CMIP services coordinates CMIP traffic within a local system. It includes an application program interface (API) and a management information base (MIB).

The MIB includes objects. CMIP services allows the local MIB to be used by several application programs. Each application program can implement one or more objects that comprise the MIB. The complete MIB is made up of all of the objects registered by the application programs. The CMIP application programs that use the MIB are called the agents or managers for the system.

Manager application programs do not have to understand where objects are located because VTAM® directs the requests to the objects. Responses are matched with the requests and returned to the originator.