EMOSY: An SNMP protocol object generator for the protocol independent MIB

Abstract

We describe a non-adhoc approach to building an SNMP protocol object for the Protocol Independent Management information Base (PIMIB). In the normal building process of an SNMP subagent, a certain amount of knowledge about the implementation of network resources is still necessary for connecting the MIB with the real network environment. Thus, for a specific MIB description, the development process of an SNMP protocol object is adhoc. In order to improve this situation, two new key words SOURCE and MAPPING representing the information about the network environment are introduced in an extended version of a MIB specification. Also, the EMOSY (Extended MOSY) compiler is implemented to mechanically generate the SNMP protocol agent as well as the PIMIB itself with this extended MIB specification as its input. In other words, we provide a tool that would directly compile a high-level MIB specification into a complete agent implementation. The major advantage of EMOSY is enhancement of agent portability, extensibility, and reusability in management agent development. Furthermore, PIMIB/EMOSY together present a prototype of a new network management agent architecture.