This object configures the mode of OAM operation for this Ethernet-like interface. OAM on Ethernet interfaces may be in 'active' mode or 'passive' mode. These two modes differ in that active mode provides additional capabilities to initiate monitoring activities with the remote OAM peer entity, while passive mode generally waits for the peer to initiate OA actions with it. As an example, an active OAM entity can put the remote OAM entity in a loopback state, where a passive OA entity cannot.

The default value of dot3OamMode is dependent on the type of system on which this Ethernet-like interface resides. The default value should be 'active(2)' unless it is known that this system should take on a subservient role to the other device connected over this interface.

Changing this value results in incrementing the configuration revision field of locally generated OAMPDUs (30.3.6.1.12) and potentially re-doing the OAM discovery process if the dot3OamOperStatus was already operational(9).