SNMP

Updated: 09/12/2023 by Computer Hope
simple network management protocol

Short for Simple Network Management Protocol, SNMP was created in 1988 and is a query, command, and response protocol. SNMP examines and changes configuration parameters of LAN (local area network) and WAN (wide area network) connected repeaters, bridges, routers, switches, and other devices connected to a network.

SNMP is currently available in three versions:

  • SNMP version 1 (SNMPv1): SNMP v1 is the first implementation of SNMP and is described in RFC 1157. SNMP v1 operates in the specifications of SMI (Simple Mail Interface) and has support for such protocols as CLNS (connectionless network service), DDP (Datagram Delivery Protocol), IP (Internet Protocol), IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange), and UDP (user datagram protocol).
  • SNMP version 2 (SNMPv2): SNMP v2, more appropriately known as SNMP v2c (as in RFC 1901), was introduced in RFC 1441 and has improved support, increasing efficiency and error handling.
  • SNMP version 3 (SNMPv3): SNMP v3 was introduced in RFC 3410 and improved security and privacy.
Tip

SNMP defaults to use port 161.

Computer acronyms, MIB, Network terms