4. Conclusion

SNMP is the standard for enterprise network administration. Its use has extended beyond this, into the world of systems and applications. The limitations of versions 1 and 2 have been overcome with version 3. However, this latest standard requires more work to implement, and it remains to be seen whether the market will adopt it, or stick with the simpler solutions of SNMPv1 and SNMTv2C.

The CIM and WBEM standard, if it lives up to its promise, will make it possible to build powerful, interoperable management applications. It is doubtful, however, that they will replace SNMP in network equipment in the short term, as this protocol has already proved its worth.

In any case, setting up an efficient network administration requires a considerable amount of work in terms of choosing and implementing tools, organization and staff training and...