How to setup SNMP monitoring for Managed Ethernet Switches.

The N-Tron/Red Lion/Sixnet managed switches all support various versions of SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol). SNMP is a standard protocol that provides a great method for collecting information about managed devices on IP networks and to modify that information to change device behavior. A very common use of SNMP is to simply monitor your managed devices in various aspects.

APPLICABLE PRODUCTS

• 700/7000 Managed Switches
• NT5000 Managed Switches
• NT24k Managed Switches
• SLX Managed Switches

PRE-REQUISITES 

You will require a managed switch from any of the above products and a SNMP Manager, also known as a Network Management Station. In this example, we are using Zabbix, an enterprise-class open-source monitoring tool. The MIBs are available for download on the product page of your managed switch.

IN THIS ARTICLE

Switch Configuration

Depending on your switch, Configure the SNMP settings as matching the product families below. Click on the link below to jump to your product.

• 700/7000 Configuration
• NT5000 Configuration
• NT24k Configuration
• SLX Configuration

700/7000 Configuration

Skip other switch configurations: SNMP Manager

NT5000 Configuration

Skip other switch configurations: SNMP Manager

NT24k Configuration

Skip other switch configurations: SNMP Manager

SLX Configuration

SNMP Manager

1. Install your SNMP Manager. In this case we used Zabbix. Detailed installation instructions can be found linked below in Additional Information.
2. Create your host in Monitoring > Hosts, in this case it will be one NT5000 switch. Below is a simple host for SNMP data collection. 
   
   
    
3. SNMP reports numerical values for the most part. At a quick glance at your reporting dashboard, a bunch of numbers may not be easily decipherable. Most SNMP Stations allow you to map values to a string like so in Value Mapping under the Host. Later when you create your SNMP reports, you can select created value maps.
   
   
4. Once you have a host created, click on the name of the host and select Items in the resulting dropdown. We can create an SNMP agent Item that uses the OID for the up/down status of Port 1. In this same prompt, you can select the value map that you created earlier if you would like. To get further information on which OID you need for your use, an MIB walk with the MIB file will show some information for you.
   
   
    
5. To view your data, Monitoring > Latest data will show you the current polled SNMP information from your devices.
   
   

ADDITIONAL INFO

Zabbix | Zabbix: The Enterprise-Class Open Source Network Monitoring Solution

© HMS Networks AB 2022