Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) Scheme for the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
RFC 4088

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Network Working Group                                           D. Black
Request for Comments: 4088                               EMC Corporation
Category: Standards Track                                  K. McCloghrie
                                                           Cisco Systems
                                                        J. Schoenwaelder
                                         International University Bremen
                                                               June 2005

           Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) Scheme for the
               Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)

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 (2005).

Abstract

   The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and the Internet
   Standard Management Framework are widely used for the management of
   communication devices, creating a need to specify SNMP access
   (including access to SNMP MIB object instances) from non-SNMP
   management environments.  For example, when out-of-band IP management
   is used via a separate management interface (e.g., for a device that
   does not support in-band IP access), a uniform way to indicate how to
   contact the device for management is needed.  Uniform Resource
   Identifiers (URIs) fit this need well, as they allow a single text
   string to indicate a management access communication endpoint for a
   wide variety of IP-based protocols.

   This document defines a URI scheme so that SNMP can be designated as
   the protocol used for management.  The scheme also allows a URI to
   designate one or more MIB object instances.

Black, et al.               Standards Track                     [Page 1]
RFC 4088                  URI Scheme for SNMP                  June 2005

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction..................................................  2
   2. Usage.........................................................  3
   3. Syntax of an SNMP URI.........................................  4
      3.1. Relative Reference Considerations........................  5
   4. Semantics and Operations......................................  6
      4.1. SNMP Service URIs........................................  6
      4.2. SNMP Object URIs.........................................  7
           4.2.1. SNMP Object URI Data Access.......................  8
      4.3. OID Groups in SNMP URIs.................................. 10
      4.4. Interoperability Considerations.......................... 10
   5. Examples...................................................... 11
   6. Security Considerations....................................... 12
      6.1. SNMP URI to SNMP Gateway Security Considerations......... 13
   7. IANA Considerations........................................... 14
   8. Normative References.......................................... 14
   9. Informative References........................................ 15
   10. Acknowledgements............................................. 16
   Appendix A. Registration Template................................ 17

1.  Introduction

   SNMP and the Internet-Standard Management Framework were originally
   devised to manage IP devices via in-band means, in which management
   access is primarily via the same interface(s) used to send and
   receive IP traffic.  SNMP's wide adoption has resulted in its use for
   managing communication devices that do not support in-band IP access
   (e.g., Fibre Channel devices); a separate out-of-band IP interface is
   often used for management.  URIs provide a convenient way to locate
   that interface and specify the protocol to be used for management;
   one possible scenario is for an in-band query to return a URI that
   indicates how the device is managed.  This document specifies a URI
   scheme to permit SNMP (including a specific SNMP context) to be
   designated as the management protocol by such a URI.  This scheme
   also allows a URI to refer to specific object instances within an
   SNMP MIB.

   For a detailed overview of the documents that describe the current
   Internet-Standard Management Framework, please refer to Section 7 of
   [RFC3410].

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].

Black, et al.               Standards Track                     [Page 2]
RFC 4088                  URI Scheme for SNMP                  June 2005

2.  Usage

   There are two major classes of SNMP URI usage: configuration and