be modified
	psProcessTTY	Specifies the name of the terminal controlling the process
	psProcessUserID	Specifies the numeric form of the name of the user associated with this process
	psProcessUserName	Specifies the name of the user who started the process.
	psProcessWaitChannel	Specifies the reason why the process is waiting. Returns a description in the form of a character string.
sunHostPerf		The group of attributes relating to timeticks, a unit of measure equating to hundredths of a second. Attributes in this group return the value of the number of timeticks that pass during an event.
	rsDiskXfer1	No description exists for this mandatory attribute.
	rsDiskXfer2	No description exists for this mandatory attribute.
	rsDiskXfer3	No description exists for this mandatory attribute.
	rsDiskXfer4	No description exists for this mandatory attribute.
sunHostPerf (continued)	rsIdleModeTime	Specifies the total number of timeticks used in idle mode since the system was last booted.
	rsIfCollisions	Specifies the number of output collisions.
	rsIfInErrors	Specifies the number of input errors.
	rsIfInPackets	Specifies the number of input packets.
	rsIfOutErrors	Specifies the number of output errors.
	rsIfOutPackets	Specifies the number of output packets.
	rsNiceModeTime	Specifies the total number of timeticks used by nice mode since the system was last booted.
	rsSystemProcessTime	Specifies the total number of timeticks used by system processes since the system was last booted.
	rsUserProcessTime	Specifies the total number of timeticks used by user processes since the system was last booted.
	rsVIntr	Specifies the number of device interrupts.
	rsVPagesIn	Specifies the number of pages read in from the disk.
	rsVPagesOut	Specifies the number of pages written to a disk.
	rsVSwapIn	Specifies the number of pages swapped in to the accepting host.
	rsVSwapOut	Specifies the number of pages swapped out to another host.
sunSystem		Specifies the system group. Attributes of the system group describe characteristics of the network systems. The implementation of this group is mandatory.
	agentDescr	Specifies the SNMP agent's description of itself.
	hostID	Specifies a unique four-byte binary string. This value is unique to Sun hardware.
	motd	Specifies the first line of /etc/motd.
	unixTime	Specifies Unix system time, measured in seconds since January 1, 1970 GMT.

B.5 MIBs Supported by Solstice EM

Solstice EM supports the following MIBs developed by business units of Sun Microsystems and by other companies. You can view these MIBs and their associated objects and attributes in the SNMP Data tool by clicking View -> Show All Attributes.

• Cisco MIB
• ECSV2 MIB
• Host-Resources MIB
• Retix MIB
• Sun Master Agent MIB
• Synoptics Common MIB
• Synoptics Ethernet MIB
• Synoptics IEEE8023 MIB
• Synoptics TokenRing MIB