CMIP uses an ISO reliable connection-oriented transport mechanism and has built in security that supports access control, authorization and security logs. The management information is exchanged between the network management application and management agents thru managed objects. Managed objects are a characteristic of a managed device that can be monitored, modified or controlled and can be used to perform tasks.

CMIP does not specify the functionality of the network management application, it only defines the information exchange mechanism of the managed objects and not how the information is to be used or interpreted.

The major advantages of CMIP over SNMP are:

• CMIP variables not only relay information, but also can be used to perform tasks. This is impossible under SNMP.
• CMIP is a safer system as it has built in security that supports authorization, access control, and security logs.
• CMIP provides powerful capabilities that allow management applications to accomplish more with a single request.
• CMIP provides better reporting of unusual network conditions

Access to managed information in the managed objects is provided by the Common Management Information Service Element (CMISE) that uses CMIP (Common Management Information Protocol) to issue requests for management services. The management services provided by CMIP/CMISE can be organized into two distinct groups, management operation services initiated by a manager to request that an agent provide certain services or information, and notification services, used by the management agents to inform the managers that some event or set of events have occurred.

Correspondence between CMISE primitives and CMIP operations