Common management interface protocol
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Common Management Information Protocol (CMIP) is a protocol for network management, it defines the communication between network management applications and management agents. CMIP is based on the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model and is defined by the ITU-T X.700 series of recommendations.
CMIP defines management information in terms of managed objects and allows both modification and performing actions on managed objects. Managed objects are described using GDMO and are identified by a distinguished name (DN), similar in concept to the X.500 directory.
The NMS can perform the following operations:
- CREATE - Create an instance of a managed object.
- DELETE - Delete an instance of a managed object.
- GET - Request the value of a managed object instance.
- CANCEL_GET - Cancel an outstanding GET request.
- SET - Set the value of a managed object instance.
- ACTION - Request an action to occur as defined by the managed object.
The management agent can perform this operation:
- EVENT_REPORT - to send notifications or alarms to the NMS.
CMIP also provides good security (support authorization, access control, and security logs) and flexible reporting of unusual network conditions.
History
CMIP was designed in competition with SNMP, and has far more features than SNMP. For example, SNMP defines only "set" actions to alter the state of the managed device, while CMIP allows the definition of any type of action. CMIP was to be a key part of the Telecommunications Management Network vision, and was to enable cross-organizational as well as cross-vendor network management.
On the Internet, however, most TCP/IP devices support SNMP and not CMIP. This is because of the complexity and resource requirements of CMIP agents and management systems. CMIP is supported mainly by telecommunication devices.
References
CMIP is described in RFC 1095 and RFC 1189 (The Common Management Information Services and Protocols for the Internet). CMIP is formally defined by the X.700 series of recommendations from the ITU.