AGENT.txt

Note, this is based on the text from a web page, which can be found in 
the documentation section of the http://www.net-snmp.org web page.

Extending the UCD-SNMP agent
============================

This document describes the procedure for writing code to extend
the functionality of the v4 UCD-SNMP network management agent.
Modules written using this procedure should also work with the v5
Net-SNMP agent, though such modules would not take advantage of the
new handler-based helper mechanism.  See the on-line documentation
for more information and examples of the newer approach.
We would be very interested in comment and feedback about how useful
(or otherwise) you find this description, and ways in which it could
be improved.

The information is designed to be read in order - the structure being:

  1. Overview & Introduction
  2. MIB files, and how they relate to the agent implementation
  3. Header files
  4. The basic structure of module implementation code
  5. The details of non-table based implementations
  6. The details of simple table based implementations
  7. The details of more general table based implementations
  8. How to implement SET-able variables

While the document is intended to be generally self-contained,
it does occasionally refer to code files shipped with the main UCD
distribution (in particular the example module), and it may prove
useful to have these files available for reference.

1. How to write a Mib module
============================

Introduction
------------

The design of the UCD SNMP agent has always been shaped by the desire to be
able to extend its functionality by adding new modules. One of the earliest
developments from the underlying CMU code base was the ability to call
external scripts, and this is probably the simplest method of extending the
agent.
However, there are circumstances where such an approach is felt to be
inappropriate - perhaps from considerations of speed, access to the
necessary data, reliability or elegance. In such cases, the obvious solution
is to provide C code that can be compiled into the agent itself to implement
the desired module. Many of the more recent developments in the code
structure have been intended to ease this process. In particular, one of the
more recent additions to the suite is the tool mib2c. This is designed to
take a portion of the MIB tree (as defined by a MIB file) and generate the
code skeleton necessary to implement this. This document will cover the use
mib2c, as well as describing the requirements and functionality of the code
in more detail.

In order to implement a new MIB module, three files are necessary, and these
will be considered in turn. Note that, by the very nature of the task, this
document cannot cover the details of precisely how to obtain the necessary
information from the operating system or application. Instead, it describes
the code framework that is needed, freeing the implementer from needing to
understand the detailed internals of the agent, and allowing them to
concentrate on the particular problem in hand.

It may prove useful to examine some of the existing module implementations
and examples in the light of this description, and suitable examples will be
referred to at the appropriate points. However, it should be remembered that
the UCD agent seeks to support a wide variety of systems, often with
dramatically differing implementations and interfaces, and this is reflected
in the complexity of the code. Also, the agent has developed gradually over
the years, and there is often some measure of duplication or redundancy as a
result.
As the FAQ states, the official slogan of the UCD-SNMP developers is

     The current implementation is non-obvious and may need to be
     improved.

This document describes the ideal, straightforward cases - real life is
rarely so simple, and the example modules may prove easier to follow at a
first reading.
It is also advisable to have a compiled and installed implementation
available before starting to extend the agent. This will make debugging and
testing the agent much easier.

A note regarding terminology - the word "module" is widely used throughout
this document, with a number of different meanings.

   * support for a new MIB,
     i.e. the whole of the functionality that is required. This is usually
     termed a MIB module;
   * a self-contained subset of this, implemented as a single unit.
     This is usually termed an implementation module (or simply "a module");
   * the combination of such subsets, usually termed a module group.

Note that the first and third of these are often synonymous - the
difference being that a MIB module refers to the view from outside the
agent, regarding this as a seamless whole and hiding the internal
implementation. A "module group" is used where the internal structure is of
more relevance, and recognises the fact that the functionality may be
provided by a number of co-operating implementation modules.

Anyway, enough waffle - on with the details: The three files needed are

   * a MIB definition file;
   * a C header file;
   * a C implementation file.

The next part looks at the MIB definition file, and how this impacts on the
agent implementation.

2. The MIB File
===============

The first file needed is the MIB file that defines the MIB module to be
implemented.
Strictly speaking, this is not absolutely necessary, as the agent itself
does not make any direct use of the MIB definitions. However, it is
advisable to start with this for three reasons:

   * It provides an initial specification for what is to be implemented.
     Code development is always easier if you know what you are meant to be
     writing!
   * If the new MIB file is read in with the other MIB files,
     this lets the applications provided with the suite be used to test the
     new agent, and report (hopefully meaningful) symbolic OIDs and values,
     rather than the bare numeric forms.
     (N.B: Remember to tell the application to load the new MIB. See the
     relevant question in the FAQ)
   * The tool mib2c uses this description to produce the two code files.
     This is by far the easiest way to develop a new module.
     (Note that the v5 version of mib2c is generally similar, but does
     not correspond exactly to the v4 version described here)

If the intention is to implement a 'standard' MIB module, or a
vendor-specific one, then the construction of this file will have already
been done for you. If the intention is to provide a totally new, private
module, then you will need to write this yourself, in addition to the agent
code files.
A description of MIB file format and syntax is beyond the scope of this
document, and most books on SNMP management should provide some information
on this subject. One book which concentrates on this is

     Understanding SNMP MIBS
     (Perkins & McGinnis, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-437708-7).

