OIDs are generally structured in the form of . in order to allow a manager to specify a specific instance of an object. Think
of an object as a variable name and the instance as one or potentially many versions of
that variable. OIDs can also indicate tabular objects and include indexes, or can indicate
scalar objects. OIDs are arranged and organized in a hierarchical tree structure where
the topmost levels in the tree are controlled by the ITU and ISO standards bodies in
order to provide some order and structure to the standard tree. Subtrees within this
structure are doled out to other organizations such as the IETF to manage, while subtrees
within that structure are further distributed to organizations and corporations for ex‐
perimental or private (i.e., proprietary MIB) use. Figure 5-6 demonstrates this
arrangement.