SNMP, or Simple Network Management Protocol, is an application-layer protocol used to monitor and manage network devices, servers and infrastructure equipment.
Main components
An SNMP environment usually includes managed devices, agents running on those devices and a monitoring system that queries or receives information.
What SNMP can monitor
SNMP can expose uptime, interface traffic, CPU usage, memory, disk status, device temperature and many vendor-specific metrics.
SNMP versions
SNMPv1 and SNMPv2c are simple but rely on community strings. SNMPv3 adds authentication and encryption, making it the preferred option for secure environments.
How communication works
Monitoring systems query OIDs from devices. Devices can also send traps to report events such as link failures or hardware alerts.
Best practices
Use SNMPv3, restrict access by IP address, document OIDs and keep monitoring focused on metrics that drive operational decisions.