What are credentials?
A credential in SNMP is an authentication key, often in the form of a community string, used to securely access and manage network devices. It verifies the legitimacy of requests and controls the level of access granted. There are three types of credentials used in SNMP - Version 1 (v1), Version 2 (v2c), and Version 3 (v3).
Let’s learn how you can set up credentials in SuperOps.ai
Setting up credentials
To set up credentials in SuperOps.ai,
Navigate to Modules > Network Monitor > Probes or Network Scans or Discovered Assets
Click the “Credential” button in the top right corner, as shown below.
3. On the Create Credentials page, give a name and description for the credential and choose a client and site with which you want the credential to be associated.
4. Under Protocol Configuration, you need to select the protocol of the credential. Currently, the SNMP protocol is supported.
5. Choose the type of credential - V1/V2C or V3 and enter the values required for the corresponding credentials.
6. SNMP V1/V2C uses the following credentials:
Read community: Password to access the device’s data. You cannot make changes to the device’s configuration with Read-Only credentials.
Write community: Password to Update the device’s configuration. You can retrieve information and make changes with Read-Write credentials.
SNMP Port (161, 162, 163): The SNMP ports facilitate communication between the Probe and the devices.
SNMP Timeout: This parameter specifies the maximum amount of time that the Probe is willing to wait for a response from the device after sending a request.
💡SuperTip: Recommended timeout is 5 to 7 seconds |
SNMP retries: This value determines how many times the Probe will attempt to resend a request if it doesn't receive a response within the specified timeout. After the specified number of retries, it will mark the device as a failed asset.
💡SuperTip: The recommended number of retry attempts is 1 or 2. |
📝Note: Within SuperOps, if you provide details exclusively for the Read-only community, it will be categorized as a V1 credential type. Conversely, when values are entered for both Read and Write communities, it will be designated as a V2 credential type.
7. SNMP V3 uses the following credentials:
User Name: A unique identifier for the probe.
Context Name: Used to differentiate multiple domains within a network.
Authentication Method (MD5, SHA): Verifies that the data received by the probe is not tampered with during transmission.
Encryption Method (DES, AES): Ensures that the transmitted data cannot be accessed by unauthorized agents.
8. Once you’ve filled in all the required values, click save to add the credential.
📝 Note: V1 credentials do not support the bulk-fetching of asset metrics. We recommend using newer credential types like V2 credentials to pull these metrics in bulk.