Re: [netmod] operational knobs

["Randy Presuhn" <randy_presuhn at mindspring.com>]

Hi -

> From: "Phil Shafer" <phil at juniper.net>
> To: "Randy Presuhn" <randy_presuhn at mindspring.com>
> Cc: "NETMOD Working Group" <netmod at ietf.org>
> Sent: Sunday, November 01, 2009 3:11 PM
> Subject: Re: [netmod] operational knobs 
>
> "Randy Presuhn" writes:
> >Adding them would have been a change to the protocol's grammar,
> >which would have been a non-starter for several reasons:
> 
> Adding new verbs would not have been so destructive.  A MIB variables
> listing known verbs would have allowed a device to advertise to the
> application the verbs it supported, and verb-less clients would
> simply have ignored the advanced options available on enlghtened
> devices.

I disagree.  The *grammar* of the SNMP protocol has no provision for this
kind of extensibility.   There simply is no way to add a new verb without
changing the grammar of the protocol.  I am certain this limitation was
deliberate; CMIP, developed during the same period, made extensive
use of ASN.1's extinsibility mechanisms (ANY DEFINED BY).

Randy