Networking is an element of communication and life as a whole that we need to appreciate greatly. Computer networking is being adopted by many businesses around the world. It helps to streamline operations and internal business communications. Networks come in varied forms. The internet is the largest network traversing the whole world and enabling people to communicate to and from different regions around the world.
In order to enable this communication and consistency, the internet makes use of protocols. Most of the protocols that are used for the internet fall under the IP umbrella. The main role of protocols is to control the way devices used in a network operates what kind of information they can share and in what ways can this information or data be communicated. The Simple Network Management Protocol is one of the communication protocols that are categorized under the IP suite.
So what is the role played by SNMP? Probably this might be a question that lingers in your mind at this time. Well, the main role of this protocol is to manage the functions of the various devices used on a network and a complex network for that matter. The kind of devices that would support this protocol include, modem racks, printers, workstations, switches, servers and routers. All these devices need to be based on a standard network that supports them to communicate through the use of SNMP.
In most cases, the simple network management protocol is mainly implemented in network management systems and software in order to monitor most, if not all the devices that are attached to the backbone of the network. This is not a tool for website monitoring. Its main function is to check for any conditions or device outages that might call for administrative attention. The SNMP protocol consists of sets of standards which are usually implemented for purposes of network management. However, do not confuse the use of SNMP to the roles played by network management software tools.
Simple Network Management Protocol is one of the most prominent features of complex networks today. If you have a well sized networks with hundreds of users in various locations all connected using hubs, routers, bridges modems and switches, the use of SNMP is definitely inevitable for your case. Probably you might have implemented this network using the most of sophisticated products from various vendors across the globe but well, think of a situation where network outages or dropouts occur. Reduced throughput in a networking setting is not an uncommon feature but still there are some ways to get through that and the use of SNMP can be a great help.
In such complex networks how do you come to realize that something is wrong and seeks to fix it? Well, the use of simple network management protocol holds much water in this case. The use of SNMP has been adopted in business networks around the world for purposes of keeping track of any network issues. It saves a lot of time when dealing with network issues and device failures. Through the protocol agent, it is much simpler for the network administrator to realize where faults have occurred in a network and move forth to act on the issue.