HP StorageWorks 2/140 FW 08.01.00 McDATA E/OS SNMP Support Manual (620-000131- - Page 14

Introduction to SNMP 1 SNMP Features SNMP Commands that can be managed. In such a case, the list of commands a manager must be able to issue is overwhelming, and every new manageable device increases the list. SNMP was created to simplify the task of managing and meeting the demands of any growing network. SNMP operates on a simple fetch-store concept. With SNMP, the available transactions between manager and agent are limited to a handful. The manager can request information from the agent or modify variables on the agent. The agent can respond to a request by sending information, or if enabled to do so, voluntarily notify the manager of a change of status on the agent (issue a trap). SNMP is the only network management protocol that is widely available from many vendors of TCP/IP networks and internetworks. Features of SNMP: • Simple set of commands for network management. • Minimal intervention required to manage new devices added to a network. • Adequate for many basic network management needs. • Generalized for application to networks other than TCP/IP, such as IPX and OSI. • Considerable versatility for managing many types of devices. • Same method of management can be used for all networks. • Addresses security threats through authentication, data encryption and access control. The main SNMP commands are Get, GetNext, GetResponse, GetBulk, Inform, Trap and Set. • Get - The manager uses this command to fetch the value of a specified variable from the agent. • GetNext -The manager uses this command to fetch the value of the variable next to the one specified in the command. This command is used to retrieve lists and tables of management data. • GetResponse -An agent sends the requested information to the manager using this PDU. 1-2 E/OS SNMP Support Manual