Specifications

VMware, Inc. 231
Chapter 7 Using SNMP with ESX Server
! Set!up!appropriate!community!names!in!the!management!software.!These!must!
correspond!to!the!values!set!in!the!master!SNMP!agent’s!configuration!file,!for!
example,!rocommunity,!trapcommunity,!and!trapsink.
! Load!the!ESX!Server!MIBs!into!the!management!software!so!you!can!view!the!
symbolic!names!for!the!ESX!Server!variables.!You!can!find!the!MIB!files!on!
VMware!ESX!Server,!in!the!/usr/lib/vmware/snmp/mibs!directory.
Configuring SNMP Security
The!ESX!Server!SNMP!package!takes!the!simplest!approach!to!SNMP!security!in!the!
default!configuration.!It!sets!up!a!single!community!with!read‐only!access.!This!is!
denoted!by!the!rocommunity!configuration!parameter!in!the!configuration!file!for!the!
master!snmpd!daemon,!snmpd.conf!which!is!set!up!for!you!by
!running!snmpsetup.sh!
default.
By!design,!SNMP!is!not!a!secure!protocol,!and!the!community‐based!security!model!is!
a!retrofit!to!the!protocol.!Other!enhancements!to!the!SNMP!security!mechanism!allow!
an!administrator!to!set!up!a!more!elaborate!permissions!scheme.!See!the!
snmpd.conf(5)!man!page!for!details.!
Using SNMP with Guest Operating Systems
To!use!SNMP!to!monitor!guest!operating!systems!or!applications!running!in!virtual!
machines,!install!the!SNMP!agents!you!would!normally!use!in!the!guest!operating!
systems.!No!special!configuration!is!required!on!ESX!Server.
The!virtual!machine!uses!its!own!virtual!hardware!devices.!Do!not!install!in!the!virtual!
machine!
agents!intended!to!monitor!hardware!on!the!physical!computer.
VMware ESX Server SNMP Variables
The VMware enterprise tree consists of several groups and is located at
.iso.dod.org.internet.private.enterprises.vmware. (.1.3.6.1.4.1.6876.)
The!variables!in!each!group!appear!in!the!tables!below.
The!data!type!field!refers!to!the!SNMP!type!described!by!the!structure!of!management!
information!(SMI).
vmware.vmwSystem
This!group!consists!of!three!variables!providing!basic!information!about!the!system.
NOTE All!variables!are!read‐only.!