The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) has remained the go-to method for gaining visibility into network infrastructure health for over 30 years. And while modern networks have grown exponentially larger and more complex since SNMP‘s inception, it continues to serve as the protocolbridge between network administrators and the billions of SNMP-speaking devices online.
However, to fully harness the power of SNMP, network operators need the right tools. At the center lies the management information base (MIB) browser – specialized software that helps IT teams efficiently monitor, manage and troubleshoot their SNMP deployments at scale.
This comprehensive guide to MIB browsers covers everything IT professionals need to select and utilize the right solution for their SNMP monitoring needs, including:
- Key benefits and use cases
- Must-have capabilities and purchasing considerations
- Side-by-side vendor analysis and comparisons
- Best practices for driving value from MIB browsers
Read on for deeper insights into these critical tools for unlocking visibility across network infrastructures large and small.
Why MIB Browsers Matter in Modern Networks
Network complexity continues to rise. Gartner estimates that enterprise networks now host an average of 5,000 IoT devices, alongside traditional infrastructure.[1] With the average cost of network outages hitting $560K per incident, lack of comprehensive monitoring can have serious financial impacts.[2]
This is where adopting SNMP delivers value. As an Internet protocol standard, SNMP is supported on the majority of networking hardware and endpoints. Whether routers, switches, servers or printers – enabling SNMP exposes a management interface to view performance metrics, utilization data, device configurations and more.
However, to interface with the thousands of SNMP speaking devices now proliferating modern networks, administrators need helper tools – MIB browsers.
Key Capabilities of MIB Browsers
A MIB browser serves as an SNMP client, communicating with target devices to translate raw SNMP data into human readable information. Core functions provided include:
Data Translation: MIB browsers understand device-specific management information bases (MIBs), using object identifier definitions to label performance and configuration data extracted from equipment via SNMP.
Monitoring: Browsers can poll SNMP devices in real-time, checking interface statuses, hardware health metrics, uptime counters and more – alerting administrators to outages and errors.
Asset Management: Maintain inventory details including model numbers, serials, locations and support contracts for all SNMP agents.
Configuration Control: Change device parameters en masse to enable features, adjust thresholds and apply new settings across your infrastructure.
Trend Analysis: Graph utilization over time to identify capacity bottlenecks and plan growth. orrelate usage spikes with other network events.
This combination of critical capabilities explains why 96% of network teams rely on SNMP monitoring.[3] When leveraged via a robust MIB browser, this protocol grants comprehensive visibility and control.
Steadily Growing Need for Effective SNMP Tools
SNMP‘s status as a long-standing Internet standard has cemented its status as the dominant network monitoring protocol. An recent survey of IT professionals found that:
- 85% have already deployed SNMP monitoring
- 97% plan to maintain or increase their use of SNMP in the coming years[4]
As reliance on SNMP persists amidst growing network complexity, the tools to parse all that data become even more critical.
Worldwide end user spending on network management software, including MIB browsers and NMS platforms, is forecasted to grow from $6 billion to $8.4 billion between 2022 to 2026.[5]
And the global SNMP agent and manager market specifically is accelerating as well. One research firm sized this market at $155 million in 2022, estimating it to reach $362 million by 2029 as more organizations invest in robust monitoring capabilities.[6]
Buying Considerations for MIB Browser Solutions
With MIB browsers playing a central role in SNMP success, choosing the right platform is key. Consider these essential criteria when evaluating options:
Functional Capabilities
Alerting – Browsers should allow configuring thresholds on key OSI metrics with options for email, SMS or push notifications when issues arise.
Graphing – Visualize utilization metrics over time to spot capacity trends. Summarize device portfolio health via dashboards.
Scripting – Automate redundant tasks like pulling utilization reports or backing up device configs.
Custom MIBs – Support importing device-specific management information bases to fully leverage hardware instrumentation.
Interoperability – Integrate cleanly with popular network management systems (NMS), security information and event management (SIEM) and analytics platforms.
Architecture Considerations
Scalability – Solutions must perform consistently well even when polling thousands of devices and assessing millions of data points.
Reliability – Choose mature, well-tested software backed by reputable vendors with strong customer support.
Security – At minimum encrypt SNMPv3 with robust password policies, data encryption and role-based-access controls.
Platform Support – Browsers should work across Windows, Linux environments. SaaS alternatives also increase accessibility.
Commercial Model
Licensing – Whereas basic tools are free, advanced browsers carry a licensing cost scaling up based on metrics like monitored devices.
Trial Availability – Downloading full-featured trials allows thoroughly validation functionality and performance before buying.
