POSTECH DP&NM Lab

Introduction to Internet
Network Management

J. Won-Ki Hong
Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering
POSTECH
Tel: 054-279-2244
Email: jwkhong@postech.ac.kr

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Table of Contents
• Background
– Origins of Internet
– Origins of Internet Network Management
– Evolution of SNMP
– SNMP Standards and RFCs

• SNMP Basic Concepts

– Network Management Architecture
– SNMP Protocol Architecture
– Proxies

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Internet Network Management

• Also referred to as SNMP-based Network Management
• Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is often
referred to as the Internet Network Management
Framework which includes
– management architecture
– structure of management information
– management protocol
– plus related concepts...
• Most widely used in computer communication networks
• Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is responsible
for SNMP standardization

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Origins of Internet
• ARPANET (formed by US DoD, 1969) connecting four
geographically separated computers in US
• 23 computers in ARPANET (1971)
• Computers in UK and Norway were connected (1973)
• TCP/IP protocol suite as ARPANET’s standard protocol
(late 70’s)
• TCP/IP as NFSNET’s standard protocol (1984)
• Continued growth throughout the 80’s and 90’s
– currently more than 40,000,000 nodes on the Internet
• Need for the management of rapidly growing Internet!

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Origins of Internet NM
• Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)
– until late 70’s, e.g., Ping utility
• Simple Gateway Monitoring Protocol (SGMP) - 1987
• High-level Entity Management System (HEMS)
– generalized version of Host Monitoring Protocol (HMP)
• SNMP
– enhanced version of SGMP
– an interim solution
• CMIP over TCP/IP (CMOT)
– long-term solution
– did not go very far

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Evolution of SNMP
• SNMPv1
– draft came out in 1988 and became full Internet standard in 1990
– most workstations, bridges, routers, switches and hubs are now
equipped with SNMP agent
– many resource MIBs (including systems & applications) have
been defined
• RMON (1995)
– Remote Monitoring, extends the SNMPv1 MIB and functions
• SNMPv2
– attempted to improve the deficiencies of SNMPv1
– Full Internet Standard
• SNMPv3
– internet drafts came out in Feb. 1998, adding security features
– now a full Internet Standard
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IETF Standardization Process

(RFC2026)
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2026.txt
• IETF forms a working group (WG) for a specific task
– WG generates one or more internet drafts (ID)
– ID document can follow one of three tracks
• (1) standards track, (2) informational, (3) experimental

• Internet documents are published as RFCs

• Internet Proposed Standard
• Internet Draft Standard
• Internet Full Standard
• Other status:
– Obsolete: a document that is replaced by an updated version
– Historic: a document that is retired
• The latest status on IETF NM RFCs can be found from
http://wwwsnmp.cs.utwente.nl/ietf/rfcs/rfcbystatus.html
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SNMP Protocol RFCs

Description Published RFC Status
SNMPv1 Protocol Aug. 1988 1067 Obsoleted by 1098

SNMPv1 Protocol (republished) Apr. 1989 1098 Obsoleted by 1157

SNMPv1 Protocol (republished) May 1990 1157 Historic

Secure SNMP Protocol July 1992 1352 Historic

SNMPv2 Protocol Operations May 1993 1448 Obsoleted by 1905

SNMPv2 Transport Mappings May 1993 1449 Obsoleted by 1906

SNMPv2 Protocol Operations Jan. 1996 1905 Draft Standard

(updated)
SNMPv2 Transport Mappings Jan. 1996 1906 Draft Standard
(updated)

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SNMPv1 Standards
Description Published RFC Status
Structure of Identification
of Management May 1990 1155 Full Standard
Information for TCP/IP-
based Internets (SMI)

Concise MIB Definitions Mar. 1991 1212 Full Standard

Management Information
Base for Network Mar. 1991 1213 Full Standard
Management of TCP/IP-
based Internet: MIB-II

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SNMP Full Standards

RFC Title
3418 Management Information Base (MIB) for the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)

3417 Transport Mappings for the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)

3416 Version 2 of the Protocol Operations for the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)

3415 View-based Access Control Model (VACM) for the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)

3414 User-based Security Model (USM) for version 3 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv3)

3413 Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) Applications

3412 Message Processing and Dispatching for the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)

3411 An Architecture for Describing Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) Management Frameworks

2819 Remote Network Monitoring Management Information Base

2580 Conformance Statements for SMIv2
2579 Textual Conventions for SMIv2
2578 Structure of Management Information Version 2 (SMIv2)
1643 Definitions of Managed Objects for the Ethernet-like Interface Types

1213 Management Information Base for Network Management of TCP/IP-based internets:MIB-II

1212 Concise MIB definitions

1155 Structure and identification of management information for TCP/IP-based internets

1065 Structure and identification of management information for TCP/IP-based internets

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SNMP NM Architecture
• The manager resides in Network
Management Station (NMS) while NMS
the agent resides in the managed MIB
Network Node Specification
• The manager requests the agent Manager
to perform Set and Get operations
SNMP
on the variables in the SNMP
Management information Base Agent
(MIB)
Agent
• By means of traps the agent MIB
occasionally notifies the manager Networked Node MIB
about some events related to Networked Node
network operation
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SNMP Protocol Architecture

NMS Host
Network Manager process Agent process User processes
Admin
SNMP Central SNMP FTP, etc
MIB
UDP UDP TCP

IP IP
Network-dependent
Network-dependent protocols
protocols

Host Router
Agent process User processes Agent process

SNMP FTP, etc SNMP

UDP TCP
Internetwork UDP

IP IP
Network-dependent
Network-dependent protocols
protocols

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The Role of SNMP

SNMP NMS SNMP agent
Management resources
Management application
SNMP managed objects
Application
manages objects
par T

par T
t se uqe Rt e G

t se uqe Rt e G
t se uqe Rt e S

t se uqe Rt e S
es nopse Rt e G

es nopse Rt e G
t se uqe Rt xe Nt e G

t se uqe Rt xe Nt e G
SNMP manager SNMP agent
SNMP messages
UDP UDP
IP IP
Network-dependent protocols Network-dependent protocols

network or
internet
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SNMP Proxy Agent

Proxy agent
Management station Mapping function Proxied device

Manager process Agent process Management

process

SNMP SNMP Protocol

architecture used
Protocol
by proxied device
UDP architecture used
UDP
by proxied device

IP IP

Network-dependent Network-dependentNetwork-dependent Network-dependent

protocols protocols protocols protocols

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Reading and Browsing

• Read Chapter 4 of the Textbook
• Visit and browse
– IETF Web site:
• www.ietf.org

– U. of Twente NM Web site:

• wwwsnmp.cs.utwente.nl/ietf/rfcs/rfcbystatus.html

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What will be covered next...

• Abstract Syntax Notation 1 (ASN.1)
• Basic Encoding Rules (BER)
• Structure of Management Information
• MIB Definitions
• Standard SNMP MIBs
• SNMP Operations
• Developing MIBs
• etc.

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