Overview
ISO/IEC 9596-1:1998 - Common Management Information Protocol (CMIP) Part 1 - specifies the protocol used by application‑layer entities to exchange systems‑management information in an OSI environment. Published as the ITU‑T Recommendation X.711, this standard defines the abstract syntax and associated encoding rules for CMIP, the procedures for transmitting management information, how to interpret protocol control information, and the conformance requirements for implementations. It does not define the structure or semantics of the managed data itself or the management policies that use CMIP.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Protocol scope and services: Supports CMIS operations such as M‑GET, M‑SET, M‑ACTION, M‑CREATE, M‑DELETE, M‑EVENT‑REPORT and M‑CANCEL‑GET (confirmed and unconfirmed variants).
- Underlying OSI services: Specifies use of Remote Operations Service Element (ROSE) APDUs (RO‑INVOKE, RO‑RESULT, RO‑ERROR, RO‑REJECT) and assumes Association Control (ACSE) and Presentation services (P‑DATA). CMIP uses association class 3 and operation classes per CMIS needs (synchronous/asynchronous).
- Abstract syntax & encoding: CMIP abstract syntax is defined using ASN.1 and mapped to encoding rules (normative references include ASN.1 and Basic Encoding Rules), with CMIP data units and APDU structures described for correct interoperability.
- Procedures covered: Association establishment/release, remote operations, event reporting, get/set/action/create/delete procedures, orderly and abrupt release handling.
- Conformance: Static and dynamic conformance requirements are specified; Part 2 of ISO/IEC 9596 provides a PICS proforma for implementation conformance testing.
- Annex material: Includes association rules, expanded ASN.1 syntax, ROSE APDU examples and directory abstract syntax for implementers.
Applications and who uses it
- Network and systems management vendors implementing OSI‑based management agents and managers.
- Standards and protocol engineers designing interoperable management stacks for telecommunications and enterprise networks.
- Integrators and system architects building management solutions that require CMIS services over OSI layers.
- QA and conformance testers using the PICS proforma to validate CMIP implementations.
Use cases include fault, configuration, accounting, performance and security management where an OSI management protocol and explicit ASN.1 encoding are required.
Related standards
- ISO/IEC 9595 (X.710) - Common Management Information Service (CMIS)
- ISO/IEC 9596-2 - CMIP PICS proforma
- ITU‑T X.219 / ISO/IEC 9072 - Remote Operations (ROSE)
- ITU‑T X.217 / ISO/IEC 8649 - ACSE (Association Control)
- ITU‑T X.216 / X.215 / X.200 - Presentation, Session, and OSI Basic Reference Model
- ASN.1 / BER (X.208 / X.209) - Abstract Syntax and Basic Encoding Rules
Keywords: ISO/IEC 9596-1:1998, CMIP, CMIS, OSI management protocol, ASN.1, ROSE, ACSE, network management, PICS.