This blatant plug is wholly unrelated to the fact that David Perkins is an
active member of the development group, and is regarded as our resident
"protocol guru and policeman". (In fact, this book concentrates on MIB
files in rather more detail than is appropriate in more general SNMP works).
Information on other books covering SNMP and Network Management more generally
is available on the SimpleWeb site (among other places).
See the FAQ for more details.

Assigned OID numbers
--------------------

One word of advice - even if you are developing a totally private MIB
module, you will still need to position this somewhere within the overall
MIB tree. Please do NOT simply choose a location "at random". Any such is
likely to have either been assigned to some other organisation, or may be so
assigned some time in the future. However much you may regard your project
as a totally internal affair, such projects have a tendency to exceed their
expected scope, both in terms of lifetime and distribution (not to mention
the potential OID clash if you subsequently need to use elements from the
legitimate owner's tree).
It is simple and cheap (i.e. free!) to obtain your own official segment of
the MIB tree (see http://www.iana.org for an application form), and having
done so, you then have complete global authority over it. If you have
problems with this, it's worth contacting the development team (email:
net-snmp-coders@lists.sourceforge.net) for advice. Please do think to the
future, and be a good Net citizen by using a legitimately assigned OID as
the root of your new MIB.

MIB division
------------

The next point to consider, whether writing by hand or using mib2c,
implementing an existing MIB, or writing a new one, is whether and how to
divide up the MIB tree. This is a purely internal implementation decision,
and will not be visible to management applications querying the agent. A
sensible choice of partitioning will result in a simpler, clearer
implementation, which should ease both the initial development and
subsequent maintenance of the module.
Unfortunately, this choice is one of the module-specific decisions, so must
be made on a case-by-case basis. For a simple, self-contained module, it may
well be reasonable to implement the module as a single block (examples
include the SNMP statistics subtree RFC 1907 or the TCP subtree RFC 2011).
More complex and diverse modules (such as the Host Resources MIB - RFC 1514)
are more naturally considered as a number of individual sub-modules.
Some guidelines to bear in mind when deciding on this division:

   * A MIB sub-tree consisting purely of scalar objects with a common
     OID prefix would normally be handled in a single implementation module;
   * Separate scalar subtrees would normally be in different implementation
     modules;
   * A table can either be handled within the same implementation module
     as related scalar objects in the same subtree, or in a separate
     implementation module;
   * Variables that rely on the same underlying data structure to retrieve
     their values, should probably be in the same implementation module (and
     conversely, (though less so) those that don't, shouldn't).

As an initial rule of thumb, a good initial division is likely to be
obtained by treating each table and each scalar sub-tree separately. This
can be seen in the current agent, where most of the MIB-II modules (RFC
1213) are implemented in separate files (see the files under mibgroup/mibII).
Note that many of these combine scalar and table handling in the same file,
though they are implemented using separate routines.
  This is also the approach used by mib2c, which constructs a single pair of
code files, but uses a separate routine for each table (and another for all
the scalar variables).
  Ultimately, the final consideration (concerning the underlying data) is
the most important, and should guide the basic division. For example, the
Host Resources Running Software and Running Software Performance modules,
while separate in the MIB tree, use the same underlying kernel data and so
are implemented together.

MIB name
--------

The final requirement at this stage is to choose a name for each
implementation module. This should be reasonably short, meaningful, unique
and unlikely to clash with other (existing or future) modules. Mib2c uses
the label of the root node of the MIB sub-tree as this name, and this is a
reasonable choice in most cases.
Recent changes to the agent code organisation have introduced the idea of
module groups of related implementation modules. This is used, for example,
to identify the constituent modules of a 'split' MIB (such as the Host
Resources MIB), or those relating to a particular organisation (such as
UCD).
As with the division, this naming and grouping is a purely internal matter,
and is really only visible when configuring and compiling the agent.

So much for the MIB file. The next part considers the C header file.

3. The C code header file
=========================

If the MIB file is the definition of the module for external network
management applications (where applications includes network management
personnel!), then the header file has traditionally served effectively the
same purpose for the agent itself.
Recent changes to the recommended code structure has resulted in the header
file becoming increasingly simpler. It now simply contains definitions of the
publically visible routines, and can be generated completely by mib2c.

Function prototypes
-------------------

For those interested in the details of this file (for example, if coding a
module by hand), then the details of these definitions are as follows. Every
header file will have the following two function prototype definitions

        extern void          init_example (void);
        extern FindVarMethod var_example;

If the module includes any tables, or other collections of variables that
are implemented in separate routines, then this second definition will be
repeated for each of these.
In addition, if any of the variables can be SET (and it is intended to
implement them as such), there will be a function prototype definitions for
each of these, of the form:

        extern WriteMethod write_varName;

These prototypes are in fact typedef'ed in <agent/snmp_vars.h>.

Module dependencies
-------------------

This header file is also used to inform the compilation system of any
dependancies between this module and any others. There is one utility module
which is required by almost every module, and this is included using the
directive

        config_require( util_funcs )

(which is produced automatically by mib2c). This same syntax can be used to
trigger the inclusion of other related modules. An example of this can be
seen in mibII/route_write.h which relies on the mibII/ip module, thus:

        config_require( mibII/ip )

One use of this directive is to define a module group, by supplying a header
file consisting exclusively of such config_require directives.  It can then
be included or excluded from the agent very simply. Examples of this can be
seen in mibgroup/mibII.h or mibgroup/host.h, which list the consituent
sub-modules of the MIB-II and Host Resources MIBs respectively.

