The CMIP GET operation can be used by a manager application program to obtain resource information for a single named resource. The object class of the resource might not be known, so it is not necessary that the manager application program know the exact object class of a particular resource before using the GET operation to obtain information about that resource. It is necessary, however, that the manager application program know the name of the resource and that the name be properly constructed for the object class containing the resource.

If the VTAM topology agent receives a GET request for a known resource, the VTAM topology agent provides a single GET response containing the requested resource information, as it exists when the GET request is processed.