Technical data

162 FastIron Ethernet Switch Administration Guide
53-1002637-02
SNMP community strings
6
This chapter presents additional methods for securing SNMP access to Brocade devices. It
contains the following sections:
• “SNMP community strings”
• “User-based security model”
• “SNMP v3 configuration examples”
• “SNMP version 3 traps”
• “Displaying SNMP Information”
• “SNMP v3 configuration examples”
Restricting SNMP access using ACL, VLAN, or a specific IP address constitute the first level of
defense when the packet arrives at a Brocade device. The next level uses one of the following
methods:
• Community string match In SNMP versions 1 and 2
• User-based model in SNMP version 3
SNMP views are incorporated in community strings and the user-based model.
SNMP community strings
SNMP versions 1 and 2 use community strings to restrict SNMP access.
• The default read-only community string is “public”.
• There is no default read-write community string. You first must configure a read-write
community string using the CLI. Then you can log on using “set” as the user name and the
read-write community string you configure as the password.
You can configure as many additional read-only and read-write community strings as you need. The
number of strings you can configure depends on the memory on the device. There is no practical
limit.
NOTE
If you delete the startup-config file, the device automatically re-adds the default “public” read-only
community string the next time you load the software.
Encryption of SNMP community strings
The software automatically encrypts SNMP community strings. Users with read-only access or who
do not have access to management functions in the CLI cannot display the strings. For users with
read-write access, the strings are encrypted in the CLI.
Encryption is enabled by default. You can disable encryption for individual strings or trap receivers
if desired. Refer to the next section for information about encryption.
Adding an SNMP community string
The default SNMP community name (string) on a device is “public” with read only privilege.
You can assign other SNMP community strings, and indicate if the string is encrypted or clear. By
default, the string is encrypted.