Future Network Considerations | OSPF Network Design Solutions

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The SNMPv3 Effort

It is important to note that this information has not become any type of approved standard. This section will provide you with a proactive view of what is to come in the SNMPv3 arena. In addition, it will also provide you with the resources needed to research this project before it becomes a standard. Since it is not yet a standard, we will not spend very much time discussing it.

The SNMPv3 Working Group is chartered to prepare recommendations for the next generation of SNMP. The goal of the Working Group is to produce the necessary set of documents that provides a single standard for the next generation of core SNMP functions. If you require more information, this and other information can be found on their home page at the following URL:

http://www.ietf.org/html.charters/snmpv3-charter.html.

During the development of SNMPv3, the SNMPv3 Working Group has absorbed many of the outstanding documents from the SNMPv2 effort.

During the past several years, there have been a number of activities aimed at incorporating security and other improvements to SNMP. Unfortunately, strongly held differences on how to incorporate these improvements into SNMP prevented the SNMPv2 Working Group from coming to closure on a single approach. As a result, two different approaches (commonly called V2u and V2*) have emerged.

The Security and Administrative Framework Evolution for SNMP Advisory Team (the Advisory Team) was formed to provide a single recommended approach for SNMP evolution. The technical starting point for this Working Group will be the recommended approach provided by the Advisory Team.

This approach provides for the convergence of concepts and technical elements of V2u and V2*. The SNMPv3 Working Group is not starting new work and will use as many concepts, technical elements, and documentation as is practical from the V2u and V2* activities. Previous delays in providing a single standard for the next generation of SNMP core functions dictate that the Working Group move forward as quickly as possible to document and publish Internet Drafts and RFCs. To this end, the Working Group will make use of as much existing documentation as practical. Additionally, functional changes beyond those needed to provide a single approach will be strongly discouraged.

Timely completion of a single approach for SNMPv3 is crucial for the continued success of SNMP. Recognizing the need for prompt completion, the following objectives are provided to the Working Group:

• Accommodate the wide range of operational environments with differing management demands

• Facilitate the need to transition from previous, multiple protocols to SNMPv3

• Facilitate the ease of setup and maintenance activities

Goals and Milestones of the SNMPv3 Working Group

The following is the most current published list of the SNMPv3 Working Group’s milestones in chronological order.

1. Apr 97. Working Group meeting at Memphis IETF to discuss SNMPv3 recommended approach, discuss Working Group Charter and the plan for completion

2. Apr 97. Post first SNMPv3 Internet-Draft, Modules, and Interface Definitions

3. Jun 97. Post revised SNMPv3 Modules and Interface Definitions Internet- Drafts

4. Jul 97. Post initial SNMPv3 Message Processing and Control Module Internet-Draft

5. Jul 97. Post initial SNMPv3 Security Model Module Internet-Draft

6. Aug 97. Finalize SNMPV3 Modules and Interface Definitions Internet-Draft and review other I-Ds at Munich IETF

7. Sep 97. Post revised SNMPv3 Message Processing and Control Module Internet-Draft

8. Sep 97. Post initial SNMPv3 Proxy Specification Internet-Draft

9. Sep 97. Post revised SNMPv3 Security Model Module Internet-Draft

10. Sep 97. Post revised SNMPv3 Local Processing Module Internet-Draft

11. Sep 97. Submit SNMPv3 Modules and Interface Definitions to IESG for consideration as a Proposed Standard

12. Apr 98. All SNMPv3 specifications submitted to IESG for consideration as Proposed Standards

Notes:
Additional SNMPv3 Resources
An Architecture for Describing SNMP Management Frameworks can be found at the following site:

ftp://ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-snmpv3-next-gen-arch-07.txt

User-based Security Model (USM) for version 3 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv3) can be found at the following site:

ftp://ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-snmpv3-usm-04.txt

Message Processing and Dispatching for the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) can be found at the following site:

ftp://ftp.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-snmpv3-v3mpc-model-07.txt

View-based Access Control Model (VACM) for the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) can be found at the following site:

ftp://ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-snmpv3-acm-05.txt

SNMPv3 Applications can be found at the following site:

ftp://ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-snmpv3-appl-05.txt

Remote Monitoring (RMON)

The RMON standard was originally created for a distributed computing architecture, in which the agents and probes communicate using a central station, normally the manager, via the SNMP protocol. The RMON standard provides a powerful management tool for performing traffic analysis, troubleshooting, trend reporting, and proactive network management.

Some years ago there was a standard called Common Management Information Services and Protocols (CMIP). CMIP defined the format for exchanging data between network management systems and managed network devices or live facilities. It was supposed to be the end-all-be-all protocol for controlling Enterprise networks. Instead, a different standard became the preferred standard for network management. This standard has its origins back in 1988. It is called Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). Included in it is the Remote Monitoring (RMON) Management Information Base (MIB). Because SNMP has already been covered in detail in previous chapters, this section will focus on RMON1, and the newly developed RMON2, MIB.

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