SNMP Basics

SNMP is the communication protocol between managers and managed systems. A managed system runs a software component called an agent, which reports information via SNMP to the manager. The management data is exposed in the form of variables describing the system configuration. These variables can then be queried (and sometimes set) by managing applications, e.g. AggreGate Network Manager. The communication of management information among management entities is realized through the exchange of protocol messages. A particular SNMP message is often called Protocol Data Unit (PDU).

This section covers the following topics: