This Recommendation / International Standard defines the scheduling function. The scheduling function is a systems management function which may be used by an application process in a centralized or decentralized management environment to exchange information and commands for the purpose of systems management, as defined by CCITT Rec. X.700 / ISO/IEC 7498-4. This Recommendation / International Standard is positioned in the application layer of ITU-T Rec. X.200 / ISO/IEC 7498-1 and is defined according to the model provided by ISO/IEC 9545. The role of systems management functions is described by CCITT Rec. X.701 / ISO/IEC 10040.