WebSVN – oidinfo_new_design – Blame – /trunk/faq.raw.htm

Rev	Author	Line No.	Line
2	daniel-mar	1	<div id="global_content">
		2	<div id="table_faq">
		3	<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" width="100%">
		4	<tr>
		5	<!--<td width="2%" valign="top"></td>-->
		6	<td valign="top" colspan="3">
		7	<span class="page_title">Frequently Asked Questions</span>
		8	<table>
		9	<tr>
		10	<td rowspan="2"><a href="/helper"><img src="images/helper.png" height="55" width="55" border="0" alt="OID helper" align="middle"></a></td>
		11	<td>Please check the Q&A below or ask your question directly to <a href="/helper">OID helper</a>.</td>
		12	</tr>
		13	<tr><td>To search for a particular OID, please use the <a href="basic-search.htm">search feature</a>.</td></tr>
		14	</table>
		15	<br><span class="page_subtitle">Questions</span>
		16	<ol>
		17	<li><a href="#1">What are the standards that define OIDs and the OID tree?</a></li>
		18	<li><a href="#2">Which kind of objects can be referenced by OIDs?</a></li>
		19	<li><a href="#3">Where can I learn more about OIDs and their registration?</a></li>
		20	<li><a href="#4">How to add information to the OID repository?</a></li>
		21	<li><a href="#modify">How to modify the description of an OID?</a></li>
		22	<li><a href="#6">How to delete an OID (or move it elsewhere in the OID tree)?</a></li>
		23	<li><a href="#7">How does the OID repository provided on this website compare with Harald Alvestrand's repository?</a></li>
		24	<li><a href="#8">How to reference an OID description from this repository?</a></li>
		25	<li><a href="#9">How many OIDs are currently described in this repository?</a></li>
		26	<li><a href="#10">How to get an OID assigned?</a></li>
		27	<li><a href="#national-RA">What decision needs be taken if a country wants a national Registration Authority for OIDs?</a></li>
		28	<li><a href="#12">Are there guidelines or standards regarding subsequent arcs of a country arc?</a></li>
		29	<li><a href="#13">What is the Internet OID?</a></li>
		30	<li><a href="#14">Where does the dot notation for OIDs come from?</a></li>
		31	<li><a href="#15">Why are top-level arcs restricted to three arcs numbered <tt>0</tt> to <tt>2</tt>, and why are arcs beneath top-level arcs <tt>0</tt> and <tt>1</tt> restricted to fourty arcs numbered <tt>0</tt> to <tt>39</tt>?</a></li>
		32	<li><a href="#16">What do we call a registration tree (or object identifier tree)?</a></li>
		33	<li><a href="#17">What is the ASN.1 notation of an OID?</a></li>
		34	<li><a href="#management">How is the entire registration tree managed?</a></li>
		35	<li><a href="#features">Which features are offered by this repository?</a></li>
		36	<li><a href="#syntax-rules">What are the syntax rules to enter information about OIDs through the web interface?</a></li>
		37	<li><a href="#oid-info">Which information is necessary to apply for an OID?</a></li>
		38	<li><a href="#example">Is there a particular OID that can be used for documenting examples of object identifiers?</a></li>
		39	<li><a href="#registration-authorities">What is the difference between the first and current Registration Authorities that appear in the description of some OIDs? What is their duty?</a></li>
		40	<li><a href="#mib">What constraints are imposed to OIDs used in SNMP MIBs (Management Information Bases)?</a></li>
		41	<li><a href="#lookup">Is there a way to look up an OID in the OID repository from my web browser?</a></li>
		42	<li><a href="#leaf">What is a leaf OID? What is a frozen OID?</a></li>
		43	<li><a href="#orphan">What is an orphan OID?</a></li>
		44	<li><a href="#iri">What is an OID-IRI (Internationalized Resource Identifier)?</a></li>
		45	<li><a href="#29">What are the duties of a Registration Authority?</a></li>
		46	<li><a href="#size-limitations">Are there size limitations for OID encoding?</a></li>
		47	<li><a href="#31">Are there binary encoders/decoders for OIDs?</a></li>
		48	<li><a href="#cookies">Does this web site use cookies?</a></li>
20	daniel-mar	49	<li><a href="#privacy">How does this web site protect users' privacy?</a></li>
15	daniel-mar	50	<li><a href="#guidelines">What are the guidelines to adequately describe an OID in this OID repository?</a></li>
2	daniel-mar	51	</ol><br></td>
		52	</tr>
		53	</table>
		54	</div>
		55	<div id="table_answers_in_faq">
		56	<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" width="100%">
		57	<tr>
		58	<!--<td width="2%" valign="top"></td>-->
		59	<td valign="top" colspan="3">
		60	<span class="page_subtitle">Answers</span>
		61
		62	<ol>
		63	<li>
		64	<div class="question">
		65	What are the standards that define OIDs and the OID tree?<a name="1"></a>
		66	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		67	</div>
		68	<div class="answer">
		69	They are defined in the <a href="standards.htm">Recommendation ITU-T
20	daniel-mar	70	X.660 \| ISO/IEC 9834 series</a>, and in particular in <a href="https://www.itu.int/ITU-T/X.660">Rec.
		71	ITU-T X.660 \| ISO/IEC 9834-1</a>.<br>Binary encodings of OIDs are specified in <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.690/en">Rec.
2	daniel-mar	72	ITU-T X.690 \| ISO/IEC 8825-1</a> for the Binary (BER) and Distinguished
20	daniel-mar	73	(DER) Encoding rules, in <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.691/en">Rec.
2	daniel-mar	74	ITU-T X.691 \| ISO/IEC 8825-2</a> for the Packed Encoding rules (PER).
20	daniel-mar	75	An XML encoding of OIDs is specified in <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.693/en">Rec.
		76	ITU-T X.693 \| ISO/IEC 8825-3</a>. (See also <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.691/en">question
2	daniel-mar	77	31</a> about binary encoders/decoders for OIDs.)<br><br></div>
		78	</li>
		79	<li>
		80	<div class="question">
		81	Which kind of objects can be referenced by OIDs?<a name="2"></a>
		82	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		83	</div>
		84	<div class="answer">
		85	Objects that can typically be identified by an object identifier are
		86	(non exhaustively):
		87	<ul>
		88	<li>
		89	an <a href="/cgi-bin/display?tree=0.0">ITU-T Recommendation</a>,
		90	an <a href="/cgi-bin/display?tree=1.0&see=all">ISO International
		91	Standard</a>;
		92	</li>
		93	<li>
		94	a <a href="country_oids.htm">country</a>, a company, a
		95	project;
		96	</li>
		97	<li>
20	daniel-mar	98	a certificate policy specified according to <a href="https://itu.int/ITU-T/X.500">Rec.
