SNMP Agent Form

Name

Name used to identify the SNMP agent. This name is the hostname of the node (as stored in the NNMi database). NNMi chooses the hostname of the parent node according to the criteria specified by your NNMi administrator.

NNMi follows a set of rules to dynamically generate the value stored in the NNMi database for each Node's Hostname. Click here for details.

• If the Node supports SNMP, NNMi requests the Hostname using the IP Address of the associated SNMP agent (the Management Address attribute value on the Node form).

  When the NNMi administrator chooses Enable SNMP Address Rediscovery  in the Communication Configuration:

  • If the SNMP Agent does not respond, NNMi checks for another Management Address to request the Hostname, and the Hostname could change.
  • If the SNMP Agent associated with the node changes, the Management Address and Hostname could change.

  When the NNMi administrator disables Enable SNMP Address Rediscovery  in the Communication Configuration, when the current management address (SNMP agent) becomes unreachable, NNMi does not check for other potential management addresses.

• If the Node does not support SNMP, no Management Address is available. NNMi requests a Hostname starting with the lowest IP Address associated with the node (a Discovery Seed value or an IP address value gathered from a neighboring device). NNMi uses the first Hostname provided. The Hostname might change during a future discovery cycle.

NNMi administrators can use NNMi property file settings to change the way NNMi determines Hostname values:

• nms-topology.properties file settings:
  If DNS is the source of the Node's Hostname, there are three choices. By default NNMi uses the exact Hostname from your network configuration. It is possible to change NNMi behavior to convert Hostnames to all uppercase or all lowercase.
• nms-disco.properties file settings:
  The Hostname is either requested from the Node's lowest loopback interface IP address that resolves to a Hostname or requested from the Node's designated Management Address (SNMP agent address). With either choice, when no IP address resolves to a Hostname, the IP address itself becomes the Hostname.

NNMi administrators only. Click here for more information.

Enables you to specify how NNMi determines the values of the editable Attributes within this instance of the SNMP Agent form.

When the node is first discovered, the SNMP Agent's Mode = Auto by default. NNMi discovers and monitors Nodes using the Communication Configuration settings. See Configuring Communication Protocol for more information.

IP address NNMi uses to communicate with this SNMP agent.

As an NNMi administrator, you can over-ride this setting and specify the management address on a per-node basis using the SNMP Agent Form. The IP address you enter must be a valid IP address for the associated Node. Also see the Mode attribute description.

If you are an NNMi administrator, you can also use nnmcomunication.ovpl to change the Management Address value and to view the SNMP Agent settings.

The NNMi administrator can specify an address or NNMi can dynamically select one. Click here for details.

(NNMi Advanced) The NNMi administrator specifies whether NNMi prefers IPv4 addresses, IPv6 addresses, or dual-stack (both) when selecting the Management Address.

1. NNMi ignores the following addresses when determining which Management Address is most appropriate:

   • Any address of an administratively-down interface.
   • Any address that is virtual (for example, VRRP).
   • Any IPv4 Anycast Rendezvous Point IP Address or IPv6 Anycast address.
   • Any address in the reserved loopback network range. IPv4 uses 127/24 (127.*.*.*) and IPv6 uses ::1.
   • Any IPv6 link-local address.
2. If the NNMi Administrator chooses Enable SNMP Address Rediscovery  in Communication Configuration, NNMi prefers the last-known Management Address (if any).

3. If the Management Address does not respond and the NNMi Administrator specifies Enable SNMP Address Rediscovery in Communication Configuration, NNMi uses the Communication Configuration settings for Management Address Selection. The NNMi Administrator chooses the order in which NNMi checks the following:

   • Seed IP / Management IP - If the NNMi Administrator configures a Seed, NNMi uses the Seed address (either a specified IP address or the DNS address associated with a specified hostname) only during initial Discovery. NNMi then requests the current Management Address (the address from which the node's SNMP Agent responds) and uses that IP address for all communication after initial discovery.
   • Lowest Loopback - If a node supports multiple loopback address, NNMi queries each loopback addresses, starting with the lowest number. NNMi uses the loopback address with the lowest number from which the SNMP agent responds (for example, 10.16.42.197 is a lower number than 10.16.197.42).
   • Highest Loopback - If a node supports multiple loopback address, NNMi queries each loopback addresses, starting with the highest number. NNMi uses the loopback address with the highest number from which the SNMP agent responds.
   • Interface Matching - The NNMi Administrator chooses which interface MIB variable NNMi queries to detect changes. NNMi can use the following MIB-II attribute values: ifIndex, ifName, ifDescr, ifAlias, or a combination of these (ifName or ifDescr, ifName or ifDescr or ifAlias). NNMi searches current database entries for information about the interface in this order: index, alias, name, and description. If multiple IP addresses are associated with the interface, NNMi starts by querying the lowest IP address and selects the first responding address in ascending order.
4. If no response, NNMi queries any remaining IP addresses in the node's IP address inventory, starting with the lowest number. NNMi uses the address with the lowest number from which the SNMP agent responds.

