This object identifier authoritatively identifies what kind of device or container this entry represents, whether a chassis, a module, or a standalone box, registered by the vendor within the SMI enterprises subtree. Admins use this at the very top level of device identification to determine, programmatically, exactly what kind of box a management station is talking to before drilling into more specific MIBs. For example, a management system polling contTypeDevice and matching the returned OID against a vendor's product list would determine it's managing a standalone chassis rather than a single expansion module.