2	daniel-mar	99	ITU-T X.500</a>;
		100	</li>
		101	<li>an encryption algorithm (for example <a href="/get/1.3.14.3.2.26">SHA-1</a>);</li>
		102	<li>
		103	<a href="/get/2.27">identification schemes</a> for tag-based
20	daniel-mar	104	applications (see <a href="https://itu.int/ITU-T/X.668">Recommendation
2	daniel-mar	105	ITU-T X.668 \| ISO/IEC 9834-9</a>);
		106	</li>
		107	<li>
		108	e-health data (for example, data from the <a href="/get/2.16.840.1.113883">HL7
		109	Consortium</a>);
		110	</li>
		111	<li>
		112	Common Alerting Protocol (<a href="/get/0.0.24.1303">CAP</a>)
		113	emergency messages;
		114	</li>
		115	<li>
		116	an attribute of an ITU-T X.500- or LDAP-based directory to make
		117	up a <code>DistinguishedName</code>;
		118	</li>
		119	<li>
		120	an ASN.1 module (for example, for the <a href="/get/2.41.0.1">BioAPI
		121	Interworking Protocol</a>), an ASN.1 type (or abstract syntax);
		122	</li>
		123	<li>
		124	a <a href="/cgi-bin/display?tree=2.1(1,2,3,4,5">set of ASN.1
		125	encoding rules</a>;
		126	</li>
		127	<li>a MIB for SNMP network management;</li>
		128	<li>
		129	a managed object class, one of its attributes, a notification
		130	or even other templates used in the area of network management
20	daniel-mar	131	and the GDMO standard (see <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.722/en">Recommendation
2	daniel-mar	132	ITU-T X.722 \| ISO/IEC 10165-4</a>);
		133	</li>
		134	<li>
20	daniel-mar	135	an information object (see <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.681/en">Recommendation
2	daniel-mar	136	ITU-T X.681 \| ISO/IEC 8824-2</a>);
		137	</li>
		138	<li>the type of some part of an ITU-T X.400 electronic message body;</li>
		139	<li>a file format;</li>
		140	<li>etc.</li>
		141	</ul>
20	daniel-mar	142	Examples of OID uses are also listed on the <a href="https://www.itu.int/oth/T0B04000048/en">ITU-T flyer</a>.<br><br></div>
2	daniel-mar	143	</li>
		144	<li>
		145	<div class="question">
		146	Where can I learn more about OIDs and their registration?<a name="3"></a>
		147	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		148	</div>
		149	<div class="answer">
		150	Apart from the <a href="standards.htm">official standards</a> (see
		151	<a href="faq.htm#1">question 1</a>), OIDs are explained in:
		152	<ul>
		153	<li>
20	daniel-mar	154	the <a href="https://www.itu.int/oth/T0B04000048/en">OID flyer</a>
2	daniel-mar	155	from ITU-T Study Group 17;
		156	</li>
		157	<li>
		158	the quick <a href="doc/introduction%20to%20object%20identifiers%20(OIDs).pdf">introduction
		159	to OIDs</a>;
		160	</li>
20	daniel-mar	161	<li>the ITU handbook "<a href="https://www.itu.int/pub/T-HDB-LNG.4-2010">Object identifiers (OIDs) and their registration authorities</a>";</li>
2	daniel-mar	162	<li>
20	daniel-mar	163	section 10.8 of Olivier Dubuisson's <a href="https://www.oss.com/asn1/dubuisson.html">book
2	daniel-mar	164	"ASN.1 - Communication between heterogeneous systems"</a>;
		165	</li>
		166	<li>
20	daniel-mar	167	John Larmouth's <a href="https://www.oss.com/asn1/larmouth.html">book
2	daniel-mar	168	"ASN.1 complete"</a>;
		169	</li>
		170	<li>
		171	John Larmouth's tutorial "Registration authorities
		172	for OID components" [<a href="doc/OID-tutorial.htm">html</a>]
		173	[<a href="doc/OID-tutorial.ppt">ppt</a>];
		174	</li>
		175	<li>
		176	the presentation "<a href="doc/MoU%20presentation%20on%20OIDs.pdf">Identifying
		177	objects: The ASN.1 approach</a>";
		178	</li>
		179	<li>see also <a href="#16">question 16</a>.<br><br></li>
		180	</ul>
		181	</div>
		182	</li>
		183	<li>
		184	<div class="question">
		185	How to add information to the OID repository?<a name="4"></a>
		186	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		187	</div>
		188	<div class="answer">
		189	This OID repository is not an official Registration Authority,
20	daniel-mar	190	so any OID <a href="#guidelines">described</a> in this OID repository has to be officially allocated
2	daniel-mar	191	by the Registration Authority of its parent OID. There are at least
		192	4 ways of adding a new OID description to the repository: <br>a. Enter the OID value in the box under "Add a description for the
		193	following OID to the database" on the <a href="index.htm">main page</a> and
		194	click on the "Create" button; a new page will then be displayed with
15	daniel-mar	195	some boxes to fill (see <a href="#guidelines">guidelines for describing an OID</a>). You can also enter the OID in the following box:<br><form method="post" action="/cgi-bin/manage" enctype="multipart/form-data">
2	daniel-mar	196	<input type="hidden" name="a" value="create">     <strong>{</strong>
		197	<input type="text" name="oid" size="30" value=""><strong>}</strong>
		198	<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Create"></form>
		199	b. Go to the parent OID of the OID that you want to add (i.e. the
		200	OID at the immediate upper level in the OID tree) and click on the
		201	"Create a child OID" link on the top right-hand side of the page;
15	daniel-mar	202	a new page will then be displayed with some boxes to fill (see <a href="#guidelines">guidelines for describing an OID</a>).<br>c. Go to an OID at the same level as the OID that you want to add
2	daniel-mar	203	(a.k.a. sibling OID) and click on the "Create a sibling OID" link
		204	on the top right-hand side of the page; a new page will then be displayed
20	daniel-mar	205	with some boxes to fill (see <a href="#guidelines">guidelines for describing an OID</a>).<br>d. If you have a lot of <a href="#guidelines">OID descriptions</a> to add, it is more convenient
2	daniel-mar	206	to describe them in an XML document that conforms to our <a href="oid.xsd">XML
		207	Schema for OIDs</a> and <a href="submit.htm">submit</a> this document
		208	through the web interface. <br><em>
		209	Note: In all 4 cases, the person (if any) you mention as <a href="#registration-authorities">registrant</a>
		210	for the OID, and the person (if known) who is the <a href="#registration-authorities">registrant</a>
		211	for the parent OID are automatically informed by email and can make
		212	comments on your submission. The description of an OID will not be
		213	visible until it is validated by the webmaster who is also automatically
		214	informed by email.
		215	</em><br><strong><br></strong>
		216	</div>
		217	</li>
		218	<li>
		219	<div class="question">
		220	<a name="modify"></a>How to modify the description of an OID?<a name="5"></a>
		221	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		222	</div>
		223	<div class="answer">
		224	If you want to update an OID that is described in the OID repository,
		225	please click on the "Modify this OID" hyperlink at the top-right
		226	of the web page that describes the OID or enter the OID in the following
		227	box:
		228	<form method="post" action="/cgi-bin/manage" enctype="multipart/form-data">
		229	<input type="hidden" name="a" value="modify">     <strong>{</strong>
		230	<input type="text" name="oid" size="30" value=""><strong>}</strong>
		231	<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Suggest a modification"></form>
		232	<em>
20	daniel-mar	233	Note: Your <a href="#guidelines">proposed modifications</a> will have to be validated by
2	daniel-mar	234	the <a href="#registration-authorities">registrant</a> of the OID
		235	being modified (if known), the <a href="#registration-authorities">registrant</a>
		236	of the parent OID (if known) and the OID repository administrator
		237	(who will all be automatically informed by e-mail) before they get
		238	published.
