Overview

SNMP is a protocol that manages network devices, such as your E-series router. The goal of SNMP is to simplify network management in two ways:

By defining a single management protocol that can be used to manage any network device from any vendor.
This feature reduces the complexity of the network management application because the application does not need to support a large number of proprietary management protocols for the mix of vendors’ devices in the network.
By defining a single, consistent representation of managed information that is commonly deployed in network devices.
For example, SNMP uses a common form and semantics for interface statistics, a process that supports consistent interpretation and meaningful comparison.

SNMP is an application-level protocol that comprises the following three elements:

SNMP defines a client-server model in which a client (manager) obtains information from the server (agent) through two mechanisms:

A request/response protocol by which the client configures and monitors the server. In this instance, the information is solicited.
Asynchronous notifications (called traps) by which the server, on its own initiative, reports notable changes in the router’s status to the client. In this instance, the information is unsolicited.