Subject: RE: COPS - Query PEP for policy detail?

From: "Rawlins, Diana" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 08 Feb 2001 00:27:29 +0000

The PEP policy is controlled and installed/removed by the PDP. I don't see a
lot of value for the PDP "getting" the policy it installed back.

However, the ability for the PDP to evaluate the policy and get feedback on
policy usage could be useful. This is addressed in the Framework of COPS-PR
Policy Information Base for Accounting Usage draft.

http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-rap-acct-fr-pib-00.txt

-Diana

-----Original Message-----
From: Durham, David [mailto:[email-masked]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2001 11:21 AM
To: [email-masked]
Subject: RE: COPS - Query PEP for policy detail?

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]]
> 
> In SNMP, we may use "get" to query the values of attributes 
> on PEP. It seems
> to me that we cannot do the same thing with COPS and COPS-PR. 
> For example,
> can a PDP ask a PEP to send back its current policy in PIB 
> format (PRID +
> data)? 
> 

[Dave] Well, COPS was optimized to do device provisioning/configuration and
event-driven accounting, where SNMP is better at polling and getting data
from a device. PIBs are algorithmically convertible to MIBs so that you can
use SNMP to actually "get" the policies installed on a device (SNMP should
already be on the device anyway). 

If one wanted to do it all with COPS, that's possible too. All you would
need is a PIB PRC called "resynch" (or whatever you like) that the PDP can
update (via DEC message). When the PDP wants to get a policy or all policies
on a device, it can simply trigger the PEP's resynch variable, which would
cause the PEP to send select policies via a Report message. No such standard
resynch PIB exists today, however.

-Dave

---

From: "Rajiv Dighe" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 19:43:14 -0500

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rawlins, Diana" <[email-masked]>
To: "'Durham, David'" <[email-masked]>; <[email-masked]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2001 7:27 PM
Subject: RE: COPS - Query PEP for policy detail?

> lot of value for the PDP "getting" the policy it installed back.

One benefit of this ability could be to add more value to synchronization.
Current Synchronization mechanism leaves a lot to be desired. essentially it
will just repeat past request that PEP had sent. this does not tell PDP
much. however ability to get list of installed policies could actually tell
PDP that even though it had sent policies p1 thru p11 to the PEP, PEP is
only reporting presence of p1 thru p9. It could also aid backup PDP in
determining what policies were downloaded by primary PDP before it went
down.

Regards,

--Rajiv