		239	</em><br>If the First or Current Registration Authorities requested privacy
		240	protection, their postal address, email address and phone number are
		241	not displayed (but you can receive them by email). In that case, please
		242	use the "Comments" box at the bottom of the "Suggest
		243	a modification" web page to describe the changes.<br>If an OID is misplaced in the OID tree and should be moved elsewhere
		244	in the tree, please use the "Comments" box at the bottom
		245	of the "Suggest a modification" web page to be displayed
		246	to explain where (and why) the OID should be moved.<br>You can also mention in the "Comments" box that an OID is
		247	a <a href="#leaf">leaf</a> in the OID tree (i.e. child OIDs cannot
		248	be allocated) or is <a href="#leaf">frozen</a> (i.e. no more child
		249	OIDs can be allocated).<br><br></div>
		250	</li>
		251	<li>
		252	<div class="question">
		253	How to delete an OID (or move it elsewhere in the OID tree)?<a name="6"></a>
		254	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		255	</div>
		256	<div class="answer">
20	daniel-mar	257	According to <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.660/en">Recommendation
2	daniel-mar	258	ITU-T X.660 \| ISO 9834-1</a>, an OID shall not be deleted once it
		259	has been allocated by a Registration Authority. However if an OID
		260	that is described in this OID repository has never been officially
		261	allocated by the Registration Authority for the parent OID (or is
		262	misplaced in the OID tree), you can request its deletion from the
		263	OID repository (or move elsewhere) by clicking on the "Modify
		264	this OID" hyperlink at the top-right of the web page that describes
		265	the OID or by entering the OID in the following box:
		266	<form method="post" action="/cgi-bin/manage" enctype="multipart/form-data">
		267	<input type="hidden" name="a" value="modify">     <strong>{</strong>
		268	<input type="text" name="oid" size="30" value=""><strong>}</strong>
		269	<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Suggest deletion"></form>
		270	Use the "Comments" box at the bottom of the page to be displayed
		271	to explain why the OID should be deleted (or moved elsewhere). Your
		272	suggestion will have to be validated by the registrant of the OID
		273	(if known), the registrant of the parent OID (if known) and the OID
		274	repository administrator (who will all be automatically informed by
		275	e-mail) before it get published.<br><br></div>
		276	</li>
		277	<li>
		278	<div class="question">
		279	How does the OID repository provided on this website compare with Harald Alvestrand's repository?<a name="7"></a>
		280	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		281	</div>
		282	<div class="answer">
		283	We get Harald's agreement to dump his repository and merge the data
		284	into our repository. This was done in June 2003 and our OID repository
20	daniel-mar	285	now encompasses <a href="https://www.alvestrand.no/objectid/">Harald's
2	daniel-mar	286	registry</a>.<br><br></div>
		287	</li>
		288	<li>
		289	<div class="question">
		290	How to reference an OID description in this repository?<a name="8"></a><a name="get"></a>
		291	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		292	</div>
		293	<div class="answer">
		294	The shortest and easiest means is to append the OID (whether it is
		295	in <a href="#17">ASN.1 notation</a>, <a href="#14">dot notation</a>,
3	daniel-mar	296	<a href="#iri">IRI notation</a> or <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3061">URN
20	daniel-mar	297	notation</a>) to the <a href="/get/">https://oid-info.com/get/</a>
2	daniel-mar	298	URL, <em>e.g.</em>:
		299	<ul>
20	daniel-mar	300	<li> <a href="/get/2.999">https://oid-info.com/get/2.999</a> (recommended);</li>
2	daniel-mar	301	<li>
20	daniel-mar	302	<a href="/get/%7Bjoint-iso-itu-t%20example(999)%7D">https://oid-info.com/get/{joint
2	daniel-mar	303	iso-itu-t example(999)}</a> (ASN.1 notation);
		304	</li>
		305	<li>
20	daniel-mar	306	<a href="/get//Joint-ISO-ITU-T/Example">https://oid-info.com/get//Joint-ISO-ITU-T/Example</a>
		307	or <a href="/get//2/999">https://oid-info.com/get//2/999</a> (OID-IRI
2	daniel-mar	308	notation; with a '/' at the beginning of the OID notation, hence
		309	two '/'s after 'get');
		310	</li>
		311	<li>
20	daniel-mar	312	<a href="/get//Example">https://oid-info.com/get//Example</a>
2	daniel-mar	313	(OID-IRI notation using a long arc; with a '/' at the beginning
		314	of the OID notation, hence two '/'s after 'get');
		315	</li>
		316	<li>
20	daniel-mar	317	<a href="/get/urn:oid:2.999">https://oid-info.com/get/urn:oid:2.999</a>
2	daniel-mar	318	(URN notation).<br><br></li>
		319	</ul>
		320	</div>
		321	</li>
		322	<li>
		323	<div class="question">
		324	How many OIDs are currently described in this repository?<a name="9"></a>
		325	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		326	</div>
		327	<div class="answer">
15	daniel-mar	328	There are close to 2 billion OID descriptions stored in this repository
2	daniel-mar	329	(see <a href="/cgi-bin/display?a=count_nodes">exact number</a>). The
		330	repository is well alive and updated as often as necessary; <a href="/cgi-bin/display?a=count_nodes">statistics</a>
		331	are available about the number of OIDs added to the repository (or
		332	updated) over the past 12 months. A (non-exhaustive) list of standards
		333	(and other documents that define OIDs) which have been captured in
		334	our repository is <a href="captured-standards.htm">available</a>.<br><br></div>
		335	</li>
		336	<li>
		337	<div class="question">
		338	How to get an OID assigned?<a name="10"></a>
		339	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		340	</div>
		341	<div class="answer">
20	daniel-mar	342	The original intention of the <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.660/en">Recommendation
2	daniel-mar	343	ITU-T X.660 \| ISO/IEC 9834</a> series was that anyone should be able
		344	to get an OID if they needed one. There are registration authorities
		345	from which it is easy and quite cheap (sometimes even free!) to have
		346	an OID assigned, such as:
		347	<ul>
		348	<li>
		349	If you only need an OID for an example in a document, use <code><a href="/get/2.999">{joint-iso-itu-t(2)
		350	example(999)}</a></code> as explained in <a href="#example">question
		351	22</a>.
		352	</li>
		353	<li>
		354	<a href="country_oids.htm#agreements">Several countries</a>
		355	assign OIDs (usually after paying a fee decided by the national
		356	registration authority) under their country arc <a href="/get/2.16"><code>{joint-iso-itu-t(2)
		357	country(16)}</code></a> and/or <a href="/get/1.2"><code>{iso(1)
		358	member-body(2)}</code></a> (see <a href="country_codes.htm">correspondence
		359	table between country codes and OIDs</a>). (Note: If you are representing
		360	a country and want to nominate a registration authority for your
		361	country arc under <a href="/get/1.2"><code>{iso(1) member-body(2)}</code></a>
		362	or <a href="/get/2.16"><code>{joint-iso-itu-t(2) country(16)}</code></a>,
		363	please see <a href="#11">question 11</a> below.)
		364	</li>
		365	<li>
20	daniel-mar	366	<a href="https://pen.iana.org/pen/PenApplication.page">IANA</a>
2	daniel-mar	367	(Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) hands out OIDs for free under
		368	<a href="/get/1.3.6.1.4.1"><code>{iso(1) identified-organization(3)
		369	dod(6) internet(1) private(4) enterprise(1)}</code></a>; these OIDs
		370	are used a lot (but not only) to identify Management Information
		371	Bases (MIBs) for network management (SNMP).
		372	</li>
		373	<li>
20	daniel-mar	374	<a href="https://oidplus.viathinksoft.com/oidplus/?goto=oidplus:com.viathinksoft.freeoid">ViaThinkSoft</a>
2	daniel-mar	375	freely assigns an OID to private persons and developers of freeware,
		376	shareware or open-source software under <a href="/get/1.3.6.1.4.1.37476.9000"><code>{iso(1)
		377	identified-organization(3) dod(6) internet(1) private(4) enterprise(1)
		378	37476 freesub(9000)}</code></a>.
		379	</li>
		380	<li>
20	daniel-mar	381	<a href="https://webapp.etsi.org/ASN1ObjectTree/ASN1.asp">ETSI</a>
2	daniel-mar	382	(European Telecommunication Standards Institute) hands out OIDs
		383	under <code><a href="/get/0.4.0.127.0">{itu-t(0) identified-organization(4)
		384	etsi(0) reserved(127) etsi-identified-organization(0)}</a></code>
		385	even for non-ETSI-members.
		386	</li>
		387	<li>
		388	Network operators can have an OID assigned by ITU-T under <code><a href="/get/0.3">{itu-t(0)
		389	network-operator(3)}</a></code>; telecom operators can have an OID
		390	assigned by their national PTT administration under <code><a href="/get/0.2">{itu-t(0)
		391	administration(2)}</a></code>.
		392	</li>
		393	<li>
20	daniel-mar	394	For the health sector, see <a href="https://wiki.hl7.org/index.php?title=HL7_OID_Registry_Frequently_Asked_Questions#Somebody_told_me_I_need_an_OID_for_my_Organization._What_do_I_do.3F">HL7's
2	daniel-mar	395	FAQ</a>.
		396	</li>
		397	<li>
20	daniel-mar	398	Dave Harvey (UK) <a href="https://www.medicalconnections.co.uk/Free_UID">sub-delegate
		399	ranges of his own OID</a> to anyone who uses a <a href="https://www.dicomstandard.org">DICOM</a>
2	daniel-mar	400	toolkit (communication in medicine).
		401	</li>
		402	<li>
20	daniel-mar	403	You can <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/ad/obtaining-an-object-identifier-from-microsoft?redirectedfrom=MSDN">obtain
2	daniel-mar	404	an OID from Microsoft</a> to extend the Active Directory schema.
		405	</li>
		406	<li>
20	daniel-mar	407	You can <a href="https://www.itu.int/ITU-T/asn1/uuid.html#UUID%20Generation%20&%20Registration">generate
2	daniel-mar	408	a UUID</a> (or use a UUID that you already hold) and append it as
		409	a subsequent arc of <a href="/get/2.25"><code>{joint-iso-itu-t(2)
		410	uuid(25)}</code></a> (without registering it, in particular in this
		411	OID repository, because it is guaranteed to be globally unique with
20	daniel-mar	412	a high probability) according to <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.667/en">Recommendation
2	daniel-mar	413	ITU-T X.667 \| ISO/IEC 9834-8</a> (but see <a href="#size-limitations">question
		414	30 about size limitations of OID encodings</a>).
