System information

354 Observer Suite: SNMP Management
Using the MIB Editor
The following number of definitions may help in navigating the MIB editor dialogs.
MIB
MIBs are text files that the creator of an SNMP agent provides to describe the variables
the particular agent keeps track of. These variables are called SNMP objects.
Often, in the context of SNMP, they are simply referred to as “objects.”
MIBs have a very specific structure for the organization of objects; any SNMP
management console (SNMP Management Console in this case) can use the MIB to form
queries of the SNMP agent on a specific device. MIBs are supplied by the manufacturer of
the device.
There are two logical sets of statistics that every agent (in theory) should keep track of:
• The standard MIB-2 (RFC1213) set or MIB-1 (RFC1066), and
• Any proprietary MIB(s) objects.
SNMP is structured this way so that each device can offer standard (MIB-1/2) data that
would be common between all network devices (e.g., packets in, packets out), and data
that is device-specific (like number of sheets printed on a network printer). MIB-2 is a
superset of MIB-1. Sometimes these two sets of MIB objects are combined into one MIB
file. Other times you may find that the manufacturer only provides you with a proprietary
MIB and expects you to use the RFCMIB-2 (or MIB-1) to view the standard data objects.
Unfortunately, there are manufacturers that only offer a subset of objects in the standard
MIB(s). In these cases, you can ask the agent for the objects that are missing, but the agent
will not respond.
All SNMP agents keep track of some or all of the objects in the standard
MIBs (MIB-1 or MIB-2). If you do not have access to a proprietary MIB for
your device, you may be able to get all the information you require from the
standard MIBs.
A Request File
A request file is built within SNMP Management Console to organize, group, and define
specific SNMP requests that may be made of an agent. Each request can be for one or
more SNMP objects, and the response to the request may be displayed in list, chart, table,
or form format. A number of request files come with SNMP Management Console, but in
general, request files are built by you to suit your specific needs with regards to the matrix
that your site needs to collect.
When SNMP Management Console polls an SNMP agent for information, a request
allows it to receive information about many different objects simultaneously. You can
create your own requests (or edit the requests provided) using the MIB Editor.