79 
 
 
8  SNMP 
8.1  Overview 
The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is the most widely used network management protocol in 
TCP/IP networks. SNMP enables you to remotely manage all your network devices compliant with this protocol, 
such as monitoring the network status, changing network device settings, and receive network event alarms. 
SNMP allows automatic management of devices from various vendors regardless of physical differences among 
the devices. 
8.1.1  SNMP Management Framework 
The  SNMP  management framework  consists  of  SNMP  manager, SNMP  agent,  and  Management  Information 
Base (MIB). 
−  SNMP manager: It is a system that controls and monitors network nodes using the SNMP protocol. 
The SNMP manager most widely used in network environments is Network Management System 
(NMS).An NMS can be a dedicated network management server, or an application that 
implements management functions in a network device. 
−  SNMP agent: It is a software module in a managed device. The module is used to manage data 
about the device and report the management data to an SNMP manager. 
−  MIB: It is a collection of managed objects. It defines a series of attributes of managed objects, 
including names, access permissions, and data types of objects. Each SNMP agent has its MIB. An 
SNMP manager can read and/or write objects in the MIB based on the permissions assigned to 
the SNMP manager. 
An SNMP manager manages SNMP agents in an SNMP network. The SNMP manager exchanges management 
information with the SNMP agents using the SNMP protocol. 
8.1.2  Basic SNMP Operations 
The AP allows the following basic SNMP operations: 
−  Get: An SNMP manager performs this operation to query the SNMP agent of the AP for values of 
one or more objects. 
−  Set: An SNMP manager performs this operation to set values of one or more objects in the MIB of 
the SNMP agent of the AP.