Simple Network Management Protocol

The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) protocol for monitoring and managing systems and devices in a network. Functions supported by the SNMP protocol are the request and retrieval of data, the setting or writing of data, and traps that signal the occurrence of events.

SNMP is a protocol that enables a management application to query information from a managed device. The managed device has software running that sends and receives the SNMP information. This software module is usually called the SNMP agent.

An SNMP management application can read information from an SNMP agent in order to monitor the device that the SNMP agent is running on. Therefore, the device needs to be polled on an interval bases. The SNMP manager can also change the configuration of a device, by setting certain values to corresponding variables. A device can also be set up to send a notification to the SNMP manager (this is called a trap) to asynchronously inform this SNMP manager of a status change.

Depending on the existing environment and organization it is very likely that your environment already has an SNMP management application in place. IBM Spectrum® Control can be set up to send traps.

SNMP uses a hierarchical structured Management Information Base (MIB) to define the meaning and the type of a particular value. A MIB defines managed objects that describe the behavior of the SNMP entity, which can be anything from an IP router to a storage subsystem. The information is organized in a tree structure.

For users planning to make use of the IBM Spectrum Control SNMP trap alert notification capabilities, an SNMP MIB is included in the server installation.

The MIB is provided for use by your SNMP management console software. Most SNMP management products provide a program called a MIB compiler that can be used to import MIBs. This will allow you to view IBM Spectrum Control generated SNMP traps from within your management console software. Refer to your management console software documentation for instructions on how to compile or import a third party MIB.

For a Cisco switch to successfully receive and respond to queries from IBM Spectrum Control, the following basic requirements must be met:
  • IBM Spectrum Control can use SNMPv3 (preferred) or SNMPv1 to probe switches and fabrics. The SNMPv3 protocol is preferred because it provides better security, but switches that use the SNMPv1 protocol are also supported. Some switches are configured to use SNMPv3 by default.
  • The Fibre Alliance FC Management MIB (FA MIB) and Fibre Channel Fabric Element MIB (FE MIB) must be enabled on the switch.
  • When you use the SNMPv1 protocol, the community string that is configured in IBM Spectrum Control must match one of the community strings that are configured on the switch with read access. Additionally, Cisco switches must have a community string match for write access. The default community strings in IBM Spectrum Control are public for read access and private for write access. Other community strings can be defined on the switches, but are not used. Community strings are not relevant when you use the SNMPv3 protocol.
  • SNMP access control lists must include the IBM Spectrum Control system. These access control lists are defined and configured on the switches. Some lists automatically include all hosts, while others exclude all by default.
  • The Fibre Channel (FC) or Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) protocols must be enabled on the switch. Some switches, such as the Cisco Nexus 5000 series, require you to enable these protocols. Otherwise, IBM Spectrum Control does not recognize the switch when you try to add it using the Add Switches and Fabrics for Monitoring dialog. For instructions on how to configure Cisco switches for FCoE enablement, go to the Cisco product website at http://www.cisco.com and click Support.

IBM Spectrum Control uses port 162 to listen for SNMP traps. This is the default port. For switches, you must configure the switch to send SNMP traps to the Device server IP address. If you need to change the default port number, use the setdscfg command. The attribute to set is SNMPTrapPort.

System administrators must set up their SNMP trap ringer with the provided MIB files in order to receive SNMP traps from IBM Spectrum Control. These files are located in the following directories on the product installation DVD:

For the Data server:
data\snmp\tivoliSRM.mib
For the Device server :
device\snmp\fabric.mib