Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)

The simple network management protocol (SNMP) forms part of the internet protocol suite as defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force. The protocol is used by network management systems for monitoring network-attached devices for conditions that warrant administrative attention.

SNMP framework consists of master agents, subagents and management stations.

A master agent is a piece of software running on an SNMP-capable network component (say, a router) that responds to SNMP requests made by a management station. Thus it acts as a server in client-server architecture terminology or as a daemon in operating system terminology. A master agent relies on subagents to provide information about the management of specific functionality. Master agents can also be referred to as Managed objects.

A subagent is a piece of software running on an SNMP-capable network component that implements the information and management functionality defined by a specific MIB of a specific subsystem (e.g., the ethernet link layer). Some capabilities of the subagent are gathering information from managed objects, configuring parameters of the managed objects, responding to managers' requests, and generating alarms (or traps).

The manager or management station is the final component in the SNMP architecture. It functions as the equivalent of a client in the client-server architecture. It issues requests for management operations on behalf of an administrator or application, and receives traps from agents as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snmp

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