Configuring the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)

Using the SNMP commands

This section gives a brief overview of the user commands that provide management station functionality to the system administrator. These commands are: snmpstat(ADMN), getid(ADMN), getmany(ADMN), getnext(ADMN), getone(ADMN), getroute(ADMN), getmet(ADMN), getsub(ADMN), and setany(ADMN).

Before explaining the SNMP commands in detail, it is useful to explain some of the MIB variables used in the examples.

The following variables are from the system group: sysDescr, sysContact, and sysName. These are the description of the node, the name of the person responsible for the node, and the name of the node.

The following variables are from the interfaces group: ifDescr, ifOperStatus, ifType, and ifPhysAddress variables. These are the name, status, type, and physical address associated with a particular interface.

The following variables are from the ip group, and cover routing table information: ipRouteDest, ipRouteNextHop, and ipRouteType. These are the destination, next hop of the route entry, and the type of route (for example, direct or indirect).

The snmpstat command provides the administrator with an easy way of retrieving information such as routing tables, address translation tables, interface status, and so on. Using snmpstat, a network administrator can quickly detect error conditions on a misbehaving network node.

The remaining commands provide the administrator with the ability to retrieve or modify arbitrary objects. Many vendors have their own enterprises MIBs in addition to the standard MIB. Because these continually evolve, it may well be the case that a particular node maintains information beyond that which can be conveniently accessed via snmpstat. The additional commands can provide access to these enterprises MIBs.