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Solstice Enterprise Manager 4.1 Glossary Sun Microsystems

Glossary

This glossary offers brief descriptions of terms that appear in the discussion of the Solstice Enterprise Manager (Solstice EM) system, either because they are used in the Telecommunications Management Network (TMN) or because they have specific meanings in the Solstice EM context.

This glossary contains the following types of terms:

Definitions specific to the SNMP environment and SNMP terms that have a different meaning in CMIP are indicated by [S]. Definitions specific to the CMIP environment and CMIP terms that have a different meaning in SNMP are indicated by [C]. Definitions common to both environments have no indicator.

Definitions specific to the SEM-HA are indicated by [HA].

Definitions specific to SEM CORBA are indicated by [CR].

Terms in italics are defined in this glossary.

ACSE
Association Control Service Element. ACSE is a generic grouping of service elements within the application layer that offers services related to the establishment and management of a cooperative relationship between peer application processes.
action
In the Design Advanced Requests service, an action is the response that a request manager makes when a transition occurs. In a request template, the definition of a transition, lists the actions (if any) to take when a transition occurs. The actions are selected from a small set of supported actions. However, each action takes an argument that gives it great latitude in specifying details of the action, particularly when the action is a condition action.
What can happen when a transition from one state to another occurs as the result of a condition returning a value of true. The Nerve Center supports three types of actions: execution of a condition, execution of a UNIX command, or sending a mail message. The default is that no action be taken upon a transition. You can have any number of actions in any combination of types.
AE-title
A character string that identifies a domain, it could either be a managed object domain or a manager domain. In the context of EGW, AE-title and EventPort have a one-to-one relationship and hence the AE-title is used to identify the EventPort and hence the receiver of events.
agent
A module residing in a managed resource on a network, capable of reporting the status of the resource and/or responding to inquiries about it. Described in standards documents X.701|ISO/IEC 10040.
In a general sense, it is software running on a managed object that responds to and reports to the Solstice EM MIS with current information about the object. Also called Network Management Agent. See also proxy agent.
agentCME object
See system object.
alarm
An event or trap that has been registered for (by a request) in the MIS.
API
Application Programming Interface. A set of software routines that enable an applications developer to access and use the features of a product.
ARP
Address Resolution Protocol. A procedure for finding the network hardware address corresponding to an Internet address (RFC 826).
ASN.1
Abstract Syntax Notation One. A specification understood by network management protocols and used for encoding information between a manager and agents in a machine- and network-independent manner.
ASN.1 compiler
A Solstice EM program (em_asn1) that accepts ASN.1 descriptions for ultimate inclusion in the MDR of a running Solstice EM MIS.
attachment instance
An object class instance of a line attachment to a node. See also class instance.
You can attach each end of a Network Views tool line icon to a node. The attachment has two aspects: it is a graphical representation of one portion of the physical network; it is an object class on the node (such as an object for port or connection information).
attribute
An item of management information that describes some property of a managed object--its operational characteristics, conditions of operation, or current state or status. In the SNMP world, it is also called a Non-Aggregate object. In the context of Solstice EM, it is an object type in an MIT or MIB module that is part of an object class (a child of the object class). An attribute has an identification and a value. Instances of managed objects belonging to the same class have the same set of attributes with the same set of identifications; only the values of the attributes can differ from one instance to another. See also object class and class instance.
A characteristic of a managed object. The Nerve Center may poll for attributes as part of a request. In a request, you can poll only for those attributes that are defined in the MIS. Attributes are defined in GDMO documents, which are compiled into the MIS. Solstice EM is shipped with a set of GDMO documents in which managed objects, and their attributes, are defined.
authentication entity
That portion of an SNMP agent responsible for verifying that an SNMP entity is a member of the community it claims to be in. The authentication entity is also responsible for encoding and decoding SNMP messages according to the authentication algorithm of a given community. This entity is used in security alarms.
AVA
Attribute Value Assertion. An assertion that a particular attribute has a particular value. See also RDN.
AV pair
Attribute-Value pair.
base object
See object class.
base-object instance
See class instance.
BSS
Backing Storage System. A set of methods included in an API to enable managed objects to be written to and read from a database.
callback
The object (or method) to be notified at completion of an asynchronous process. Typically, when a client process requests something from an MIS, the request includes a pointer to the function to be invoked when the MIS is ready.
child
A subordinate object contained in an instance of a class and directly below that class instance. [C]
CI
Component interface. The DMI layer used by component instrumentation.
class
In general, the formal description of a set of objects. In the OSI world, objects with similar attributes and behavior are grouped into classes. In C++, the rules governing a set of data structures (which are said to be an instance of the class) and the methods (also called member functions) which give access to an instance's data.
class instance
A collection of attribute instance values that specify one example of a class. For example, if the class comprised port information for a router port, you could specify an instance of the class by providing a router board and port number for a particular port. The information you provide to specify a class instance is called the instance identifier. Other related terms are instance string, RDN, Index, and Named Object.
class string
A text string that identifies a group outside the context of a particular component declaration. Identical group definitions will have identical class strings.
CLNS
Connection-Less Network Service. A network service provided at Layer 3 of the OSI protocol stack.
CM-API
See X resource.
