RFC 1420

SNMP over IPX 🎀

RFC 1420 💖 from the Network Working Group, so this one's a standards doc 🧚 Author: S. Bostock of Novell, Inc. 💅 Date: March 1993 🌸 Category: IAB standards track protocol 🔥 Obsoletes: 1298 🙈 (it replaces RFC 1298, the older version)

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Status of This Memo ✨

Okay so this RFC specifies an IAB standards track protocol for the Internet community, and it's literally asking for discussion and suggestions for improvements 💬. For the official standardization state and status of this protocol, check the current edition of the "IAB Official Protocol Standards" 🧾. Distribution of this memo is unlimited 🦋.

Abstract 🌈

This doc defines a convention for wrapping up Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) [1] packets and sending them over the transport mechanism provided by the Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) protocol [2] 🎁.

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1. Introduction 💅

SNMP, as defined in [1], is now an integral part of the network management framework for TCP/IP-based internets 🫶. Together with its companion standards, which define the Structure of Management Information (SMI) [3,4] and the Management Information Base (MIB) [5], SNMP has gotten widespread deployment across tons of operational networks running the Internet suite of protocols. Iconic behavior 👑.

SNMP's success in the TCP/IP world led to it being deployed in non TCP/IP-based internets too. This spec describes how to map SNMP onto IPX [2], the protocol used in Novell NetWare environments 🦋.

As noted in [6], the preferred mapping for SNMP is onto UDP [7]. So this spec is meant for environments where UDP transport isn't available 🙈. Nothing in here should be construed as a suggestion that, in a heterogeneous transport environment, a managed agent should support more than one mapping. Management stations, on the other hand, are strongly encouraged to support mappings of SNMP onto all popular transports 🔥.

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2. Mapping SNMP onto IPX 🧚

Mapping SNMP onto IPX is straightforward since IPX gives you a datagram service that's super similar to IP/UDP 💖.

Even though there have been modifications elsewhere in the NetWare protocol suite, IPX is identical to the Xerox Internet Datagram Protocol (IDP) [8]. The socket address space authority is administered by Novell 🎀.

SNMP packets will always set the Packet Type field in the IPX header to 4 (i.e., Packet Exchange Packet) 💅.

2.1 Socket Assignments 🦋

SNMP protocol entities will receive GetRequest-PDU, GetNextRequest-PDU, and SetRequest-PDU messages on socket 36879 (Destination Socket field set to hexadecimal 900F). They'll receive Trap-PDU messages on socket 36880 (Destination Socket field set to hexadecimal 9010) 📬.

GetResponse-PDU messages will be addressed to the IPX address and socket that the corresponding GetRequest-PDU, GetNextRequest-PDU, or SetRequest-PDU originated from. Replies go right back to the sender, bestie 💌.

2.2 Traps ✨

When SNMP traps are sent over IPX, the agent-addr field in the Trap-PDU contains the IP-address "0.0.0.0" 🌸. An SNMP manager may ascertain the source of the trap based on information provided by the transport service 🕵️.

2.3 Maximum Message Size 🍓

Although SNMP doesn't require conformant implementations to accept messages whose length exceeds 484 bytes, it's recommended that implementations support a maximum SNMP message size of 546 bytes (the maximum size allowed under IPX) 🎀. Furthermore, this limit is the maximum packet length guaranteed to make it through IPX routers that don't provide fragmentation. Implementors may choose to use longer packet lengths if the maximum is known, which depends on the intermediate routers and/or intermediate datalink layer protocols 🧠.

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3. Document Procurement 📚

This section gives you contact points for procuring some selected documents 🛍️.

A complete description of IPX can be secured at the following address:

Novell, Inc.
122 East 1700 South
P. O. Box 5900
Provo, Utah 84601 USA
800 526 5463

Novell Part # 883-000780-001

The specification for IDP (part of XNS) may be ordered from:

Xerox System Institute
475 Oakmead Parkway
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Attn.: Fonda Pallone
(415) 813-7164

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4. Acknowledgments 🫶

This spec was derived from RFC 1298, based on discussions in the IETF's "SNMP over a Multiprotocol Internet" Working Group 💜.

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5. References 📖

[1] Case, J., Fedor, M., Schoffstall, M., and J. Davin, "Simple
    Network Management Protocol", STD 15, RFC 1157, SNMP Research,
    Performance Systems International, Performance Systems
    International, MIT Laboratory for Computer Science, May 1990.

[2] Novell, Inc., "NetWare System Technical Interface Overview", part
    number 883-000780-001, June 1989.

[3] Rose M., and K. McCloghrie, "Structure and Identification of
    Management Information for TCP/IP-based internets", STD 16, RFC
    1155, Performance Systems International, Hughes LAN Systems, May
    1990.

[4] Rose, M., and K. McCloghrie, Editors, "Concise MIB Definitions",
    STD 16, RFC 1212, Performance Systems International, Hughes LAN
    Systems, March 1991.

[5] Rose M., and K. McCloghrie, Editors, "Management Information Base
    for Network Management of TCP/IP-based Internets", STD 17, RFC
    1213, Hughes LAN Systems, Inc., Performance Systems
    International, March 1991.

[6] Kastenholz, F., "SNMP Communications Services", RFC 1270,
    Clearpoint Research Corporation, October 1991.

[7] Postel J., "User Datagram Protocol", STD 6, RFC 768,
    USC/Information Sciences Institute, August 1980.

[8] Xerox System Integration Standard, "Internet Transport
    Protocols", XSIS 028112, Xerox Corporation, December 1981.

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6. Security Considerations 💀

Security issues are not discussed in this memo. 😱 That's the whole plot, no hidden chapter 🙈.

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7. Author's Address 💌

Steve Bostock
Novell, Inc.
2180 Fortune Drive
San Jose, CA 95131

Phone: 408 473 8203
Fax:   408 435 1706
Email: steveb@novell.com