What is SNMP?

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is a networking protocol used for the management and monitoring of network-connected devices in Internet Protocol networks. The SNMP protocol is embedded in multiple local devices such as routers, switches, servers, firewalls, and wireless access points accessible using their IP address. SNMP provides a common mechanism for network devices to relay management information within single and multi-vendor LAN or WAN environments. It is an application layer protocol in the OSI model framework.

Typically, the SNMP protocol is implemented using the User Datagram Protocol (UDP). UDP is a connectionless protocol that works like the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) but assumes that error-checking and recovery services are not required. Instead, UDP continuously sends datagrams to the recipient whether they receive them or not.