		415	</li>
		416	</ul>
		417	<em>Important note</em>: OIDs have to be requested from those registrations authorities because this OID repository
		418	is
		419	<em>not</em> a registration authority.
		420	<br><br></div>
		421	</li>
		422	<li>
		423	<div class="question">
		424	What decision needs be taken if a country wants a national Registration Authority for OIDs?<a name="11"></a><a name="national-RA"></a><a name="country"></a>
		425	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		426	</div>
		427	<div class="answer">
		428	Country arcs are the subsequent arcs of <a href="/get/1.2"><code>{iso(1)
		429	member-body(2)}</code></a> and <a href="/get/2.16"><code>{joint-iso-itu-t(2)
		430	country(16)}</code></a>. The values assigned to country arcs are the
20	daniel-mar	431	<a href="https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49alpha.htm">numerical
2	daniel-mar	432	codes</a> (without leading zeros) assigned by the United Nations Statistics
		433	Division together with the corresponding and the <a href="https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#search">ISO
		434	3166-1-alpha-2 code</a>. <a href="/get/1.2"><code>{iso(1) member-body(2)}</code></a>
		435	was deprecated in favour of <a href="/get/2.16"><code>{joint-iso-itu-t(2)
		436	country(16)}</code></a>, thus countries which have never been operating
		437	a national Registration Authority (RA) for OIDs are encouraged to
		438	request an arc under <a href="/get/2.16"><code>{joint-iso-itu-t(2)
		439	country(16)}</code></a>. Countries are discouraged to request an arc
		440	under both <a href="/get/1.2"><code>{iso(1) member-body(2)}</code></a>
20	daniel-mar	441	and <a href="/get/2.16"><code>{joint-iso-itu-t(2) country(16)}</code></a>.<br><a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.660/en">Recommendation ITU-T
		442	X.660 \| ISO/IEC 9834-1</a>, clause A.4.5, specifies that the <a href="https://www.iso.org/members.html">ISO
		443	National Body</a> of the country and the <a href="https://www.itu.int/hub/membership/our-members/">administration
2	daniel-mar	444	representing the country in the ITU</a> shall agree together (as a
		445	national decision) on the organization that will be the RA for their
		446	country arc. In the case of a country arc under <a href="/get/1.2"><code>{iso(1)
20	daniel-mar	447	member-body(2)}</code></a> the decision is only taken by the <a href="https://www.iso.org/members.html">ISO
2	daniel-mar	448	National Body</a> of the country. For more detailed information, see
		449	"<a href="country_oids.htm">Operation of a country Registration
		450	Authority</a>".<br>One way to know if your country is already operating an RA for OIDs
		451	is too check the <a href="country_oids.htm#agreements">known
		452	country RAs</a>.<br><br></div>
		453	</li>
		454	<li>
		455	<div class="question">
		456	Are there guidelines or standards regarding subsequent arcs of a country arc?<a name="12"></a>
		457	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		458	</div>
		459	<div class="answer">
		460	Country arcs are the subsequent arcs of <a href="/get/1.2"><code>{iso(1)
		461	member-body(2)}</code></a> and <a href="/get/2.16"><code>{joint-iso-itu-t(2)
		462	country(16)}</code></a>.<br>The structure underneath a country arc is a national decision. The
20	daniel-mar	463	basic standard is of course <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.660/en">Recommendation
2	daniel-mar	464	ITU-T X.660 \| ISO/IEC 9834-1</a>. It might be worth having a look
20	daniel-mar	465	at <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.670/en">Recommendation
2	daniel-mar	466	ITU-T X.670</a> "<em>
		467	Procedures for registration agents operating
		468	on behalf of organizations to register organization names subordinate
		469	to country names
		470	</em>".<br>There is no guidelines besides the fact that any registration authority
		471	needs to keep records according to the aforementioned standards. A
		472	good idea is probably to look at <a href="country_oids.htm#agreements">how
		473	other countries have organized subsequent arcs beneath their country
20	daniel-mar	474	arc</a> as well as reading the ITU handbook on "<a href="https://www.itu.int/pub/T-HDB-LNG.4-2010"><em>
2	daniel-mar	475	Object
		476	identifiers (OIDs) and their registration authorities
15	daniel-mar	477	</em></a>". You can also take benefit from the
		478	<a href="#guidelines">guidelines to adequately describe an OID in this OID repository</a>.<br><br></div>
2	daniel-mar	479	</li>
		480	<li>
		481	<div class="question">
		482	What is the Internet OID?<a name="13"></a>
		483	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		484	</div>
		485	<div class="answer">
		486	The Internet OID is <code><a href="/get/1.3.6.1">{iso(1) identified-organization(3)
		487	dod(6) internet(1)}</a></code> or equivalently in dot notation <code><a href="/get/1.3.6.1">1.3.6.1</a></code>.<br><br></div>
		488	</li>
		489	<li>
		490	<div class="question">
		491	Where does the dot notation for OIDs come from?<a name="14"></a>
		492	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		493	</div>
		494	<div class="answer">
20	daniel-mar	495	(<em>from Harald Alvestrand's <a href="https://www.alvestrand.no/objectid/index.html">website</a></em>)<br>The dot notation is an IETF invention. The ASN.1 group thought it
2	daniel-mar	496	better to have a notation using spaces and braces, with optional text
		497	labels, so that <code>1.3.6.1</code> would become something like <code>{iso(1)
		498	identified-organization(3) dod(6) internet(1)}</code> or <code>{1
		499	3 6 1}</code> or variants thereof.<br>The IETF folks thought this was somewhat inconvenient, and decided
		500	to use a space-free notation. This is, among other things, spelled
3	daniel-mar	501	out in IETF <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc1778">RFC 1778,
		502	section 2.15</a>, but was in use long before that time. IETF <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2252">RFC
2	daniel-mar	503	2252, section 4.1</a>, eliminates the "<code>ds.4.10</code>" form.<br><br></div>
		504	</li>
		505	<li>
		506	<div class="question">
		507	Why are top-level arcs restricted to three
		508	arcs numbered <code>0</code> to <code>2</code>, and why are arcs beneath
		509	top-level arcs <code>0</code> and <code>1</code> restricted to fourty
		510	arcs numbered <code>0</code> to <code>39</code>?<a name="15"></a>
		511	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		512	</div>
		513	<div class="answer">
		514	This enables optimized binary encodings in which all arcs beneath
		515	top-level arcs <code>0</code> and <code>1</code>, and arcs <code>0</code>
		516	to <code>47</code> beneath top-level arc <code>2</code> are encoded
20	daniel-mar	517	on a single octet (see <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.690/en">Rec.