5. If no response, NNMi checks for any Mapped Address configured for one of the currently known addresses (see the Mapped Address column in the Custom IP Addresses view).

   The address represents a static Network Address Translation (NAT) pair's external IP address from the internal/external IP address pair. NNMi Administrators configure these pairs using the Overlapping IP Address Mapping form. NNMi uses this list of addresses starting with IPv4 from low to high, then IPv6 from low to high.

6. If no response, NNMi might be configured to repeat the sequence using SNMPv1, SNMPv2c, or SNMPv3 in the order specified by the NNMi administrator (Communication Configurations SNMP Minimum Security Level settings).
7. When all else fails, NNMi retains the last known Management Address (if any) and automatically changes the State of that SNMP Agent object to Critical.

This process is repeated during each Spiral Discovery cycle, and the Management Address can change. For example, NNMi's inventory of addresses for the node expands, or the current Management Address does not respond to SNMP queries due to network problems or node reconfiguration. The NNMi administrator can prevent changes to the management address using the Communication Configurations Enable SNMP Address Rediscovery  (disabled) or Preferred Management Address setting.

Protocol Version

Version of the SNMP protocol in use. NNMi supports versions SNMPv1, SNMPv2c, and SNMPv3.

Read Community String

The read community string value that was discovered for the selected SNMP agent.

Note the following:

• The read community string is an SNMPv1 or SNMPv2c password.
• The actual read community string is only visible if you are assigned to the NNMi administrator role.
• If you are an NNMi administrator, you can change this value for the selected SNMP Agent and its associated node.
• The NNMi administrator can also choose to make this value viewable (read only) to Level 2 Operators. If you are an NNMi administrator, see the "Maintaining NNMi" chapter of the Network Node Manager i Software Deployment Reference for more information.

Indicates whether this SNMP agent is set up for SNMP communication in your network environment.

When an agent is Disabled, any data previously reported by that agent is preserved in the NNMi database. Data reported by an Enabled agent is updated as new data is received.

UDP Port

User Datagram Protocol port configuration for this SNMP agent.

Default 161. Port NNMi is instructed to use when contacting this SNMP agent to collect SNMP data. Both the Discovery Process and the State Poller Service use this setting.

Applies only to SNMPv2 or higher. If you have devices in your network environment that have trouble responding to GetBulk commands, you can instruct NNMi to use Get or GetNext instead of GetBulk.

If  enabled, NNMi uses the SNMPv2c GetBulk command to gather information from devices in your network environment.

If  disabled, NNMi uses the SNMP Get or GetNext command to gather information from devices in your network environment (requesting responses for one SNMP OID at a time).

Prerequisite: The NNMi administrator must specify one or more SNMP Proxy Servers in the NNMi Communication Configuration settings.

The IP address of the server that is acting as the SNMP Proxy Server for this SNMP agent. Your NNMi administrator might have set up one or more SNMP Proxy Servers to enable communication with nodes that otherwise might be unreachable. For example, when a node to be managed is behind a firewall. The SNMP Proxy Server enables NNMi to manage these nodes in the same way as nodes that provide SNMP access directly.

Prerequisite: The NNMi administrator must specify one or more SNMP Proxy Servers in the NNMi Communication Configuration settings.

The port number on the server that is acting as the SNMP Proxy Server for this SNMP Agent. See SNMP Proxy Address (previous attribute) for more information.

Agent SNMP State

Indicates whether the SNMP agent is available and how NNMi is using SNMP to interact with this SNMP agent. Possible values are:

  Normal – Indicates that the agent responds to requests requiring authentication and login.

The following values indicate NNMi could not gather the required data:

  No Polling Policy - No polling policy exists for this monitored attribute.

  Not Polled - Indicates that this attribute is intentionally not polled, based on current Monitoring Configuration settings, current Communication Configuration settings, or because the parent Node is set to Not Managed or Out of Service. This object attribute might or might not have an associated polling policy.

  Not Provided — The device does not support providing information for this monitored attribute.

  Not Responding – Indicates that the SNMP agent does not respond to requests requiring authentication and login.

 Unavailable - The agent responded with a value outside the range of possible values or returned a null value.

  Unset – Currently not used by NNMi.

State is determined by the State Poller Service. The current state contributes towards the status calculation for the agent. See SNMP Agent Form: Status Tab for more information.

Indicates whether NMi is communicating with the management address. Possible values are:

  Responding – Indicates that the management address is being polled and is responding to an ICMP ping.

  Not Responding – Indicates that the management address is being polled, but is not responding to an ICMP ping.

  Not Polled – Indicates that this attribute is intentionally not polled, based on current Monitoring Configuration settings, current Communication Configuration settings, current polling policies, or because the parent Node is set to Not Managed or Out of Service.

