SNMP Agent Extensibility (agentx)

This Working Group Did Not Meet

NOTE: This charter is a snapshot of the 49th IETF Meeting in San Diego, California. It may now be out-of-date. Last Modified: 24-Jul-00

Chair(s):

Bob Natale <bnatale@acecomm.com>

Operations and Management Area Director(s):

Randy Bush <randy@psg.com>
Bert Wijnen <bwijnen@lucent.com>

Operations and Management Area Advisor:

Bert Wijnen <bwijnen@lucent.com>

Editor(s):

Mark Ellison <ellison@word.std.com>

Mailing Lists:

General Discussion:agentx@dorothy.bmc.com
To Subscribe: agentx-request@dorothy.bmc.com
In Body: Subscribe. MUST include Subject: subscribe
Archive: ftp://amethyst.bmc.com/pub/agentx/archives

Description of Working Group:

The goal of this working group is to define standards-track technology for SNMP Agent extensibility. The resulting technology specification will allow independently developed sub-agents to communicate with a master-agent running on an Internet device.

The technology specification will consist of:

o (mandatory) a platform-independent protocol which supports intra-agent communication within a device or local area network;

o (optional) a MIB module, which, when implemented by a master-agent, allows an SNMP-based management application to monitor and control the intra-agent communication service; and,

o (optional) a programmatic interface to the services offered by that protocol.

The working group is explicitly directed to develop a solution which is adequate to achieve transparency with respect to whether a SNMP request is processed by a master-agent and/or one or more sub-agents; simultaneously, the working group is further directed to use good engineering judgement is developing an approach with the smallest reasonable "footprint" to achieve intra-agent communication. As a consequence, if the working group may choose to avoid complete transparency, if, at its discretion, this proves too costly. In this case, the working group should document its decision for this engineering trade-off.

Although the working group will solicit existing specifications and experience in this area, it will produce a vendor-neutral technology specification.

Goals and Milestones:

Done

  

Publication of AgentX protocol specification

Done

  

Submit working draft version of AgentX MIB I-D.

Jun 98

  

Collect and evaluate implementation reports (through bake-off).

Jul 98

  

Conduct AgentX interoperability testing (July 23-24, Sunnyvale).

Aug 98

  

Meet at 42nd IETF-Chicago (refine or revise RFC 2257).

Sep 98

  

Petition IESG to advance RFC 2257 to Draft or recycle at Proposed

Oct 98

  

Submit final version of AgentX MIB I-D to IESG for consideration as Proposed.

Nov 98

  

Submit initial draft version of AgentX API I-D

Dec 98

  

Submit interim draft version of AgentX API I-D.

Jan 99

  

Submit final version of AgentX API I-D to IESG for consideration as an Informational RFC.

Feb 99

  

Evaluate necessary revisions to RFC 2257.

Feb 99

  

Evaluate necessary revisions to AgentX MIB RFC.

Mar 99

  

Meet at 44th IETF to Assess status of AgentX deployment, Determine need for AgentX v2 (Protocol, MIB, or API), and to Plan future work items accordingly.

Apr 99

  

Submit new charter proposal to IESG or retire WG.

No Current Internet-Drafts
Request For Comments:

RFC

Status

Title

RFC2741

PS

Agent Extensibility (AgentX) Protocol

RFC2742

PS

Definitions of Managed Objects for Extensible SNMP Agents