CME
Conformant Management Entity. Any management system that supports the interoperable interface defined by the NMF. (Solstice EM MIS is one.)
cmeID
The object identifier of a CME. A unique identifier assigned to each MIS running Solstice EM.
CMIP
Common Management Information Protocol. The protocol specified as part of CMIS; part of the OSI protocol stack. CMIP is a connection-oriented protocol, with reliable delivery. It is the same as Recommendation X.711, as defined by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). CMIP was developed to support distributed management appropriate to complex wide-area networks as well as local-area networks. It is object-oriented, and often used with a programming agent between a device and a management system.
CMIP MPA
CMIP Management Protocol Adapter. A Solstice EM component that allows access to OSI managed resources via CMIP. The CMIP MPA receives management directives from the MIS and translates the directives into CMIP messages. The CMIP MPA also receives notifications from OSI managed objects and sends them to the MIS.
CMIS
Common Management Information Services. An ISO standard that defines the services required of systems that exchange network management information, such as requests to supply the values of attributes or to send reports of events. Management services as defined by the ITU Recommendation X.710.
CMOL
Common Management Information Protocol Over LLC (Logical Link Control). A lightweight version of CMIP, standardized by the IEEE.
CMOT
Common Management Information Protocol Over TCP/IP. CMIP for the TCP/IP environment.
command block
The concatenation of data blocks (data structures) that constitute a command to be sent between a management application and the service provider and between the service provider and the component instrumentation.
community string
An SNMP concept. A simple password that you provide when adding a node icon to the network view. The agent running on the node requires this password from Solstice EM before providing information about the node. [S]
compiler
Generally, a process that analyzes a statement into its syntactic components. Specifically, Solstice EM provides compilers that process the descriptions of managed object classes written according to the GDMO specifications (em_gdmo), according to ASN.1 specifications (em_asn1), and descriptions of managed object classes written in MIB format (em_cmib2gdmo). Output of these compilers supply the internal formats needed for the MDR and the ASN.1 repository.
component
Any hardware, software, or firmware element contained in (or primarily attached to) a computer system.
component instrumentation
The executable code that provides DMI management functionality for a particular component.
Concise MIB
In the SNMP world, an extensible system for classifying information about managed objects in a network. Specifically, a particular extension offered by the manufacturer of a device in order to accommodate information about that device within the general MIB structure. Refer RFCs 1156 and 1213, which define, respectively, MIB I and MIB II, which are the MIBs for TCP/IP-based internetworks. See also MIB.
Concise MIB compiler
A Solstice EM program (em_cmib2gdmo) that accepts the description of an Internet MIB and generates parallel descriptions in GDMO (which may then be submitted to the GDMO compiler (em_gdmo)) and ASN.1 (which may then be submitted to the ASN.1 compiler (em_asn1)) for ultimate inclusion in the MIT and MDR of a running Solstice EM MIS.
condition
A term used in Solstice EM requests. A set of instructions written in the RCL.
A condition serves two functions in a request:
- Its primary function tests whether a request for a specific set (one or more) of managed objects will cause a transition from one state to another (or loop back to the same state). You must have at least one condition associated with each transition. Where there are multiple conditions, the request facilities evaluate conditions in the order that they are entered in the request template.
- It is also used as an action taken in response to a transition. A condition is one of the three alternatives you have for actions.
When used to test whether to make a transition, the value of the condition (true is nonzero, false is zero) is the value returned by the last statement in the condition. When used as an action, the value returned by the condition is not used by the request facilities.
confirm
The final response from a request.
confirm buffer
The area of memory where a component instrumentation or service provider puts response data.
container icon
In Network Views, an icon that can contain other icons, or more precisely, an icon representing a managed object that can contain other managed objects. For example icons such as networks and subnetworks. A container icon is equivalent to a view and is distinguished from an element or a link icon.
CORBA
Common Object Request Broker Architecture. Structure for interchange of objects in a network management environment. Developed by OMG.
COSE
Common Open Software Environment. Common network system management environment proposed by IBM, HP, Sun, and UNIX Systems Labs. Rival to DME from OSF.
CosEventChannel Admin
Administrative interface that allows consumers and suppliers to establish logical connections with it. It handles EventChannel administration. [CR]
Criteria and Key
The combination of Criteria and Key uniquely identify the software running on a node that responds to and reports current information about another node to the Solstice EM MIS, which has no agent running on it. It is often used to shield network devices from CMIP overhead. Both are character strings. See also agent. [CR]
data service
Highly available software which is able to run within a Sun Cluster. [HA]
DBM
Database Manager. A simple database manager that is useful where a more powerful relational database package is not needed.
device
A network element. In the Solstice EM documentation, it refers to bridges, routers, and other network nodes that are not hosts (cannot accept logins).
Direct interface
Method by which a component instrumentation informs the service provider that it is already running. Rather than starting the code to service incoming requests, the service provider will use the code already running.
discriminator construct
The proposition that a log object tests in order to decide whether to keep a record of a notification. Each log object has exactly one discriminator construct. The discriminator construct is an expression that can be evaluated for the attributes contained in the notification message. A discriminator construct is written in the language prescribed for a CMIS filter, as specified in ISO/IEC 9595. A discriminator construct is also used by the EFD to determine whether a received notification needs to be forwarded to an application.
distinguished name
A name that identifies a position within the MIT. A name may be an FDN and include the complete path from the root of the tree, an RDN with respect to a current position in the tree, or an LDN.
