Acing the CCNA Exam, Volume 2

6 Simple Network Management Protocol

This chapter covers

• Managing network devices with Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
• The SNMP network management station and its managed devices
• The three main versions of SNMP
• Securing SNMP with passwords, user authentication, and encryption

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is, as the name states, a protocol that facilitates the management of networks—specifically, the management of the devices that make up the network. Whether it is simple is perhaps subjective; like most topics, there is plenty of complexity to be found if you dig deep enough!

SNMP allows an admin to centrally monitor the status of devices, trigger alerts for specific events, and even modify device configurations without ...