One of the most tedious things to do with respect to network management is to load in Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) Management Information Bases (MIBs) into a network management system (NMS). The NMS needs SNMP MIBs in order to be able to administer and manage devices. To explain how easy this can be with some of the newest snmp tools available, here we are focusing on how to compile and browse snmp mibs with OidView Professional MIB Browser.

OidView is one of the most comprehensive network tools we’ve ever seen, especially in the SNMP arena. Not only has it wrapped the traditional command line tools with a fantastic UI, but it has built in a certain amount of intelligence to make MIB compiling a snap. This network toolset has leaped light-years ahead of traditional snmp tools and MIB Browser platforms and takes the tedious nature out of snmp mib management.

First, if OidView determines that you need a MIB, it will attempt to perform a mib download automatically if it finds that the correct downloadable MIB is available online. If not, the user can give the MIB Manager a list of ASN.1 SNMP MIBs (drag and drop your files or multi-select from a file-selection dialog), and have OidView automatically determine the order in which to compile them. OidView does this by looking at the defined import modules in the textual SNMP MIB definition and makes sure that all import modules have been either compiled or loaded first before compiling the current snmp mib.

Second, if OidView determines that a MIB module is needed by the compiler but it cannot find it, it will ask the user to specify a search location for the MIB. If one is specified, OidView will use that location to automatically search for missing MIB modules. The user also has other options at his or her disposal like ignoring the import module to allow the compiler to continue, choosing another module instead (i.e. specify an alias), and even editing a MIB module at compile time to fix compilation errors!

Once all the MIBs are compiled and loaded into the system, OidView can then manage and administer any and all of your network devices. To browse the compiled MIB, simply right click on the MIB in the Manager or the MIB module list, and click “Browse MIB”. A traditional MIB Browser will appear, but in this case showing the MIB objects only from that specific compiled MIB. If so desired, you can point that browser at an agent as well to see and administer values. Otherwise, you can load that MIB into the default database or a session-based browser, and view it alongside all the other MIBs in the system.