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RFC 5249 BEST CURRENT PRACTICE MANAGEMENT · TEMPLATES

Templates for Internet-Drafts Containing MIB Modules

Three ready-made templates that help authors write Internet-Drafts containing MIB modules.

On rfc-editor.org ↗
PUBLISHED
July 2008
AUTHORS
D. Harrington
STREAM
IETF
NUMBER OF TEMPLATES
3
BCP NUMBER
139
DOI
10.17487/RFC5249

RFC text

Contents
Original text · RFC Editor View on rfc-editor.org ↗ 
Network Working Group                                 D. Harrington, Ed.
Request for Comments: 5249                     Huawei Technologies (USA)
BCP: 139                                                       July 2008
Category: Best Current Practice


          Templates for Internet-Drafts Containing MIB Modules

Status of This Memo

   This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the
   Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Abstract

   This memo references three annotated templates for IETF documents
   that contain the definition of MIB modules.  It is intended to reduce
   the work of the editors of such documents, making these documents
   more uniform and easier to read and review, thus furthering the
   quality of such documents and expediting their publication.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
   2.  Overview  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
   3.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
   4.  Contributors  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
   5.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1.  Introduction

   This memo references three annotated templates for IETF documents
   that contain the definition of MIB modules.  It is intended to reduce
   the work of the editors of such documents, making these more uniform
   and easier to read and review, thus furthering the quality of such
   documents and expediting their publication.

2.  Overview

   The MIB Doctors directorate has produced three templates specifically
   aimed at Internet-Drafts containing MIB modules.  The templates are
   available at the IETF Tools web site, listed as "Templates for MIB
   Documents".

   o  The first is an XML template for editors that use XML2RFC.  Some
      advice echoing guidelines from RFC 4181 is embedded in comments.

   o  A second template is a text template for MIB documents with advice
      embedded in the document.

   o  A third template is a plain text template with no advice included.

   The templates were developed to make IETF documents that contain MIB
   modules more consistent.  This makes it easier for a MIB Doctor and
   other IETF participants to review the document.  There are a number
   of MUSTs in the templates, especially in the advice; these usually
   refer to IESG requirements for Internet-Drafts, and MIB Doctors are
   likely to check for these requirements.

   The templates contain boilerplates that are required for IETF MIB
   module documents.  It has been common practice for editors to use
   existing MIB module documents as templates.  This approach has
   problems because boilerplates and other required elements change over
   time.  The templates referenced by this document will be made
   available on the IETF Tools web site, and occasionally updated to
   reflect the latest requirements.  The most up-to-date revisions of
   the templates are available at http://www.tools.ietf.org.

   The templates contain sections that describe the purpose and
   organization of the MIB module, and the relationship between this MIB
   module and other MIB modules.  This makes it easier for MIB Doctors
   to understand the MIB module, which speeds the review process.

   Editors should read RFC 4181 "Guidelines for Authors and Reviewers of
   MIB Documents" [RFC4181], which describes best current practices for
   MIB module document editing.

   The document templates do not include a template for the MIB module
   itself.  Tools to validate MIB modules typically require that the MIB
   module be separated from the surrounding document.  The MIB Doctors
   feel that the simplest approach is to develop the MIB module outside
   the document that contains the surrounding text, and then include the
   MIB module into the surrounding document written using the templates.

3.  Security Considerations

   This memo recommends templates for editing; it has no direct impact
   on network security.  The templates include boilerplates and
   associated advice for writing the Security Considerations section of
   an Internet-Draft that documents a MIB module.

4.  Contributors

   These templates are based on contributions from the MIB Doctors,
   especially Juergen Schoenwaelder, Dave Perkins, C.M. Heard, and Randy
   Presuhn.

5.  Normative References

   [RFC4181]  Heard, C., "Guidelines for Authors and Reviewers of MIB
              Documents", BCP 111, RFC 4181, September 2005.

Author's Address

   David Harrington (editor)
   Huawei Technologies (USA)
   1700 Alma Drive, Suite 100
   Plano, TX 75075
   USA

   Phone: +1 603 436 8634
   EMail: dharrington@huawei.com

Full Copyright Statement

   Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2008).

   This document is subject to the rights, licenses and restrictions
   contained in BCP 78, and except as set forth therein, the authors
   retain all their rights.

   This document and the information contained herein are provided on an
   "AS IS" basis and THE CONTRIBUTOR, THE ORGANIZATION HE/SHE REPRESENTS
   OR IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE INTERNET SOCIETY, THE IETF TRUST AND
   THE INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS
   OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF
   THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED
   WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

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   Intellectual Property Rights or other rights that might be claimed to
   pertain to the implementation or use of the technology described in
   this document or the extent to which any license under such rights
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   made any independent effort to identify any such rights.  Information
   on the procedures with respect to rights in RFC documents can be
   found in BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Copies of IPR disclosures made to the IETF Secretariat and any
   assurances of licenses to be made available, or the result of an
   attempt made to obtain a general license or permission for the use of
   such proprietary rights by implementers or users of this
   specification can be obtained from the IETF on-line IPR repository at
   http://www.ietf.org/ipr.

   The IETF invites any interested party to bring to its attention any
   copyrights, patents or patent applications, or other proprietary
   rights that may cover technology that may be required to implement
   this standard.  Please address the information to the IETF at
   ietf-ipr@ietf.org.

AI ELI5

On this page
PROBLEMEditors of documents that define MIB modules often copied older documents as a starting point, but boilerplates and required elements change over time.
MECHANISMThe MIB Doctors directorate produced three annotated templates, kept on the IETF Tools web site and updated occasionally to match current requirements.
WHY IT MATTERSDocuments become more uniform and easier to read and review, which speeds publication.

§1Why Templates

RFC 5249 references three annotated templates for IETF documents that contain the definition of MIB modules. They are meant to reduce the work of editors, make such documents more uniform and easier to read and review, and so improve their quality and speed up their publication.

It had been common practice to reuse an existing MIB module document as a template. The RFC says this has problems because boilerplates and other required elements change over time. The referenced templates are instead made available on the IETF Tools web site and occasionally updated.

Copying an old homework sheet is risky because the rules change. A fresh, up-to-date form is safer.

§2The Three Templates

The MIB Doctors directorate produced three templates aimed at Internet-Drafts containing MIB modules. The first is an XML template for editors who use XML2RFC, with advice echoing guidelines from RFC 4181 embedded in comments. The second is a text template with advice embedded in the document. The third is a plain text template with no advice.

The templates contain the boilerplates required for IETF MIB module documents, and sections that describe the purpose and organization of the MIB module and its relationship to other MIB modules. This helps a MIB Doctor understand the module and speeds review. There are a number of MUSTs in the templates, especially in the advice; these usually refer to IESG requirements for Internet-Drafts.

There are three forms: one with tips for a certain writing tool, one with tips in plain text, and one with no tips at all.

§3What Is Not Included

The templates do not include a template for the MIB module itself. Tools that validate MIB modules typically need the module separated from the surrounding document. The MIB Doctors therefore suggest developing the module outside the document and then including it in the text written with the templates.

Editors should also read RFC 4181, which describes best current practices for MIB module document editing. On security, the memo has no direct impact on network security, though the templates include boilerplate and advice for the Security Considerations section.

The forms cover the words around the main part, not the main part itself. You write that part separately and slot it in.

§4References

[RFC4181]RFC 4181Heard, C., "Guidelines for Authors and Reviewers of MIB Documents", BCP 111, RFC 4181, September 2005.September 2005