Script MIB Extensibility Protocol Version 1.0
RFC 2593

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Network Working Group                                   J. Schoenwaelder
Request for Comments: 2593                               TU Braunschweig
Category: Experimental                                        J. Quittek
                                                         NEC Europe Ltd.
                                                                May 1999

             Script MIB Extensibility Protocol Version 1.0

Status of this Memo

   This memo defines an Experimental Protocol for the Internet
   community.  It does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.
   Discussion and suggestions for improvement are requested.
   Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1999).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   The IETF Script MIB defines an interface for the delegation of
   management functions based on the Internet management framework. A
   management script is a set of instructions that are executed by a
   language specific runtime system. The Script MIB extensibility
   protocol (SMX) defined in this memo separates language specific
   runtime systems from language independent Script MIB implementations.

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ................................................    2
   2. Process Model and Communication Model .......................    3
   3. Security Profiles ...........................................    3
   4. Start of Runtime Systems and Connection Establishment .......    4
   5. SMX Messages ................................................    5
   5.1 Common Definitions .........................................    5
   5.2 Commands ...................................................    7
   5.3 Replies ....................................................    8
   6. Elements of Procedure .......................................    9
   6.1 SMX Message Processing on the Runtime Systems ..............    9
   6.1.1 Processing the `hello' Command ...........................   10
   6.1.2 Processing the `start' Command ...........................   10
   6.1.3 Processing the `suspend' Command .........................   11
   6.1.4 Processing the `resume' Command ..........................   12
   6.1.5 Processing the `abort' Command ...........................   12
   6.1.6 Processing the `status' Command ..........................   12
   6.1.7 Generation of Asynchronous Notifications .................   13

Schoenwaelder & Quittek       Experimental                      [Page 1]
RFC 2593                    SMX Protocol 1.0                    May 1999

   6.2 SMX Message Processing on the SNMP Agent ...................   13
   6.2.1 Creating a Runtime System ................................   13
   6.2.2 Generating the `hello' Command ...........................   13
   6.2.3 Generating the `start' Command ...........................   14
   6.2.4 Generating the `suspend' Command .........................   15
   6.2.5 Generating the `resume' Command ..........................   16
   6.2.6 Generating the `abort' Command ...........................   16
   6.2.7 Generating the `status' Command ..........................   17
   6.2.8 Processing Asynchronous Notifications ....................   18
   7. An Example SMX Message Flow .................................   19
   8. Security Considerations .....................................   19
   9. Acknowledgments .............................................   20
   10. References .................................................   20
   11. Authors' Addresses .........................................   21
   12. Full Copyright Statement ...................................   22

1.  Introduction

   The Script MIB [1] defines a standard interface for the delegation of
   management functions based on the Internet management framework. In
   particular, it provides the following capabilities:

   1.   Transfer of management scripts to a distributed manager.

   2.   Initiating, suspending, resuming and terminating management
        scripts.

   3.   Transfer of arguments for management scripts.

   4.   Monitoring and control of running management scripts.

   5.   Transfer of results produced by management scripts.

   A management script is a set of instructions executed by a language
   specific runtime system. The Script MIB does not prescribe a specific
   language. Instead, it allows to control scripts written in different
   languages that are executing concurrently.

   The Script MIB Extensibility protocol (SMX) defined in this memo can
   be used to separate language specific runtime systems from the
   runtime system independent Script MIB implementations. The
   lightweight SMX protocol can be used to support different runtime
   systems without any changes to the language neutral part of a Script
   MIB implementation.

   Examples of languages and runtime systems considered during the
   design of the SMX protocol are the Java virtual machine [2] and the