2	daniel-mar	518	ITU-T X.690 \| ISO/IEC 8825-1</a>, clause 8.19). Arcs greater to <code>47</code>
		519	benath top-level arc <code>2</code> are hence encoded on more than
		520	one octet.<br><br></div>
		521	</li>
		522	<li>
		523	<div class="question">
		524	What do we call a registration tree (or object identifier tree)?<a name="16"></a>
		525	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		526	</div>
		527	<div class="answer">
		528	In an open and international world such as the one of telecommunications
		529	and information technologies, you often need to be able to reference
		530	an "object" (see <a href="#1">question 1</a>) in a unique and universal
		531	way. The ASN.1 standard defines an object as being "<em>
		532	a well-defined
		533	piece of information, definition or specification which requires a
		534	name in order to identify its use in an instance of communication
		535	</em>".<br>In general, an object is a class of information (for example, a file
		536	format), rather than an instance of such a class (for example, an
		537	individual file). It is thus the class of information (defined by
		538	some referenceable specification), rather than the piece of information
		539	itself, that is assigned a place in the tree.<br>The naming structure that has been chosen is a tree structure that
		540	allows to name objects in a local or international context, without
		541	beeing limited either by the registration authority, nor by the number
		542	of objects they can register.<br><br></div>
		543	</li>
		544	<li>
		545	<div class="question">
		546	What is the ASN.1 notation of an OID?<a name="17"></a>
		547	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		548	</div>
		549	<div class="answer">
		550	Each OID arc is associated with a mandatory number (used for data
		551	transfers) and an optional (but recommended) alphanumeric identifier
		552	(for legibility).<br>An identifier begins with a lower-case letter (from '<code>a</code>'
		553	to '<code>z</code>') and is followed by lower-case or upper-case letters
		554	(from '<code>a</code>' to '<code>z</code>', or from '<code>A</code>'
		555	to '<code>Z</code>'), digits (from '<code>0</code>' to '<code>9</code>')
		556	or hyphens ('<code>-</code>'). See Rec. ITU-T X.680 \| ISO/IEC 8824-1,
		557	clause 32, for more details.<br>In <a href="name-forms.htm">some cases</a>, the identifier has been
		558	standardized and can be used alone (without the associated number)
		559	in the ASN.1 notation. The number can always be used alone. This web
		560	site will issue an error message if you are trying to display an OID
		561	using an invalid ASN.1 notation.<br>An OID is semantically an ordered list of OID components (number only,
		562	or identifier followed by a number between parentheses, or identifier
		563	alone in <a href="name-forms.htm">some cases</a>). Starting with the
		564	root of the OID tree, each OID component identifies an arc in the
		565	OID tree. The last OID component identifies an arc leading to a node
		566	to which an object has been assigned. It is this object which is identified
		567	by the OID.<br>Example: <a href="/get/2.5.4.49"><code>{joint-iso-itu-t ds(5) attributeType(4)
		568	distinguishedName(49)}</code></a> where <a href="/get/2"><code>joint-iso-itu-t</code></a>
		569	is a <a href="name-forms.htm">standardized identifier</a> which can
		570	appear alone, <i>i.e.</i>, without its associated number.<br>(See also <a href="#14">question 14</a> for the dot notation and <a href="#iri">question
		571	28</a> about the OID-IRI notation.) <br><br></div>
		572	</li>
		573	<li>
		574	<div class="question">
		575	How is the entire registration tree managed?<a name="18"></a><a name="management"></a>
		576	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		577	</div>
		578	<div class="answer">
		579	The management of the entire registration tree is accomplished by
		580	a process of delegation of authority. In this process the registration
		581	authority responsible for a given arc in the registration tree may
		582	partition that naming-domain. In doing so, it may or may not delegate
		583	the registration responsibility for the naming-domain formed by each
		584	partition to a subordinate Registration Authority. The naming of a
		585	partition does not necessarily imply authority to register objects
		586	under that partition. This delegation of registration responsibility
		587	can be applied repeatedly with a subordinate registration authority
		588	partitioning further the naming domain for which it is responsible
		589	and delegating responsibility for those partitions to registration
		590	authorities subordinate to it.<br>The registration authority responsible for a given naming-domain must
		591	assign a name to the partition of that naming-domain that a given
		592	sub-authority will manage. The name assigned shall be globally unambiguous,
		593	and shall be concatenated as a prefix to all names assigned by that
		594	sub-authority. The repeated application of this process through a
		595	hierarchy of registration agents ensures the generation of unambiguous
		596	names.<br>An organization, a standard or an automated facility can be the registration
		597	authority for more than one partition of a naming-domain (see also
		598	<a href="#11">questions 11 and 12</a> for how country arcs are managed).<br><br></div>
		599	</li>
		600	<li>
		601	<div class="question">
		602	Which features are offered by this repository?<a name="19"></a><a name="features"></a>
		603	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		604	</div>
		605	<div class="answer">
		606	The <a href="display-example.htm">description page</a> for each OID
		607	offers the ability to:
		608	<ul type="disc">
		609	<li>
		610	have a synthetic <a href="/cgi-bin/display?tree=">graphical
15	daniel-mar	611	view</a> of the tree (click on the<img src="images/pm.gif" width="19" height="18" alt="Unfolding the subtree">and<img src="images/mm.gif" width="19" height="18" alt="Folding the subtree">icons to
2	daniel-mar	612	fold and unfold arcs);
		613	</li>
		614	<li>display the description of another OID (the "Go" button);</li>
		615	<li>
		616	use the "remote control" to display the description
		617	of:
		618	<ul>
		619	<li>
		620	the parent OID (i.e. the OID at the immediate upper level
		621	in the OID tree),
		622	</li>
		623	<li>
		624	the previous or next sibling OID (i.e. OID at the same
		625	level in the OID tree),
		626	</li>
		627	<li>
		628	the very first or very last sibling OID (i.e. OID with the
		629	lowest or greatest number at the same level in the OID tree),
		630	or
		631	</li>
		632	<li>
		633	the first child OID (the OID with the lowest number at
		634	the immediate lower level in the OID tree);
		635	</li>
		636	</ul>
		637	</li>
		638	<li>
		639	submit a description of a child OID under the current OID (see
		640	also <a href="#syntax-rules">question 20</a>): After putting down
		641	some information (description of the OID, its registrant...),
		642	the registrant of the OID (if known), the registrant of the parent
		643	OID (if known) and the OID repository administrator will be automatically
		644	asked by email to review and validate your submission. Note that
		645	the description page of the newly created OID will only be available
		646	after validation;
		647	</li>
		648	<li>
		649	submit a description of a sibling OID, i.e. an OID at the same
		650	level as the current OID (see also <a href="#syntax-rules">question
		651	20</a>);
		652	</li>
		653	<li>
		654	propose modifications of the description of the current OID:
		655	these modifications will have to be validated by the registrant
		656	of the OID (if known), the registrant of the parent OID (if known)
		657	and the OID repository administrator (who will all be automatically
		658	informed by e-mail) before they get published;
		659	</li>
		660	<li>
		661	do a <a href="basic-search.htm">quick search</a> of the entire
		662	OID repository by searching for a particular string in all attributes;
		663	</li>
		664	<li>
20	daniel-mar	665	do an <a href="search.htm">advanced search</a> of the entire
2	daniel-mar	666	OID repository by searching for a particular value for each description
		667	attribute or even by using regular expressions.
