Network managers advised to dump SNMP

Network managers don't stand a chance of achieving 99.9 per cent uptime if they don't get rid of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), according to industry experts.

One of the main drawbacks of the SNMP model is that it requires a compatible agent to be installed on every component in the network and constant management.

SNMP was designed in the 1980s when a local area network was a physical cable running around a room. Its critics say it is slow, outdated and doesn't accommodate the changes that have occurred to networks since its design.

Its worst fault seems to be that while monitoring the network, it occupies plenty of bandwidth, clogging up the system that it is trying to manage.

However, UK software company Chevin has come up with a protocol which minimises the amount of inter-network traffic flow when monitoring a network.

Chief executive John Earley argues that by relying on the SNMP standard, network managers are compromising service levels. "It's ridiculous that state-of-the-art management platforms and reporting tools depend on an architecture defined in the 1980s. Would you buy a V.32 modem or a 286 PC running DOS applications?"

He questioned how a network can be managed if it cannot be seen, but admitted that SNMP has its uses. "SNMP won't disappear. It has validity but is not the platform for round-the-clock availability."

The difference between the adaptation of SNMP, remote monitoring (Rmon) and Chevin's protocol HSRmon (high speed) is that Rmon reports the entire conversation over a network every time, while HS-Rmon just sends the changes, preserving bandwidth.

HSRmon is software, while with Rmon you have to buy a dedicated piece of hardware which Earley claims the Bank of England would struggle to afford.

Steve Broadhead, director of analyst firm NSS Group, said that SNMP provides very limited information and is massively inefficient.

"Network managers still have SNMP, though it's horribly outdated and hopeless for a service provider network. In terms of efficiency, there is a 2000 per cent reduction in the amount of traffic with the HS-Rmon protocol," he said.

"Ironically, by using SNMP, network managers could be bringing down the network by trying to monitor it," he added.