HP 3PAR StoreServ Concepts Guide: HP 3PAR OS 3.1.3

13 HP 3PAR SNMP Infrastructure
Overview
In addition to managing the system with the HP 3PAR Management Console and the HP 3PAR CLI,
the HP 3PAR OS includes a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent that allows you
to perform some basic management functions by running network management software on a
management station. These SNMP management functions require that you have SNMP management
software not provided by HP.
About SNMP
SNMP is a structured management interface used by many software frameworks to manage
hardware devices. SNMP requires two components: an agent and a manager. The manager is
the management process that sends requests to the agent. The host that the manager runs on is
called the management station.
SNMP Managers
There are four types of requests that an SNMP manager can send to an agent:
• SET. The SET request writes an object value in the agent. The SET request includes the object
ID and a new value for the object. The agent changes the value of the object and saves it in
the persistent store. Not all objects are changeable. The management information base (MIB)
contains access information.
• GET. The GET request reads an object value in the agent. The GET request includes the object
ID to be retrieved. The agent returns the value of the object.
• GETNEXT. The GETNEXT request reads the object instance that is next in lexicographical order
to the object ID in the request. For example, if the object ID specified in the request is
.12925.0, the returned object ID should be .12925.1, if it exists.
• GETBULK. The GETBULK operation is an optimization of the GETNEXT operation that allows
multiple instances of objects to be returned.
In addition, the manager can register with the agent to receive notifications (traps) for critical events
(alerts) and alert state changes. Before an SNMP manager can receive the traps generated by the
SNMP agent, you must register your manager with the agent. See “Using the HP 3PAR SNMP
Infrastructure” in the HP 3PAR Command Line Interface Administrator’s Manual for instructions on
registering an SNMP manager with the SNMP agent.
The HP 3PAR SNMP Agent
The HP 3PAR SNMP agent runs on the system and provides a management interface to enable
other software products to manage HP hardware using SNMP. The SNMP agent responds to GET,
SET, GETNEXT, and GETBULK SNMP requests and generates traps for alerts and alert state changes.
The SNMP agent converts all system alerts and alert state changes into SNMPv2 traps and forwards
them to all SNMP management stations that are registered with the agent. These notifications,
which contain detailed information that describe critical events, are generated for every alert and
alert state change issued by the system. The exact message formats are described in the HP 3PAR
MIB. See the Using SNMP chapter in the HP 3PAR Command Line Interface Administrator's Manual
for instructions on locating this file.
Overview 75