This DisplayString, sent with an alarm notification, names the upper OSI-layer protocol, the MIB gives SNMP or FTP as examples, associated with the reported event. An admin uses it to identify which application-level protocol was involved when triaging an alert, alongside alarmBaseProtocol for the lower-layer protocol. For instance, an alarmTopProtocol value of "FTP" would tell the admin the event concerns file-transfer activity rather than, say, SNMP polling.