RE: [ipfix] DRAFT IPFIX meeting minutes, 58th IETF, Minneapolis

["Tal Givoly" <[e-mail]>]

Dave,

Counter looks good in RFC1065, but the term "integer" that was used in IPFIX
context is not equivalent to GAUGE.

Integers in IPFIX context, or "Delta" value is a non-negative integer that
is representative of the absolute difference in value of a theoretical
counter between one record and the other. I say theoretical counter because
no counter needs to actually exist - what delta value reports are the number
of <something> that were observed/measured since the last report.
<something> could be octets, packets, frames, time units, etc.

I'm also unsure about the term "application wide" as although a counter or a
gauge are common to all observers, delta values are not common to all
observers (so if an exporter/meter is sending to multiple destinations, it
may have different delta values for each destination and there is no
commonly agreed upon, application wide, value - unless it is imposed that
the records are identical for all recipients).

Tal

-----Original Message-----
From: majordomo listserver [mailto:[e-mail]]On Behalf
Of Dave Plonka
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2003 2:27 PM
To: [e-mail]
Cc: Tal Givoly; Benoit Claise
Subject: Re: [ipfix] DRAFT IPFIX meeting minutes, 58th IETF, Minneapolis



Hi Tal,

On Mon, Nov 10, 2003 at 01:34:54PM -0800, Tal Givoly wrote:
> Dave,
>
> >   1) Both counters and integers are needed in the information model.
> >      (Here, by integer we mean an absolute value a la SNMP.)
>
> I wasn't in the meeting, but I believe your parenthesis should be the
> opposite. "counters" represent the SNMP-like behavior whereas "integers"
> refers to the delta between the previous record and the next record. I
also
> believe that the term "integer" is misleading as the counter itself is
also
> an integer (however one that may or may not have a wrapping/overflow
> behavior).

You're right... I see now that that is true even in SNMP, so my
parentesized qualification is insufficient.

> Perhaps the term "delta" would more appropriate?

OK, I'll clarify it.

I think instead of counter and integer, we should say "counter" and "gauge".

These terms are defined in section 3.2.1 of RFC1065
("http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1065.txt"):

   3.2.3.3.  Counter

      This application-wide type represents a non-negative integer which
      monotonically increases until it reaches a maximum value, when it
      wraps around and starts increasing again from zero.  This memo
      specifies a maximum value of 2^32-1 (4294967295 decimal) for
      counters.

   3.2.3.4.  Gauge

      This application-wide type represents a non-negative integer, which
      may increase or decrease, but which latches at a maximum value.  This
      memo specifies a maximum value of 2^32-1 (4294967295 decimal) for
      gauges.

Thanks,
Dave

--
[e-mail]  http://net.doit.wisc.edu/~plonka  ARS:N9HZF  Madison,
WI

--
Help        mailto:[e-mail] and say "help" in message
body
Unsubscribe mailto:[e-mail] and say
"unsubscribe ipfix" in message body
Archive     http://ipfix.doit.wisc.edu/archive/


--
Help        mailto:[e-mail] and say "help" in message body
Unsubscribe mailto:[e-mail] and say
"unsubscribe ipfix" in message body
Archive     http://ipfix.doit.wisc.edu/archive/