Simple Network Management Protocol - SNMP

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is a widely used protocol designed to facilitate the management of networked devices from a central location.  Designed originally for the management of devices such as routers and switches, its usage has grown rapidly to encompass the monitoring of nearly any electronic device one can think of.  SNMP is now  used to monitor and manage television broadcast studios, automated fare collection systems, airborne military platforms, energy distribution systems, emergency radio networks, and much more.

The SNMP architecture is composed of three major elements:

• Managers (software) are responsible for communicating with (and managing) network devices that implement SNMP Agents (also software).
• Agents reside in devices such as workstations, switches, routers, microwave radios, printers, and provide information to Managers.
• MIBs (Management Information Base) describe data objects to be managed by an Agent within a device. MIBs are actually just text files, and values of MIB data objects are the topic of conversation between Managers and Agents.

SNMP Standards and Versions:
SNMP Standards are described in Request for Comments (RFC) documents published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).  Standards Topics can generally be categorized into:

• Messaging protocols between Managers and Agents (which encompasses security issues)
• MIB syntax standards
• “Standard MIB” definitions