Subject: RE: AgentX Log Table

From: "Heintz, Lauren" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 16:07:33 -0600

Hi Mike,

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mike Daniele [mailto:[email-masked]]
> Maybe I don't understand the requirement.

I believe the general requirement is to define some mechanism for AgentX to
allow debugging of mis-behaving AgentX implementations (probably at
implementation or installation time).  The AgentX list consensus (to my
recollection) seemed to indicate (with one or two exceptions) that most
AgentX implementors did not feel this was important, but I believe more
discussion is warranted.

So the purpose of my proposal is to, a) begin the process of reaching final
consensus on what statistics/errors are needed and, b) to suggest a starting
point.

> But what is wrong
> with just defining appropriate counters/notifications in the 
> AgentX MIB?

Regarding notifications:

Seems overkill to me to define notifications (even one) in the AgentX MIB
just to provide a debugging capability that most people (judging by the
opinions expressed on the AgentX list) don't even need/want.  Then to have
to implement and configure the disman LOG MIB and the notification tables to
even be able to log AgentX errors/statistics makes it even more complex and
way too undesirable (IMHO).

Regarding counters:

If counters are designed to effectively augment given entries in the
connection, session or registration tables, then those same counters and
their values will dissappear the moment the associated connection, session
or registration is/are closed.  As you recall, AgentX master agents are
supposed to close misbehaving connections, thus, it doesn't seem very useful
to tightly couple these counters with the current tables.  Something more
persistent is needed.

To instead have a group of general-purpose scalar counters would not likely
help anyone figure out exactly which subagent is misbehaving. This is the
reason for the log proposal.  Each entry would indicate all the info needed
to identify the specific nature of the problem and which subagent caused it.

I personally suggest we remove the requirement to have the AgentX MIB
contain error/statistics counters of any kind and to instead rely on a
simple (to use and implement) and generic log mechanism (such as in my
proposal) to report errors/statistics.

Tks,
Lauren

---

From: "Carl W. Kalbfleisch" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 04 Feb 1999 11:07:42 -0600

If it is just for debugging, how about if the agent X code just sends
some syslogs (or other log information) out to a host to be processed
during the code development then turned off when the product ships.

Carl

--
Carl W. Kalbfleisch
Manager NMS Development
Verio Inc., http://www.verio.net