How the SNMP agent and SNMP manager communicate

The SNMP agent and SNMP manager communicate using the Simple Network Management Protocol. Table 5 describes the requests and notifications exchanged between the SNMP agent and SNMP manager.

Table 5. Communication between SNMP agent and SNMP manager
Request or notification Description
Get The SNMP manager sends this request to the SNMP agent to get information about the device or one of its managed components.
GetNext The SNMP manager sends this request to the SNMP agent to get information about the component next to the one requested previously. This is used to iterate through a table of components.
GetBulk The SNMP manager sends this request to the SNMP agent to get an entire table of data.
Set The SNMP manager sends this request to the SNMP agent to set a configurable parameter in the managed devices. It is also used to start and stop components.
Trap A trap is an asynchronous notification sent by the SNMP agent to the SNMP manager when the status of a component in the managed device changes, and the SNMP manager has expressed interest in such status changes.

Copyright IBM Corp. 1997, 2004