MIB file information
--------------------

Most of the information in this file is (understandably) aimed at the network
management agent itself.  However, there is one common header file directive
that is actually intended to affect the utility commands that are included
within the full distribution:

	config_add_mib( HOST-RESOURCES-MIB )

  This is used to add the MIB file being implemented to the default list of
MIBs loaded by such commands.  This means that querying the agent will return
informative names and values, rather than the raw numeric forms that SNMP
actually works with.  Of course, it is always possible for the utilities
to specify that this MIB should be loaded anyway.  But specifying this file
within the module header file is a useful hint that a particular MIB should
be loaded, without needing to ask for it explicitly.
  Note that this will only affect the binaries compiled as part of the same
configuration run.  It will have no effect on pre-installed binaries, or
those compiled following a different configuration specification.

Magic Numbers
-------------

The other common element within the header file defines a set of "magic
numbers" - one for each object within the implementation module. In fact,
this can equally well appear within the main code file, as part of the
variable structure (which will be described in the next part).
  This is the technique used by mib2c, but most handcrafted modules have
tended to define these as part of the header file, probably for clarity.

  The only necessity is that the names and values are distinct (or more
precisely, the values are distinct within a single variable handling routine).
In practise, they tend to be defined using integers incrementing from 1,
or as the same as the final sub-identifier of the corresponding MIB object
(or indeed both, as these are frequently themselves successive integers).
  This is not mandatory, and a counter-example can be seen in the
example module, where two of the object form a sub-tree, and the corresponding
magic numbers are based on the final *two* sub-identifiers (to ensure that
the values are unique).  But this construction is definitely unusual, and
the majority of modules simply use successive integers.

Header file protection
----------------------

Normally, the only other contents of the header file will be the
#ifndef/#define/#endif statements surrounding the whole file. This is used
to ensure that the header file is only included once by any source code file
(or more accurately, that there is no effect if it is inadvertantly included
a second time).
Again, as with the rest of the header file, this is generated automatically
by mib2c.

Having finished all the preparatory work (or let mib2c deal with it), the
next part starts to look at the code file that actually implements the
module.

4. Core structure of the implementation code
============================================

The core work of implementing the module is done in the C code file. As
indicated earlier, much of the detail of this will be dependent on the
particular module being implemented, and this can only be described by the
individual programmer concerned.
However, there is a fairly clearly defined framework that the implementation
will need to follow, though this varies slightly depending on the style of
the module being implemented (in particular whether it forms a table or a
series of individual values). The differences will be covered in the
following pages, but we first need to consider the overall shape of the
framework, and the elements that are common to all styles. These are
essentially the compulsory routines, the common header definitions, and
assorted initialisation code.
As with the header file, most of this will be generated automatically by
mib2c.

Standard includes
-----------------

Certain header files are either compulsory, or required so frequently that
they should be included as a matter of course. These are as follows:

  #include <config.h>                   // local SNMP configuration details
  #include "mib_module_config.h"        // list of which modules are supported
  #if HAVE_STDLIB_H
  #include <stdlib.h>
  #endif
  #if HAVE_STRING_H
  #include <string.h>
  #else
  #include <strings.h>
  #endif

  #include <sys/types.h>

All of these will usually be the first files to be included.

  #include "mibincl.h"                  // Standard set of SNMP includes
  #include "util_funcs.h"               // utility function declarations
  #include "read_config.h"              // if the module uses run-time
                                        //      configuration controls
  #include "auto_nlist.h"               // structures for a BSD-based
                                        //      kernel using nlist
  #include "system.h"

  #include "name.h"                     // the module-specific header

These conventionally come at the end of the list of includes. In between
will come all the standard system-provided header files required for the
library functions used in the file.

Module definition
-----------------

Much of the code defining the contents of the MIB has traditionally been
held in the header file. However, much of this has slowly migrated to the
code file, and this is now the recommended location for it (as typified by
the output of mib2c).
  The main element of this is a variable structure specifying the details of 
the objects implemented.  This takes the form of an unconstrained array of
type struct variableN (where N is the length of the longest suffix in the
table). Thus

                struct variable2 example_variables[] = {
			<individual entries go here>
                };

Each entry corresponds to one object in the MIB tree (or one column in the
case of table entries), and these should be listed in increasing OID order.
A single entry consists of six fields:

   * a magic number (the #defined integer constant described above)
   * a type indicator (from the values listed in <snmplib/snmp_impl.h>)
   * an access indicator (essentially RWRITE or RONLY)
   * the name of the routine used to handle this entry
   * the length of the OID suffix used, and
   * an array of integers specifying this suffix (more on this in a moment)

Thus a typical variable entry would look like:

        { EXAMPLESTRING, ASN_OCTET_STR, RONLY, var_example, 1, {1}}

If the magic numbers have not been defined in the header file, then they
should be defined here, usually comming immediately before the corresponding
variable entry.  This is the technique used by mib2c.

Note that in practise, only certain sizes of the structure variableN
are defined (listed in <agent/var_struct.h>), being sufficient to meet the
common requirements. If your particular module needs a non-supported value,
the easiest thing is simply to use the next largest value that is supported.

