What is SNMP?

The SNMP or the Simple Network Management Protocol is a standard TCP/IP protocol for the network management. Network administrators are using this kind of protocol in order to monitor and mainly map the availability of the network, the rates of the error as well as the performance. In order to work with the SNMP, the device of the network would use some sort of distributed data known as the MIB or the Management Information Base. All of the SNMP compliant devices have MIB that supplies the pertinent attributes of the device. Some of the attributes are being fixed into the MIB while the others serve to be the dynamic values that are being calculated by the software that runs on the device.

Some of the software for enterprise network management software are using SNMP commands in order to write and read data in every MIB device. The “GET” commands usually retrieve the data values, while the “SET” commands usually initiate some of the action of the device. For instance, a system reboot script is somewhat implemented in the management software by mainly defining a certain MIB attribute and issue the SNMP SET from the main software that writes the value of “reboot” in that certain attribute.