FAQ:Applications 25

OK, what should I put in snmp.conf?

This is used to set common configuration values for most of the applications, to avoid having to specify them every time. Examples include the SNMPv3 settings mentioned above, defaults for which MIBs to load and where from, and the default SNMP version, port and (if appropriate) the community string to use.

Some of these (such as the MIB file location), might belong in a shared snmp.conf file (typically /usr/local/share/snmp/snmp.conf or /etc/snmp/snmp.conf) to apply to all users of the system. Others (particularly the SNMPv3 security settings), are more likely to refer to a particular user, and should go in a personal snmp.conf file (typically $HOME/.snmp/snmp.conf).

Note that the Net-SNMP package does not come with an example 'snmp.conf' file. See 'snmpget -H' and/or the snmp.conf(5) man page for more details.

You can also use the "snmpconf" command to help you generate your snmp.conf configuration file (just run it and answer its questions).

   FAQ:Applications

1. How do I add a MIB?
2. How do I add a MIB to the tools?
3. Why can't I see anything from the agent?
4. Why doesn't the agent respond?
5. I can see the system group, but nothing else. Why?
6. Why can't I see values in the <ENTERPRISE> tree?
7. The agent worked for a while, then stopped responding. Why?
8. Requesting an object fails with "Unknown Object Identifier" Why?
9. Why do I get "noSuchName" when asking for "sysUpTime" (or similar)?
10. Why do I sometimes get "End of MIB" when walking a tree, and sometimes not?
11. How do I use SNMPv3?
12. Why can't I set any variables in the MIB?
13. Variables seem to disappear when I try to set them. Why?
14. Why can't I change sysLocation (or sysContact)?
15. I get an error when trying to set a negative value - why?
16. I get an error when trying to query a string-indexed table value - why?
17. How should I specify string-index table values?
18. How do I send traps and notifications?
19. How do I receive traps and notifications?
20. How do I receive SNNMPv1 traps?
21. Why don't I receive incoming traps?
22. My traphandler script doesn't work when run like this - why not?
23. How can the agent receive traps and notifications?
24. How big can an SNMP request (or reply) be?
25. How can I monitor my systems (disk, memory, etc)?
26. Applications complain about entries in your example 'snmp.conf' file. Why?
27. OK, what should I put in snmp.conf?
28. How do I specify IPv6 addresses in tools command line arguments?