The module also needs to declare the location within the MIB tree where
it should be registered. This is done using a declaration of the form

        oid example_variables_oid[] = { 1,3,6,1,4,1,2021,254 }

where the contents of the array give the object identifier of the root of
the module.

Module initialisation
---------------------

Many modules require some form of initialisation before they can start
providing the necessary information. This is done by providing a routine
called init_{name} (where {name} is the name of the module).
This routine is theoretically optional, but in practise is required to
register this module with the main agent at the very least. This specifies
the list of variables being implemented (from the variableN structure)
and declare where these fit into the overall MIB tree.

This is done by using the REGISTER_MIB macro, as follows:

        REGISTER_MIB( "example",  example_variables, variable2,
                        example_variables_oid );

where "example" is used for identification purposed (and is usually the name
being used for the module), example_variables is the structure defining the
variables being implemented, variable2 is the type used for this structure,
and example_variables_oid is the location of the root.

In fact, this macro is simply a wrapper round the routine register_mib(),
but the details of this can safely be ignored, unless more control over the
registration is required.

One common requirement, particularly on older operating systems or for the
more obscure areas of the system, is to be able to read data directly from
kernel memory. The preparation for this is typically done here by one or
more statements of the form

        #ifdef {NAME}_SYMBOL
        auto_nlist( {NAME}_SYMBOL, 0, 0);
        #endif

where {NAME}_SYMBOL is defined as part of the system-specific configuration,
to be the name of the appropriate kernel variable or data structure. (The
two 0 values are because the kernel information is simply being primed at
this point - this call will be reused later when the actual values are
required). Note that this is probably the first thing described so far which
isn't provided by mib2c!

Other possibilities for initialisation may include registering config file
directive handlers (which are documented in the read_config(5) man page), and
registering the MIB module (either in whole or in part) in the sysOR table.
The first of these is covered in the example module, and the second in many
of the other modules within the main UCD distribution.

Variable handling
-----------------

The other obligatory routine is that which actually handles a request for a
particular variable instance. This is the routine that appeared in the
variableN structure, so while the name is not fixed, it should be the same
as was used there.
This routine has six parameters, which will be described in turn.

Four of these parameters are used for passing in information about the
request, these being:

        struct variable *vp;
                // The entry in the variableN array from the
                //   header file, for the object under consideration.
                // Note that the name field of this structure has been
                //   completed into a fully qualified OID, by prepending
                //   the prefix common to the whole array.
        oid *name;      // The OID from the request
        int *length;    // The length of this OID
        int exact;      // A flag to indicate whether this is an exact
                        // request (GET/SET) or an 'inexact' one (GETNEXT)

Four of the parameters are used to return information about the answer.
The function also returns a pointer to the actual data for the variable
requested (or NULL if this data is not available for any reason).
The other result parameters are:

        oid *name;      // The OID being returned
        int *length;    // The length of this OID
        int *var_len;   // The length of the answer being returned
        WriteMethod **write_method;
                        // A pointer to the SET function for this variable

Note that two of the parameters (name and length) serve a dual purpose,
being used for both input and output.

The first thing that this routine needs to do is to validate the request, to
ensure that it does indeed lie in the range implemented by this particular
module. This is done in slightly different ways, depending on the style of
the module, so this will be discussed in more detail later.
  At the same time, it is common to retrieve some of the information needed
for answering the query.

Then the routine uses the Magic Number field from the vp parameter to determine
which of the possible variables being implemented is being requested. This is
done using a switch statement, which should have as many cases as there are
entries in the variableN array (or more precisely, as many as specify this
routine as their handler), plus an additional default case to handle an
erroneous call.
Each branch of the switch statement needs to ensure that the return
parameters are filled in correctly, set up a (static) return variable with
the correct data, and then return a pointer to this value. These can be done
separately for each branch, or once at the start, being overridden in
particular branches if necessary.

In fact, the default validation routines make the assumption that the
variable is both read-only, and of integer type (which includes the COUNTER
and GAUGE types among others), and set the return paramaters write_method and
var_len appropriately. These settings can then be corrected for those cases
when either or both of these assumptions are wrong. Examples of this can be
seen in the example module.
EXAMPLEINTEGER is writeable, so this branch sets the write_method parameter,
and EXAMPLEOBJECTID is not an integer, so this branch sets the var_len
parameter.  In the case of EXAMPLESTRING, both assumptions are wrong, so this
branch needs to set both these parameters explicitly.

Note that because the routine returns a pointer to a static result, a
suitable variable must be declared somewhere for this. Two global variables
are provided for this purpose - long_return (for integer results) and
return_buf (for other types). This latter is a generic array (of type
u_char) that can contain up to 256 bytes of data. Alternatively, static
variables can be declared, either within the code file, or local to this
particular variable routine. This last is the approach adopted by mib2c,
which defines four such local variables, (long_ret, string, objid and c64).

Mib2c requirements
------------------

Most of the code described here is generated by mib2c. The main exceptions
(which therefore need to be provided by the programmer) are

   * Any initialisation, other than the basic registration
     (including kernel data initialisation, config file handling, or sysOR
     registration).
   * Retrieving the necessary data, and setting the appropriate return
     value correctly.
   * The var_len (and possibly write_method) return parameters for variable
     types that are not recognised by mib2c
   * The contents of any write routines (see later).

