Re: Capabilities and MIBs

["David T. Perkins" <dperkins@dsperkins.com>]

HI,

I'm cutting most of your response, and responding
to a single part.

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006, Andy Bierman wrote:
<lots cut>
> Cridlig Vincent wrote:
<lots cut>
> >> I propose the following conventions (for comment, write-up TBD):
> >>
> >> 1) Agents SHOULD the advertise data model modules they support
> >>   Managers MAY advertise modules (but why?)
> >
> > I agree. I don't find any use case where it will be useful for a 
> > manager to advertise its supported data models.
> >
> 
> No -- the WG discussed this in detail at an interim meeting.
> The thinking was "is there a way the agent can save resources
> by knowing which data model modules the manager cared about?".
> This idea was quickly tossed because manager functionality
> might be dynamically extensible and the list of supported modules
> might keep changing.  It might be a really big list too.  Plus,
> why do you need to tell an Acme agent about all the proprietary
> data models from other vendors you support? 
> 
> Still, an agent must be able to at least ignore such capabilities
> in the <hello> from the manager.  (Not that hard ;-)
> 
> Andy

I agree that "at connect time", that it is only needed that
the managed system provide to the manager its capabilities
to determine if "useful" work can be done. That is, a
manager does not need to tell the managed system what
it needs to be supported (unless the managed system
does not want to reveal, but that is a different
issue.)

However, I have always thought that it was a "good thing
to do" to describe the capabilities needed by a management
application. For example, for the management app to
perform function X, the managed system must have at
least capability Y. This assumes that a management app
is developed first, and vendors supply managed
systems with enough capabilities to be managed
by the management app. Experience has shown
that vendors just field products with what they
believe is needed, and management apps are written
later using what ever is provided by the managed
system. That is, the development of management
apps ALWAYS lags (and most times, by a great
amount) the development of a managed system.

Maybe it will be different this time around.
However, I doubt it.

Regards,
/david t. perkins


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