SNMP Security Extended by Service Pack 4 (200890)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition 4.0
This article was previously published under Q200890

SUMMARY

Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4 added new security settings to SNMP. The security settings can be found by opening Control Panel, and double-clicking Network. Click the Services tab, select SNMP, click Properties, and then click Security.

MORE INFORMATION

Service Pack 4 has added extended community security to the SNMP service. Now, both the community name is checked for authentication and the host can define a level of access. These levels of access are closely aligned with the MIB access variable. The community security levels are as follows:
  • NONE - Cannot read or write any variables.
  • NOTIFY - An unsolicited message issent to an SNMP management system.
  • READ-ONLY - Cannot set any values.
  • READ-WRITE - Can read or write any variables that the MIB definition allows.
  • READ-CREATE - Allows the creation of a new row.

The interaction of the MIB access variable and the community security level can be seen in the following example:

If your community access level is set to READ-ONLY and the MIB access variable is set at READ-WRITE, the following operations would be valid: get-request, get-next-request, get-response, and trap. Note that the set-request is blocked by the more restrictive community access level. So, the combination of these two security parameters determines the level of functionality the user has with SNMP.

REFERENCES

For additional information on this topic, see RFC 1157, "A Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)."
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:8/10/2001
Keywords:kbinfo kbnetwork KB200890
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