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Next Generation Structure of Management Information
charter-ietf-sming-01

Document Charter Next Generation Structure of Management Information WG (sming)
Title Next Generation Structure of Management Information
Last updated 2003-04-04
State Approved
WG State Concluded
IESG Responsible AD (None)
Charter edit AD (None)
Send notices to (None)

charter-ietf-sming-01

This working group shall develop a standards-track specification for
the next generation data definition language for specifying network
management data. As a starting point, the WG will use the SMIng
language developed in the IRTF Network Management Research Group.
SMIng represents a superset of the SMIv2 (Structure of Management
Information v2) and the SPPI (Structure of Policy Provisioning
Information). The objective is to replace both the SMIv2 and the
SPPI with a single, merged language as the data definition language
for the monitoring, configuration, and provisioning of network
devices.

The language developed will enable the modeling of network
management information in a manner that provides the benefits of
object-oriented design. To achieve this, the language must allow
the design of highly reusable syntactic/semantic components
(templates) that can be reused by multiple IETF working groups for
convenience, consistency, and to maximize interoperability in device
management. A registration mechanism will also be described for
reusable components defined using the language so that their
existence and purpose may be archived.

The language will provide for the definition of a transport-independent
model so as to allow a variety of implementation-specific technologies
to be derived from a single definition. To demonstrate this, the
working group will define two technology specific transport mappings:
one for SNMP, and one for COPS.

The language will also provide:

  • syntax optimized for parseability, human readability, and
    non-redundancy

  • conventions for representing inheritance and containment of
    defined data

  • enhanced attribute-level and association-level constraints

  • a maximal amount of machine-parseable syntax so that
    programmatic tools can aid in modeling and implementation

  • a language extension capability

This working group will also define typical usage scenarios for
the language and highlight its features. Finally, it will
develop a framework by which reusable components specified
using this language can be registered and made readily
available for continued reuse and improvement.

The working group will not define models for specific
technologies, except as required for illustrative examples.
Specific models are to be developed by the subject matter
experts using the SMIng in the appropriate technology
specific WGs.