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.

OidView by ByteSphere Technologies gives a holistic view into the key components of the network infrastructure. By using OidView we are able to not only trouble shoot the issues in the network, but also check the configurations of the devices.

By using iGRID we are able to easily check configurations which have been pushed out to our routers. Specifically, we are using iGRID to check configurations of our customer VLANS and new services we roll out. We do this by setting the customers name in the alias field of the router, and then correlate the customer name to the VLAN. By using iGRID we can easily see through the grid display which customer is configured on which VLAN. This also allows our operation center to simply identify which VLAN a customer is on if they call in with a connection issue. By using iGRID we have simplified our QA process of rolling out services and customers on the routers and cut the troubleshooting time down, by using the OidView’s iGRID technology.

The other powerful tool in OidView which we use regularly is the Cisco CBQ module. This component of OidView allows us to check the configuration of our Cisco routers QoS policies. As anyone who configures QoS on routers can tell you, it is always best to double check the configuration before passing customer traffic. Using the Class-Based-QoS module in OidView we are able to check different aspects of the QoS configurations on the routers. In today’s world or voice, video, and data, ensuring the proper classes are configured correctly, is the difference in whether or not a phone call goes through or your video comes through in a consistent stream. Using the CBQ module built into OidView allows us to ensure our customers are getting the appropriate services they have subscribed to in an easy to use GUI.

Between the iGRID and CBQ modules in OidView we are able to better service our customers by allowing our staff to graphically see the changes they are making on the routers. Being able to see the settings being pushed out to the routers in a simple and easy to navigate GUI has made our staff more productive and in result provided our customers with the best possible service.

While searching for a good IT administrative tool for managing switches and routers, I ran across OidView SNMP MIB Browser and Toolset by ByteSphere Technologies. OidView is a modular toolset that allows you to perform a variety of functions on the devices in your network, and it primarily uses SNMP communication to perform these tasks. Included in the toolset: are MIB Browser, a MIB Compiler, and MIB Manager, a performance OID poller, a programmable interface grid, an SNMP Trap Manager, a PDU Trace module, the ENTITY-MIB module, a notification module, the SNMP Testing module, and finally, a Subnet discovery module.

Of the most popular tools in this toolset are the MIB Browser, Interface Grid. The MIB Browser allows you to explore and administer different sections of the MIB on the target device. Most MIB Browsers are either too simple or complex, but OidView’s MIB Browser has an intuitive user-interface along with a user-friendly and patent-pending method of acquiring MIBs and loading them into the database. Couple this with in-grid editing capability and the simple way of looking up OIDs, sorting MIB objects and real-time result grouping and sorting capabilities, this MIB Browser clearly stands out from the crowd.

The interface grid is not simply a “switch-port” mapper that has become popular among other vendors. The tool has the ability to read in definitions for different technologies that have been modeled in XML - they can be displayed as layers of data interwoven into the grid. For example, a router running Frame Relay can show a serial port and then underneath that port show the DLCI (data link connection identifier) information. A simple double-click on a cell in a row will display real-time statistics for that port or the frame-relay DLCI. The same is possible with all sorts of other data, including ATM, DOCSIS cable interfaces, routing and bridging technologies, etc.