SNMP polling of Symantec Encryption Management Server 3.3.2 cannot be performed using a community string

Products

• Encryption Management Server
• Gateway Email Encryption

Issue/Introduction

This article provides information on Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) polling mechanism of the Symantec Encryption Management Server 3.3.2 to authenticate, find faulty behavior or connection problems of client systems.

In Symantec Encryption Management Server 3.3.1 and earlier releases, a community string was used to authenticate clients. The community name acted as a password, allowing the network management application to poll the Symantec Encryption Management Server using SNMP v1 and SNMP v2c protocols, which were less secure and complex.

Resolution

Starting from Symantec Encryption Management Server 3.3.2, users should create and configure a unique SNMP username and password to enable the SNMP services from fault management servers. The client authentication and SNMP polling are performed using the SNMP v3 protocol that adds cryptographic security and authentication using SHA-1 function. Typically, SNMP v3 monitors the health and activity of Symantec Encryption Management Server and the client systems on which it is installed.

Starting from Symantec Encryption Management Server 3.3.2, support for SNMP v1 and SNMP v2c ends.