snmptest

Start the prompt

$ snmptest -v [version] -c [community] [ip]

$ snmptest [[-h|--help]]

snmptest [OPTIONS] AGENT-ADDRESS

AGENT-ADDRESS
    The hostname or IP address of the SNMP agent.

-v 1|2c|3
    Specifies the SNMP version to use: 1, 2c, or 3.

-c COMMUNITY
    Specifies the community string for SNMPv1 and SNMPv2c.

-u SECURITY-NAME
    Specifies the security name for SNMPv3.

-l LEVEL
    Specifies the security level (noAuthNoPriv, authNoPriv, authPriv) for SNMPv3.

-a AUTH-PROTOCOL
    Specifies the authentication protocol (MD5, SHA) for SNMPv3.

-A AUTH-PASSPHRASE
    Specifies the authentication passphrase for SNMPv3.

-x PRIV-PROTOCOL
    Specifies the privacy protocol (DES, AES) for SNMPv3.

-X PRIV-PASSPHRASE
    Specifies the privacy passphrase for SNMPv3.

-e ENGINE-ID
    Specifies the authoritative SNMP engine ID.

-E ENGINE-ID
    Specifies the context SNMP engine ID.

-n CONTEXT-NAME
    Specifies the context name.

-p PORT
    Specifies the port number to use. Default is 161.

The `snmptest` command is a command-line tool primarily used for troubleshooting and testing Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent configurations. It allows users to send SNMP requests to a target device acting as an SNMP agent and analyze the responses. This is valuable for verifying that an agent is correctly configured, reachable, and providing the expected data. The tool supports various SNMP versions (SNMPv1, SNMPv2c, SNMPv3) and operations like GET, GETNEXT, and SET. It helps diagnose issues such as incorrect community strings, access control restrictions, firewall blocking, or agent malfunction.

By sending targeted queries, `snmptest` provides immediate feedback on an agent's health and responsiveness, aiding network administrators in identifying and resolving SNMP-related problems quickly. It is a valuable tool for confirming communication and basic functionality before moving into more complex monitoring or management tasks.

The `snmptest` command is primarily intended for basic connectivity and configuration testing. For more advanced SNMP operations, such as bulk retrieval or complex filtering, dedicated tools like `snmpwalk` or `snmpget` are generally preferred. Note that the options available may vary slightly depending on the installed version of Net-SNMP.

To test SNMPv1 connectivity to an agent at 192.168.1.1 using the public community string:

snmptest 192.168.1.1

To test SNMPv3 connectivity using authentication and privacy:

snmptest -v 3 -u myuser -l authPriv -a SHA -A authpassword -x AES -X privpassword 192.168.1.1

The `snmptest` command is part of the Net-SNMP suite of tools, which has been under development since the late 1990s. It originated as a simple utility to quickly check SNMP agent connectivity and has evolved alongside the broader Net-SNMP project, gaining support for newer SNMP versions and security features. The tool is widely used by network administrators and developers for basic testing of SNMP deployments.

snmpget(1), snmpwalk(1), snmpset(1)