		668	</li>
		669	</ul>
		670	Other features are available from the <a href="index.htm">main page</a> of
		671	the OID repository:
		672	<ul>
		673	<li>
		674	display an <a href="/cgi-bin/display?a=random">OID description
		675	randomly</a>;
		676	</li>
		677	<li>
		678	display the <a href="/cgi-bin/display?a=count_nodes">number
		679	of OIDs</a> in the repository as well as statistics about how
		680	many OID descriptions were added or modified over the past 12
		681	months;
		682	</li>
		683	<li>
		684	add the description of a given OID (see also <a href="#syntax-rules">question
		685	20</a>);
		686	</li>
		687	<li>
		688	<a href="submit.htm">submit</a> many OIDs to the database by
		689	describing them in an XML file.<br><br></li>
		690	</ul>
		691	</div>
		692	</li>
		693	<li>
		694	<div class="question">
		695	What are the syntax rules to enter information about OIDs through the web interface?<a name="20"></a><a name="syntax-rules"></a>
		696	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		697	</div>
		698	<div class="answer">
		699	When adding information about an OID into the OID repository, non-ASCII
		700	characters such as accentuated letters are allowed in most fields
		701	("Description", "Information", registrant "First
		702	name", "Last name" and "Address"). The software
20	daniel-mar	703	will replace them by their equivalent <a href="https://www.w3.org/MarkUp/html-spec/html-spec_13.html#SEC106">HTML
2	daniel-mar	704	code</a>.<br>The following HTML tags are allowed in the "Description",
		705	"Information" and "Address" fields: <code><a></code>,
		706	<code><br/></code>, <code><code></code>, <code><em></code>,
		707	<code><img></code>, <code><li></code>, <code><ol></code>,
		708	<code><strong></code>, <code><sub></code>, <code><sup></code>
		709	and <code><ul></code>. Use of <code><br></code> or <code><br/></code>
		710	is not mandatory to break lines because any newline character will
		711	automatically be replaced with <code><br/></code> by the software.<br>The description should be as short as possible (usually, not more
		712	than one line), limited to what is identified by the OID (hence no
		713	need to use expressions like "OID for", "OID identifying", "Root OID
		714	for", "Arc for", "This OID describes", etc.) and written in such a
		715	way that is easily understandable by any user of the OID repository.<br><br></div>
		716	</li>
		717	<li>
		718	<div class="question">
		719	Which information is necessary to apply for an OID?<a name="21"></a><a name="oid-info"></a>
		720	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		721	</div>
		722	<div class="answer">
20	daniel-mar	723	According to clause 8.2 f of <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.660/en">Recommendation
2	daniel-mar	724	ITU-T X.660 \| ISO/IEC 9834-1</a>, the registration record for an OID
20	daniel-mar	725	shall include at least:<br>a) the <a href="#guidelines">definition</a> of the object (when the registration authority of
2	daniel-mar	726	the parent OID performs a technical role, it checks that the objet
		727	can be registered under the parent OID);<br>b) when applicable, the identifier (beginning with a lowercase letter)
15	daniel-mar	728	assigned to the object (in addition to the unique number);<br>c) the name and contact information of the organization that proposed
2	daniel-mar	729	the entry (usually it is the "<a href="#registration-authorities">First
15	daniel-mar	730	registration authority</a>" for the requested OID);<br>d) the dates of submission/registration.<br><br></div>
2	daniel-mar	731	</li>
		732	<li>
		733	<div class="question">
		734	Is there a particular OID that can be used for documenting
		735	examples of object identifiers?<a name="22"></a><a name="example"></a>
		736	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		737	</div>
		738	<div class="answer">
		739	<a href="/get/2.999">{joint-iso-itu-t(2) example(999)}</a> (or <a href="/get/2.999">2.999</a>)
		740	can be used by anyone, without any permission, for the purpose of
		741	documenting examples of object identifiers (in the same way as "example.com"
3	daniel-mar	742	is defined in <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2606">IETF RFC
2	daniel-mar	743	2606</a> as an example for web sites). <br><br></div>
		744	</li>
		745	<li>
		746	<div class="question">
		747	What is the difference between the first and current Registration Authorities
		748	that appear in the description of some OIDs? What is their duty?<a name="23"></a><a name="registration-authorities"></a>
		749	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		750	</div>
		751	<div class="answer">
		752	A <em>Registration Authority</em> (RA) is responsible for allocating
		753	child arcs to the OID for which it manages. It ensures that an integer
		754	is used once among the subsequent arcs (child OIDs). As much as possible,
		755	it avoids the same identifier (beginning with a lowercase letter)
		756	being used for multiple sub-arcs. It also keeps a record of information
		757	(name of a contact person, postal address, telephone and fax numbers,
		758	email address, etc.) about the RA for each child OID and delegates
		759	its duty to each 'child' RA. Such information can be stored in the
		760	OID repository but it is important to understand that an OID first
		761	need to be <em>officially</em> allocated by an RA before it can be
		762	described on this website which is not an official RA, but a <em>repository</em>
		763	of information about existing OIDs.<br>The <em>first Registration Authority</em> of an OID is the very first
		764	person or company to whom the OID was allocated by the RA of the superior
20	daniel-mar	765	OID. According to <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.660/en">Recommendation
2	daniel-mar	766	ITU-T X.660 \| ISO/IEC 9834-1</a>,<!-- clause 9.2.f.a --> the first
		767	RA can't be changed (if the responsibility is transfered to someone
		768	else, the information is recorded in the "Current Registration
		769	Authority" section, without changing the "First Registration
		770	Authority" section).<br>By default, if the OID has recently been allocated, the Current RA
		771	is the First RA. So, if you are <a href="#4">entering information
		772	in the OID repository</a>, please fill only the "First Registration
		773	Authority" section, and don't copy the same information in the
		774	"Current Registration Authority" section).<br>When someone or an organization takes over the duty from the First
		775	RA, the relevant information is indicated in the "Current Registration
		776	Authority" section without changing the "First Registration
		777	Authority" section.<br><br></div>
		778	</li>
		779	<li>
		780	<div class="question">
		781	What constraints are imposed to OIDs used in SNMP MIBs (Management Information Bases)?<a name="24"></a><a name="mib"></a>
		782	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		783	</div>
		784	<div class="answer">
		785	The constraints are gathered in sections 4.6.5, 4.6.6, and Appendix
3	daniel-mar	786	D of IETF <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc4181">RFC 4181</a>
		787	(updated by <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc4841">RFC 4841</a>)
15	daniel-mar	788	which makes references to IETF <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2578">RFC
3	daniel-mar	789	2578</a>, sections 3.5, 3.6, 5.6, 7.10, and <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3416">RFC
2	daniel-mar	790	3416</a>, section 4.1.<br>
15	daniel-mar	791	- According to IETF <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2578">RFC 2578</a>, section 3.5, all OIDs are limited to 128 child OIDs and each OID has a maximum (integer) value of 2<sup>32</sup>-1 (<code>4294967295</code>).<br>
		792	- The last arc of an OID assigned to any object (be it table, row, column, or scalar) must not be equal to 0.<br>- In some cases, a final arc 0 is used to translate between SNMPv1 and SNMPv2 notification parameters as explained in IETF <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2576">RFC 2576</a>, section 3.<br>One example of a MIB module whose OID assignments follow the recommended scheme is the <code>POWER-ETHERNET-MIB</code> defined in <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3621">RFC 3621</a>.<br>MIBs use a notation like "<code>.2.999</code>" where the leading dot shows that this OID is absolute while "<code>2.999</code>" might be considered as a relative OID by some tools which would then add a root OID in front of it.<br><br></div>
2	daniel-mar	793	</li>
		794	<li>
		795	<div class="question">
		796	Is there a way to look up an OID in the OID repository from my web browser?<a name="25"></a><a name="lookup"></a>
		797	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		798	</div>
		799	<div class="answer">
20	daniel-mar	800	- If you're using <img src="images/firefox-icon.png" width="16" height="16" alt="[Firefox Icon]"><a href="https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/">Mozilla Firefox</a> or <img src="images/mozilla-icon.png" width="16" height="16" alt="[Mozilla Icon]"><a href="https://www.seamonkey-project.org">Mozilla SeaMonkey</a>
		801	or <img src="images/google-chrome.ico" width="16" height="16" alt="[Chrome Icon]" border="0"><a href="https://www.google.com/chrome/">Google Chrome</a>, an <a href="https://mycroft.mozdev.org/search-engines.html?name=oid+resolver&skipcache=yes">OpenSearch
2	daniel-mar	802	Plugin</a> (a.k.a. search engine) allows to display information about
3	daniel-mar	803	an OID when an ASN.1 notation, dot notation, <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3061">URN</a> notation
2	daniel-mar	804	or <a href="#iri">OID-IRI</a> notation is entered in the search bar
20	daniel-mar	805	at the top-right.<br><!-- - If you're using <a href="https://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/">Mozilla
		806	Thunderbird</a>, <img src="images/firefox-icon.png" width="16" height="16" alt="[Firefox Icon]"><a href="https://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/">Mozilla Firefox</a>
		807	or <img src="images/mozilla-icon.png" width="16" height="16" alt="[Mozilla Icon]"><a href="https://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/">Mozilla SeaMonkey</a>
		808	(formerly known as Mozilla Application Suite), the <a href="https://dictionarysearch.mozdev.org">DictionarySearch
2	daniel-mar	809	add-on</a> is easy to configure so that you can display information
		810	about an OID by right-clicking on its selection:<br><ul>
		811	<li>install the DictionarySearch extension corresponding to your
20	daniel-mar	812	tool from <a href="https://dictionarysearch.mozdev.org">https://dictionarysearch.mozdev.org</a>;</li>
2	daniel-mar	813	<li>in the "Tools" menu of your tool, select the "Extensions"
		814	item;</li>
		815	<li>highlight the line for DictionarySearch, then click on the "Options"
		816	button;</li>
		817	<li>add a new Dictionary with the following information (this will
		818	display the description of the selected OID in dot notation; it
		819	doesn't work well for a selected OID in ASN.1 notation because
20	daniel-mar	820	the closing parentheses are removed for whatever reason):<br><em>Text</em>: <code>Search for OID "$"</code><br><em>Access key</em>: <code>O</code><br><em>URL</em>: <code>https://oid-info.com/cgi-bin/display?oid=$&a=display</code></li>
2	daniel-mar	821	<li>This other new "Dictionary" may also be useful (it
20	daniel-mar	822	will display a tree for the selected OID in dot notation):<br><em>Text</em>: <code>Display tree for OID "$"</code><br><em>Access key</em>: <code>T</code><br><em>URL</em>: <code>https://oid-info.com/cgi-bin/display?oid=$&a=tree</code>
2	daniel-mar	823	</li>
		824	</ul> --> - See also <a href="#8">question 8</a>.<br><br></div>
		825	</li>
		826	<li>
		827	<div class="question">
		828	What is a leaf OID? What is a frozen OID?<a name="26"></a><a name="leaf"></a>
		829	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		830	</div>
		831	<div class="answer">
		832	These are not standardized concepts. In case an OID is a <em>leaf</em>
		833	in the OID repository, no child OIDs can be allocated under that OID.
