The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is an Internet-standard protocol for managing hosts on an IP network. Devices that typically support SNMP include routers, switches, servers, workstations, printers, modem racks, UPSs, and more. Essential SNMP is a practical introduction to SNMP for network and system administrators. It starts with the basics of SNMP and how it works, along with the technical background to use it effectively. The book covers OIDs, MIBs, community strings, traps, and other technical elements. But the main focus is on practical network administration: how to configure SNMP agents and network management stations, how to use SNMP to retrieve and modify variables on network devices, how to configure management software to react to traps sent by managed devices. Essential SNMP explores both commercial and open source packages, including HP's OpenView, Castle Rock's SNMPc, the Net-SNMP tools, Simon Leinen's Perl SNMP support, and MRTG. Administrators will come away with ideas for writing scripts to help them manage their networks, create managed objects, and extend the operation of SNMP agents. In addition to SNMPv1 and v2, the book covers SNMPv3, which has just started to appear in commercial products as of this printing.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 20 Ratings

1/4 good - 2007-05-03
Reviewer Rating:
This book is good up till you get 1/4 of the way through it. The first quarter of the book is good and it goes over general SNMP stuff then history different versions etc. The last 3/4 of this book cover configuring proprietary monitoring systems like open view and solar winds.

I dont care about open view.. or solar winds.. i wanted to learn about snmp... not some vendors software package. Im suprised that this got published with such a general title.. when really the book is an snmp intro, followed by how to setup a proprietary monitoring tool.

SNMP for Users, not Programmers - 2008-04-13
Reviewer Rating:
Essential SNMP didn't quite hit the nail for me.
I needed introductory documentation on the design of MIB files and the implementation of agents, but this book provides more of a quick overview of the usage of SNMP from the perspective of a network manager.
There are lots of basic examples on data collection, but researching on the internet helped me much more than this book. Especially the Net-SNMP website covers much of the internal workings of the SNMP protocol and the advanced usage of OIDs, like tables, octet string indexes and multiple indexes. But I still had to search and experiment a lot before finding the relevant information.

Disappointing - 2007-05-25
Reviewer Rating:
Most of the books in this series are very technical and go into serious details. This one reads like a compendium of owner's manuals. A really good book on SNMP is needed and this one is not it.

Good Book - 2009-03-07
Reviewer Rating:
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about SNMP. It was helpful and straight foward

thorough coverage of SNMP - 2008-07-08
Reviewer Rating:
i knew nothing about the protocol. great resource in explaining from the ground up.

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