DME
Distributed Management Environment. Network management environment of the OSF.
DMI
Definition of Managed Information.
EDF
Event Discriminating Filter. A CMIS filter which selects events to be forwarded based on a certain/specified criteria. The events selected are forwarded to all the listeners who meet the criteria. [CR]
EDS
Event Distribution Server. A UNIX daemon process. There could be more than 2 EDS running (default being 2), responsible for reception of events from the MIS and distributing them amongst the registered clients. [CR]
EFD
Event Forwarding Discriminator. In OMNIPoint 1 terminology (and in Solstice EM), an object that decides whether and where to forward a notification received from a managed object. Conceptually equivalent to a sieve.
EGW
Event Gateway. The name given to a collection of EPR and EDS UNIX processes, handles delivery of CMIS events/notifications. [CR]
element
Sometimes referred to as network element. In OMNIPoint 1 terminology, a component or device to be managed (that is, part of a managed resource). In GUI terminology, a graphical component of the user interface (for example, a line, rectangle, ellipse, etc.).
Element library
Collection of C++ classes that extend the Solstice EM GUI API to permit manipulation of graphic elements within the display.
environment variable
A variable set in the UNIX shell environment to which an application may make reference. For example, used to specify the Solstice EM MIS to which a Solstice EM service connects.
EPR
Event Port Registry. A UNIX daemon process. There is one EPR for every SEM CORBA Gateway installation, it handles registration of clients for reception of events. [CR]
EPS
Events Per Second. The number representing the rate at which an event is distributed from the event source to the event listener.
event
A notification to which a software system must respond when it occurs, but which it did not solicit or control. In network management, a notification of a status change that arises externally, rather than being solicited by the manager. In CMIP usage, an event is a report that is automatically sent from a node agent. In SNMP, this is referred to as a trap.
EventChannel
Allows multiple suppliers and consumers to be connected to them. EventChannel presents itself as a consumer to suppliers and as a supplier to consumers. [CR]
event consumer
A software entity that has registered with the service provider through the MI with a non-null indication callback procedure address.
event generator
A hardware or software device that has undergone a change in state, or in which a certain condition of interest has occurred. This change of state or condition will directly or indirectly cause a new event to be processed by the service provider which then produces and delivers an indication data structure to event consumers that have registered their interest in receiving indications.
EventPort
Is created according to certain constraints and contains the AE-title that identifies the manager domain. [CR]
EventPortFactory
An interface that facilitates dynamic creation of JIDM::EventPort objects by providing the create_event_port() method. [CR]
event reporter
The software entity that causes a new DMI event to be processed by the service provider. Events are `reported' by calling the service provider entry point DmiIndicate().
Event Service
Acts as a mediator that decouples a supplier from a consumer. It allows suppliers to send messages to one or more consumers with a single call. [CR]
failover
When service is switched from the master or primary node to one of the backup nodes. [HA]
FDN
Fully Distinguished Name. In the MIT it is the complete path to a managed object instance. See also RDN and name.
filter
The use of a Boolean expression to test a set of attributes in order to select the object to which a network management command is addressed. Object instances that successfully pass the filtering tests become those on which a management operation is performed. Defined by the CMIS specification (ISO/IEC 9595), CMIP filtering capabilities help reduce the network traffic overhead of a management protocol. See also scope.
This usage of filter is distinct from the usage in UNIX systems, where a filter is a program that accepts input from one stream and supplies output in another, so that it can be piped to other functions as needed.
FIPS
Federal Information Processing Standards. Summary of standards for computer and communication systems developed by US National Institute of Standards and Technology. Includes GNMP.
Forum
See NMF.
gateway
A computer that interconnects two networks and then routes packets from one to the other. A gateway has more than one network interface.
GDMO
Guidelines for the Definition of Managed Objects. An ISO document (ISO/IEC 10165-1 and ITU Recommendation X.722) that describes a formal specification language used to define the MIT object class syntax, and consequently, the form in which managed objects are defined for client services.
GDMO compiler
A Solstice EM utility (em_gdmo) that parses a description written in GDMO format and compiles it for inclusion in the MDR.
GIOP
General Inter-ORB Protocol. This is an abstract that defines transfer syntax and a standard set of message formats to allow different ORBs to communicate between them. [CR]
GNMP
Government Network Management Profile. A US government checklist of network management system features. See also FIPS.
GOSIP
Government OSI Profile. Standards and recommendations for government use of computers and communications. Separate US and UK GOSIP standards exist, but cover the same general topics.
ground state
In the Design Advanced Requests tool, the state that a request is in when it is first created; the first state in a request template. The sole requirement for this state is that it have a severity of normal.
group
A collection of attributes. A group with multiple instances is called a table.
GUI
Graphical User Interface. Solstice EM uses the Motif Window Manager to generate application interfaces using the Motif library of interface routines.
hop
The traversing of a router. The hop count is a metric for distance used in IP routing. Used in the Network Discovery application to delimit the extent of Network Discovery's search.
host
Any network node that accepts logins. In Internet terminology, a host is an end-system. However, in the Solstice EM screen interface, a host is any node in the network that is running an SNMP or CMOT agent (such as a workstation, bridge, router, terminal concentrator, or switch).
