Policy Core Information Model (PCIM) Extensions
RFC 3460

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Network Working Group                                      B. Moore, Ed.
Request for Comments: 3460                                           IBM
Updates: 3060                                               January 2003
Category: Standards Track

            Policy Core Information Model (PCIM) Extensions

Status of this Memo

   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   This document specifies a number of changes to the Policy Core
   Information Model (PCIM, RFC 3060).  Two types of changes are
   included.  First, several completely new elements are introduced, for
   example, classes for header filtering, that extend PCIM into areas
   that it did not previously cover.  Second, there are cases where
   elements of PCIM (for example, policy rule priorities) are
   deprecated, and replacement elements are defined (in this case,
   priorities tied to associations that refer to policy rules).  Both
   types of changes are done in such a way that, to the extent possible,
   interoperability with implementations of the original PCIM model is
   preserved.  This document updates RFC 3060.

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction....................................................5
   2. Changes since RFC 3060..........................................5
   3. Overview of the Changes.........................................6
      3.1. How to Change an Information Model.........................6
      3.2. List of Changes to the Model...............................6
           3.2.1. Changes to PolicyRepository.........................6
           3.2.2. Additional Associations and Additional Reusable
                  Elements............................................7
           3.2.3. Priorities and Decision Strategies..................7
           3.2.4. Policy Roles........................................8
           3.2.5. CompoundPolicyConditions and
                  CompoundPolicyActions...............................8

Moore                       Standards Track                     [Page 1]
RFC 3460                    PCIM Extensions                 January 2003

           3.2.6. Variables and Values................................9
           3.2.7. Domain-Level Packet Filtering.......................9
           3.2.8. Device-Level Packet Filtering.......................9
   4. The Updated Class and Association Class Hierarchies............10
   5. Areas of Extension to PCIM.....................................13
      5.1. Policy Scope..............................................13
           5.1.1. Levels of Abstraction: Domain- and Device-Level
                  Policies...........................................13
           5.1.2. Administrative and Functional Scopes...............14
      5.2. Reusable Policy Elements..................................15
      5.3. Policy Sets...............................................16
      5.4. Nested Policy Rules.......................................16
           5.4.1. Usage Rules for Nested Rules.......................17
           5.4.2. Motivation.........................................17
      5.5. Priorities and Decision Strategies........................18
           5.5.1. Structuring Decision Strategies....................19
           5.5.2. Side Effects.......................................21
           5.5.3. Multiple PolicySet Trees For a Resource............21
           5.5.4. Deterministic Decisions............................22
      5.6. Policy Roles..............................................23
           5.6.1. Comparison of Roles in PCIM with Roles in
                  snmpconf...........................................23
           5.6.2. Addition of PolicyRoleCollection to PCIMe..........24
           5.6.3. Roles for PolicyGroups.............................25
      5.7. Compound Policy Conditions and Compound Policy Actions....27
           5.7.1. Compound Policy Conditions.........................27
           5.7.2. Compound Policy Actions............................27
      5.8. Variables and Values......................................28
           5.8.1. Simple Policy Conditions...........................29
           5.8.2. Using Simple Policy Conditions.....................29
           5.8.3. The Simple Condition Operator......................31
           5.8.4. SimplePolicyActions................................33
           5.8.5. Policy Variables...................................35
           5.8.6. Explicitly Bound Policy Variables..................36
           5.8.7. Implicitly Bound Policy Variables..................37