
This document isn't really a list of answers to questions that I've been
asked, but rather a list of answers to questions that I've asked myself from
time to time.


Q: Why doesn't TinySNMPd display interface aliases?

A: In Linux the aliases are just linked to the interface itself. They don't
have their own counters, so keeping track of them isn't really useful. The
other problem with keeping track of them is that they don't have unique
indexes. According to the interfaces MIB all interface indexes should be the
same for the duration that the agent is running, so I'd have to keep my own
interface name -> index mapping. Also, what happens if e.g. eth0:0 and
eth0:1 is configured, then 5 minutes later, you down both interfaces and
swap them? There is no way to detect this kind of thing.


Q: Why does the indexes change for ppp interfaces?

A: By default, the ppp implementation in Linux (and BSD flavours) does
not have a static mapping from serial ports to their corresponding ppp
interfaces. You can tell ppp to associate certain ppp devices with
corresponding serial devices by using the "unit" command.

