Network Administrator's Ultimate Guide to SNMP
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The Network Administrator’s Guide to SNMP
SNMP or Simple Network Management Protocol is a protocol used to access the network management and monitoring features of routers, switches, servers, and printers. SNMP has been a feature of network management for over four decades. Here is the Network Administrator’s Guide to SNMP, to help you increase your understanding:
What is SNMP?
SNMP is a communication protocol is a standardized language used to request information from network devices and provide responses. SNMP allows network administrators access to most features of the network device, allowing real-time information to be processed and monitored. This live monitoring allows devices to be managed for performance, results and troubleshoot issues quickly.
History of SNMP
SNMP was developed in the late 1980s by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to simplify network management by providing a common language to communicate between devices on different networks. The SNMP protocol has undergone several revisions over the years, with SNMPv3 being the current version.
SNMP is implemented in almost all manufactured network devices and must be enabled by the user. Automated network management software tools can enable large quantities of network devices simultaneously, simplifying this process.
SNMP Versions and Differences
SNMP has three main versions; SNMPv1, SNMPv2, and SNMPv3. The differences between these versions mainly revolve around the types of security mechanisms implemented, types of message formats, and supported operation commands. SNMPv2 is very popular but is less secure than SNMPv3.
SNMPv3 is more secure than the other protocols because it implemented several security features; encryption, authentication, and access control. It also introduced new message formats and operation commands that make it easier to manage network devices.
SNMP Components and Architecture
SNMP components include network devices, agents, and managers. Network devices such as routers and switches contain SNMP agents, which are responsible for collecting and storing information about the device. The managers are responsible for requesting and receiving information. The communication between agents and managers implement an SNMP protocol.
The SNMP architecture uses a client-server model. The network devices act as servers, and the managers are the clients. The agents act as an intermediary between the network devices and the managers and are responsible for providing the information, requests and information.
The SNMP architecture is highly scalable and this protocol has made it possible for large organizations to manage their network easily and quickly.
Setting Up SNMP
Before you can start using SNMP, you need to enable it on the network devices you want to manage. Most devices may have SNMP enabled by default, however, you may need to configure some settings such as community strings, version and traps.
SNMP Agents and Managers
SNMP managers request information from the network device and the SNMP agents are responsible for collecting information. This information can be CPU usage, memory usage, interface status, and others. SNMP agents and managers communicate using SNMP messages. These SNMP messages contain the requested information for the network device. This process of communication provides the requested information back to the network administrator.
SNMP Community Strings and Security
Community strings are used to control access to device information. SNMP uses two types of community strings: read-only and read-write. The read-only community string allows an SNMP manager to retrieve information from the device, while the read-write community string allows the manager to modify settings on the device.
SNMPv3 provides authentication and encryption of SNMP messages and is recommended for use in production environments where security is a concern.
SNMP Traps and Notifications
The SNMP agents can be configured to send notifications to managers when a specific event occurs. The event can be when a device’s interface goes down, when the device’s CPU utilization reaches a certain threshold or other events. These notifications are called SNMP traps and are used to alert network administrators of network issues.
SNMP traps are also able to send notifications to multiple managers. This allows for redundancy and added failover. The information provided by the SNMP trap can include specific information about an event; time occurred and severity of the issue.