EnGenius EWS Series User Manual page 144

than SNMPv1 and SNMPv2c as well. In the SNMPv1 and SNMPv2c protocols, the terms agent and
manager are used. In the SNMPv3 protocol, agents and managers are renamed to entities. With the
SNMPv3 protocol, you create users and determine the protocol used for message authentication as well
as if data transmitted between two SNMP entities is encrypted.
The SNMPv3 protocol supports two authentication protocols - HMAC-MD5-96 (MD5) and HMAC-SHA-96
(SHA). Both MD5 and SHA use an algorithm to generate a message digest. Each authentication protocol
authenticates a user by checking the message digest. In addition, both protocols use keys to perform
authentication. The keys for both protocols are generated locally using the Engine ID and the user
password to provide even more security.
In SNMPv1 and SNMPv2c, user authentication is accomplished using types of passwords called
Community Strings, which are transmitted in clear text and not supported by authentication. Users can
assign views to Community Strings that specify which MIB objects can be accessed by a remote SNMP
manager.
The default Community Strings for the Switch used for SNMPv1 and SNMPv2c management access for
the Switch are public, which allows authorized management stations to retrieve MIB objects, and private,
which allow authorized management stations to retrieve and modify MIB objects.
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