Annotating Third-Party MIBs for Integration with Novell ZENworks Server Management

When you compile a MIB containing SNMP traps (alarms), information about those traps is added to the Novell ZENworks Server Management alarm database. This information can then be displayed in Novell ConsoleOne.

All Novell MIBs are annotated so that the alarm information displayed in Novell ConsoleOne is easily readable. This alarm information includes a summary describing the alarm, the alarm severity, and the state of the affected node. Third-party MIB files do not necessarily contain this same information. Therefore, the information about the traps in third-party MIBs is not as meaningful when displayed in Novell ConsoleOne.

You can add annotations to third-party MIB files for the trap definitions so that the alarm information displayed in Novell ZENworks Server Management for those traps is more readable than if you compile the MIB as is. Any annotations you add to a third-party MIB are added as comments to the trap definitions. This ensures that the MIB still compiles with third-party MIB compilers.

If you do not annotate the traps in third-party MIBs, Novell ZENworks Server Management will display the alarms. The MIB Compiler displays warnings in the status display about the missing annotations.

To add annotations to a third-party MIB:

1. Open the MIB in a text editor.

2. Add any of the annotations shown in Keywords for Trap Annotations, by following these rules:

   • Enter annotations only between the DESCRIPTION and the "::=" clause.
   • Each annotation must be on a separate line.
   • Annotations must be in the order shown in Keywords for Trap Annotations.
   • Embed each annotation as a comment. Precede each annotation with two hyphens and a pound sign (#).

     For example: --#Type "type_description"

     For a full example, see Example Trap Definitions.

3. When you finish annotating trap definitions, save your changes and exit the text file.

   Compile the MIB, as described in Compiling MIBs for SNMP-Manageable Nodes.

Use Novell ConsoleOne Alarm Disposition table to view the values for the alarm severity level and alarm state from the default values in the SNMP MIBs. If you change the value for an alarm's severity or state after you compile the MIB, you must recompile the MIB for those changes to overwrite any changes made through the Alarm Disposition table.

Compiling MIBs for SNMP-Manageable Nodes

The MIB Compiler lets you manage the MIB Server Pool and also compile the .MIB files contained in the MIB Server Pool. The information in the compiled files is placed in the database on the Novell ZENworks Server Management server. The MIB Browser and the SNMP protocol decoder use this database.

The MIB Compiler also adds or updates any trap definitions to the alarm template database for use by the Novell ZENworks Server Management Alarm Management System.

The MIB Server Pool contains the list of MIB files. You can add or remove the MIB files from the MIB Server Pool.

To compile the MIBs:

1. In Novell ConsoleOne, click the Novell ZENworks Server Management server node.

2. Right-click the node then click Properties, and then click the MIB Pool tab.

   The current MIB Pool lists the compiled MIB files present in the database.

3. Choose your options.

   • To add MIBs, click Add to locate the .MIB files and add them to the MIB Pool list.

     The added MIBs are displayed in the adjacent list box.

     When you add MIBs, you choose to integrate or exclude the trap information while compiling MIBs. If you do not integrate traps with the MIBs, only the MIB information is stored in the database on successful compilation of the MIBs. Click Advanced then select the Trap Integration check box to integrate the trap information with the MIBs.

   • To remove files from the MIB Pool list, select the MIB from the list then click Remove.
   • To compile the MIBs with less strict adherence to ASN.1 syntax, click Advanced then select the ASN.1 Syntax Relaxation option.

4. Click Compile.

   The MIB Compiler compiles all files in the MIB Pool list with the .MIB extension and updates the database. The compilation process is begun by launching a Results dialog box. This dialog box displays the status information of the MIBs including the MIBs that were successfully compiled, MIBs that were not compiled and the corresponding error message, and the status of updating the database with the MIB compile information, and the status of updating the Alarm database.

   IMPORTANT:  You cannot closed the Results dialog box during compilation. The Close button in the Results dialog box is disabled during compilation. You can close this dialog box only after the compilation is successful or failed.

5. Click Close.

IMPORTANT:  If the SNMP MIB is not set up correctly, or an imported Request for Comments (RFC) is not available during compilation of the MIB, or any other .MIB file is not available, an error message is generated in the MIB Compiler window. Add the required RFC or the dependent MIB and compile.