Alert Standard Format (ASF) Specification

Alert Standard Format (ASF) Specification v2.0 DMTF Document DSP0136
DSP0136 23 April 2003 Page 8 of 94
3 Network Protocols
3.1 Transmit Protocol (PET)
The ASF protocol for sending alerts from a managed client to a management console is the
Platform Event Trap [PET].
3.1.1 PET Frame Behavior
3.1.1.1 PET Re-transmission
An ASF alert-sending device retransmits each PET frame two (2) times for a total of three (3)
transmissions per event; all three transmissions must occur within a 1-minute window and contain
the same Sequence Number field. A management console should treat identical events it
receives outside the 1-minute window as a new event.
Exceptions
: No retransmission is performed when the PET frame issued by the alert-sending
device is either the result of a General Push Alert Message without retransmission (see 5.1.5.2)
or a System Heartbeat (see 3.1.5.5).
3.1.1.2 Transient Event Handling
The managed client does not transmit transient events that happen when the alert network
connection is down (or otherwise unavailable). ASF defines a transient event as one that
transitions from an original state to another state and then back to the original state. For example,
if a voltage event asserts and de-asserts while the connection is down, the client must not send
any voltage event PET frames when the connection is re-established. This mode of operation
gives ASF-aware management consoles a deterministic behavior of any PETs issued by a
managed client.
3.1.2 Agent Address Field
If the transport for the PET frame is IP, the Agent Address field in the Trap PDU must contain the
IP address of the station that caused the PET event per [RFC1157]. If the transport is not IP,
then the Agent Address is set per the RFC for that transport, e.g. RFC 1420 for IPX.
This specification requires that the alert-sending device support IP protocols; other transports are
optional.
3.1.3 Specific Trap Field
The specific trap field of the SNMP Trap header contains the main event information for the
PET event.
3.1.4 Variable Bindings Fields
The Variable Bindings Fields in a PET frame contain the system and sensor information for an
event.
PET Variable
Binding Field
Description
GUID
The GUID is required for ASF alerts; the value is specified by the system’s SMBIOS
implementation. See 4.2.1 System Information (Type 1) on page 59 for details.
Sequence
Number
The Sequence Number is required; see section 3.1.1.1 for the rules on re-transmission.
Local
Timestamp
The Local Timestamp is recommended.
UTC Offset The UTC offset is recommended if there is a Local Timestamp