NerveCenter^TM 3.8: Node Classification - Contents - The Need for Node Classification -
Node Classification      How NerveCenter Classifies a Node

The Need for Node Classification

Every SNMP agent residing on a network device is represented by a corresponding node object in NerveCenter database. Attributes of the agent, such as IP address, port number, SNMP version, and other attributes known to NerveCenter, are stored as properties of the corresponding node object in NerveCenter database. Whenever NerveCenter needs to communicate with any SNMP agent it monitors, it uses the required attributes from the corresponding node object in its database. When communicating with any SNMP agent, NerveCenter constructs an SNMP version-specific message based on the node's version information available in the NerveCenter database. Similarly, when receiving a message from a known agent, NerveCenter uses the version information available in the corresponding node object in its database to decide whether to process the message. To communicate with the agent on a managed device, NerveCenter must use the same SNMP version configured at the agent.

Many SNMP agent implementations available in the market support multiple versions of SNMP. Today's more complex enterprise networks are expected to have agents from multiple vendors supporting varied combinations of SNMP versions. A sophisticated network management product like NerveCenter, therefore, must provide a way to specify the SNMP version to be used when communicating with each of these agents. In very large networks, specifying this version information manually for each device quickly becomes an unmanageable task.

NerveCenter can classify nodes automatically based on SNMP version implementation on the corresponding agent, or you can manually classify nodes on a case-by-case basis. Finally, NerveCenter lets you specify the SNMP version to use when NerveCenter communicates with the SNMP agent.