5.5. Supporting Software
Supporting software is a grab-bag
that includes all sorts of things that are used in conjunction with
the software packages listed earlier. Some of these packages can be
used to write standalone SNMP applications. The rest of this section
outlines several supporting software packages. Most of these are
freely available and can be used with little or no previous
experience.
Platforms
Unix, Windows NT, Mac OS
Pros
The Practical
Extraction and Report Language (Perl) is a versatile,
all-purpose scripting language that is the tool of choice for system
administrators and network engineers, among others. Both MRTG and
Cricket make use of Perl to perform their behind-the-scenes work.
Cons
Some people say that there are no cons to Perl. The most common
complaint about the language is that it's interpreted and not
compiled, like the C programming language.
Platforms
Unix, Windows NT, Mac OS
Pros
Supplies easy-to-use subroutines that give access to the core SNMP
functions. Widely tested, as it's the fundamental SNMP engine
for the MRTG package.
Cons
Doesn't seem to have a lot of market exposure.
Platforms
Most Unix platforms
Pros
Contains the core SNMP functions as well as a MIB compiler and
browser.
Cons
Functions could be a bit more streamlined and user-friendly.
Platforms
Unix, Windows 9x/NT
Pros
This library can be used to develop your own SNMP applications. The
library is very easy to use, once you figure it out. The nice thing
about the package is that it comes with the source code to commands
such as snmpget, snmpset, and
snmpwalk, which can be used to see how these sorts
of operations are accomplished.
Cons
The documentation on how to use the library is poor to the point of
nonexistence.
Platforms
Unix, Windows 9x/NT
Pros
This library provides identical functionality to the Net-SNMP C
library, except in Perl.
Cons
During installation, this module needs to have access to the Net-SNMP
C library in order to work properly.
Platforms
Unix, Windows NT
Pros
A simple set of modules that can be
used to manage 3Com SuperStack II 3900/9300 and CoreBuilder 3500 LAN
switches. This can be a good start for management on a budget.
Cons
The functionality is limited.
Platforms
Unix (Linux, HP-UX, and Solaris), Windows
Pros
If you need to use C++
for SNMP application development, this is the package to get. You can
create powerful applications with minimal programming. This library
has been released into the open source community and is freely
available.
Cons
Requires knowledge of C++.
Platforms
Unix, Windows NT
Pros
An
event-correlation and deduplication engine, used to cut down on the
management events that traditional NMS platforms tend to generate by
showing the end user only what she needs to know to fix network
problems. It is designed to receive events from NMSs such as OpenView
or NerveCenter, but it can receive events from almost any kind of
management source. Micromuse sells probes that can interface with
everything from popular NMS platforms to telephone switch equipment.
Cons
Requires a bit of initial setup (but after that it's easy to
use and maintain).
Platforms
Windows 95/NT
Pros
Easy to use and can be configured to perform actions on received
traps.
Cons
Doesn't run on any flavor of Unix.
 |  |  | | 5.4. Trend Analysis |  | 6. Configuring Your NMS |
Copyright © 2002 O'Reilly & Associates. All rights reserved.
|