Everything else should be useable as generated.

This concludes the preliminary walk-through of the general structure of the
C implementation. To fill in the details, we will need to consider the
various styles of module separately. The next part will look at scalar (i.e.
non-table based) modules.

5. Non-table-based modules
==========================

Having looked at the general structure of a module implementation, it's now
time to look at this in more detail. We'll start with the simplest style of
module - a collection of independent variables. This could easily be
implemented as a series of completely separate modules - the main reason for
combining them is to avoid the proliferation of multiple versions of very
similar code.

Recall that the variable handling routine needs to cover two distinct
purposes - validation of the request, and provision of the answer. In this
style of module, these are handled separately. Once again, mib2c does much
of the donkey work, generating the whole of the request validation code (so
the description of this section can be skipped if desired), and even
providing a skeleton for returning the data. This latter still requires some
input from the programmer, to actually return the correct results (rather
than dummy values).

Request Validation
------------------

This is done using a standard utility function header_generic. The
parameters for this are exactly the same as for the main routine, and are
simply passed through directly. It returns an integer result, as a flag to
indicate whether the validation succeeded or not.
If the validation fails, then the main routine should return immediately,
leaving the parameters untouched, and indicate the failure by returning a
NULL value. Thus the initial code fragment of a scalar-variable style
implementation will typically look like:

    u_char  *
    var_system(vp, name, length, exact, var_len, write_method)
    {
        if (header_generic(vp, name, length, exact, var_len, write_method)
                                                == MATCH_FAILED )
            return NULL;

        [ etc, etc, etc ]
    }

Although the utility function can be used as a "black box", it's worth
looking more closely at exactly what it does (since the table-handling
modules will need to do something fairly similar). It has two (or possibly
three) separate functions:

   * checking that the request is valid,
   * setting up the OID for the result,
   * and (optionally) setting up default values for the other return
     parameters.

In order to actually validate the request, the header routine first needs to
construct the OID under consideration, in order to compare it with that
originally asked for. The driving code has already combined the OID prefix
(constant throughout the module) with the entry-specific suffix, before
calling the main variable handler. This is available via the name field of
the parameter vp. For a scalar variable, completing the OID is therefore
simply a matter of appending the instance identifier 0 to this. The full OID
is built up in a local oid array newname defined for this purpose.
This gives the following code fragment:

    int
    header_generic(vp, name, length, exact, var_len, write_method)
    {
        oid newname[MAX_OID_LEN];

        memcpy((char *)newname, (char *)vp->name,
                        (int)vp->namelen * sizeof(oid));
        newname[ vp->namelen ] = 0;

                :
    }

Having formed the OID, this can then be compared against the variable
specified in the original request, which is available as the name parameter.
This comparison is done using the snmp_oid_compare function, which takes the
two OIDs (together with their respective lengths), and returns -1, 0 or 1
depending on whether the first OID precedes, matches or follows the second.

In the case of an 'exact' match (i.e. a GET/SET/etc), then the request is
only valid if the two OIDs are identical (snmp_oid_compare returns 0). In
the case of a GETNEXT (or GETBULK) request, it's valid if the OID being
considered comes after that of the original request (snmp_oid_compare
returns -1).

This gives the code fragment

        result = snmp_oid_compare(name, *length, newname, (int)vp->namelen + 1);
                        // +1 because of the extra instance sub-identifier
        if ((exact && (result != 0))            // GET match fails
                || (!exact && (result >= 0)))   // GETNEXT match fails
            return(MATCH_FAILED);

Note that in this case, we're only interested in the single variable
indicated by the vp parameter. The fact that this module may well implement
other variables as well is ignored. The 'lexically next' requirement of the
GETNEXT request is handled by working through the variable entries in order
until one matches. And yes, this is not the most efficient implementation
possible!
Note that in releases prior to 3.6, the snmp_oid_compare function was called
simply compare.

Finally, having determined that the request is valid, this routine must
update the name and length parameters to return the OID being processed. It
also sets default values for the other two return parameters.

        memcpy( (char *)name,(char *)newname,
                ((int)vp->namelen + 1) * sizeof(oid));
        *length = vp->namelen + 1;
        *write_method = 0;              // Non-writeable
        *var_len = sizeof(long);        // default to integer results
        return(MATCH_SUCCEEDED);

These three code fragments combine to form the full header_generic code
which can be seen in the file util_funcs.c

Note: This validation used to be done using a separate function for each
module (conventionally called header_{name}), and many modules may still be
coded in this style. The code for these are to all intents and purposes
identical to the header_generic routine described above.

Data Retrieval
--------------

The other main job of the request handling routine is to retrieve any
necessary data, and return the appropriate answer to the original request.
This must be done even if mib2c is being used to generate the framework of
the implementation. As has been indicated earlier, the different cases are
handled using a switch statement, with the Magic Number field of the vp
parameter being used to distinguish between them.
The data necessary for answering the request can be retrieved for each
variable individually in the relevant case statement (as is the case with
the system group), or using a common block of data before processing the
switch (as is done for the ICMP group, among others).

With many of the modules implemented so far, this data is read from a kernel
structure. This can be done using the auto_nlist routine already mentioned,
providing a variable in which to store the results and an indication of its
size (see the !HAVE_SYS_TCPIPSTATS_H case of the ICMP group for an example).
Alternatively, there may be ioctl calls on suitable devices, specific system
calls, or special files that can be read to provide the necessary
information.

