About the DXi SNMP Reference Guide
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is a light-weight protocol designed for remote management and monitoring of network devices. DXi-Series systems (DXi V-Series, DXi4000, DXi6000, and DXi8500) provide SNMP support to use in monitoring the status of the system.
SNMP works by sending messages from SNMP managers on a host system to different parts of a network. SNMP compliant devices, called agents, store data about the devices in Management Information Bases (MIBs). The agents then return this data to the SNMP managers.
You can configure the DXi SNMP agent to generate alerts, called traps, each time that a service ticket is created. The agent then sends the traps to the SNMP manager on a specified host system.
Note: For more information about service tickets, see the Service Tickets topic in your DXi Online Help or DXi User's Guide.
Supported SNMP Functionality
The DXi supports specific SNMP functionality, allowing it to receive GET requests and send unicast traps. In addition, all DXi MIB variables are supported by Quantum for remote management of the system. Review the following list of specific SNMP features included in DXi-Series systems.
SNMP Features
- SNMP version 2c for MIB information retrieval.
- SNMP v2 traps as defined by RFC 1157.
You can set the system to report SNMP traps v2. The timeout settings for SNMP requests to the system must be set to 10 seconds or greater (command line parameter-t).
- SMIv2 compliance only.
- Usage of port 161 for GET requests.
- Default community read/trap strings: publicCmtyStr.
- Trap Registration interface in the system’s remote web client.
Use this interface to configure application IP addresses, transport protocols, and user-configurable UDP port numbers to receive traps.
SNMP Information Support
DXi supports SNMP version 2c for MIB information retrieval. To access the system for SNMP information support, use the following value in the remote management application.
Note: For secure access to the system using SNMP, disable SNMP v2c access from the remote management console.
|
Field |
Value |
|---|---|
|
User name |
|
|
Context name |
Leave blank |
|
Authentication protocol |
|
|
Privacy protocol |
Leave blank |
|
Password |
|
Terms
Review the following terms used throughout this guide.
SNMP Manager
The SNMP manager resides on the host system from which you monitor the DXi. The manager sends GET requests and receives traps. See SNMP Configuration for DXi.
SNMP Agent
The SNMP agent resides on the DXi being monitored by the SNMP manager. The DXi SNMP agent automatically gathers predefined system alerts, and then sends these alerts as traps to the manager. See About the DXi SNMP Agent and Quantum MIB and SNMP Configuration for DXi.
Protocol Data Unit (PDU)
A PDU is included in each message sent between the SNMP manager and the SNMP agent. PDUs contain variable bindings fields that define the information being requested or sent. See SNMP Traps.
Management Information Base (MIB)
A MIB is a collection of information about DXi objects, such as the online status of partitions. This information defines the data that the SNMP manager can monitor by submitting GET requets or receiving traps. See About the DXi SNMP Agent and Quantum MIB.
Community Strings
Community strings act as passwords to authenticate messages sent between the SNMP manager on the host system and the SNMP agent on the DXi. See Adding Community Strings.
GET Requests
GET requests are initiated from the SNMP manager and sent to the SNMP agent to gather status information about specific components of the DXi. See SNMP Configuration for DXi.
Traps
Traps are predefined status alerts about the DXi. Each time a service ticket is created for the DXi, the SNMP agent automatically collects these alerts and sends them as traps to the SNMP manager. See Configuring SNMP Traps.
