SNMP trap and inform shaping mechanism

#The invention is related to the management of traffic flow in a router. More particularly, this invention relates to managing the output notification queue.

#SNMP defines a protocol used to define management information. Managers and agents exchange messages. SNMP determines the format and meaning of the messages. It also determines the representation of names and values within those messages.

#Agents may be equipped with SNMP so that a manager can manage them. The agent responds to requests from the manager. Such requests include requests for information and requests to perform certain actions. In addition, an agent may asynchronously provide unsolicited information to the management server. SNMP defines a get-request, a get-next-request, a get-response and a set-response command to provide fetch and store operations between the agent and the manager.

#FIG. 1 shows a chassis or a rack in a physical network server, the 7770 RCP Router, containing a number of boards.

#FIG. 2 illustrates three external management interfaces.

#FIG. 3 illustrates users of the management interface.

#During system initialization, there is generally a large burst of notifications that can often flood both the network and network management systems. In the present invention, notifications are sent in a steady flow, and not in bursts.

#7770 RCP Router

#FIG. 1 shows a chassis or a rack in a physical network server, the 7770 RCP Router, containing a number of boards. Connection to the physical network is through the line cards (LC1, LC2, LC3). These cards can be either Ethernet cards or SONET cards. In a preferred embodiment, they are gigabit Ethernet (GE) cards or packet over sonet (POS) cards, each comprising an applique.