Granular traps each have a unique OID so that you can tell them apart from one another. One is to use what are known as granular traps'. There are two different methods for encoding alarm data in SNMP traps. You can also install a translation device to convert between SNMP versions.

If you have standardized on SNMPv3, for example, you're going to need SNMPv3 devices. SNMPv3 supports encryption for security, while SNMPv1 is very simple to set up. Each version has different pros and cons, and you need to think about compatibility when managing your network. The most important thing to keep in mind is SNMP versions, like v1, v2c, and v3. For older devices that do not support SNMP, an SNMP RTU may be used to collect alarms from multiple legacy devices, convert them to SNMP traps, and transmit them (most commonly over LAN) back to your SNMP manager. Newer monitoring devices are able to send traps on their own to alert an SNMP trap manager when they experience a problem. SNMP traps are most commonly issued by one of two device types. A benefit of using Traps for monitoring and managing alarms is that they trigger instantaneously, rather than waiting for a status request from the manager. Incoming traps are used to inform an SNMP manager when an important event happens at the Agent level. Trap messages are the main form of communication between SNMP monitoring tools - an SNMP Agent and an SNMP Manager.Īs you'll recall, SNMP is one possible protocol that managers and agents can use to communicate.

A traditional SNMP poll (left) vs an async SNMP trap example (right) in a monitored network.Ī Trap might tell you that a managed device is overheating, for example.

Simple snmp trap receiver