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Installing and configuring SNMP in Windows Server 2008

You can add the SNMP service through the Add Features wizard.

The following parts describe how to configure the SNMP service (set community names and other tasks). You can manage the SNMP service through the properties for the SNMP service. You can access the service through the Services console in theAdministrative Tools folder or through the Services snap-inin the Computer Management console.

Configuring agent properties

After installing the SNMP service, you need to configure agent properties, which contains general information such as who is responsible for managing the agent host and the types of services with which the agent will interact on the computer.

Right-click the SNMP service in the Services console and choose Properties to open the properties for the SNMP Service, or select the service and choose Action and then Properties to display the service’s property sheet. The General, Log On, Recovery, and Dependencies pages are the same as for other services. Click the Agent tab to configure the following agent properties:

1) Contact: Specify the name of the person responsible for managing the host computer.
2) Location: Specify the physical location of the computer or the contact’s location or other information (phone number, extension, and so on).
3) Physical: Select this option if the agent host manages physical hardware such as hard disk partitions.
4) Applications: Select this option if the agent uses any applications that transmit data using the TCP/IP protocol.
5) Datalink and Subnetwork: Select this option if the agent host manages a bridge.
6) Internet: Select this option if the agent host is an Internet gateway.
7) End-to-End: Select this option if the host uses IP. This option should always be selected.

Configuring traps

Use the Traps tab of the SNMP service to configure computers to which the SNMP service sends traps. From the Community Name drop-down list, select the community for which you want to assign a trap destination. If you have no communities set yet, type the community name in the combo box and click Add to List. Then, click Add to display a simple dialog box in which you can specify the host name, IP address, or IPX address of the remote computer to receive the trap notification. Repeat the process to add other trap destinations as needed.

Configuring security

Use the Security tab of the SNMP Service’s properties to configure the communities in which the agent participates and optionally a list of hosts from which the agent accepts SNMP packets. By default, the agent accepts packets from all hosts. This presents a security risk, however, so take care to configure security settings to permit SNMP traffic only from authorized hosts. The Security page includes the following options:

1. Send Authentication Trap: Select this option to have the agent send a message to all trap destinations if the agent receives an SNMP request from a host or community not listed in the ‘‘Accepted community names’’ list or the ‘‘Accept SNMP packets from these hosts’’ list. The message is sent to all hosts in the trap destination list on the Traps property page to indicate that a remote management system failed authentication (potentially indicating an unauthorized access attempt).

2. Accepted Community Names: Use this list and the related buttons to alter the list of communities in which the agent participates and the community rights for each. You can select from the following rights:

a) None: This option prevents the agent host from processing any SNMP requests from the specified community. For instance, you may configure None for the Public community for enhanced security.

b) Notify: Select this option to permit the agent host to send traps only to the selected community.

c) Read Only: Use this option to permit remote consoles to view data in the local MIB but not change it. This option prevents the agent from processing SNMP SET requests.

d) Read Write: Use this option to permit remote consoles to make changes on the managed system. This option allows the agent to process SNMP SET requests.

e) Read Create: Use this option to permit the agent to create new entries in the SNMP tables.

3. Accept SNMP Packets from Any Host: Select this option to permit the agent to process requests from all hosts in the ‘‘Accepted community names’’ list.

4. Accept SNMP PACKETS from These Hosts: Select this option to define a specific list of hosts from which the agent will process SNMP requests.