Subject: [midcom] Re: [OPS-AREA] Request for input from operators - identification of interfaces

From: Juergen Schoenwaelder <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:58:37 +0200

On Tue, Aug 28, 2007 at 09:50:35PM +0200, Simon Leinen wrote:
 
> In general, I'm not sure the MIDCOM MIB designers should jump through
> hoops to make the naming scheme maximally operator-friendly.  Instead,
> management applications will allow interfaces to be specified in
> appropriate ways (maybe based on configured addresses or other
> parameters) and map those to appropriate low-level identifiers (node
> identifier, ifIndex, etc.).

Well, the problem is that you install policies on devices where the
policies are applied to interfaces identified by ifIndex. Once ifIndex
changes, you potentially apply the wrong policy without any management
application involved that can fix that (unless you assume that you
have this super smart monitor that detects all such changes and takes
immediate corrective action).

Note, I am not pushing for rewriting the MIDCOM MIB. Documenting the
issue should be good enough in this particular case. I was more
interested to hear from operators what they like to use as "natural"
interface identifiers. You said ifName - any other operators here to
second that or to question that?

/js

-- 
Juergen Schoenwaelder           Jacobs University Bremen gGmbH
Phone: +49 421 200 3587         Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany
Fax:   +49 421 200 3103         <http://www.jacobs-university.de/>

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