If the available data provides the requested value immediately, then the
individual branch becomes a simple assignment to the appropriate static
return variable - either one of the global static variables (e.g. long_return)
or the local equivalents (such as generated by mib2c).
Otherwise, the requested value may need to be calculated by combining two or
more items of data (e.g. IPINHDRERRORS in mibII/ip.c) or by applying a
mapping or other calculation involving available information (e.g.
IPFORWARDING from the same group).

In each of these cases, the routine should return a pointer to the result
value, casting this to the pseudo-generic (u_char *)

So much for the scalar case. The next part looks at how to handle simple
tables.

6. Simple tables
================

Having considered the simplest style of module implementation, we now turn
our attention to the next style - a simple table. The tabular nature of
these is immediately apparent from the MIB definition file, but the
qualifier "simple" deserves a word of explanation.
A simple table, in this context, has four characteristics:

  1. It is indexed by a single integer value;
  2. Such indices run from 1 to a determinable maximum;
  3. All indices within this range are valid;
  4. The data for a particular index can be retrieved directly
     (e.g. by indexing into an underlying data structure).

If any of the conditions are not met, then the table is not a pure simple
one, and the techniques described here are not applicable. The next section
of this guide will cover the more general case. (In fact, it may be possible
to use the bulk of the techniques covered here, though special handling will
be needed to cope with the invalid assumption or assumptions). Note that
mib2c assumes that all tables are simple.

As with the scalar case, the variable routine needs to provide two basic
functions - request validation and data retrieval.

Validation
----------

This is provided by the shared utility routine header_simple_table. As with
the scalar header routine, this takes the same parameters as the main
variable routine, with one addition - the maximum valid index. Mib2c
generates a dummy token for this, which must be replaced by the appropriate
value.
As with the header routine, it also returns an indication of whether the
request was valid, as well as setting up the return parameters with the
matching OID information, and defaults for var_len and write_method.
Note that in releases prior to 3.6, this job was performed by the routine
checkmib. However, the return values of this were the reverse of those for
generic_header and header_simple_table. A version of checkmib is still
available for compatability purposes, but you are encouraged to use
header_simple_table instead.

The basic code fragment (see ucd-snmp/disk.c) is therefore of the form:

        unsigned char *
        var_extensible_disk(vp, name, length, exact, var_len, write_method)
        {
            if (header_simple_table(vp,name,length,exact,var_len,write_method,numdisks)
                                        == MATCH_FAILED)
                return(NULL);

            [ etc, etc, etc ]

        }

Note that the maximum index value parameter does not have to be a
permanently fixed constant. It specifies the maximum valid index at the time
the request is processed, and a subsequent request may have a different
maximum.
An example of this can be seen in mibII/sysORTable.c where the table is held
purely internally to the agent code, including its size (and hence the
maximum valid index). This maximum could also be retrieved via a system
call, or via a kernel data variable.

Data Retrieval
--------------

As with the scalar case, the other required function is to retrieve the data
requested. However, given the definition of a simple table this is simply a
matter of using the single, integer index sub-identifier to index into an
existing data structure. This index will always be the last index of the OID
returned by header_simple_table, so can be obtained as name[*length-1].
A good example of this type of table can be seen in ucd-snmp/disk.c

With some modules, this underlying table may be relatively large, or only
accessible via a slow or cumbersome interface. The implementation described
so far may prove unacceptably slow, particularly when walking a MIB tree
requires the table to be loaded afresh for each variable requested.

In these circumstances, a useful technique is to cache the table when it is
first read in, and use that cache for subsequent requests. This can be done
by having a separate routine to read in the table. This uses two static
variables, one a structure or array for the data itself, and the other an
additional timestamp to indicate when the table was last loaded. When a call
is made to this routine to "read" the table, it can first check whether the
cached table is "new enough". If so, it can return immediately, and the
system will use the cached data.
Only if the cached version is sufficiently old that it's probably out of
date, is it necessary to retrieve the current data, updating the cached
version and the timestamp value.
This is particularly useful if the data itself is relatively static, such as
a list of mounted filesystems. There is an example of this technique in the
Host Resources implementation.

As with the scalar case, mib2c simply provides placeholder dummy return
values. It's up to the programmer to fill in the details.

The next part concludes the examination of the detailed implementation by
looking at more general tables.

7. General Tables
=================

Some table structures are not suitable for the simple table approach, due to
the failure of one or more of the assumptions listed earlier. Perhaps they
are indexed by something other than a single integer (such as a 4-octet IP
address), or the maximum index is not easily determinable (such as the
interfaces table), or not all indices are valid (running software), or the
necessary data is not directly accessible (interfaces again).
In such circumstances, a more general approach is needed. In contrast with
the two styles already covered, this style of module will commonly combine
the two functions of request validation and data retrieval. Note that mib2c
will assume the simple table case, and this will need to be corrected.

General table algorithm
-----------------------

The basic algorithm is as follows:

     Perform any necessary initialization, then walk through the
     underlying instances, retrieving the data for each one, until the
     desired instance is found. If no valid entry is found, return
     failure.

