What is a MIB compiler/loader?
SNMP developers refer to the structure of management information in terms of a MIB (Management Information Base). A MIB is a somewhat textual (ASN.1) representation. A MIB compiler/loader translates the information contained in the MIB into a programmatically accessible form. Thus, using a MIB compiler, you can ‘load’ the MIB from RFC 1213 and refer to the sysDescr variable in the System group as “sysDescr” instead of by its OID (Object Identifier), which is 1.3.6.1.2.1.1.1.0. Also, other semantic details, such as the textual description, the type of the object, the range, and the accessibility, can be programmatically determined from a compiled MIB.
