3.11 SNMP Configuration

The ReadyEdge Supports Simple Network Messaging Protocol (SNMP) v1, v2c, and v3. Each version can be enabled and disabled independently. Later versions tend to improve performance and increase security.

Enable the SNMP version(s) needed to support your network.

 NOTE: Due to protocol limitations in v1 and v2c, you must enable and use SNMP v3 to monitor more than one Connected Product.

The full details of SNMP community strings are beyond the scope of this document, but they are basically a simple form of authentication and authorization. The SNMP client, when reading data, must provide the read community string; likewise, when writing data, it must provide the write community string. Default community strings are shown in the screenshot above.

 WARNING: The SNMP protocol sends community strings in plain text, offering very limited security. For improved security, use SNMP v3 with authentication and privacy passwords.

These are security and authentication settings specific to SNMP v3 (if enabled).

Custom Engine ID

You should almost always use the default Engine ID, but if you are cloning the same control configuration to many controls, the SNMP specification dictates that the Engine ID must be unique for each "administrative domain" so you would have to set a different Engine ID for each cloned control. Defining a Custom Engine ID also resets the SNMP boot count and erases any existing users and passwords. Setting an empty (blank string) Custom Engine ID triggers a reset to the default Engine ID.

Users

Define up to 5 users, using the same settings you will use in your SNMP client. Choose an authentication password hash algorithm and password, and an encryption algorithm and password. It is strongly recommended to use both an authentication password and a privacy password.