Section 1.5. Getting More Information
1.5. Getting More InformationGetting a handle on SNMP may seem like a daunting task. The RFCs provide the official definition of the protocol, but they were written for software developers, not network administrators, so it can be difficult to extract the information you need from them. Fortunately, many online resources are available. A good place to look is the SimpleWeb (http://www.simpleweb.org). SNMP Link (http://www.SNMPLink.org) is another good site for information. The Simple Times, an online publication devoted to SNMP and network management, is also useful. You can find all the issues ever published[*] at http://www.simple-times.org. SNMP Research is a commercial SNMP vendor. Aside from selling advanced SNMP solutions, its web site contains a good amount of free information about SNMP. The company's web site is http://www.snmp.com.
Another great resource is Usenet news. The newsgroup most people frequent is comp.dcom.net-management. Another good newsgroup is comp.protocols.snmp. Groups such as these promote a community of information sharing, allowing seasoned professionals to interact with individuals who are not as knowledgeable about SNMP or network management. Google has a great interface for searching Usenet news group at http://groups.google.com. There is an SNMP FAQ, available in two parts at http://www.faqs.org/faqs/snmp-faq/part1/ and http://www.faqs.org/faqs/snmp-faq/part2/. Cisco has some very good papers on network management, including "Network Management Basics" (http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/ito_doc/nmbasics.htm) and "Change Management," from which Figure 1-2 and Figure 1-3 were drawn. Also, Douglas W. Stevenson's article, "Network Management: What It Is and What It Isn't," available at http://www.itmweb.com/essay516.htm, provides important background material for all students of network management. With that background in mind, Chapter 2 delves much deeper into the details of SNMP. |
EAN: 2147483647
Pages: 165