How to Select an SNMP Trap Management System

Get more from your SNMP trap management system by selecting one with these key features...

• Complete Alarm collection and device management: Don't settle for a limited SNMP trap management system. Get multi protocol support for every monitoring device in your network in addition to SNMP, plus discrete alarms, analog alarms, ping alarms, and redundant path reporting.
• Alarm presentation and notification: Send detailed alarm descriptions and correction instructions to NOC and field techs via pager notifications and web interfaces.
• Alarm sorting and analysis: Make sense of alarm cascades with automatic intelligent alarm sorting, filtering, processing, and trend analysis.

Learn more about SNMP trap management product details and applications, select an option below...

Checklist: SNMP Trap Management Essentials

Here's a handy checklist of essential features you should look for in SNMP trap management. Print this checklist out and use it to rate the SNMP trap managers you're evaluating. If an SNMP trap manager can't meet these basic requirements, cross it off your list.

Critical alarm collection and device management functions

• Maintain a list of standing alarms
  SNMP trap management must maintain a list of standing alarms and not just log newly reported or acknowledged traps. Imagine what would happen to your network if a system operator acknowledged an alarm, and then failed to correct the alarm condition. Who would know the alarm was still standing? No one!
• Indicate cleared alarms
  Off the shelf SNMP trap managers don't correlate SNMP trap messages to an alarm condition or a clear condition.
• Best quality telemetry monitoring
  You'll have complete visibility of your entire network, not just the SNMP enabled devices, with tools such as notifications escalation, legacy protocol mediation, nuisance alarm silencing, automatic control relay operation, and automatic notifications by pager and e-mail.
• Detailed, precise alarm descriptions
  SNMP alarm monitoring systems should record the time, location, severity, and a precise description of alarm events
• Maintain System Security and Strict Accountability
  Advanced SNMP trap managers log each user by a unique id and automatically record user actions in a history log.
• Multi protocol support for your existing devices: Make sure your network monitoring system supports alarm collection from devices in addition to SNMP, including your older legacy gear. You can get rid of all your specialized consoles and monitor your network from one screen.

Essential alarm sorting and analysis functions

• Nuisance alarm filtering: Even the best NOC staff stops taking alarms seriously if they're bombarded with status alerts, oscillating conditions, and unimportant alarms. Look for an SNMP trap manager system that filters these out.
• Custom combination alarms: A low battery isn't a serious problem, and neither is a failed generator - but they're pretty serious when the happen at the same time. Look for an SNMP trap manager that can watch many different alarm inputs and spot critical alarm combinations.
• Root cause analysis: Finding the underlying cause between alarm cascades can take hours of patient detective work. Look for an SNMP trap manager that can automatically correlate repeated combinations of alarms.
• History and trend analysis: Identify problem areas and eliminate recurring problems with an SNMP trap manager system that keeps a complete alarm history that's exportable for trend analysis.
• Alarm sorting: A large, complex network can create a cascade of alarms. Some are unimportant, but others are critical. Look for an SNMP trap manager system that can automatically sort and prioritize this flood of information for you.

"All the network monitoring systems I make are backed by my no-risk, money-back guarantee. If you buy my equipment and you're not satisfied for any reason during the first 30 days, simply return it for a full refund. If my product doesn't solve your problem, I don't want you to have it." - Bob Berry, CEO, DPS Telecom

Key alarm presentation and notification functions

• Detailed alarm notifications: Summary "major/minor" alarms don't give you enough information to make dispatch decisions. Look for an SNMP trap management system that includes detailed diagnostic information in each alarm.
• Pager and e-mail notifications: Pager and e-mail notifications let your field techs respond to alarms while they're still in the field, speeding repairs and reducing windshield time. Look for an SNMP trap manager system with SMS support, which can send detailed alarm notifications to alpha pagers, cell phones, and PDAs.
• Web interface: Everybody knows how to use a Web browser. A Web interface makes sure all your field techs can access your alarm system, from any computer from any location.
• Alarm correction instructions: Detailed instructions included in alarm notifications ensure that system operators, without extra training, will know precisely what to do and who to call if an alarm happens.

This checklist can only cover the basic functions of high-quality SNMP trap management. For details on products, features or applications, select one of these options ...