For an exact match (GET and similar), identifying the desired instance is
trivial - construct the OID (from the 'vp' variable parameter and the index
value or values), and see whether it matches the requested OID.
For GETNEXT, the situation is not quite so simple. Depending on the
underlying representation of the data, the entries may be returned in the
same order as they should appear in the table (i.e. lexically increasing by
index). However, this is not guaranteed, and the natural way of retrieving
the data may be in some "random" order. In this case, then the whole table
needs to be traversed for each request. in order to determine the
appropriate successor.
This random order is the worst case, and dictates the structure of the code
used in most currently implemented tables. The ordered case can be regarded
as a simplification of this more general one.

The algorithm outlined above can now be expanded into the following
pseudo-code:

        Init_{Name}_Entry();    // Perform any necessary initialisation

        while (( index = Get_Next_{Name}_Entry() ) != EndMarker ) {
                        // This steps through the underlying table,
                        //   returning the current index,
                        //   or some suitable end-marker when all
                        //   the entries have been examined.
                        // Note that this routine should also return the
                        //   data for this entry, either via a parameter
                        //   or using some external location.

            construct OID from vp->name and index
            compare new OID and request
            if valid {
                save current data
                if finished     // exact match, or ordered table
                    break;      //  so don't look at any more entries

            }

                //  Otherwise, we need to loop round, and examine
                //    the next entry in the table.  Either because
                //    the entry wasn't valid for this request,
                //    or the entry was a possible "next" candidate,
                //    but we don't know that there isn't there's a
                //    better one later in the table.
        }

        if no saved data        // Nothing matched
           return failure

                // Otherwise, go on to the switch handling
                //  we've already covered in the earlier styles.

This is now very close to the actual code used in many current
implementations (such as the the routine header_ifEntry in
mibII/interfaces.c). Notice that the pseudo-code fragment if valid expands
in practise to

        if ((exact && (result == 0))  ||
                        // GET request, and identical OIDs
            (!exact && (result < 0)) )
                        // GETNEXT, and candidate OID is later
                        //  than requested OID.

This is a very common expression, that can be seen in most of the table
implementations.

Notice also that the interfaces table returns immediately the first valid
entry is found, even for GETNEXT requests. This is because entries are
returned in lexical order, so the first succeeding entry will be the one
that's required.
(As an aside, this also means that the underlying data can be saved
implicitly within the 'next entry' routine - not very clean, but it saves
some unnecessary copying).

The more general case can be seen in the TCP and UDP tables (see mibII/tcp.c
and mibII/udp.c). Here, the if valid fragment expands to:

        if ( exact && (result == 0)) {
                // save results
                break;
        }
        else if (!exact && (result < 0)) {
            if ( .... ) {       // no saved OID, or this OID
                                //  precedes the saved OID
                // save this OID into 'lowest'
                // save the results into Lowinpcb
                // don't break, since we still need to look
                //      at the rest of the table
            }
        }

The GET match handling is just as we've already seen - is this the requested
OID or not. If so, save the results and move on to the switch statement.
  The GETNEXT case is more complicated. As well as considering whether this
is a possible match (using the same test we've already seen), we also have to
check whether this is a better match than anything we've already seen. This
is done by comparing the current candidate (newname) with the best match found
so far (lowest).
  Only if this extra comparison shows that the new OID is earlier than the
saved one, do we need to save both the new OID, and any associated data
(such as the inpcb block, and state flag). But having found one better
match, we don't know that there isn't an even better one later on. So we
can't break out of the enclosing loop - we need to keep going and examine
all the remaining entries of the table.

These two cases (the TCP and UDP tables) also show a more general style of
indexing. Rather than simply appending a single index value to the OID
prefix, these routines have to add the local four-octet IP address plus port
(and the same for the remote end in the case of the TCP table). This is the
purpose of the op and cp section of code that precedes the comparison.

These two are probably among the most complex cases you are likely to
encounter. If you can follow the code here, then you've probably cracked the
problem of understanding how the agent works.

Finally, the next part discusses how to implement a writable (or SETable)
object in a MIB module.

8. How to implement a SETable object
====================================

Finally, the only remaining area to cover is that of setting data - the
handling of SNMPSET. Particular care should be taken here for two reasons.

Firstly, any errors in the earlier sections can have limited effect. The
worst that is likely to happen is that the agent will either return invalid
information, or possibly crash. Either way, this is unlikely to affect the
operation of the workstation as a whole. If there are problems in the
writing routine, the results could be catastrophic (particularly if writing
data directly into kernel memory).

Secondly, this is the least well understood area of the agent, at least by
the author. There are relatively few variables that are defined as READ-WRITE
in the relevant MIBs, and even fewer that have actually been implemented as
such. I'm therefore describing this from a combination of my understanding
of how SETs ought to work, personal experience of very simple SET handling
and what's actually been done by others (which do not necessarily coincide).

There are also subtle differences between the setting of simple scalar
variables (or individual entries within a table), and the creation of a new
row within a table. This will therefore be considered separately.

With these caveats, and a healthy dose of caution, let us proceed. Note that
the UCD-SNMP development team can accept no responsibility for any damage or
loss resulting from either following or ignoring the information presented
here. You coded it - you fix it!