		834	In case an OID is <em>frozen</em> in the OID repository, no more child
		835	OIDs can be created in addition to the existing ones. In both cases,
		836	the system does not accept the creation of child OIDs. The status
		837	is also mentioned on the web page that describes an OID (see example
		838	for a <a href="/get/0.0.2">leaf OID</a> and for a <a href="/get/0">frozen
		839	OID</a>).<br>To report that an OID is a leaf or is frozen, please <a href="#modify">suggest
		840	a modification</a> for this OID and use the "Comments" box
		841	at the bottom.<br><br></div>
		842	</li>
		843	<li>
		844	<div class="question">
		845	What is an orphan OID?<a name="27"></a><a name="orphan"></a>
		846	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		847	</div>
		848	<div class="answer">
		849	This is not a standardized concept but this term is used to qualify
		850	an OID that is described in the OID repository, but some of its parent
		851	OIDs are not described in the OID repository. This does not mean that
		852	these unknown parent OIDs do not exist (actually they do exist because
		853	an OID can only be allocated by the Registration Authority of its
		854	parent OID). However the user who submitted the description of this
		855	OID has no knowledge of how to describe these parent OIDs.<br><!-- This is useful in cases such as:<br>- you have found the description of an OID somewhere on the web or
		856	in a document, but you don't know how to describe all arcs along the
		857	path;<br>- you have a bunch of OIDs to submit to the OID repository, so you
		858	can submit them in any order because there is no obligation to submit
		859	the father OID first.<br>-->
		860	Orphan OIDs are not visible when one
		861	<a href="/cgi-bin/display?tree=">walks down the OID tree</a>. However,
		862	they are <a href="display-example.htm">displayed</a> when one asks
		863	for the description of a particular OID. <em>Orphan grandchild OIDs</em>
		864	(<em>i.e.</em>, OIDs for which we have a description as well as a
		865	description of their grandparent OID, but no description of their
		866	parent OID) are accessible from the <a href="display-example.htm">description
		867	page</a> of their grandparent OID.<br><br></div>
		868	</li>
		869	<li>
		870	<div class="question">
		871	What is an OID-IRI (Internationalized Resource Identifier)?<a name="28"></a><a name="iri"></a>
		872	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		873	</div>
		874	<div class="answer">
		875	Historically, OIDs could only be denoted in <a href="#14">dot notation</a>
		876	(<em>e.g.</em>, <code>2.27</code>) or in <a href="#17">ASN.1 notation</a>
		877	(<em>e.g.</em>, <code>{joint-iso-itu-t(2) tag-based(27)}</code>) where
		878	only ASCII identifiers are allowed. The need was identified for a
		879	human-friendly notation which would not be limited to latin alphabets
20	daniel-mar	880	and would encompass the diversity of <a href="https://www.unicode.org">Unicode
2	daniel-mar	881	alphabets</a>.<br>An OID-IRI (a.k.a. international OID) is a string of slash-separated
		882	Unicode labels from the root of the OID tree, which unambiguously
		883	identifies a node in the OID tree (e.g., "<a href="/get//Joint-ISO-ITU-T/Example"><code>/Joint-ISO-ITU-T/Example</code></a>").<br>A Unicode label is a case-sensitive string of Unicode characters (except
		884	the <code>SPACE</code> character). Just as an OID node can have multiple
		885	identifiers in ASN.1 notation, it can have multiple Unicode labels
		886	(this allows backwards-compatibility when a company changes its name,
		887	for example). Each OID node has a default Unicode label which is its
		888	number (<em>e.g.</em>, "<a href="/get//2/999"><code>/2/999</code></a>").<br>In order to support names of OIDs in multiple languages, an OID can
		889	have multiple Unicode labels, giving rise to a need to transform a
		890	path using Unicode labels into a canonical form of purely numerical
		891	labels to identify the OID. This is handled by the <a href="introduction.htm#ors">OID
		892	Resolution System</a>.<br>A <em>long arc</em> is a particular kind of Unicode label which identifies
		893	an OID that is not immediately beneath the root of the OID tree. For
		894	example, OID <code>{joint-iso-itu-t(2) example(999)}</code> has a
		895	long arc named "<code>Example</code>" allowing OID-IRI "<code><a href="/get//Example">/Example</a></code>"
		896	which is shorter than OID-IRI "<code><a href="/get//Joint-ISO-ITU-T/Example">/Joint-ISO-ITU-T/Example</a></code>".
		897	Long arcs are only allowed for OIDs under the <code>joint-iso-itu-t(2)</code>
20	daniel-mar	898	top-level arc (see the <a href="https://www.itu.int/go/X660">register of
		899	long arcs)</a>.<br>The <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.680/en">ASN.1 standard</a>
2	daniel-mar	900	specifies an <code>OID-IRI</code> type for exchanging OID-IRI values
		901	between machines.<br><br></div>
		902	</li>
		903	<li>
		904	<div class="question">
		905	What are the duties of a Registration Authority?<a name="29"></a>
		906	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		907	</div>
		908	<div class="answer">
		909	Guidance is given in sections 8.2 (Operation), 9 (registration procedures)
20	daniel-mar	910	and 11 (recommended fee structure) of <a href="https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.660/en">Recommendation
2	daniel-mar	911	ITU-T X.660 \| ISO/IEC 9834-1</a>.<br>The open-source database system <a href="https://oidplus.viathinksoft.com/oidplus/">OIDplus</a>
		912	from ViaThinkSoft can be used by Registration Authorities to manage
		913	their OIDs. It includes a feature to export data into an <a href="submit.htm">XML
		914	document that can then be uploaded to this OID repository</a>.<br><br></div>
		915	</li>
		916	<li>
		917	<div class="question">
		918	Are there size limitations for OID encoding?<a name="30"></a><a name="size-limitations"></a>
		919	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		920	</div>
		921	<div class="answer">
		922	The <a href="standards.htm">OID standards</a> have no limit whatsoever about the depth of an OID in the OID tree (i.e., number of arcs) and the size of the integer associated to each OID arc. At the moment, the <a href="/get/1.3.6.1.4.1.1248.1.1.2.1.3.21.69.112.115.111.110.32.83.116.121.108.117.115.32.80.114.111.32.52.57.48.48">longest OID</a> described in the OID repository has 171 chars and 34 arcs. The <a href="/get/2.25.336702412625001560652410773774433371419">greatest number</a> for an OID arc has 39 digits. However, there are constraints for OIDs used in SNMP Management Information Bases (<a href="#mib">see question 24</a>) and some tools may have size limitations (or bugs):<br>- The <a href="https://lapo.it/asn1js/">ASN.1 JavaScript decoder at
20	daniel-mar	923	lapo.it</a>, <a href="https://www.bouncycastle.org">Bouncy Castle Crypto
2	daniel-mar	924	APIs</a>, OpenSSL (version 0.9.8o, 1 Jun 2010) and the built-in Java
		925	class "<code>org.ietf.jgss.Oid</code>" can handle <a href="/get/2.25">UUIDs
		926	used as OIDs</a>.<br>- Windows CryptoAPI Shell Extension (tested with Windows XP and Windows
		927	7) cannot handle <a href="/get/2.25">UUIDs used as OIDs</a>: The maximum
		928	useable OID value in Windows is 2<sup>64</sup>-1 (e.g., <code>2.999.18446744073709551615</code>).
		929	Windows will show whitespace when any higher value occurs.<br>- Mozilla software cannot handle <a href="/get/2.25">UUIDs used as
		930	OIDs</a>: The maximum useable OID value in Mozilla software is 2<sup>32</sup>-1
		931	(e.g., <code>2.999.4294967295</code>). The program will show "Unknown"
		932	when an arc contains a higher value (e.g., <code>{2 999 Unknown 0}</code>).