ICMP
Internet Control Message Protocol. Protocol that specifies error and control messages used with Internet protocols.
IDL
Interface Definition Language. A high-level, declarative language for defining the interface of a distributed object. [CR]
IETF
Internet Engineering Task Force. Source of MIT, SNMP.
IIOP
Internet Inter ORB protocol. This is a TCP/IP implementation of GIOP, which is mandated by OMG to be implemented by all ORB vendors who conform to CORBA 2.0. [CR]
index
See class instance.
indication
An unsolicited report, either from a component instrumentation to the service provider, or from the service provider to a management application.
instance
In C++, a piece of data whose structure is described by its membership in a class. Access to the data is provided only by the member functions defined by the class. For managed objects, a specific case of a managed object. For example, router might be taken as an object class; one particular router would be an instance of that class.
instance identifier
In the OSI world, the FDN of an instance in an MIT. The instance identifier is unique within a given system.
In SNMP, the values for the attributes of a base object take the form of a table. Attributes define the columns, and class instances define the rows. The instance identifier comprises the elements in a row that uniquely identify that row. Some base objects in vendor MIB are extensions of base objects in standard MIB. For such a base object, the instance identifier might be found in the original base object, not the extension.
instance specifier
See instance identifier.
Internet
A large collection of connected networks, primarily in the US, running the Internet suite of protocols. The term Internet refers to a collection of TCP/IP internetworks.
interoperability
The capability of two or more systems to meet user requirements by communicating through specific mechanisms in a known environment.
IP address
A 32-bit quantity used to represent a point of attachment in a TCP/IP-based Internet.
ISO
International Standards Organization. Develops standards, by international agreement, over a wide range of technical areas.
JIDM
Joint Inter-Domain Management. A set of specifications/standards for internetworking of CORBA, OSI and SNMP systems management reference models. [CR]
JIDMExt::ProxyAgent
This object is derived from JIDMExt::ProxyAgent, it implements text equivalent of CMIS commands. [CR]
JIDM::ProxyAgent
A CORBA object that implements the JIDM specified OSI Network Management functionality (cmis_get, cmis_set, cmis_create, cmis_create_sync, cmis_delete and cmis_action). This CORBA object is created dynamically by the SEM CORBA RGW. Also called ProxyAgent. [CR]
JIDM:: ProxyAgentController
A singleton object which is created and exposed by the SEM CORBA RGW. The Controller object is used by the RGW in the process of destroying the ProxyAgent on request from the client applications. Also called ProxyAgentController. [CR]
JIDM:: ProxyAgentFinder
A singleton object which is created and exposed by the SEM CORBA RGW. It is used by the client applications to find the JIDM::ProxyAgent required. If the required ProxyAgent does not exist, the finder object will create one, and return the reference of the created object. Also called ProxyAgentFinder. [CR]
key
An identifier of a particular instance (row) of a table.
LDN
In the MIT it is the path to a local managed object instance.
localized string
A version of a display string that is a translation of the original string into an equivalent string in the appropriate local language.
logical host
Has one of its physical hosts impersonate the logical host's host name and IP address. When a failover occurs, one of the other surviving physical hosts will impersonate the logical host's host name and IP address. [HA]
log object
An object that contains several attributes used to test incoming events. If an event occurs, and passes all the log object tests, a log record of the event is stored in the system. The tests consist of a discriminator (test against the attributes of the event), and a test against a specified size (if the size of the log records, in octets, is greater than the allowable size, the new record is not created).
log record
An object that contains the attributes for an event which passed the log object tests.
major trap number
The SNMP standard RFC1157 defines seven categories of traps, numbered 0 through 6.
managed line
Any line, created as a Solstice EM line icon, with manageable line attachments.
managed node
A network computer, router, hub, or other piece of equipment on the network that has object classes entered in the Solstice EM MIT and a network agent running on it.
managed object
The representation of a network resource (or a set of resources). Note that in general a managed object is an abstraction that represents selected attributes of the resource it represents. The managed object resides within the MIS, where it represents a resource that is elsewhere. A managed object is characterized by:
- attribute visible at its boundary
- management operations that may be applied to it
- behaviors it exhibits in response to management operations
- notification that it emits
A MIB or MIT entry that represents some aspect of a network node or line that can be monitored and, in some cases, set, using Solstice EM services. The MIS manages the object by polling it, displaying the attribute values for current object instances of it, and in some cases changing the attribute values for instances of it.
managed object class
The formal description of a set of managed objects.
managed resource
A device or component in a network whose status or behavior is represented by a managed object.
managed system
A network node running a network management agent and providing network data to a managing system on request.
management agent
A network management protocol agent (such as SNMP or CMOL) that can communicate to the DMI through the MI.
management application
Code that uses the MI to request management activity from components.
managing system
The system requesting information from and setting information in a network node running a network-management system.
MDR
Metadata Repository. Within the Solstice EM MIT, the storage devoted to the descriptions of data formats.
metadata
The set of descriptions for forms of data used to describe managed objects in a network (as distinct from the data itself).
