Remote Site Management Solutions Address SNMP Weakness

Published by Asentria Corporation on Aug 30, 2007

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is an industry standard network management protocol for managing wide area and local area networks. It is easy to use, cost-effective, and is built into most networking devices. One of SNMP’s best assets is its use of in-band management, yet, this is also its biggest weakness.

The problem is that SNMP traffic goes over the same network path as data. SNMP uses the same LAN and WAN routers, hubs, communications links, and DSU/CSUs. While the network is operating, SNMP packets flow between the managed devices and the management workstation or Remote Monitor (RMON). SNMP TRAPs, SETs, and GETs move with the same priority as regular traffic on the LAN/WAN, and provide management information to the workstation or commands to the controlled devices. However, when the network goes down or is severely disrupted, SNMP traffic has no way to get between the managed device and the management workstation.