		933	<br>- Mac OS X cannot handle OIDs of the form <code>2.<em>n</em></code>
		934	where <code><em>n</em></code> > 47 (i.e., it wrongly decodes OIDs
20	daniel-mar	935	which need more than one octet in the first two arcs). <br>More details can be found in <a href="https://misc.daniel-marschall.de/asn.1/oid_facts.html">Daniel
2	daniel-mar	936	Marschall's study about OID encoding and size limitations</a>. Daniel's
20	daniel-mar	937	<a href="https://misc.daniel-marschall.de/asn.1/oid-converter/online.php">DER
2	daniel-mar	938	encoder</a> can also help in your testing.<br><br></div>
		939	</li>
		940	<li>
		941	<div class="question">
		942	Are there binary encoders/decoders for OIDs?<a name="31"></a>
		943	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		944	</div>
		945	<div class="answer">
20	daniel-mar	946	See for example (non-exhaustive list):<strong><br></strong>- OSS Nokalva's online <a href="https://asn1.io">ASN.1
2	daniel-mar	947	playground</a> encodes/decodes OIDs in any encoding rule (BER, DER,
		948	PER, UPER, XER) with the following schema:<br><code>     OID-Module DEFINITIONS ::= BEGIN<br>       OID ::= OBJECT IDENTIFIER<br>     END</code><br>  The OID is provided in ASN.1 notation in the "Data:
20	daniel-mar	949	Encode" box as follows:<br><code>     oid OID ::= {2 999}</code><br>- Daniel Marschall's online <a href="https://misc.daniel-marschall.de/asn.1/oid-converter/online.php">DER
		950	encoder/decoder</a> (for PHP and C);<br>- <a href="https://bouncycastle.org">The Legion of the Bouncy Castle</a>'s
		951	API for Java and C#;<br>- <a href="https://www.wireshark.org">Wireshark</a>'s subtool for ASN.1.<br>See also <a href="https://misc.daniel-marschall.de/asn.1/oid_facts.html#chap4">Daniel
2	daniel-mar	952	Marschall's software compatibility analysis for large OIDs</a>.<br><br></div>
		953	</li>
		954	<li>
		955	<div class="question">
		956	Does this web site use cookies?<a name="32"></a><a name="cookies"></a>
		957	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		958	</div>
		959	<div class="answer">
		960	You can set up your browser to reject cookies: Disabling their use
		961	will not materially impact on your interaction with this website.<br>Only users who have submitted information on OIDs (description of
		962	a new OID or proposed modifications to an existing OID) have a unique
		963	cookie placed on their machine with their first name, last name and
		964	email address, so that the "submitter" section is automatically
		965	filled the next time they submit information. This cookie is not used
		966	to track your use of the OID repository.<br>The <a href="/helper">OID helper</a> chatbot is (externally) hosted
20	daniel-mar	967	by <a href="https://pandorabots.com/botmaster/en/~121e02c2b4d4270afe6afac6~/faq">Pandorabots</a>
2	daniel-mar	968	which normally tracks individual conversations by placing a cookie
		969	on your browser, in order to offer contextual answers to your questions
		970	(please check <a href="https://home.pandorabots.com/policies.html#privacy-policy">Pandorabots'
		971	privacy policy</a>). However, if your browser is not setup to accept
		972	cookies, an alternative mechanism is used through a hidden variable
		973	in the HTML form.<br><br></div>
		974	</li>
		975	<li>
		976	<div class="question">
		977	How does this web site protect users' privacy?<a name="33"></a><a name="privacy"></a>
		978	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
		979	</div>
		980	<div class="answer">
		981	The purpose of this section (updated on 24 Jan 2019) is to inform
		982	you about the way your personal data is handled on this web site.
		983	By providing your personal data to this web site, you acknowledge
		984	and consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal
		985	data for a legitimate interest as explained hereunder. This web site
		986	never sells, leases or rents your personal data.<br>Only users who have submitted information on OIDs (description of
		987	a new OID or proposed modifications to an existing OID) have personal
		988	data stored in the OID repository database. The only reason to keep
		989	such information is to inform them when the OID description is validated
		990	or modified by the OID repository administrator, or when modifications
		991	are suggested by another user (see also <a href="#cookies">question
		992	32 about cookies</a>). This information is not publicly disclosed
		993	on the web site. (Note, however, that it may be sent by email to the
		994	<a href="#registration-authorities">(current or first) registration
		995	authority</a> of the OID and of its parent OID, when they are known).<br>Only those users who are the contact of a <a href="#registration-authorities">(current
		996	or first) registration authority</a> for an OID and have not ticked
		997	the box "<i>Protect the privacy of the Registration Authority
		998	by not displaying the contact information on the web site</i>"
		999	have their personal data (email address, postal address, phone number)
		1000	publicly visible on the web site. (Note, however, that even when the
		1001	"privacy" box is ticked, any user of this web site can <a href="/cgi-bin/manage?a=get-info">receive
		1002	by email a copy of such data</a> so as to be able to contact the registration
		1003	authority of an OID; such requests are recorded). These users are
		1004	automatically notified by email when information about them is entered
		1005	and can request deletion of such data.<br>In some cases, your personal data appears in the OID repository because
		1006	it is publicly available on another web site (e.g., <a href="https://www.iana.org/assignments/enterprise-numbers/enterprise-numbers">IANA
		1007	enterprise numbers</a>).<br>To check if personal data related to you appears in the OID repository,
20	daniel-mar	1008	please use the <a href="search.htm">advanced search</a>. You can
2	daniel-mar	1009	also <a href="/cgi-bin/manage?a=get-personal-data">get a copy</a>
		1010	of all personal data appearing in the OID repository. In any case,
		1011	your personal data is never used for sending any kind of publicity
		1012	to you.<br>A log of all modifications made to an OID is also kept (hence your
		1013	personal data may appear in that log) but it is not public and would
		1014	only be used by the OID repository administrator to explain or undo
		1015	changes if needed.<br>For any other question related to data protection or to request the
		1016	rectification or erasure of your personal data, you can <a href="/helper">contact
		1017	the webmaster</a>. Repetitive, disproportionate or impracticable requests
		1018	may be rejected.
15	daniel-mar	1019	<br><br></div>
		1020	</li>
		1021
		1022
		1023
		1024	<li>
		1025	<div class="question">
		1026	What are the guidelines to adequately describe an OID in this OID repository?<a name="34"></a><a name="guidelines"></a>
		1027	<a href="#top"><img src="images/page_top_fleche.png" width="27" height="17" border="0"></a>
2	daniel-mar	1028	</div>
15	daniel-mar	1029	<div class="answer">
		1030	The following rules are followed by the OID repository administrator to validate OID descriptions:
		1031	<ul>
		1032	<li>The description shall be as short as possible (usually, not more than one line) and focus on <em>what</em> (i.e., which object) is identified by the OID. The description shall not be a sentence (with a verb). Consequently, the description does not end up with a full stop "." (except when the full stop is part of an abbreviation). See also the <a href="#syntax-rules">syntax rules</a>.</li>
		1033	<li>The description should be easily understandable by any user of the OID repository. Substantives should not be put one after the other without inserting small words like "for", "of", etc. This helps understanding the description and avoids ambiguities when translating to other languages.</li>
		1034	<li>Useless expressions like "OID for", "OID identifying", "Root OID for", "Top arc for", "Arc for", "This OID describes", "This arc describes", etc., are forbidden.</li>
		1035	<li>Words are not capitalized (contrarily to what is usually done for paper or book titles in English) except for an abbreviation or acronym which is put between parentheses after the expression that defines it (with each letter of the abbreviation being capitalized in its definition), e.g., Meaning of My Abbreviation (MMA).</li>
		1036	<li>Any text (e.g., how it is used, how child OIDs are allocated, etc.) which is not related to <em>what</em> is identified by the OID shall be moved to the "Information" part. Any text which can be assimilated to a publicity or a company description shall be avoided (a URL can be associated to the company name).</li>
		1037	</ul>
		1038	</div>
2	daniel-mar	1039	</li>
15	daniel-mar	1040
		1041
2	daniel-mar	1042	</ol>
		1043
		1044	</td>
		1045	</tr>
		1046	</table>
		1047
		1048	</div>
		1049
		1050	<div class="clear"></div>
		1051	</div>

Subversion Repositories oidinfo_new_design

oidinfo_new_design/trunk/faq.raw.htm – Rev 20