7.8.1. Relation between INDEX and AUGMENTS clauses

When defining instance identification information for a conceptual table:

1. If there is a one-to-one correspondence between the conceptual rows of this table and an existing table, then the AUGMENTS clause should be used.

2. Otherwise, if there is a sparse relationship between the conceptual rows of this table and an existing table, then an INDEX clause should be used which is identical to that in the existing table. For example, the relationship between RFC 1573's ifTable and a media-specific MIB which extends the ifTable for a specific media (e.g., the dot3Table in RFC 1650), is a sparse relationship.

3. Otherwise, if no existing objects have the required syntax and semantics, then auxiliary objects should be defined within the conceptual row for the new table, and those objects should be used within the INDEX clause for the conceptual row.