Preface Standards development within the Information Technology sector is harmonized with international standards development. Through the CSA Technical Committee on Information Technology (TCIT), Canadians serve as the Canadian Advisory Committee (CAC) on ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 on Information Technology (ISO/IEC JTC1) for the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), the ISO member body for Canada and sponsor of the Canadian National Committee of the IEC. Also, as a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Canada participates in the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (ITU-T). Scope This Recommendation | International Standard specifies a protocol which is used by application layer entities to exchange management information. This Recommendation | International Standard specifies: procedures for the transmission of management information between application entities; the abstract syntax of the Common Management Information Protocol (CMIP) and the associated encoding rules to be applied; procedures for the correct interpretation of protocol control information; the conformance requirements to be met by implementation of this Recommendation | International Standard. This Recommendation | International Standard does not specify: the structure or meaning of the management information that is transmitted by means of CMIP; the manner in which management is accomplished as a result of CMIP exchanges; the interactions which result in the use of CMIP.