ILMI-Based Server Discovery for MARS (RFC2602)

Publishing Venue

Internet Society Requests For Comment (RFCs)

Related People

M. Davison: AUTHOR

Abstract

This memo defines how ILMI-based Server Discovery, which provides a method for ATM-attached hosts and routers to dynamically determine the ATM addresses of servers, shall be used to locate MARS servers.

Network Working Group M. Davison

Request for Comments: 2602 Cisco Systems

Category: Standards Track June 1999

ILMI-Based Server Discovery for MARS

Status of this Memo

This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the

Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for

improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet

Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state

and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1999). All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

This memo defines how ILMI-based Server Discovery, which provides a

method for ATM-attached hosts and routers to dynamically determine

the ATM addresses of servers, shall be used to locate MARS servers.

1. Introduction

Presently, configuring a host or router to use MARS [1] is cumbersome

and error-prone since it requires at least one ATM address to be

statically configured on each host or router in the network.

Further, it is impossible to implement a diskless host to use MARS

since local configuration is required. ILMI-based Server Discovery,

hereafter referred to as "server discovery," provides a solution to

these problems.

A brief overview of the Integrated Local Management Interface (ILMI)

and the Service Registry MIB, as defined by the ATM Forum, are

provided in this memo. The reader should consult [2] for a complete

description of ILMI and this MIB, but the information contained here

is sufficient for an understanding of its use to support MARS server

discovery.

2. Integrated Local Management Interface

The Integrated Local Management Interface (ILMI) [2] provides a

mechanism for ATM-attached devices, such as hosts, routers, and ATM

switches, to transfer management information. It is based on the

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Version 1, and supports

get, get-next, set and trap operations.

The ILMI specification designates the switch side of the ATM link as

the 'network side' and the host/router side of the ATM link as the '

user side.' The Service Registry MIB, which is outlined in Section 3,

is implmented on the network side and is queried from the user side.

3. ILMI 4.0 Service Registry MIB

Server discovery utilizes the Service Registry MIB defined by the ATM

Forum in ILMI Specification Version 4.0 [2]. To support the existing

framework for IP over ATM, as embodied by ATMARP and MARS, ATM

switches must support the Service...