Definitions of Managed Objects for IP Flow Information Export
obsoletes
- rfc-5815 — Definitions of Managed Objects for IP Flow Information Export
Extracted elements (28)
Statistical objects in all augmentation tables are made OPTIONAL, because not all IPFIX devices may be able to maintain such counters; the mandatory groups cover only the configuration and state objects needed for basic monitoring.
The Export Table uses an ipfixExportIndex grouping mechanism to represent Transport Session groups rather than encoding the relationship in the Transport Session Table itself, keeping session identity and export policy orthogonal and allowing the same session to participate in different group roles.
The IPFIX SELECTOR MIB is defined as a separate module from the IPFIX MIB because its selector function subtree is IANA-controlled and extensible, allowing PSAMP sampling/filtering functions to be added independently without modifying the core IPFIX MIB.
RFC 6615 obsoletes RFC 5815 and incorporates fixes for errata identified in that document. The REVISION history in the MIB module explicitly records: 'Fixed errata from RFC 5815. Published as RFC 6615.'
The Observation Point table references the ENTITY MIB (RFC 4133) via ipfixObservationPointPhysicalEntity and the Interfaces MIB (RFC 2863) via ipfixObservationPointPhysicalInterface. Implementers wishing to specify physical observation points SHOULD implement these MIBs, but their implementation is OPTIONAL.
All standard filtering and sampling functions MUST be registered in the subtree under ipfixSelectorFunctions. New Selector Functions MUST be registered with IANA and are subject to Expert Review; their specifications MUST be published in a well-established, persistent publication medium.
All Transport Sessions referenced in the Export Table MUST have an ipfixTransportSessionDeviceMode value of exporting(1). If an Exporter does not use Transport Session grouping, the single session in each group MUST have member type primary(1).
At least one of ipfixObservationPointPhysicalEntity or ipfixObservationPointPhysicalInterface MUST exist for a valid Observation Point entry. If both are provided, they MUST reference the same physical interface; if one cannot be specified, it MUST be set to 0.
For SCTP sessions, ipfixTransportSessionSourceAddressType and ipfixTransportSessionDestinationAddressType MUST be set to unknown(0), and the address objects MUST be set to a zero-length string; ipfixTransportSessionSctpAssocId MUST be zero for all non-SCTP protocols.
If no Filtering or Sampling function is used for a Metering Process, an entry SHOULD be created in the Selection Process table that points to the Select All function (ipfixFuncSelectAll).
If no Observation Point is specified for a Metering Process cache, ipfixMeteringProcessObservationPointGroupRef MUST be zero(0).
In a failover group, exactly one session has member type primary(1) and all others MUST have type secondary(2). For load-balancing or parallel export groups, all sessions MUST share the same member type (either loadBalancing(4) or parallel(3)).
Template refresh timeout and packet-count objects are only valid when ipfixTransportSessionProtocol is UDP (17); in all other cases the values MUST be zero.
The ipfixTemplateDefinitionFlags bits scope(0) and flowKey(1) MUST NOT be set simultaneously; an Information Element cannot be both a scope element and a Flow Key.
Withdrawn or invalidated (Options) Templates MUST be removed from the ipfixTemplateTable.
Four statistical augmentation tables extend the Transport Session, Template, Metering Process, and Selection Process tables, providing counters for bytes, packets, messages, records, templates, discarded messages, and selection drop counts. Each includes a discontinuity timestamp to signal counter resets.
The Export Table (ipfixExportTable) on Exporters groups Transport Sessions by ipfixExportIndex to support failover, load-balancing, or parallel export. Each member is assigned a type: primary(1), secondary(2), parallel(3), or loadBalancing(4), governing how flows are distributed across sessions.
The IPFIX MIB module (IPFIX-MIB) is assigned OID { mib-2 193 } and defines seven main tables: Transport Session, Template, Template Definition, Export, Metering Process, Observation Point, and Selection Process, plus associated statistical augmentation tables.
The IPFIX SELECTOR MIB module (IPFIX-SELECTOR-MIB) defines standardized filtering and sampling functions under the ipfixSelectorFunctions subtree (OID 1.3.6.1.2.1.194.1.1). Each function subtree SHOULD contain an availability flag (TruthValue) and, if parameterized, a parameter table.
The Metering Process Table (ipfixMeteringProcessTable) is indexed by cache IDs and stores per-cache active and idle flow expiration timeouts, along with a reference to the associated Observation Point group.
The Observation Point Table (ipfixObservationPointTable) groups Observation Points under ipfixObservationPointGroupId, with each entry carrying the Observation Domain ID and references to physical entities (ENTITY MIB) or interfaces (Interfaces MIB), plus an optional traffic direction (ingress, egress, both).
The Selection Process Table (ipfixSelectionProcessTable) lists ordered sequences of filtering/sampling functions per Metering Process cache; functions are referenced by OID and applied in ascending order of ipfixSelectionProcessSelectorIndex.
The Template Definition Table (ipfixTemplateDefinitionTable) enumerates the ordered Information Elements within each Template or Options Template, recording IE ID, encoded length, enterprise number (0 for IANA-standard IEs), and flags indicating whether each IE is used for scoping or as a Flow Key.
The Template Table (ipfixTemplateTable) lists all Templates and Options Templates transmitted or received per Transport Session and Observation Domain, indexed by ipfixTransportSessionIndex, ipfixTemplateObservationDomainId, and ipfixTemplateId, with fields for Set ID and last access time.
The Transport Session Table (ipfixTransportSessionTable) lists all currently established sessions between Exporting and Collecting Processes, recording transport protocol, source/destination address and port, SCTP association ID, device mode (exporting or collecting), template refresh parameters for UDP, IPFIX version, and session status.
The IPFIX-MIB module is assigned the OID { mib-2 193 } and the IPFIX-SELECTOR-MIB is assigned { mib-2 194 } under the IANA-managed MIB-2 subtree.
This document establishes an IANA-controlled sub-registry for IPFIX SELECTOR MIB selector functions, rooted at ipfixSelectorFunctions (OID 1.3.6.1.2.1.194.1.1). The first registered entry is ipfixFuncSelectAll at {ipfixSelectorFunctions 1}. New entries require Expert Review.
The MIB objects expose sensitive network topology and flow export configuration data (addresses, ports, template definitions, observation points). Access to these read-only objects SHOULD be restricted using SNMPv3 authentication and privacy to prevent unauthorized disclosure of network monitoring infrastructure details.