1.1.2 What Is the Java DMK?

The Java DMK is a Java API that includes all its class and interface objects, development tools that speed up the development process, and a complete set of documentation. The Java DMK is a compliant implementation of the following specifications:

• The JMX specification

• The JMX Remote API specification

The programmatic components of the Java DMK include the following.

• New standard communication modules – Version 5.1 of Java DMK defines APIs for accessing JMX agents remotely. This version includes new standard communication modules that based on RMI and JMXMP protocols, as defined by the JMX Remote API specification. The JMXMP connector is a custom connector that has been created especially for the JMX Remote API. JMXMP is based on Java serialization over transmission control protocol (TCP) connections.

• RMI, hypertext transport protocol (HTTP), and secure HTTP (HTTPS) communication modules. You can still use the legacy communication modules based on the RMI, HTTP, and HTTPS protocols that were included in previous versions of the product. These legacy communication modules are deprecated in Java DMK 5.1.

• HTML adaptor. The Java DMK includes an HTML adaptor, which supports access to an agent from a web browser.

• Agent services. The library of supplied services includes monitoring, scheduling, dynamic loading, defining relations, new and legacy systems for cascading agent hierarchies, dynamic agent discovery, and components for implementing security mechanisms.

• SNMP API. Applications that rely on the SNMP APIs can integrate into existing network management systems and can help these systems migrate towards a more dynamic, service-based approach to network management.

• SNMPv3 compliance. Java DMK 5.1 provides an implementation of SNMPv3 security to protect your systems from outside interference.

• Security mechanisms. Java DMK 5.1 allows you to choose the level of security you require. For example, for an RMI connector over JRMP, you can use an RMI socket factory, so that the connection between client and server uses the Secure Socket Layer (SSL). A more advanced level of security is available with the standard JMXMP connector, which is based on the Java Secure Socket Extension (JSSE), the Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS), and the Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL).

The development tools are implemented as two standalone applications:

• mibgen – This tool is used when developing SNMP agents. A management information base (MIB) represents the management interface of resources in an SNMP agent, and mibgen generates the corresponding Java objects.

• proxygen – This tool is a proxy object generator for use with legacy connectors. The proxygen tool simplifies the development of Java technology-based management applications. Proxy objects make the communication layer transparent to the manager application. Note that if you require proxies for standard connectors, you should use the dynamic proxies provided by J2SE (java.lang.reflect.Proxy), not the proxygen tool. The proxygen tool is deprecated in Java DMK 5.1.

Finally, the Java DMK includes complete documentation for developers:

• The full description of all classes, interfaces and methods in the APIs, generated by the Javadoc utility.

• The source code for programming examples, which demonstrate various aspects of the functionality of the Java DMK.

• A tutorial that explains the programming examples and a reference guide for the standalone tools.

• Both online HTML and PDF file formats for all documents. The HTML format complies with the accessibility standards for electronic and information technology covered by section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998.