Reference Guide

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) | 191
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Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
Network management stations use the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to retrieve or alter
management data from network elements. A datum of management information is called a managed
object; the value of a managed object can be static or variable. Network elements store managed objects in
a database called a Management Information Base (MIB).
MIBs are hierarchically structured and use object identifiers to address managed objects, but managed
objects also have a textual name called an object descriptor.
Implementation Information
• FTOS supports SNMP version 1 as defined by RFC 1155, 1157, and 1212, SNMP version 2c as
defined by RFC 1901.
Configuring the Simple Network Management Protocol
Configuring SNMP version 1 or version 2 requires only a single step:
1. Create a community. See page 192.
Important Point to Remember
• Typically, 5-second timeout and 3-second retry values on an SNMP server are sufficient for both LAN
and WAN applications. If you experience a timeout with these values, increase the timeout value to
greater than 3 seconds, and increase the retry value to greater than 2 on your SNMP server.
Note: An Aggregator supports standard and private SNMP MIBs, including Get operations in supported
MIBs.
Note: The configurations in this chapter use a UNIX environment with net-snmp version 5.4. This is only
one of many RFC-compliant SNMP utilities you can use to manage the Aggregator using SNMP. Also,
these configurations use SNMP version 2c.
Note: SNMP version 3 is not supported on the Aggregator.