Documentation

SNMP Checks

About SNMP

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is commonly used for monitoring managed network devices like routers, printers, and servers. When enabled on the target device, it allows you to track things like server load, CPU utilization, available RAM, disk space, and network utilization. You can also see when devices have rebooted by tracking uptime if supported by your device.

NodePing's SNMP checks support SNMPv1 and SNMPv2c and can track and alert on numeric OID return values, comparing them to a range. If the return value is less than or greater than your configured range, the check will fail and alerts will be sent.

Example OIDs:

  • 1 minute Load: 1.3.6.1.4.1.2021.10.1.3.1
  • Total RAM Free in KB: 1.3.6.1.4.1.2021.4.11.0
  • Percentage of user CPU time: 1.3.6.1.4.1.2021.11.9.0
  • System Uptime: (1/10 seconds since last start) 1.3.6.1.2.1.1.3.0
Please see your device's documentation for available OID information.

When to use SNMP Checks

NodePing's SNMP checks are commonly used to track things like CPU usage, load averages, uptime, and available RAM.

Using SNMP Checks

To set up an SNMP check,

  1. Select SNMP from the Check type drop down.
  2. Give it a friendly label to identify this check in lists and notifications.
  3. Enable Automated Diagnostics if you'd like detailed technical info about the failure that may help you troubleshoot a failure.
  4. Set how often you want the check to run on the Check Frequency field - as frequent as once every minute.
  5. Set the hostname or IP address of the server or device.
  6. Optionally set the UDP port to access your SNMP services on. Defaults to 161
  7. Choose the SNMP version to access your device from the dropdown. Defaults to SNMPv1.
  8. Optionally set the SNMP community indicator. Defaults to 'public'.
  9. In the OIDs to check section, add your OID (no leading dot) and set Minimum and Maximum values as integers or floats (examples: -1, 0, 234985, 1.653)
  10. Add more OID lines to track by clicking the Add another field link.
  11. Set a time out. The default 5 seconds works fine for most situations.
  12. Set the Sensitivity. High is usually appropriate.
  13. Set the notifications for this check. More information about notifications.

Common usage:
To monitor numeric values from SNMP-enabled devices.

Other considerations

Your SNMP services must be reachable by our probes. This may require opening UDP port 161 on your firewall - use at our own risk.

Only SNMPv1 and SNMPv2c are supported.

If you have any questions, get in touch at support@nodeping.com, or use our Contact form.