Re: FW: [802.1] [802.1AB]: Problem with the lldpXdot1RemProtoVlanEntry table index

On Thu, 20 Jan 2005, Eelco Chaudron wrote:
> When implementing the dot1 extension MIB I was running into a
> problem with the lldpXdot1RemProtoVlanTable.
> The table has the following indexes:
>   - lldpRemTimeMark
>   - lldpRemLocalPortNum
>   - lldpRemIndex
>   - lldpXdot1RemProtoVlanId
> 
> The problem lies within the last index, lldpXdot1RemProtoVlanId.
> This can have a value of zero, and would be causing an infinite
> loop when doing SNMP getnext operations.
> 
> To my understanding a SNMP index can never have a value of zero,
> as it indicates to SNMP to get the first value.

That is a misconception.  For the purpose of instance selection,
zero is a perfectly valid index value, and it is not treated
differently than any other value.

RFC 2578 recommends that index values be to 1 or greater except in
special situations.  However, it is acceptable to include zero in
the range of index values when it is semantically significant or
when it is used as the index value for a unique row with special
properties.

//cmh