SNMP : Simple Network Management Protocol. In a network environment it's a good practice to monitor devices in the network.

One of the prominent protocols to monitor and control devices in the network is SNMP. SNMP exposes the device management data in the form of variables on the managed systems. The exposed management data describes how the device configuration. These param eters can be queried amd sometimes set using the managing applications. The main features of SNMP are 1. SNMP is an application layer protocol. The SNMP facilitates exchange of manag ement information between network devices. 2. SNMP is a part of TCP/IP protocol suite. It uses UDP port 161 for agent and U DP port 162 for the manager. 3. SNMP enables network administrators to manage network performance, find and s olve network problems and plan for network growth. 4. There are 3 versions for SNMP V1, V2 and V3. The V1 and V2 are do not offer enough security. Both are subject to packet sniff ing. Both V1 and V2 do not implement encryption. The V3 provides important security features. 1. Message integrity to ensure that the packet is not tampered with in transit. 2. Authentication to verify that the message is from a valid source. 3. Encryption of the packets to ensure that there is no snooping by an unauthori zed source. A Network management system comprises of 1. Network elements : Sometimes called as "Managed Devices", the network element s are hardware devices such as computers, routers and terminal servers that are connected to network s. 2. Agents : are Software modules that reside in "Network Elements". They collect and store management information, such as the number of error packets received by the Network element. 3. Managed Objects : A "Managed Object" is a characteristic of something that c an be managed. For example : A list of currently active TCP circuits in a particular host computer is a managed object. 4. Management Information Base (MIB) : A MIB is a collection of managed objects residing in a virtual information store. Collections of related managed objects are defined in specific MIB mo dules. 5. Syntax notation : A syntax notation is a language used to describe a MIBs man aged objects in a machine-independent format. Consistent use of syntax notation allows different types of computers to share information. Internet management systems use a subset of the ISO's OSI Abstract Syntax Notation 1 ( ASN.1) to define both the packets exchanged by the management protocol and the o bjects that are to be managed. 6. Structure Management Information (SMI) : The SMI desecribes the rules for des cribing management information. The SMI is described using ASN.1.

7. Network Management Stations (NMSs) : Sometimes called consoles, these devices execute management applications that monitor and control network elements. Physically, NMSs are usually engineeri ng workstation-calliber computers with fast CPUs, megapixel color displyas, subs tantial memory, and abandant disk space. Atleast one NMS should be present in every managed environment. 8. Parties : A SNMP V2 entity, that can initiate or receive SNMP V2 communicatio n. Each SNMP V2 party comprises a single, unique party identity. A logical network location, a single authentication pro tocol and a single privacy protocol. SNMP V2 messages are communicated between t wo parties. An SNMP V2 entiry can define multiple parties, each wit h different parameters. For example, different parties can use different authent ication and/or privacy protocols. 9. Management Protocol : A Management protocol is used to convey management info rmation between agents and NMSs. SNMP is the internet communities defacto standard management protocol. Management and control of modern networks (especially when handling heterogeniou s network topologies) can become a challenging task. Management of network is a challenging task because of the complexity and diversity of the connected device s. The SNMP is the most widely used network management solution for TCP/IP networks . The SNMP model : The SNMP model assumes the existance of the agents and managers . An SNMP manager is a software module in a management system, responsible for handling of configuration and statistics of the network devices. An SNMP agent is a software module, which resides in the managed device and comm unicates with the manager using the SNMP protocol. The SNMP model that is used for network management includes. 1. Management agent. 2. Management Infromation Base. 3. Management station. 4. Network Management Protocol. Management Station : translates the the network management tasks into actual com mands that is sent over the network. The management station is typically a standalone device. Management Agent : Management Agents are the software that resides on the manage d device. It responds to the requests for information and actions requested by the management stations. The agent may also spontaneously transmit informatio n about events in the device. Agents typically reside on the network devices such as hosts, switches, routers, firewalls, gateways etc.., Management Information Base : The managed information is represented with object s, one for each aspect of managed device. The object in essence is a data variable of a predefined type. The collection of objects on a specific device is reffered to as a Management Information Base or MIB. Each type of device has its own MIB, for example : The Printer MIB, or the UPS MIB.

Network Management Protocol : The protocol used for management of TCP/IP networ ks is SNMP. Usually it runs over UDP, wich means that the retransmissions has to be handled by the SNMP agents and management stations.