MGW
Metadata Gateway. A UNIX daemon process, which provides the CORBA clients with access to ASN.1 metadata in Solstice EM. [CR]
MI
Management Interface. The DMI layer between management applications and the service provider.
MIB
Management Information Base. A hierarchical system for classifying information about resources in a network. By industry agreement, individual developers are assigned portions of the tree structure to which they may attach descriptions specific to their own devices.
MIB II
An extension to the SNMP MIB.
MIB module
A collection of managed objects.
MIF
Management Information Format. The format used by the DMI for describing components.
MIF database
The collection of known MIF files stored by the service provider (in an implementation-specific format) for fast access.
MIF file
A file that uses the MIF to describe a component.
MIS
Management Information Server. The Solstice EM software process that serves network management clients. The process running on a network workstation or server that maintains network management information in a database according to the definitions in its MIT, provides polling, filtering, and other services to Solstice EM services and various other applications.
MIS Objects
The Solstice EM tool used to inspect, and sometimes change, objects in the MIT.
MIT
Management Information Tree. A naming tree for an MIS or a set of MIS'. The structure that organizes access to all information stored in the Solstice EM MIS. Each object within the tree is identified by its FDN, corresponding to the path through the tree to reach it.
MOC
Managed Object Class. In Solstice EM, a class for the description of classes of managed objects. An instance of MOC is a specific class.
MOI
Managed Object Instance. In Solstice EM, each set of facts about specific managed resources is stored in an object that is an instance of a managed object.
MPA
Management Protocol Adapter. In Solstice EM, the CMIP MPA provides communication services between OSI managed resource and the Solstice EM MIS via the CMIP protocol.
MRI
Metadata Repository Interface. The SEM CORBA MGW implements the MRI, which provides methods to access the ASN.1 metadata in Solstice EM. [CR]
MRM
Message Routing Module. In Solstice EM, the module that decodes the destination of a received message and transmits it to the appropriate part of the MIS. The MRM serves both messages transmitted through the network from network agents and messages sent internally from one portion of the MIS to another.
name
An FDN in the MIT specifies the complete path to a MOI. An RDN specifies the path to a managed object instance beginning from its parent. The FDN consists of concatenated OID-value pairs, one pair for each junction down the tree.
Naming context
An object that stores name bindings. [CR]
Naming services
The simplest and most basic of standardized CORBA services. It provides a mapping from names to object references. It is a service provided by the ORB vendor. [CR]
Nerve Center
A portion of the MIS that polls and receives notifications from the agents of managed objects. The main job of the Nerve Center is to start and maintain requests.
Network Discovery
A Solstice EM tool that locates manageable objects and adds them to the MIS.
network element
See element.
network management agent
The implementation of a network management protocol (a program) that exchanges network management information with a network management station.
network management protocol
The protocol used to convey management information. For example, SNMP and CMIP.
network management station
A computer on the network running Solstice EM.
Network Views
The Solstice EM tool that manages and displays a graphic representation of a set of managed objects in a network.
NMF
Network Management Forum. An association of vendors and developers of network hardware and software dedicated to the promotion of interoperable network management, based on the use of OSI techniques.
non-container icon
In Network Views, an icon for an object that cannot contain any objects. Examples of non-container icons are page -11s, routers, links, and hubs. A non-container icon is distinguished from a container icon.
notification
A message initiated by an agent reporting a change in the state of a managed resource. The set of notifications that the Nerve Center knows about -- and therefore the notifications that you can receive through a request -- are defined in GDMO documents that are compiled and loaded into the MIS.
Alarms, which are extraordinary events such as an equipment failure, are a proper subset of notifications. Solstice EM has a default set of alarms. Through the request facilities, requests can subscribe to receive incoming notifications and take appropriate action. See also event.
NSAP
Network Service Access Point. Used to identify the remote system and subnetwork. This can be an X.25 address for CONS, a LAN address for CLNP, or an IP address for TCP/IP.
OAM
Object Access Module. In Solstice EM, translates requests for information that refer to objects in network terminology (for example, by network addresses or by the distinguished names of objects in the MIT) to the methods required to access the C++ objects in which data is stored within the MIS.
object
In an MIB, an object class or attribute [S]. For Solstice EM, a collection of data that describes a manageable network element. Objects can be physical or logical. Examples of physical objects are network nodes; examples of logical objects are views and their icons, requests, and queues. [C]
The term object is used in several senses. In the OSI and Forum terminology for network management, an object is any device, process, or event that can be managed. In object-oriented programming such as the C++ in which Solstice EM is written, an object is similarly any process or device represented by a data structure, with methods (functions) provided by the class to which the object belongs. Solstice EM benefits from treating objects in the OSI/Forum sense as objects in the C++ sense.
Object Adapter
Provides an interface between the object and a client application. [CR]
object class
A particular set of attributes that define an object instance. The object class can have children object classes in the form of a tree beneath it. In the CMIP environment, an SNMP MIB is an object class, and each base object in the MIB is an object class.
An object class can be managed; the values of its attributes for each class instance can be polled, which implies that a software agent running on a node can report the instance values of the attributes to Solstice EM. See also class instance and attribute.
