RE: [Syslog-sec] SNMP parameters in syslog message - sequenceId

["Rainer Gerhards" <rgerhards@hq.adiscon.com>]

Tom,

thanks for the reply and the text suggestion. Changed it according to
your suggested text which exactly described what I wanted to suggest ;)
As a thanks, I've also change the ID to "sequenceId" - if others
complain, I can change it back. I've now reserved 0 for special cases,
which means the rollover is also to 1 and not to 0.

The text now reads as follows:

####
7.3.1  sequenceId

   The "sequenceId" parameter allows to track the sequence in which the
   sender sent the messages.  It is an integer that MUST be set to 1
   when the syslog function is started	and MUST be increased with every
   message up to a maximum value of 4,294,967,295.  If that value is
   reached, the next message must be sent with a sequenceId of 1.
####

Rainer 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tom Petch [mailto:nwnetworks@dial.pipex.com] 
> Sent: Monday, April 11, 2005 10:15 PM
> To: Rainer Gerhards; syslog
> Subject: Re: [Syslog-sec] SNMP parameters in syslog message - 
> sequenceId
> 
> <inline>
> Tom Petch
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Rainer Gerhards" <rgerhards@hq.adiscon.com>
> To: <syslog-sec@employees.org>
> Sent: Friday, April 08, 2005 11:24 AM
> Subject: [Syslog-sec] SNMP parameters in syslog message 
> (renamed subject)
> 
> 
> <snip>
> 7.3.1  sequenceID
> 
>    The "sequenceID" parameter allows to track the sequence in 
> which the
>    sender sent the messages.  It is an integer that MUST be reset to 0
>    at reboot and MUST be monotnically incremented with each message
>    sent.  Its maximum value is 4,294,967,295.  If that value 
> is reached,
>    the next message must be emited with a sequenceID of 0.
> 
> Uh huh. Everywhere, I look monotonic has the same, 
> well-defined meaning which is
> that the value only changes in one direction.  So
> 99 77 23 5 5 5 3 3 1 -1
> is a monotonic sequence as is
> 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 5 7 68 79 123
> To quote Merriam-Webster,
> " having the property either of never increasing or of never 
> decreasing as the
> values of the independent variable or the subscripts of the 
> terms increase
> <monotonic functions> <a monotonic sequence>"
> 
> Some words change their meaning as they travel around the 
> world but I do not
> think this is one of them:-)
> 
> If you want each value to be greater than (not greater than 
> or equal to) the
> previous one, then I
> think you want 'strictly increasing' but I would suggest instead
> 'It is an integer that MUST be set to 0 when the syslog 
> function is started and
> MUST be increased with every message up to a maximum value of 
> 4,294,967,295.  If
> that value is reached, the next message must be sent with a 
> sequenceID of 0.'
> 
> But I also question the use of zero; zero is special, best 
> avoided unless really
> wanted (as in SNMP index values and enumerations) so I 
> suggest starting at one.
> 
> And I would prefer sequenceId to sequenceID (perhaps because 
> I use so much
> Snmp:-)
> 
> 
> 
> 
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