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SNMP
Appendix C
UNDERSTANDING SNMP
As Local Area Network (LAN) environments became standardized
over the past ten years, multi-vendor equipment grew with competi-
tion. It became necessary to manage the various vendor equipment
from a single control console. Thus, the Simple Network Management
Protocol (SNMP) emerged as the de facto standard for managing com-
mercial Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
networks.
The term SNMP broadly refers to the message protocols used to ex-
change information between the network and the managed devices, as
well as to the structure of network management databases. SNMP has
three basic components:
•
Network Manager: This is a control program that collects,
controls, and presents data pertinent to the operation of the
network devices. It resides on a network management station.
•
Agent: This is a control program that responds to queries and
commands from the network manager and returns requested
information or invokes configuration changes initiated by the
manager. It resides in each network device connected.
•
MIB: This is an index to the organized data within a network
device. It defines the operating parameters that can be controlled
or monitored.
When requesting the network manager to retrieve or modify a partic-
ular piece of information about a network device, the network manag-
er transmits the request to that network device. The agent in that
device interprets the incoming request, performs the requested task,
and sends its response to the network manager. The network manag-
61203192L1-20
Express L768 User Manual
C-1
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