In Solstice EM, you are sometimes required to specify a class instance. For example, if the object class comprises port information for a router port, you could specify an instance of the object class by providing a router board and port number for a particular port. The information you provide to specify a class instance is called the instance identifier; synonyms are RDN, index, Instance String, and Named Object. Solstice EM also uses the term Instance Syntax. In Solstice EM, an object class is a type of property. Property groups contain two types of properties: object classes, which can be managed, and user-defined strings, which are used to define and limit the scope of polls and requests.
octet
An 8-bit quantity.
OID
Object IDentifier. A number that identifies an object's position in a global object registration tree. An example is 1.3.6.1.4.1.45.1.3.2, which corresponds to ios.org.dod.internet.private.enterprise.synoptics.1.3.2, and identifies a Synoptics3000 concentrator. There can also be an MIB name for the object identifier (for example, cisco for a Cisco router). [S] In CMIP, one half of the RDN pair, which identifies an object's position in an MIT. See name. [C]
An OID uses a system for describing an object's class by reference to a standard tree structure of descriptions. Each node of the tree is assigned a number, so that an object's identifier is a sequence of numbers. In Internet usage, the identifiers are shown as a string of numbers delimited by dots (for example, 0.128.45.12); in the OSI context (and in Solstice EM) the numbers are delimited by blanks and the entire sequence is surrounded by braces (for example, {0 128 45 12}).
OMG
Object Management Group. Consortium of users of object-oriented techniques. Sponsors of CORBA.
OMNIPoint 1
Set of standards, implementation specifications, and tools developed by the NMF.
OMNIPoint Partners
The sixteen organizations that collaborated in the formulation of OMNIPoint 1.
ORB
Object Request Broker. [CR]
OSF
Open Systems Foundation. UNIX consortium including Hewlett-PackardTM, IBMTM, and DECTM, founded in 1988. Sponsors of DME.
OSI
Open Systems Interconnection. General name for the set of network management conventions adopted by the ISO. An international effort (via ISO) to facilitate communication among computers of varying manufacturers and technology.
OSI/NMF
OSI Network Management Forum. An OSI group formed to develop and promulgate definitions and standards for the SNMP, PING, and CMIP protocols.
parent
An instance of the class containing a (child) object. [C]
physical host
One of the physical nodes of a cluster. [HA]
PING
Packet Internet Groper. A program that uses the ICMP protocol for requesting acknowledgment from an IP address as a way of testing its existence or accessibility. Informally, used as a verb meaning "to send a signal to test response." The program ping tests IP-level connectivity from one IP address to another.
PMI
Portable Management Interface. Within the Solstice EM MIS, the set of widely used classes and functions that provide fundamental services.
P+M interface
The set of protocols and messages (in those protocols) necessary for communication between management entities.
POA
Portable Object Adapter. The POA is a more complete object adapter and is fast replacing the Basic Object Adapter (BOA). It also makes better inter-operability of the ORBs possible. [CR]
poll
A periodic request for MIB or MIT object class status information sent to a managed object. Configurable in some cases by the network administrator via the Solstice EM Design Advanced Requests tool. SNMP tends to be poll-oriented, while CMIP tends to be event-oriented.
polling
The process by which the request facilities in the MIS periodically obtain data from an agent according to the specifications of a request template. The goal of polling is to obtain the current values of attributes of a managed object.
poll rate
Specifies the delay until the first poll and the interval between successive polls. The Design Advanced Requests tool associates a name and a number (in seconds) with each poll rate. This tool offers a ready-made list of poll rates and allows you to create your own poll rate.
Upon the conclusion of a poll rate interval, the request facilities begin to test the condition for the transition that lead from a given state. Each state has a poll rate and a severity associated with it.
process monitor
A software component that monitors processes and restarts them automatically upon failure. [HA]
protocol
A set of rules used by computers to communicate with each other. A protocol is also the private language and procedure of an OSI layer.
proxy
A virtual object representing another object that cannot be addressed directly (because it is outside the domain of interest or because it requires a different protocol). The Solstice EM MIS (which uses CMIP for its internal protocol) creates a proxy to represent each SNMP agent with which it deals. The proxy then speaks Solstice EM's CMIS-like protocol internally, but uses SNMP to converse with SNMP agents.
proxy agent
Software running on a node that responds to and reports current information about another node to the Solstice EM MIS, which has no agent running on it. See also agent. It is often used to shield network devices from CMIP overhead.
PSEL
Presentation Selector. Used to select the entity above the presentation layer, the CMIP application (manager or agent).
Pull model
Consumers pull events from the EventChannel, and the EventChannel pulls events from suppliers. [CR]
Push model
Suppliers push events to the EventChannel, and the EventChannel pushes events to consumers. [CR]
RCL
Request Condition Language. A script language, similar to the C programming language, used to create conditions for use in a request.
RDN
Relative Distinguished Name. An RDN in the MIT specifies the path to a managed object instance beginning from its parent.
request
The series of activities through which the request facilities in the MIS poll for the attribute of managed objects and receive notification from the agents of managed objects. A request is based on a request template and is targeted on a specific managed object. (A request that subscribes to receive event notifications may be launched without being targeted on a specific object.) Each request is made up of multiple states, with potentially, multiple transitions between those states.
