SNMP TUTORIAL

CPEN 1331 Chapter 3

Tutorial Overview
 Introduction
 Management Information Base
(MIB)
 Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
 SNMP Commands
 Tools
- ‘SNMPwalk’ (CLI)
- ‘MIB Browser’ (GUI)
Introduction
SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol is an application layer protocol that
facilitates the exchange of management information between network devices
- Application-layer protocol for managing TCP/IP based
networks.
- Runs over UDP, which runs over IP using Port 161 and
162
- Two versions of SNMP exist: SNMP version 1 (SNMPv1) and
SNMP version 2 (SNMPv2).
Basic tasks that fall under this
category are
 Configuration Management
 Keeping track of device setting
 Fault Management
 -Dealing with problems and emergencies in the
network i.e. server, router
 Performance Management
Network Management Success factors

 The management interface must be

 Standardized
 Extendable
 Portable
 The management mechanism must be
 In expensive
Major functions
 Configuration Management - inventory, configuration, provisioning
 Fault Management - reactive and proactive network fault management
 Performance Management - # of packets dropped, timeouts, collisions,
CRC errors
 Security Management - SNMP doesn’t provide much here
 Accounting Management - cost management and chargeback
assessment
 Asset Management - statistics of equipment, facility, and
administration personnel
 Planning Management - analysis of trends to help justify a network
upgrade or bandwidth increase
History
 1983 - TCP/IP replaces ARPANET at U.S. Dept. of Defense, effective birth of Internet
 First model for net management - HEMS - High-Level Entity Management System (RFCs
1021,1022,1024,1076)
 1987 - ISO OSI proposes CMIP - Common Management Information Protocol, and CMOT (CMIP
over TCP) for the actual network management protocol for use on the internet
 Nov. 1987 - SGMP - Simple Gateway Monitoring protocol (RFC 1028)
 1989 - Marshall T. Rose heads up SNMP working group to create a common network management
framework to be used by both SGMP and CMOT to allow for transition to CMOT
 Aug. 1989 - “Internet-standard Network Management Framework” defined (RFCs 1065, 1066,
1067)
 Apr. 1989 - SNMP promoted to recommended status as the de facto TCP/IP network management
framework (RFC 1098)
 June 1989 - IAB committee decides to let SNMP and CMOT develop separately
 May 1990 - IAB promotes SNMP to a standard protocol with a recommended status (RFC
1157)
 Mar. 1991 - format of MIBs and traps defined (RFCs 1212, 1215)
 TCP/IP MIB definition revised to create SNMPv1 (RFC 1213)
SNMP & OSI model

7 Application Layer Management and Agent APIs

SNMP
6 Presentation Layer ASN.1 and BER
5 Session Layer RPC and NetBIOS
4 Transport Layer TCP and UDP
3 Network Layer IP and IPX
2 Data Link Layer Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI
1 Physical Layer
Port & UDP

•SNMP uses User Datagram Protocol (UDP) as the

transport mechanism for SNMP messages

Ethernet
Frame IP CRC
Packet
UDP
SNMP Message
Datagram

•Like FTP, SNMP uses two well-known ports to operate:

•UDP Port 161 - SNMP Messages

•UDP Port 162 - SNMP Trap Messages
SNMP Components
 An SNMP-managed network consists of three key
components:
 managed devices,
 agents, and
 network-management systems (NMSs).
 A managed device is a network node that contains an SNMP agent and
that resides on a managed network. Managed devices collect and store
management information and make this information available to NMSs
using SNMP. Managed devices, sometimes called network elements,
can be routers and access servers, switches and bridges, hubs,
computer hosts, or printers.
 An agent is a network-management software module that resides in a
managed device. An agent has local knowledge of management
information and translates that information into a form compatible with
SNMP.
 An NMS executes applications that monitor and control managed
devices. NMSs provide the bulk of the processing and memory
resources required for network management. One or more NMSs must
exist on any managed network.
Basic Command
 Managed devices are monitored and controlled using four basic SNMP
commands: read, write, trap, and traversal operations.
 The read command is used by an NMS to monitor managed devices.
The NMS examines different variables that are maintained by managed
devices.
 The write command is used by an NMS to control managed devices.
The NMS changes the values of variables stored within managed
devices.
 The trap command is used by managed devices to asynchronously
report events to the NMS. When certain types of events occur, a
managed device sends a trap to the NMS.
 Traversal operations are used by the NMS to determine which variables
a managed device supports and to sequentially gather information in
variable tables, such as a routing table.
Language of SNMP

•Structure of Management Information (SMI)

specifies the format used for defining managed objects that are
accessed via the SNMP protocol

•Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1)

used to define the format of SNMP messages and managed
objects (MIB modules) using an unambiguous data description
format

•Basic Encoding Rules (BER)

used to encode the SNMP messages into a format suitable for
transmission across a network
 Abstract Syntax Notation One

ASN.1 is nothing more than a language definition. It is

similar to C/C++ and other programming languages.

