3Com CoreBuilder 3500, Implementation Manual

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SNMP 533
SNMP
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), one of the most widely
used management protocols, allows management communication
between network devices and your management workstation across
TCP/IP internets.
See Chapter 2 to review where SNMP fits in the Open System
Interconnection (OSI) reference model for the network environment.
Most management applications, including Status Watch applications,
require SNMP to perform their management functions.
SNMP Overview The following sections provide an overview of SNMP.
Manager/Agent Operation
SNMP communication requires a manager (the station that is managing
network devices) and an
agent
(the software in the devices that talks to
the management station). SNMP provides the language and the rules that
the manager and agent use to communicate.
Managers can discover agents:
■
Through autodiscovery tools on Network Management Platforms
(such as HP OpenView Network Node Manager)
■
When you manually enter IP addresses of the devices that you want to
manage
For agents to discover their managers, you must provide the agent with
the IP address of the management station or stations.
Managers send requests to agents (either to send information or to set a
parameter), and agents provide the requested data or set the parameter.
Agents can also send information to the managers (without being
requested by the managers) through trap messages, which inform the
manager that certain events have occurred.
You can use either an in-band or an out-of-band IP interface to manage
the system with SNMP. See Chapter 2 for more information.