You can launch requests in the Requests window, which is started from the Network Views tool. Once started, a request remains alive until you stop it, in the Request Monitor.
request
A message the goes from the client applications to SEM CORBA Gateway. [CR]
request facilities
A portion of the MIS that polls and receives notifications from the agents of managed objects. The main job of the request facilities is to start and maintain requests.
request template
The specific form of a request, as created in the Design Advanced Requests tool. Any number of requests can be built on a single request template. A request template contains the states, conditions, and transitions that make up a request. Each request template has a name, which you can use in other tools to start, stop, or view a request. When you start a request, you are applying a specific request template to a specific managed object.
resource group
A collection of X resources that are managed by the Resource Group Manager (RGM) as a unit. Each resource that is to be managed by the RGM must be configured in a resource group. Typically, related and interdependent resources are grouped. [HA]
response
The final response from an indication.
response
A message that is sent back to the client in response to a request. [CR]
RFC
Request for Comment. The series of documents that formalize protocols within the Internet (TCP/IP-based) community. The last phase in the formal standardization process before the document is made official. RFCs are published by the IETF.
RGW
Request Gateway. A UNIX daemon process, started on startup of an MIS, handles initial client connections to the SEM CORBA Gateway, and CMIS requests/responses on any managed object. [CR]
Root naming context
Determines the points at which clients gain access to the naming graph. See also Naming context. [CR]
router
The term routing refers to the process of selecting a path over which to send packets, and router is any computer able to make such a selection. Although both hosts and gateways do routing, the term router is commonly used for a device that interconnects two networks. See also gateway.
RPC MPA
Remote Procedure Call Management Protocol Adapter. Provides the mechanism to get data and set attribute values for devices that are managed via RPC-based agents. The RPC MPA works as a proxy agent between the Solstice EM MIS and any device on the network having RPC agents installed on it.
The RPC MPA serves a major role in providing compatibility with SunNet³TM Manager 2.2 or later products.
SAP
Service Access Point. The notional point at which a service user and a layer entity can meet so that services can be offered by the layer entity to the particular user.
Schema compiler
SNM 2.x schema files get compiled by the schema compiler (em_snm2gdmo) into GDMO and ASN.1 descriptions which then get loaded into the Solstice EM MIS by other utilities. Users can then send requests to the MIS which get forwarded to the RPC MPA.
scope
In general, a definition of the extent or boundaries of an action to be taken. For example, a poll's scope is the set of nodes and/or lines to be polled. In Network Discovery, scope refers to the top level of a subnet, represented as a cloud icon. Scoping identifies the sub-tree of the MIT on which a filter is to be applied. CMIP scoping and filtering help reduce traffic overhead from management protocols.
The sub-tree within an MIT to which a management command is applied. The scope is described by the node of the parent tree at which the sub-tree is rooted, and the depth (number of nodes) to which the scope extends.
Typically, a network command is qualified both by its scope and by a filter that further selects objects with the scope.
SEM
SolsticeTM Enterprise Manager.
SEM CORBA Gateway
Name given to the conceptual entity that consists of several UNIX processes and libraries defining interfaces. Together these processes and libraries provide a means for the customer to develop and run client applications that interact with the MIS to achieve various management functions on managed objects. [CR]
SEM CORBA ToolKit
The SEM CORBA Gateway is delivered in the form of SEM CORBA ToolKit. It is more than a framework, but less than a complete application. You will need to use the ToolKit to build the SEM CORBA Gateway. It consists of ORB dependent source code (IDL and C++) and ORB independent shared libraries and Makefiles. [CR]
severity
Describes the degree of importance you attach to each state in a request. A severity is made up of three items: a name, a number, and a color. The severity color is reflected in the color of the icon for the managed object as that object is displayed in the Network Views window. The Design Advanced Requests tool offers a ready-made list of severities and allows you to create your own severity. Each state has a severity and a poll rate associated with it.
Severity has two meanings in the context of the Design Advanced Requests tool:
(1) Each state has a severity and a poll rate associated with it. A severity is made up of three items: a name, a number, and a color. As a value attached to a state, a severity has a meaning that applies only within the tool itself -- for example, by indicating the appropriate color to use in representing a state in the graphical State Machine display. The Design Advanced Requests tool offers a ready-made list of severities.
(2) A severity can also be attached as a value to a Nerve Center alarm posted to the alarm log, using one of the request facilities alarm log commands {alarm(), alarmOi(), alarmStr()}. This Nerve Center alarm severity is reflected in the color of the icon for the managed object as that object is displayed in Network Views window.
shared conceptual schema
Basis for co-operation between managers:
- Management functions
- Managed object classes
- Available instances of the managed object classes
- Authorization
sibling
An object that shares a common parent class with the object in question.
sieve
In the NMF terminology, an object that decides whether and where to forward a notification received from a managed object. Superseded by the OMNIPoint 1 term EFD.
singleton object
An object whose reference count cannot be more than one (1), which means only one instance of the object is present at any given time. [CR]
SMAE
System Management Application Entity. OSI terminology for a software MIS that manages a network. For example, Solstice EM.
SMI
Structure of Managed Information. General term for various ways of specifying the information available about an object (including GDMO object descriptions, MIBs).
