User's Manual

Horizon Compact Plus Release 1.0.1 Wireless Ethernet Product User Manual – Volume 2
20.0 Network Management
This section describes how to use network management to manage the Horizon Compact Plus units.
20.1 Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is an application-layer protocol used to exchange
management information between network devices. Network management systems contain two primary
elements: a manager and an agent. The manager resides on a Network Management Station (NMS). The
NMS is a console through which the network administrator performs network management functions.
Agents reside on the network devices such as bridges, hubs, routers, or network servers. The Horizon
Compact Plus system is a network device that contains an agent.
The SNMP manager uses Management Information Bases (MIBs). MIBs are a collection of definitions of
the properties for the managed objects. Every managed device keeps a database of values for each
definition written in the MIB. There are several standard MIBs provided in each NMS software package.
These MIBs are common parameters for network devices such as unit health and IP traffic statistics.
Each manufacturer typically provides an Enterprise MIB. The Enterprise MIB is a collection of definitions
that address the particular aspects of the manufacturer’s product. These Enterprise MIBs must be loaded
onto the NMS, in other words, they must placed in the MIB “database” directory and enabled, in order for
the NMS to access the parameters.
SNMP includes a limited set of management commands and responses. The management system issues
Get and Set commands and the agent sends a response message in return. The Get command reads a
parameter, and the Set command will configure, or assign a value to, a parameter. The managed agent
also sends an event notification, called a trap, to the management system to identify the occurrence of
conditions such as thresholds that have been exceeded.
Each SMNP managed object belongs to a community, or group. The Network Management Station may
belong to multiple communities. The community string must be set in the agent device in order for the
NMS to access the device.
20.2 Supported SNMP Versions
DragonWave Horizon Compact Plus systems support three versions of SNMP.
Version 1 (SNMP v1) is the initial implementation of SNMP.
Version 2 (SNMPv2c) is the second release of SNMP, which has additions and enhancements to
data types, counter size and protocol operations.
Version 3 (SNMPv3) is the most recent version of SNMP. The functionality of SNMPv1 and
SNMPv2c remain intact, but SNMPv3 has significant enhancements to administration and security.
SNMPv3 is an interoperable standards-based protocol that provides secure access to devices by
authenticating and encrypting packets over the network. The security features provided in SNMPv3 are
as follows:
Message integrity
Authentication
Encryption