Index


Overview

The Statseeker server monitors your network devices via:

  • ICP (Ping) – for reachability\availability
  • Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) – for configuration details, health metrics, device status, and details on the activity occurring on the device

SNMP credentials are configured on the device itself, and Statseeker needs to provide the correct credentials to communicate with the device via SNMP. There are 3 versions of SNMP available:

  • SNMPv2 – the default SNMP version used by Statseeker when attempting to communicate with a device
  • SNMPv3 – offers added security, encrypting all SNMP communications between the Statseeker server and the device
  • SNMPv1 – typically employed as a fallback when a device doesn’t support, or has trouble with, SNMPv2 communications

SNMP credentials are required for the Statseeker server to communicate with network hardware via SNMP. Some devices will have separate SNMP Credentials for read and write communications, Statseeker only requires SNMP read Credentials.

The Admin Tool’s SNMP Credentials page is used to manage the various sets of SNMP credentials in use in networks monitored by the Statseeker server. One or more sets of credentials can then be referenced to enable SNMP communications when running a:

  • Discovery, to identify devices on the network that will be SNMP monitored by Statseeker
  • Rewalk against devices that Statseeker is already monitoring, to update Statseeker on any configuration changes that have made on the device

[top]

Adding SNMP Credentials

To add a new set of SNMP credentials to your Statseeker server:

  • Select Admin Tool > Network Discovery > SNMP Credentials
  • Click Add

Note: a * indicates a required field. Required fields will vary depending on the specified values for SNMP Version, Authentication, and Privacy.
Field Description
Name The name of the credential configuration, referenced when selecting credentials to use with a given Discovery\Rewalk process
SNMP Version The SNMP version used when attempting to communicate with devices using this set of credentials, one of:

  • SNMPv1 – typically only used with devices that have difficulty communicating via SNMPv2
  • SNMPv2 – default protocol version
  • SNMPv3 – offers added security, encrypting all SNMP communications between the Statseeker server and the device
Community Requires SNMP Version = SNMPv1\2.

A plain-text string used to authenticate communications between the device and Statseeker.
Supported characters are alpha-numerics (a-z, A-Z, 0-9), hyphens (–), and underscores (_).

Note: most network devices are configured, by the manufacturer\vendor, with a default SNMP Community string of public.
Context Requires SNMP Version = SNMPv3.

The SNMP Context identifier, as specified on the device.
Authentication Requires SNMP Version = SNMPv3.
The authentication protocol used in SNMP communications, one of:

  • None
  • MD5
  • SHA1
  • SHA224
  • SHA256
  • SHA384
  • SHA512
Authentication > Username Requires SNMP Version = SNMPv3.
The authentication username.
Authentication > Password Requires SNMP Version = SNMPv3.
The authentication password.
Privacy Requires SNMP Version = SNMPv3.
The algorithm used to encrypt SNMP communications with the device, one of:

  • None
  • AES192
  • AES256
  • AES512
  • DES
  • DES3
Privacy > Password Requires SNMP Version = SNMPv3.
The privacy password.
  • Specify the credentials as required to communicate with devices on your monitored network
  • Click Save
Note: in some instances it may be more efficient to Copy and existing set of credentials and edit the copy, rather than creating a new set of credentials. To do this:

  • Select Admin Tool > Network Discovery > SNMP Credentials
  • Use the checkbox to select a single set of credentials and click Copy

This will populate the Add Credentials section with a duplicate of the selected configuration.

  • Update the credentials as required and click Save

[top]

Editing SNMP Credentials

To Edit a set of credentials:

  • Select Admin Tool > Network Discovery > SNMP Credentials
  • Use the checkbox to select a single set of credentials
  • Update the credentials as required and click Save

Note: changes made when editing credentials only apply to the Statseeker configuration, no changes are pushed\written to the devices currently monitored via these credentials.

If the credentials specified in Statseeker do not match those configured on the device:

  • SNMP monitoring of the device will not be available
  • Ping (ICMP) monitoring is not affected by incorrect SNMP credentials

[top]

Deleting SNMP Credentials

To Delete credentials:

  • Select Admin Tool > Network Discovery > SNMP Credentials
  • Use the checkbox to select the sets of credentials to be removed
  • Click Delete and confirm the action when prompted

[top]

Assigning SNMP Credentials to Devices

Statseeker assigns credentials to devices which respond to those credentials during an SNMP Discovery process. If these credentials are updated on the device, then Statseeker will be unable to communicate with the device (via SNMP) until the configuration is also updated on the Statseeker side.

There are a few options to update the SNMP credentials assigned to a known device:

  • Update the credentials currently assigned to the device, see Editing SNMP Credentials for details
    Note: this will update the credentials for all devices currently assigned to the updated credentials, and Statseeker will be unable to SNMP poll any devices requiring the old version of the credentials.
  • Run Discovery referencing valid credentials and targeting the updated device\s, see The Discovery Process for details
    • The default behavior is for Statseeker to iterate through the credentials specified for the Discovery, if a response is received from the device, then those credentials are assigned to the device for future communications
  • Assign valid credentials to the updated device\s independent of the Discovery process – this may be a faster, more efficient method in many instances

The 3rd option is presented here:

  • Select Admin Tool > Network Discovery > SNMP Credentials
  • If valid credentials do not currently exist on the server, add them, see Adding SNMP Credentials for details
  • Click Assign SNMP Credentials to Devices

  • Click to select the required credentials
  • Click Assign SNMP Credentials

The credentials will be assigned to the device\s and utilized by Statseeker in the next polling cycle.

[top]