The following values indicate NNMi encountered trouble while trying to gather the required data:

  No Polling Policy – No polling policy exists in Monitoring Configuration settings for this monitored attribute.

  Unavailable – Unable to determine the State. For example, the ICMP poll returned a value outside the range of possible values or returned a null value.

  Unset – Currently not used by NNMi.

NNMi's current Monitoring configuration settings must provide ICMP Fault Monitoring:  Enable Management Address Polling (default or node setting).

State is determined by the State Poller Service. The current state contributes towards the status calculation for the SNMP Agent. See the SNMP Agent Form: Status Tab for more information.

Indicates the State of the ICMP response time between the management server and the selected node. Possible values are:

  Nominal – Indicates the ICMP response time was between 0 and the configured High Value.

  Not Polled – Indicates that this attribute is intentionally not polled, based on current Monitoring Configuration settings, current Communication Configuration settings, current polling policies, or because the parent Node is set to Not Managed or Out of Service.

If thresholds are set, the following value is also possible:

  High – Indicates a higher than configured ICMP response time between the management server and the selected node.

The following values indicate NNMi encountered trouble while trying to gather the required data:

  No Polling Policy – No polling policy exists in Monitoring Configuration settings for this monitored attribute.

  Unavailable – Unable to determine the State. For example, the ICMP poll returned a value outside the range of possible values or returned a null value.

NNMi's current Monitoring configuration settings must provide ICMP Fault Monitoring:  Enable Management Address Polling (default or node setting).

Indicates the ICMP response time between the management server and the selected node is abnormal based on the computed baseline. Possible values are

  Not Polled – Indicates that this attribute is intentionally not polled, based on current Monitoring Configuration settings, current Communication Configuration settings, current polling policies, or because the parent Node is set to Not Managed or Out of Service.

Additional possible values include:

  Normal Range – Indicates State Poller collected values within the normal range when compared to the baseline data collected for the management address response time.

If baseline thresholds are set, the following value is also possible:

  Abnormal Range – Indicates State Poller has collected values outside the normal range when compared to the baseline data collected for the management address response time.

NNMi's current Monitoring configuration settings must provide ICMP Fault Monitoring:  Enable Management Address Polling (default or node setting).

State Last Modified

The date and time of the most recent update of any of the values in the SNMP Agent State attributes (in this table).

Node on which the SNMP Agent resides. This is the current value in NNMi’s database for the Name attribute of the host device. The value could be a DNS name, a MIB-II sysName, or an address (depending on how your NNMi administrator configured the discovery process).

Click the Lookup icon and select  Show Analysis or Open to display more information about the node.

Overall status for the current SNMP agent. NNMi follows the ISO standard for status classification. Possible values are:

  No Status

  Normal

  Disabled

  Unknown

  Warning

  Minor

  Major

   Critical

For information about how the current status was determined, see SNMP Agent Form: Conclusions Tab. Status reflects the most serious outstanding conclusion.

List of the last 30 changes in the status for the SNMP agent. This view is useful for obtaining a summary of the SNMP agent status so that you can better determine any patterns in behavior and activity.

Double-click the row representing a Status History. The Status History form displays all details about the selected Status.

The dynamically generated list of summary statuses for the SNMP agent that contributed to the current overall Status of the selected SNMP agent. Status is set by the Causal Engine.

Each Conclusion listed is still outstanding and applies to the current overall Status.

This view is useful for obtaining a quick summary of how the Status of SNMP Agent in the node contributes to the current Status of the SNMP Agent.

The Status value is correlated based on the most critical Conclusions.

Double-click the row representing a Conclusion. The Conclusion form displays all details about the selected Conclusion.

The following table describes the possible Conclusions that might appear for an SNMP Agent object.

A Y in the Incident? column indicates that the Conclusion results in an incident.

Critical Status Conclusions

Minor Status Conclusions

Warning Status Conclusions

Normal Status Conclusions

Associated Incidents

Table view of the incidents associated with the selected SNMP agent. These incidents are sorted by creation time so that you can view the incidents in chronological order. Use this view to determine which incidents are still open for the selected SNMP agent.

Double-click the row representing an incident. The Incident Form displays all details about the selected incident.

Created

Date and time the selected object instance was created. NNMi uses the locale of the client and the date and time from the NNMi management server.

This value does not change when a node is rediscovered. This is because the Node object is modified, but not created.

Last Modified

Date the selected object instance was last modified. NNMi uses the locale of the client and the date and time from the NNMi management server.

Note the following:

• When a node is rediscovered, the Last Modified time is the same as the Discovery Completed time. This is because the node’s Discovery State changes from Started to Completed.
• When a Node is initially discovered, the Last Modified time is slightly later than the Created time. This is because node discovery does not complete until after the Node is created.

ID

The Unique Object Identifier, which is unique within the NNMi database.

UUID

The Universally Unique Object Identifier, which is unique across all databases.