Managing and monitoring SNMP-enabled network devices and printers

SECURITY  Permission to manage Sites and manage Devices

NAVIGATION  Sites > open a site > New Device

OIDs

Datto RMM SNMP monitoring relies on object identifiers (OIDs) to define the path through a device's OID tree to a managed object containing data to be monitored. OIDs follow a strict hierarchical pattern much like a computer directory structure; however, OIDs only use numbers to define a path.

EXAMPLE  In the screenshot below, an OID of 1.3.6.1.4.1.9 would navigate to the root of the private enterprise node for Cisco. (Source: Network Management Software)

Another way of visualizing the OID tree is in the form of a folder structure that looks similar to a file explorer.

EXAMPLE  The highlighted management object in the screenshot below would be referenced using the OID 1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2.1.8. (Source: Network Management Software)

MIB Browser

Datto RMM does not have inbuilt OID browsing functionality so a third party tool is required to discover OIDs before configuring SNMP monitoring. iReasoning MIB browser is a popular choice and has a free version with some functional limitations (versus the licensed versions).

Object types

Two types of SNMP managed objects exist:

• Scalar objects define a single object instance. In the examples in the OIDs section above, an OID is used to reference an SNMP management object directly, and it would return a single value.
• Tabular objects define multiple related object instances grouped in tables. Tabular objects can be visualized similarly to a spreadsheet or a database table:
  

The path to the root of the table is defined using an OID with additional numbers to indicate the row and column for which to retrieve data.

EXAMPLE  For example, in the screenshot above, if 1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2 is the OID used to reference the root of the table, then adding .4 would indicate row 4 (or index 4), adding .10 would indicate column 10, making it 1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2.4.10. This would retrieve the value 758125 for ifInUcastPkts highlighted in the table.

Datto RMM SNMP monitoring allows you to monitor both scalar and tabular objects. If the SNMP monitor definition OID is marked as a table, the Datto RMM Agent will check the table from the root to discover all available instances and apply separate monitors for each one discovered.

Each monitored instance will have its own alert status and treat any tickets raised in Autotask or ConnectWise PSA as separate entities if you have either of the integrations enabled.

To learn how to monitor your managed network devices using SNMP, refer to Configure an SNMP Monitor.

To be able to monitor your SNMP-enabled devices, you need to add them as Managed devices to one of your Managed sites.

One way to do it is to have a fully Managed Network Node device discover other devices for you. For further information, refer to Network discovery in the legacy UI and Network Discovery - New UI in the New UI.

However, if the network scanning of SNMP devices is disabled for your account, or you are unable to find your device in the list of discovered devices, you can add it manually in the legacy UI by following these steps:

1. Refer to the first few steps outlined in Downloading or emailing the Agent installer to navigate to the correct site.

NOTE  Network devices and printers can only be added to Managed sites.

2. Click the Network or Printer icon as required.

3. You will now be prompted with the Add a Network Device or Add a Network Printer window as per your selection in step 3.
   

4. Fill in the following details:

Field	Description
IP Address	Enter the IP address of your device.
Network Node	Select a Network Node device that will monitor your device. For more information about Network Nodes, refer to Network discovery in the legacy UI, and Network Node and Assigned Network Node in the New UI.
Device Type	Only available for network devices. Select one of the following device types: • Network Device (Firewall) • Network Device (IP Phone) • Network Device (NAS) • Network Device (Network Appliance) • Network Device (Other) • Network Device (Router) • Network Device (SAN) • Network Device (Switch) • Network Device (UPS)
Name	Give your device a meaningful name.
Description	Enter a meaningful description.
Manufacturer	Enter the name of the manufacturer of your device.
Model	Enter the model of your device.
New SNMP Credentials	Enter the SNMP credentials of your device. For information on what to enter, refer to the SNMP Credentials section in Account Settings and Site Settings in the legacy UI and SNMP credentials in the New UI.
Use Account/Site SNMP Credentials	Choose this option if you have SNMP credentials stored at the account or site level. The Site SNMP Credentials will be displayed in addition to the SNMP credentials specified in Account Settings unless this option is disabled in Site Settings. For information on how to store the SNMP credentials for the entire account or at the site level, refer to the SNMP Credentials section in Account Settings and Site Settings in the legacy UI and SNMP credentials in the New UI. You can also choose any of the Default SNMP Credentials (v1 and v2c, public) listed here.

5. Click Save. Your SNMP device is now added as a Managed device to your account.

Once a network device has been enrolled, you can start monitoring it. SNMP monitoring is performed through a Network Node.

For information on how to configure an SNMP monitor, refer to SNMP Monitor in the legacy UI and SNMP monitor in the New UI.

For information about how to create a monitoring policy, refer to Create a Monitoring policy in the legacy UI and Monitoring policy in the New UI.