SNMP
Simple Network Management Protocol. A protocol for exchanging information between network manager and agent processes within various managed objects that are able to report their status on request. The protocol was introduced as a simple interim solution, but is at present widely used in the Internet environment. It is a connection-less protocol, with the view of continuing to receive information from managed objects even when network performance is degraded and a connection-based reliable transport may fail.
SNMP MPA
SNMP Management Protocol Adapter. Allows retrieving of data and setting of attribute values for SNMP managed devices. The SNMP MPA works as a proxy agent between the Solstice EM MIS and any device on the network which is SNMP-manageable.
SSEL
Session Selector. Used to select the entity above the session layer, the presentation layer of Solstice CMIP.
state
A description of a managed object in a point in time with respect to a request. At any given moment, a request, reflecting the target managed object, is in some state defined in that request or is undergoing a transition between states.
You can think of a state as a receptacle that holds transitions to other states. While in a state, a request repeatedly, at intervals determined by the state's poll rate, tests the condition associated with each transition leading from that state.
In addition to a poll rate, each state has a severity associated with it. It also has a name and a description. Between any two states, there is a single transition (one-way or two-way) with, potentially, multiple conditions associated with each transition.
There is one required state, the ground (or init) state. The only requirement for this state is that it have a severity of "normal". Other states can be created by you. There is no limit to the number of states.
subnet
In Internet parlance, a logical partition of a network. OSI attaches a more restricted meaning: the portion of a network attached to the same physical medium.
subnet mask
A 32-bit quantity indicating which bits in an IP address identify the physical network.
switch latency
The time taken to switch from a primary node to a backup node. [HA]
system
A computer.
system object
A Solstice EM MIS running on a network node. Also known as agentCME object.
table
An SNMP term that describes a set of attribute values for object class instances. The rows represent the attributes and the columns represent class instances.
TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. The Internet suite of protocols is a group of protocols related to a common framework, or set of rules that defines how computers communicate with each other in an open (non-proprietary) system, typically a large communication infrastructure.
TMN
Telecommunications Management Network. A model proposed by the ITU.
top class
In the NMF system for the description of managed objects in a network, the root class from which all other classes are derived.
traceroute
A program that attempts to reconstruct the route from (and hence to) an IP address.
transaction
In database terminology, a sequence of operations that are to be regarded as indivisible. Either the entire set takes place, or none of it takes place. In practice, this means that the database must be able to stop a transaction that is aborted, so that the data is left as it was before the transaction was attempted.
transition
In the context of a request, the change from one state to another, which occurs when a condition associated with a transition evaluates to true. From one state, a request can make transitions to multiple states, including the state from which the transition started. Within a pair of states (or from and to itself) there can be a single transition. Each transition is associated with one or more conditions. Where there are multiple conditions, the request facilities evaluate conditions in the order in which they are entered in the request template.
When a transition occurs, depending on the specifications in the request template, a set of actions might be performed to set variables or send notifications.
trap
In Internet jargon, notification of a problem that an agent sends to a management MIS on its own initiative rather than in response to a poll. SNMP formally defines seven types of traps and permits subtypes to be defined. OMNIPoint 1 uses the term event rather than trap.
trap-directed polling
A hybrid form of trouble reporting in which a single trap initiated by an agent is followed up by polls in which the management MIS requests further information.
trigger
The condition that causes a state transition.
TSEL
Transport Selector. Used to select the entity above the transport layer, the session layer of Solstice CMIP.
UDP
Universal Datagram Protocol. A connectionless protocol over which SNMP is usually implemented.
unicode
A character encoding standard defined by the Unicode Consortium. Unicode characters are two octets each. When the first octet is zero, the second octet maps to the characters in ISO 8859-1.
variable
A quantity associated with a managed object that, along with attribute, is the target of a polling operation. The request facilities allows you to specify variables as you need them when you create a condition. It types these variables at runtime. The request facilities also has a set of system variables, which you will find useful in a variety of different request templates.
view
In Solstice EM, a graphical representation of a set of managed objects in a network, as presented by Network Views. A view can be part of a hierarchy, imitating the tree-form of a network topology, or non-hierarchical, wherein it is a logical grouping of managed objects in a flat space. In Solstice EM, a view is equivalent to a container icon.
view file
A text file that holds your network's configuration information. The filenames of view and subview background pictures; the filenames and positions of icons representing computers, routers, hubs, and lines; poll, mask, and request configuration information; and property groups. Also called a View Database file or View_db file.
view icon
An icon in Solstice EM that represents one view in a set of nested views. The icon is displayed on the next higher level view. You can use the view icon provided with Solstice EM or define view icons of your own.
view object
A collection of lines and icons that you situate in a set of views with optional, appropriate background pictures for the views to represent your network and its subnets.
VM
Volume Manager. [HA]
XMP
X/Open Management Protocol. An API that provides a management service interface to support the use of both CMIP and SNMP protocols by management applications. Also known as CM-API.
XOM
X/Open OSI/ASN.1 Manipulation. Specification of a wrapper around ASN.1 intended to offer the programmer a simplified API for ASN.1.
X resource
In UNIX and X, a file containing set-up information that an application may consult during its operation (typically, when it is initialized) specifying values for fonts, colors, etc.

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