Syntax examples:
-- two dashes is a comment -- The C equivalent is written in the comment
MostSevereAlarm ::= INTEGER -- typedef MostSevereAlarm int;
circuitAlarms MostSevereAlarm ::= 3 -- MostSevereAlarm circuitAlarms = 3;
MostSevereAlarm ::= INTEGER (1..5) -- specify a valid range
ErrorCounts ::= SEQUENCE {
circuitID OCTET STRING,
erroredSeconds INTEGER,
unavailableSeconds INTEGER
} -- data structures are defined using the SEQUENCE keyword
Simple Data Types
RED items defined by
•INTEGER -- signed 32-bit integer ASN.1
•OCTET STRING Blue items defined by
•OBJECT IDENTIFIER (OID) RFC 1155

•NULL -- not actually data type, but data value

•IpAddress -- OCTET STRING of size 4, in network byte order (B.E.)
•Counter -- unsigned 32-bit integer (rolls over)
•Gauge -- unsigned 32-bit integer (will top out and stay there)
•TimeTicks -- unsigned 32-bit integer (rolls over after 497 days)
•Opaque -- used to create new data types not in SNMPv1
•DateAndTime, DisplayString, MacAddress, PhysAddress, TimeInterval,
TimeStamp, TruthValue, VariablePointer -- textual conventions used as types
MIB
 Management Information Base (MIB) is a
collection of information that is organized
hierarchically. MIBs are accessed using a network-
management protocol such as SNMP. They are
comprised of managed objects and are identified by
object identifiers.
 Two types of managed objects exist: scalar and
tabular
 Scalar objects define a single object instance.
 Tabular objects define multiple related object
instances that are grouped in MIB tables.
Always defined and referenced within the context of a MIB
A typical MIB variable definition:
sysContact OBJECT-TYPE -- OBJECT-TYPE is a macro
SYNTAX DisplayString (SIZE (0..255))
ACCESS read-write -- or read-write, write-only, not-accessible
STATUS mandatory -- or optional, deprecated, obsolete
DESCRIPTION
“CEPN1331 Computer Network”
::= { system 4 }
 MIB – Management Information Base

 MIB Breakdown… Standard MIB Object:

sysUpTime OBJECT-TYPE
- OBJECT-TYPE SYNTAX Time-Ticks
- String that describes the MIB object.
- Object IDentifier (OID).
ACCESS read-only
- SYNTAX STATUS mandatory
- Defines what kind of info is stored in the DESCRIPTION
MIB object. “Time since the
- ACCESS network management
- READ-ONLY, READ-WRITE. portion of the system
- STATUS was last re-initialised.
- State of object in regards the SNMP
community. ::= {system 3}
- DESCRIPTION
- Reason why the MIB object exists.
 MIB – Management Information Base

 Object IDentifier (OID) 1

iso(1)

org(3)
3
- Example .1.3.6.1.2.1.1
dod(6)
6
- iso(1) org(3) dod(6) internet(1) internet(1)
mgmt(2) 1 private(4)
mib-2(1) directory(1) 4
system(1) 1
mgmt(2) experimental(3)
2 3
Note: mib-2(1)
- .1.3.6.1 ~100% present. 1 tcp(6)
- mgmt and private most common. system(1)
6
- MIB-2 successor to original MIB. 1
- STATUS ‘mandatory’, All or nothing in group interfaces(2) ip(4)
2 4
 MIB – Management Information Base

 system(1) group mib-2(1)

1
system(1)
- Contains objects that describe some basic
information on an entity. 1
interfaces(2)
2
- An entity can be the agent itself or the network
object that the agent is on.

 system(1) group objects

- sysDescr(1)  Description of the entity.
- sysObjectID(2)  Vendor defined OID string.
- sysUpTime(3)  Time since net-mgt was last re-initialised.
- sysContact(4)  Name of person responsible for the entity.
 MIB – Management Information Base

MIB - tree view MIB - syntax view

mib-2(1)
1
system(1)
sysUpTime OBJECT-TYPE
1
SYNTAX INTEGER
ACCESS read-only
sysContact(3)
STATUS mandatory
4
DESCRIPTION
sysDesc(1) sysUpTime(3) “The time (in
1 3 hundredths of a
sysObjectID(2)
second) since the
2
network management
portion of the system
was last re-initialized.”
::= {system 3}
 MIB – Management Information Base

 SNMP Instances
- Each MIB object can have an instance.
- A MIB for a router’s (entity) interface information…

iso(1) org(3) dod(6) internet(1) mgmt(2) mib-2(1) interfaces(2) ifTable(2) ifEntry(1) ifType(3)

- Require one ifType value per interface (e.g. 3)

- One MIB object definition can represent multiple
instances through Tables, Entries, and Indexes.
 MIB – Management Information Base

 Tables, Entries, and Indexes.

