Without Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), network administrators might have to actually get out of their chairs and go see what's up with all of the network-connected equipment under their authority. Perish the thought. Essential SNMP explains how the management protocol works and how it's implemented by several operating systems and pieces of equipment. More importantly, this book shows its reader--who should be a network administrator who's familiar with the problems of running a distributed network--how SNMP can earn its place as a network administration tool. In other words, this book examines SNMP as a strategic resource as well as a technical phenomenon.

Because it's oriented toward SNMP as a tool, much of the coverage in this book has to do with software that uses SNMP to provide network monitoring and control services. After a strengths-and-weaknesses overview of a number of SNMP packages, the authors use mainly HP OpenView, Castle Rock SNMPc, and Net-SNMP (the last in combination with Perl scripting) to demonstrate how SNMP works and how to take advantage of it. It's the scripting that really distinguishes this book from other SNMP books, by the way. It's integral to the authors' presentation, and the latter half of this book is packed with shell and Perl listings. --David Wall

Topics covered: Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and its applicability as a network management tool. Details like object identifiers (OIDs), management information bases (MIBs), traps, and community strings are defined and explained. The configuration of SNMP agents is detailed for several software packages and operating systems, and the integration of SNMP and scripts (in shell languages and in Perl) is covered nicely. --This text refers to the Paperback editio