SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is a widely implemented protocol for monitoring remote network equipment. The SNMPd Config tool makes it easy to configure and enable the Net-SNMP agent supplied with Mac OS X client.
For whatever reason you choose to monitor your system, the first step is to enable the SNMP agent software to respond to SNMP requests. Previously this required considerable UNIX know how to login as root and edit system configuration files. The SNMPd Config tool allows you to enter basic configuration data directly and then apply your settings with a simple point and click. You can start or stop the SNMP agent, configure the system to run it automatically in the background, tweak the configuration files, and then apply your changes for easy testing.
After entering any system information desired, you can start the SNMP agent by pressing "Start" in the upper left corner. The tool confirms whether snmpd was successfully started and will update the status at regular intervals any time the window is open.
You can then test the local SNMP server using the included SNMP Tool.
The SNMP agent has many other features you can configure by sectional area, or in a master template. When you press "Fill in Section", the SNMPd Config tool replaces lines tagged with "<IPNM>" markers with the corresponding configuration parameters. Other sections explain what they are for and how to test them like this:
Once you have configured disk monitoring for example, you can copy the string identifying the section of the MIB tree (.1.3.6.1.4.1.2021.9) to the SNMP Tool to see the result. We might do a "Find OID",
and then press Query.
You can disable individual section files by checking "Section Disable", or add your own section files in
/Library/Application Support/IPNetMonitorX/snmpd-sectionFile/
Similarly, you can edit the master configuration file (snmpd.conf) or add other files in:
/Library/Application Support/IPNetMonitorX/snmpd-templateFile/
The default master template simply includes the other sections.
Pressing "Show snmpd log" will open the Console.app to display the "snmpd.log" where the agent reports any problems it encounters.
You can update your settings while the agent is running by pressing Apply which will copy your settings to /etc/snmp/snmpd.conf and signal the agent to read the new settings.
The SNMPd Config tool makes it easy to enable and work with the Net-SNMP agent supplied with Mac OS X client.
The tool remembers your current settings between launches. Press Save to save the current templates to /Library/Preferences/IPNetMonitorX/snmpdConfigDictionary. You can also Revert to the prevously saved settings.
You can use the up/down arrow keys to move between sections.
Thanks for trying out the SNMPd Config tool. Please send comments or suggestions to psichel "at" sustworks "dot" com. You can learn more about Net-SNMP here:
<http://www.net-snmp.org/wiki/index.php/Tutorials>.
Enjoy!