- Imagine tables as spreadsheets…
- Three interface types require 3 rows (index no.s)
- Each column represents a MIB object, as defined by the
entry node.
ENTRY + INDEX = INSTANCE

ifType(3) ifMtu(4) Etc…

Index #1 ifType.1[6] ifMtu.1

Index #2 ifType.2:[9] ifMtu.2
Index #3 ifType.3:[15] ifMtu.3
Simple Network Management Protocol

 Retrieval protocol for MIB.

 Can retrieve by
- CLI (snmpwalk),
- GUI (MIB Browser), or
- Larger applications (Sun Net Manager) called Network
Management Software (NMS).
 NMS collection of smaller applications to manage
network with illustrations, graphs, etc.
 NMS run on Network Management Stations (also NMS),
which can run several different NMS software
applications.
SNMP Commands

 SNMP has 5 different functions referred to as

Protocol Data Units (PDU’s), which are:

(1) GetRequest, aka Get

(2) GetNextRequest, aka GetNext
(3) GetResponse, aka Response
(4) SetRequest, aka Set
(5) Trap
SNMP Commands [Get]

 GetRequest [Get]
- Most common PDU.
- Used to ask SNMP agent for value of a particular MIB
agent.
- NMS sends out 1 Get PDU for each instance, which is a
unique OID string.
- What happens if you don’t know how many instances
of a MIB object exist?
SNMP Commands [GetNext]

 GetNextRequest [GetNext]
- NMS application uses GetNext to ‘walk’ down a table
within a MIB.
- Designed to ask for the OID and value of the MIB
instance that comes after the one asked for.
- Once the agent responds the NMS application can
increment its count and generate a GetNext.
- This can continue until the NMS application detects
that the OID has changed, i.e. it has reached the end of
the table.
SNMP Commands [GetResponse]

 GetResponse [Response]
- Simply a response to a Get, GetNext or Set.
- SNMP agent responds to all requests or commands via
this PDU.
SNMP Commands [SetRequest]

 SetRequest [Set]
- Issued by an NMS application to change a MIB
instance to the variable within the Set PDU.
- For example, you could issue a
- GetRequest against a KDEG server asking for
sysLocation.0 and may get ‘ORI’ as the response.
- Then, if the server was moved, you could issue a Set against
that KDEG server to change its location to ‘INS’.
- You must have the correct permissions when using the
set PDU.
SNMP Commands [Trap]

 Trap
- Asynchronous notification.
- SNMP agents can be programmed to send a trap when
a certain set of circumstances arise.
- Circumstances can be view as thresholds, i.e. a trap
may be sent when the temperature of the core breaches
a predefined level.
SNMP Security

 SNMP Community Strings (like passwords)

- 3 kinds:
- READ-ONLY: You can send out a Get & GetNext to the
SNMP agent, and if the agent is using the same read-only
string it will process the request.
- READ-WRITE: Get, GetNext, and Set. If a MIB object has
an ACCESS value of read-write, then a Set PDU can
change the value of that object with the correct read-write
community string.
- TRAP: Allows administrators to cluster network entities
into communities. Fairly redundant.
SNMP Tools

 Command Line Interface

 e.g. ‘snmpwalk’

 Graphical User Interface

 e.g. iReasoning’s MIB Browser
 Or via www.ireasoning.com
SNMP – MIB Browser (1)

 Initial set-up... java -Xmx384m -jar “XYZ\lib\browser.jar” (where XYZ = your specific path)
Breakdown…

- LHS is the
SNMP MIB
structure.

- Lower LHS
has details of
MIB structure.

- RHS will
present MIB
values.
SNMP – MIB Browser (2)

Discovery…

- Subnet: 134.XXX.XXX.*

- Read Community: public

 Start
Note IP Address.
 Stop
SNMP – MIB Browser (3)

Navigation…

- MIB Tree
 System
 sysUpTime

-Notice Lower LHS

- Notice OID
SNMP – MIB Browser (4)

SNMP PDU’s…
(1) Get

- Select ‘Go’
 ‘Get’

- RHS has values.

- OID – Value
SNMP – MIB Browser (5)

SNMP PDU’s…
(2) GetNext

-Selected OID is:

.1.3.6.1.2.1.1.5

-Returned value:
(.1.3.6.1.2.1.1.6)
or
“DSG, O’Reilly Institute,
F.35”
SNMP – MIB Browser (6)

SNMP…
(3) Get SubTree

-Position of MIB:
.1.3.6.1.2.1.1
(a.k.a. system)

-RHS values:
Returns all values
below system.
SNMP – MIB Browser (7)

SNMP…
(4) Walk

-MIB Location:
.1.3.6.1.2.1
(a.k.a. mib-2)

- Returns *ALL*
values under mib-2
SNMP – MIB Browser (8)

Tables…

- MIB Location:
.1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2
(or interfaces)

- Select ifTable,
 Go, then Table
View.

- Refresh/Poll
SNMP – MIB Browser (9)

SNMP…
- Graph

- Select a value
from the RHS,
say sysUpTime

- Highlight and
select ‘Go’,
then ‘Graph’.

- Interval = 1s
 set.