This article explains the SNMP MIB packaging feature supported by Unbrowse SNMP. We also include full source code for our MIB packaging script. You can extend or use this program any way you wish.
Network element vendors can package all their MIBs into a single ZIP file that contains both compiled and raw MIB files. This takes the burden off the end user from locating and compiling MIBs. Unlike other MIB Browsers, we do not package a giant MIB database. This would quickly get outdated.
Why make a MIB Package
Network element vendors distribute their MIB files individually via a public or password protected website. Each MIB module is defined in a separate file. The user is responsible for downloading and compiling them into a suitable format. With Unbrowse SNMP MIB packages, you can run distribute a single ZIP file that contains both compiled and raw MIB files. These load into Unbrowse SNMP using a single click. Unbrowse SNMP allows you to load multiple versions of MIBs at the same time (corresponding to firmware releases for example). Enterprise MIBsEnterprise MIBs are nothing but a set of published text files (in ASN.1 format) that define certain managed objects. To load these enterprise MIBs into a tool like Unbrowse SNMP, you somehow have to "load" them in. This loading process is called "MIB Compiling". The problem is that this task is quite cumbersome for the end user.
MIB PackagesA MIB package is a ZIP file which is designed to be a packaging mechanism for your enterprise MIBs. At Unleash Networks we frequent the top vendors' websites and create MIB packages for their publicly available MIBs.See our MIB Packages page to see and download several MIBs from top vendors. You can install several MIB packages into Unbrowse, you can even install different versions of the same MIB.
Example of things you can do with MIB packages : We have created a package containing the latest version of every single Cisco MIB. This package contains 1025 SNMP modules, over 65,000 unique objects. The package is 30 MIB and takes 6-7 minutes to install. This is the most convenient way to distribute MIBs to users of MIB Browsers and other Network Management applications.
Structure of a MIB Package An Unbrowse MIB Package is a ZIP file that contains the following files:
| A file named MibPkManifest.xml | Automatically Created | A specialized table of contents | | All the plain text MIB files (in ASN.1 format) | You supply them | These files are the enterprise or standard MIB files you with to package | | All the compiled MIB files (in VOSMI format) | Automatically Created | VOSMI is the native Unbrowse format. These are highly indexed and scriptable. These files are designed for instant loading in Unbrowse SNMP. |
How to create your own MIB packageHere are the basic steps to create your own MIB packages.
- Download and install the compression utility 7-ZIP
- Download the MIB packager script batchcomp.vbs
- Put all your enterprise MIBs in a single directory.
- Open a command prompt to the directory containing the batchcomp.vbs script. Ensure that the 7-ZIP utility is available by typing "7za". If it is not found, add the 7za install directory to the PATH environment variable.
- Type the following command:
| cscript batchcomp.vbs <MyRawMibsDirectory> *.my | | first argument | the directory where your raw MIBs can be found | | second argument | the wildcard pattern for your MIB files typically *.my, *.mib, *.smi. To use multiple wildcards type *.(mib|txt|smi) |
- Answer the questions regarding name and description.
- The script will start the packaging and dump the final ZIP file in the same directory as your raw input MIBs.
- The MIB Package is now ready to be installed into Unbrowse SNMP.
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