3.1 Introduction to SNMP
SNMP provides a set of standard protocols for the communication between the Network
Management station (NM station) that runs the Network Management System (NMS) and
devices, allowing the NM station to manage devices and receive alarms reported by the devices.
3.1.1 SNMP Overview
Get and Set operations can be performed on a managed device that runs the SNMP agent to
manage device objects. These objects are uniquely identified in the Management Information
Base (MIB).
In a large network, it is very difficult for network administrator to detect, locate and rectify the
fault as the devices does not report the fault. This affects maintenance efficiency and increases
maintenance workload. To solve this problem, equipment vendors have provided network
management functions in some products. The NM station then can query the status of remote
devices, and devices can send alarms to the NM station in the case of particular events.
SNMP operates at the application layer of the IP suite and defines the transmission of
management information between the NM station and devices. SNMP defines several device
management operations that can be performed by the NM station and allow devices to notify
the NM station of device faults by sending alarms.
SNMP Components
An SNMP managed network consists of the following three components:
l
NM station
: sends various packets to query managed devices and receives alarms from
these devices.
l
Agent
: is a network-management process on a managed device. An agent has the following
functions:
–
Receives and parses query packets sent from the NM station.
–
Reads or writes management variables based on the query type, and generates and sends
response packets to the NM station.
–
Sends alarms to the NM station when particular events occur. For example, the system
view is displayed or closed, or the device is restarted. Protocol modules on the device
define the conditions that lead to the alarms.
l
Managed device
: is managed by an NM station and generates and reports alarms to the
NM station.
shows the relationship between the NM station and agent.
HUAWEI NetEngine5000E Core Router
Configuration Guide - System Management
3 SNMP Configuration
Issue 01 (2011-10-15)
Huawei Proprietary and Confidential
Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
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