CMIP services supports both manager and agent application programs. Any application program can act as both manager and agent. Each application program must have at least one object that it registers with CMIP services.

VTAM® implements an instance of a system object defined by ISO/IEC 10165-2. The system object can be used by an application program to register subordinate objects if the name binding defined for the subordinate objects allows this. CMIP services provides the distinguished name of the local system object on return from the MIBConnect function (the CMIP services connection function) so that application programs can register subordinate objects to this system.

This distinguished name is especially useful if you are registering objects that are in the managerApplication class. Any application program choosing not to register under this system object can either register its own root object or can register under any currently registered object. CMIP services does not accept registration under non-existent managed objects. Instances can be registered under directory objects, which are created dynamically, or they can be registered under the root object.

The local system object is created when VTAM CMIP services is initialized and is therefore registered so long as VTAM CMIP services is active. As a result, this object provides a predictable, reliable anchor for creating and registering objects. It is highly recommended that event filter discriminator (EFD) objects be created under this system object. EFD objects are described in more detail under Filters and routes events and Special considerations for topology manager application programs.

CMIP services verifies proper names for object instances during object registration.

Because CMIP services is the only function that is aware of the tree structure for naming object instances, it processes scoped requests by replicating the incoming message for each object in the subtree specified by the scoping criteria. It does not filter messages.

When an object with multiple name bindings registers, CMIP services assigns it the first name binding it finds.