SNMP stands for “Simple Network Management Protocol” and is a protocol that is commonly used for communication between network management elements on LANs.

Here we see a SNMP Agent which runs inside a printer. The SNMP Agent queries the printer hardware for information, such as number of pages printed or printer status in our printer example, and stores pertinent information in the MIB (Management Information Base – a database that contains information about the device).

Another commonly found network management protocol is CMIP (Common Management Information Protocol), which is more complex than SNMP and can be found on many telecommunication networks.