The set of OSI operations, specified by CMIP verbs, is used to collect topology data about VTAM® resources represented as object instances.

Not all object classes are supported for all operations; in some cases, object classes are supported only for response data and not for request data.

Performing an operation on an object instance usually involves a manager application program sending a CMIP request message (ROIV) to the object. The message contains an indication of the type of operation being requested, as well as other data related to the requested operation. The VTAM topology agent receives the request message, performs the requested operation, and generates and sends a CMIP response message to the manager application program. This sequence is altered slightly when objects send unsolicited messages or requests that provide information about an event that has occurred.

A given operation is either confirmed or unconfirmed. A confirmed operation is one that requires that a response be returned to the application program that issued the request. An unconfirmed operation is one for which there can be no response.