SNMP inform request or response

Products

• Network Observability
• Spectrum

Issue/Introduction

Does Spectrum support SNMP inform request/response?

We got inform request but don't see responses? Any specific connectivity requirements. 

 

Environment

Spectrum 23.3.x / 24.3.x

Resolution

Yes Spectrum supports SNMP Inform requests. No specific configuration needed to handle inform requests, just make sure port 162 is open for SNMP Inform request and response. 

Sample Inform request and response as seen in packet capture:

If no response requests are seen in pcap( packet capture) check if the response going back to port 162 is being blocked. 

Additional Information

V3 Informs would require :

•  The sender to obtain the SpectroSERVERs snmp engine ID, engine time, and engine boot count values when sending the inform.
•  The SpectroSERVER to have an SNMPv3 profile to decrypt the packet in order to read and respond.

Note: Inform requests cause additional overhead on performance due to acknowledgements when compared to traps which is unidirectional and do not require acknowledgement.