Overview

The rapid growth of heterogeneous networks has led to a need for a simple system for managing IP based internets. In fact, the IAB now recommends that all IP and TCP implementations be network manageable, and that those implementations adopt the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).

Before we describe SNMP, we should first look to its history: The Internet was, at its conception, a relatively high speed backbone that comprised many gateways (routers) from many vendors. The rapid growth of the Internet led to a need for a standards-based management system to control these gateways. This eventually became The Simple Gateway Management Protocol (SGMP). As the Internet matured and more systems were added, the need to manage all systems became even more apparent. Thus, it was logical to build upon the foundations laid by this protocol, and to develop it into a more generic management protocol that eventually became SNMP as we know it today.

SNMP is an Application protocol using the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), which in turn uses the Internet Protocol (IP). SNMP is not perfect. Indeed, it could be argued that it was never designed to be so, since it was always considered to be an interim measure that would fulfil the requirements of network managers until the OSI management protocols were ready. In practice of course, OSI management protocols failed to be delivered in a timely fashion and, are extremely difficult to implement.

20.1 The Management Task and SNMP

In real terms,...