Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) provides a standardized method for monitoring the status and health of network-connected devices. On Masterclock devices, SNMP is used to report operational and reference status information. It is not used for controlling the device.
SNMP uses two primary components:
- SNMP Agent: the software running on the Masterclock device that exposes status information.
- SNMP Manager: external software (also called an MIB Browser) used to query the Agent and display returned data. SNMP Manager software is not provided by Masterclock.
Masterclock SNMP Agents support SNMP v1 and SNMP v2.
SNMP operation is enabled and controlled through WinDiscovery using the SNMP Control window. From this interface, you can start or stop the SNMP Agent and set identifying fields such as device name, location, and contact.
Community strings act as an access control mechanism for SNMP queries. Only requests that match the active community string are accepted by the device.
Masterclock devices support default communities and a configurable custom community that can be selected as the active community.
SNMP Traps allow the device to send unsolicited event notifications to one or more management systems. Trap receiver entries define the IP addresses that should receive these notifications.
Typical trap events include device restart, Ethernet link state changes, and authentication failures caused by community mismatches.
In addition to standard SNMP objects, Masterclock provides a custom Management Information Base (MIB) that exposes device-specific data, such as reference and synchronization status and system health indicators.
SNMP on Masterclock devices provides read-only visibility into device status and time reference health. It is enabled through WinDiscovery, uses community strings for access control, can send event notifications using traps, and exposes Masterclock-specific status through a custom MIB.
Article ID: KB-SNMP-001
KB Version: