About MIBs

A Management Information Base (MIB) describes a database of objects that can be monitored by a network management system. Snmp uses standardized MIB formats that allow any Snmp tool to monitor any device defined by a MIB.

Each managed object in a MIB has a unique identifier that specifies things such as:

  • Object type (such as counter, string, or integer, for example)
  • Object access level (such as read or read/write)
  • Size restriction
  • Range information.

The name space for MIB object identifiers is hierarchical. It is structured so that each manageable object can be assigned a globally unique name. Authority for parts of the name space is assigned to individual organizations. This allows organizations to assign names without consulting an Internet authority for each assignment. For example, the name space assigned to a (fictional) Corporation X might be 1.3.6.1.4.1.nnn (where n is an integer), which is defined in CORPX.MIB. Corporation X then has the authority to assign names to objects anywhere below that name space. The object identifier in the hierarchy is written as a sequence of sub identifiers beginning at the root and ending at the object with sub identifiers separated by a period.