Managing the Linux Kernel with Agentx- Design and Implementation

Network management is essential for the operation and supervision of medium to large computer networks. The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is the standard protocol for network management in the Internet. Ordinary SNMP agents are mostly monolithic, run in the user-space and often poll information from the OS kernel. This book examines to what extent the IETF standard sub-agent protocol AgentX is suitable for the management of UNIX/Linux kernel components. For this purpose, AgentX sub-agents have been implemented inside the kernel subsystem they manage. They use the AgentX protocol for communication with a master agent in user-space. With this approach, kernel subsystems can be managed in an efficient and comprehensive way. The author describes the general design of this new in-kernel management architecture and its interface to the user-space. As an example, two kernel sub-systems, namely the network interfaces and Linux Netfilter, are implemented as MIB modules and explained. This book is intended for software developers of network and system management solutions as well as researchers in this area.