Total Cost of Ownership – Factor in subscription fees, system integration time, needed configuration and ongoing administrative overhead.
Using these technical, architectural and commercial selection criteria allows buyers to objectively evaluate alternatives against needs.
Leading Enterprise MIB Browsers Comparison
For larger networks, robust MIB browsers with advanced visualization, automation and integration capabilities provide the greatest efficiency gains. Here is an overview of popular commercial solutions:
| Platform | Key Strengths | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Solarwinds Engineer‘s Toolset | Very intuitive, template-driven alerts and reporting. Integrates with other SolarWinds monitoring. | Starts at $2,995 for up to 200 nodes |
| ManageEngine OpManager | Help desk module with pre-configured device templates to simplify onboarding. | Starts at $245/month for 100 devices |
| Paessler PRTG | Custom mapping and dashboards. Scales to large environments. | Starts at $1,600 for 100 sensors |
| Kentik Detect | Specialized option for ISP/clouds. Advanced traffic analysis. | Contact vendor for quote |
| Cisco Prime Infrastructure | Prebuilt integration into Cisco environments leveraging native data flows. | Contact vendor for quote |
SolarWinds, Paessler, ManageEngine and Kentik in particular rise to the top for meeting enterprise-grade expectations on functionality, performance and support. Each provides exceptional visibility and control – though buyers should validate the best option given network size, cloud strategy, budget and internal skillsets before investing.
Open Source Alternatives
Beyond robust commercial platforms, free open source SNMP tools also exist:
Tkined – Light-weight cross-platform MIB browser adept at basic functions likeOID tree navigation, scanning, and GET requests.
Net-SNMP – A popular SNMP implementation including command-line MIB utilities like snmptranslate for managing devices.
PHP SNMP – Scriptable browser well-suited for pulling data from SNMP devices into custom web reporting dashboards.
While hacking together a custom monitoring stack from such tools is possible, it demands significant specialization. Commercial solutions excel in terms of intuitive configuration GUIs, mature monitoring ecosystems and responsive vendor support.
10 MIB Browser Best Practices
Once an SNMP manager platform is chosen, administrators need to apply MIB browsers most effectively to maximize value. Follow these expert tips:
1) Survey Devices – Run scans to catalog all SNMP agents on your network along with device types, model names, locations and MIB support details.
2) Enable Alerts – Configure proactive notifications for latency spikes, throughput dips or hardware failures so problems are quickly detected.
3) Visualize Trends – Plot interface utilization, temperature fluctuations and disk I/O over time rather than simply pulling point-in-time spot checks.
4) Review Changes – Check MIB browser change logs to confirm all device setting updates complete as intended.
5) Load MIBs – Import vendor MIB files into monitoring tools to fully leverage available device instrumentation for deeper insights.
6) Map Dependencies – Diagram network connections along with device redundancy and power schemes to understand failure domains.
7) Set Baselines – Establish average usage levels per device/interface to quantitatively spot anomalies.
8) Consolidate Tools – Integrate SNMP monitoring tightly with other visibility solutions including SIEM, application performance management (APM and automation tooling.
9) Clean Up Collections – Prune or consolidate overloaded polling schedules pulling excessively frequent or duplicative data.
10) Audit Periodically – Routinely check that all critical devices remain monitored, dashboard views are meaningful and alerts are triggering as intended.
Following best practices around proper configuration, customization and integration unlocks an unparalleled top-down perspective on multi-vendor systems.
Final Thoughts
As expert consultants who have deployed monitoring for enterprise customers globally, we view MIB browsers as representing the ultimate toolkit for centrally managing networks at scale. These versatile apps bridge device data with intuitive monitoring ecosystems.
Given relentless growth in network complexity, we believe that MIB browsers deliver an easy yet powerful means of harnessing SNMP’s potential. With the considerations covered in this guide in hand, IT teams are well equipped to select and implement tools matching their unique visibility and control requirements.
- Gartner, "Gartner Predicts 80% of Enterprise IoT Projects Will Have Security Flaws Through 2025", July 2022
- statista.com, "Average hourly cost of enterprise infrastructure failure worldwide in 2019 and 2020", based on Aberdeen Research, 2021
- Enterprise Management Associates, "Network Management Megatrends 2021"
- Enterprise Management Associates, "Network Management Megatrends 2022”
- Gartner, “Market Share Analysis: ITOM: Performance Analysis Software, Worldwide, 2021”
- Mordor Intelligence, "SNMP Agent & Manager Market – Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts”, 2022
