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Chapter
20
20 – SNMP
Managing your network using SNMP
imple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) enables management of the network.
There are many software packages which provide a graphical interface and a graphical view
of the network and its devices. The graphical interface and view would not be possible
without SNMP. SNMP is thus the building block for network management.
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NMP concepts
NMP provides the protocol to extract the necessary information from a
etworked device and display the information. The information is defined and
stored in a Management Information Base (MIB). MIB is the “database” of the
network management information.
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SNMP has evolved over the years (since 1988) using the RFC process. Several RFC’s today define
the SNMP standards. The most common standards for SNMP are SNMP v1 (the original version
of SNMP); SNMP v2 and more recently SNMP v3.
SNMP is a poll based mechanism. SNMP manager polls the managed device for information and
display the information retrieved in text or graphical manner. Some definitions related to SNMP
are
Community string – A text string used to authenticate messages between a management station
and an SNMP v1/v2c engine
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) – A network management protocol that
provides a means to monitor and control network devices, and to manage configurations,
statistics collection, performance, and security.
Simple Network Management Protocol Version 2c (SNMPv2c) – The second version of
SNMP, it supports centralized and distributed network management strategies, and includes
improvements in the Structure of Management Information (SMI), protocol operations,
management architecture, and security
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