TIMESTEP-MIB

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Organization: Newbridge Corporation

Last Updated: 1998-10-21

Category: Time and NTP, VPN

Description: Manages Newbridge TimeStep VPN gateway tunnel configuration and security parameters.

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What Is TIMESTEP-MIB?

This MIB module manages Newbridge (later Nortel) TimeStep IPsec VPN gateways, part of the Permit family of secure gateway appliances. It exposes local system information and security configuration for the device's IPsec tunnels, covering VPN gateway identity and tunnel-related security parameters. It is used to monitor the software/configuration status of the VPN gateway function, confirming tunnel and security-policy settings are correctly applied, though as an early-generation VPN MIB it is more configuration-oriented than counter-rich compared to modern IPsec MIBs. No explicit dependency on other MIBs is indicated, though it conceptually parallels the same problem space as later IETF IPsec MIBs. It was historically deployed on Newbridge/Nortel TimeStep Permit VPN gateway appliances in enterprise remote-access and site-to-site VPN deployments, where TIMESTEP-MIB SNMP monitoring gave administrators remote visibility into gateway and tunnel configuration state.

IPNetwork Monitor allows you to monitor SNMP objects defined in TIMESTEP-MIB. Use the built-in SNMP Monitoring Browser to explore available variables, view their current values and descriptions, and select the objects you want to monitor. You can then create SNMP monitors, configure thresholds, and receive alerts when monitored values change.

Supported Devices

Newbridge/Nortel TimeStep Permit VPN gateway

Monitoring Examples

A security administrator would poll the local system information objects to confirm the gateway's identity and software version before correlating with a specific VPN tunnel's configuration state. Security parameter objects describing the gateway's IPsec settings would be checked after a policy change to verify the new configuration took effect device-wide. Given the sparse sample data available for this module, monitoring in practice would focus on confirming the gateway remains reachable and its security configuration objects report expected values rather than granular per-tunnel statistics.

What Can Be Monitored

VPN gateway system identity
IPsec security configuration parameters
gateway configuration status

Imported Objects

From SNMPv2-SMI

Counter32
Integer32
MODULE-IDENTITY
OBJECT-TYPE
enterprises

From SNMPv2-TC

DateAndTime
TimeStamp

How to Use in IPNetwork Monitor

Example using permitGateIfArpInPkts OID:

Select a Newbridge/Nortel VPN gateway as the target host to create a monitor — the SNMP service should be up and running on it. Click New Monitor, then check SNMP Custom on the Favorites tab, click Next, and confirm the host. On the next page, click Select... to open the built-in SNMP MIB Browser and type permitGateIfArpInPkts into the Find box to locate it in the OID tree, selecting the specific row/instance you want to monitor since this is a table column, then select it and click OK. It reports the arp protocol input packet count. On the monitor's Main parameters page you can set the target's SNMP port (default 161), credentials, polling interval, and other settings — see the SNMP Monitor help for details. On the State conditions and Alerting tabs, configure when the monitor should change state and trigger an alert; since this is a Counter32-type OID, Value bounds is the most useful condition here — trigger an alert if the counter increases sharply between polls relative to its normal baseline, since an unexpected spike often reflects a real change in traffic or activity. Click Finish to create the monitor; you can adjust any parameter later.

OIDs

OID symbolic	OID numeric	Type	Access	Description
timestep	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022			The MIB module to describe local system information of the Newbridge Permit family of IPSEC Gates.
permitGate	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9
OCT permitGateSerialNumber	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.1	OCTET STRING	read-only	The device serial number.
INT permitGateCpuUtilInst	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.2	INTEGER	read-only	The instantaneous CPU utilization.
INT permitGateCpuUtilAvg1Min	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.3	INTEGER	read-only	The one minute average of CPU utilization.
INT permitGateCpuUtilAvg5Min	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.4	INTEGER	read-only	The five minutes average of CPU utilization.
TIM permitGateLastConfigModifTime	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.5	TimeStamp	read-only	Time since boot that the last configuration modification occured. If the configuration has not changed, then the value is 0.
C32 permitGateTotalRebootNum	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.6	Counter32	read-only	The number of times the machine has been rebooted.
I32 permitGateTotalVolMemory	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.7	Integer32	read-only	The total amount of volatile memory on the device in bytes.
I32 permitGateFreeVolMemory	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.8	Integer32	read-only	The total amount of free volatile memory on the device in bytes.
INT permitGateEncDevStatus	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.9	INTEGER	read-only	The encryption device status.
INT permitGateRandNumGenStatus	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.10	INTEGER	read-only	The random number generator status.
DAT permitGateCertExpDate	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.11	DateAndTime	read-only	The device's certificate expiration date.
permitGateIfArpTable	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.12		not-accessible	The (conceptual) table containing information about the Permit/Gate interface entries
permitGateIfArpEntry	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.12.1		not-accessible	An entry (conceptual row) containing on a particuliar Permit/Gate interface
I32 permitGateIfArpIndex	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.12.1.1	Integer32	read-only	A unique value, greater than zero for each interface.
C32 permitGateIfArpInPktsEx	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.12.1.2	Counter32	read-only	Arp protocol input packet count
C32 permitGateIfArpOutPkts	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.12.1.3	Counter32	read-only	Arp protocol output packet count
C32 permitGateIfArpInOctets	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.12.1.4	Counter32	read-only	Arp protocol input octet count
C32 permitGateIfArpOutOctets	1.3.6.1.4.1.1022.9.12.1.5	Counter32	read-only	Arp protocol output octet count

RFC description

System information and CPU utilization monitoring for Newbridge Permit IPSEC gateway devices.

Start monitoring Newbridge/Nortel VPN gateways with a free 30-day trial of IPNetwork Monitor. Import MIBs, browse SNMP OIDs, create custom SNMP monitors, configure alerts, and monitor any SNMP-enabled network device from a single console.

Download TIMESTEP-MIB