Integrated Network Monitoring Software to Monitor Both SNMP and Non-SNMP Devices

Don't rely on an off-the-shelf SNMP manager for mission-critical telemetry

You want visibility of all your remote sites at once, not separate systems for non-SNMP and SNMP equipment. Then you can use your SNMP manager where it does best: network inventory and drilling down for specific equipment problems.

Don't use an SNMP manager for fault management and network alarm notification. It's missing seven critical functions for this task. Unless you have everything reporting to one system, you won't have complete visibility. This is the role that integrated network monitoring software was designed for.

Make sure your SNMP network monitoring software supports essential telemetry functions before you commit to it

If you're integrating non-SNMP network monitoring software with an SNMP-based network monitoring system or switching from traditional telemetry, an off-the-shelf SNMP manager won't provide the visibility you're expecting.

There are seven critical functions for integrating SNMP and non- SNMP network monitoring software. Your SNMP monitoring implementation will be successful only if it supports all seven functions.

7 essential functions of SNMP network monitoring software

1. View local and regional alarm groups
   Advanced SNMP network monitoring software will allow you to organize alarms by logical groupings. You can post the same alarm to multiple logical groupings or sort which alarms the user wants to see.
2. Identify cleared alarms
   Off-the-shelf SNMP managers don't correlate SNMP Trap messages to a clear condition or an alarm condition.
3. Maintain a standing alarm list
   Your SNMP manager 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 is still standing? No one!
4. Complete, precise alarm descriptions
   SNMP network monitoring software should record the time, location, severity, and a precise description of alarm events.
5. System operator identification and login
   Your SNMP network monitoring software must log the identity of the system operator who acknowledges an alarm. In the example of the negligent system operator, it would be impossible to determine who had made the mistake or to assign responsibility for the resulting problems.
6. Maintain Strict Accountability and System Security
   An advanced SNMP alarm monitoring system tracks each user by a unique id and automatically record user actions in a history log.
7. 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.

Learn more about software to integrate network monitoring of your SNMP and non-SNMP systems