Write routine
-------------

The heart of SET handling is the write_method parameter from the variable
handling routine. This is a pointer to the relevant routine for setting the
variable in question. Mib2c will generate one such routine for each setable
variable. This routine should be declared using the template

        int
        write_variable(
           int      action,
           u_char   *var_val,
           u_char   var_val_type,
           int      var_val_len,
           u_char   *statP,
           oid      *name,
           int      name_len );

Most of these parameters are fairly self explanatory:
The last two hold the OID to be set, just as was passed to the main variable
routine.

The second, third and fourth parameters provide information about the new
desired value, both the type, value and length. This is very similar to the
way that results are returned from the main variable routine.

The return value of the routine is simply an indication of whether the
current stage of the SET was successful or not. We'll come back to this in a
minute. Note that it is the responsibility of this routine to check that the
OID and value provided are appropriate for the variable being implemented.
This includes (but is not limited to) checking:

   * the OID is recognised as one this routine can handle
     (this should be true if the routine only handles the one variable, and
     there are no errors in the main variable routine or driving code, but
     it does no harm to check).
   * the value requested is the correct type expected for this OID
   * the value requested is appropriate for this OID
     (within particular ranges, suitable length, etc, etc)

There are two parameters remaining to be considered.

The fifth parameter, statP, is the value that would be returned from a GET
request on this particular variable. It could be used to check that the
requested new value is consistent with the current state, but its main use
is to denote that a new table row is being created.
In most cases (particularly when dealing with scalar values or single elements
of tables), you can normally simply ignore this parameter.

Actions
-------

The final parameter to consider is the first one - action. To understand
this, it's necessary to know a bit about how SETs are implemented.
The design of SNMP calls for all variables in a SET request to be done "as
if simultaneously" - i.e. they should all succeed or all fail. However, in
practise, the variables are handled in succession. Thus, if one fails, it
must be possible to "undo" any changes made to the other variables in the
request.
This is a well understood requirement in the database world, and is usually
implemented using a "multi-stage commit". This is certainly the mechanism
expected within the SNMP community (and has been made explicit in the work
of the AgentX extensibility group). In other words, the routine to handle
setting a variable will be called more than once, and the routine must be
able to perform the appropriate actions depending on how far through the
process we currently are. This is determined by the value of the action
parameter.

This is implemented using three basic phases:

RESERVE is used to check the syntax of all the variables provided, that the
values being set are sensible and consistent, and to allocate any resources
required for performing the SET. After this stage, the expectation is that
the set ought to succeed, though this is not guaranteed.
(In fact, with the UCD agent, this is done in two passes - RESERVE1, and
RESERVE2, to allow for dependancies between variables).

If any of these calls fail (in either pass) the write routines are called
again with the FREE action, to release any resources that have been
allocated. The agent will then return a failure response to the requesting
application.

Assuming that the RESERVE phase was successful, the next stage is indicated
by the action value ACTION. This is used to actually implement the set
operation. However, this must either be done into temporary (persistent)
storage, or the previous value stored similarly, in case any of the
subsequent ACTION calls fail.
 This can be seen in the example module, where both write routines have
static 'old' variables, to hold the previous value of the relevant object.

If the ACTION phase does fail (for example due to an apparently valid, but
unacceptable value, or an unforeseen problem), then the list of write
routines are called again, with the UNDO action. This requires the routine
to reset the value that was changed to its previous value (assuming it was
actually changed), and then to release any resources that had been
allocated. As with the FREE phase, the agent will then return an indication
of the error to the requesting application.

Only once the ACTION phase has completed successfully, can the final COMMIT
phase be run. This is used to complete any writes that were done into
temporary storage, and then release any allocated resources. Note that all
the code in this phase should be "safe" code that cannot possibly fail (cue
hysterical laughter). The whole intent of the ACTION/COMMIT division is that
all of the fallible code should be done in the ACTION phase, so that it can
be backed out if necessary.

Table row creation
------------------

What about creating new rows in a table, I hear you ask. Good Question.
This case can often be detected by the fact that a GET request would have
failed, and hence the fifth parameter, statP, will be null.  This contrasts
with changing the values of an element of an existing row, when the statP
parameter would hold the previous value.

The details of precisely how to create a new row will clearly depend on the
underlying format of the table.  However, one implementation strategy would
be as follows:

  *  The first column object to be SET would return a null value from the
	var_name routine.  This null statP parameter would be the signal
	to create a new temporary instance of the underlying data structure,
	filled with dummy values.
  *  Subsequent column objects would return pointers to the appropriate
	field of this new data structure from the var_name routine,
	which would then be filled in by the write routine.
  *  Once all the necessary fields had been SET, the completed temporary
	instance could be moved into the "standard" structure (or copied,
	or otherwise used to set things up appropriately).

However, this is purely a theoretical strategy, and has not been tried
by the author.  No guarantees are given as to whether this would actually
work.  There are also questions regarding how to handle incomplete
or overlapping SET requests.
Anyone who has experience of doing this, please get in touch!

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
And that's it. Congratulations for getting this far. If you understand
everything that's been said, then you now know as much as the rest of us
about the inner workings of the UCD-SNMP agent. (Well, very nearly).
All that remains is to try putting this into practise. Good luck!

And if you've found this helpful, gifts of money, chocolate, alcohol, and
above all feedback, would be most appreciated :-)

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 1999, 2000 - D.T.Shield.
Not to be distributed without the explicit permission of the author.