Community String

A password that is passed to a device when attempting any SNMP request.

If the community string is correct, the device responds with the requested information. If the community string is incorrect, the device simply discards the request and does not respond.

Get

An SNMP request to obtain the value of a managed object.

MIB

MIB stands for Management Information Base. The MIB is a data structure that contains a list of managed objects available for a device. These objects are referenced in the form of OIDs. To monitor SNMP devices, MIB files must be compiled for each device type. Argent provides a built-in MIB viewer and compiler.

See Also: Argent MIB Viewer

OID

OID stands for Object Identifier or Object ID.

Example:

1.3.6.1.4.1.111.4.1.4.1.3

OIDs are a sequence of period-delimited numbers that identify a unique managed object in a device. OID values are usually listed in the device’s MIB file.

Set

An SNMP request to change a managed object to a new value

SNMP

SNMP stands for Simple Network Management Protocol. SNMP is a widely implemented protocol to manage a broad range of network products and functions. Almost all critical network devices are SNMP-compliant for remote management and monitoring.

Trap

An SNMP message issued by a device to report an event.

Walk Within Branch

An SNMP request, similar to Get. While Get obtains the value for one managed object — Walk Within Branch obtains values for all siblings in its heirarchical tree.

Example:

If the starting OID is 1.3.6.1.4.1, a walk within branch would walk through all possible siblings, namely:

1.3.6.1.4.1

1.3.6.1.4.2

1.3.6.1.4.3

1.3.6.1.4.4

Etc.

A common example is the different statuses of ports in a switch.

A switch may have 16 ports or more — a walk within branch could check the port status for each, and return the OID of any port that is down.