What does SNMP mean?

SNMP is the Simple Network Management Protocol. It provides a way for network devices to communicate. In the protocol there is a manager device that uses SNMP to learn the status of devices on the network. These devices are called agents. Normally, the manager makes a request to an agent, and the agent responds to this request. For example the manager asks a temperature sensor for its temperature, the unit reads the temperature and sends this back to the manager. The exception to this is SNMP traps. A trap is an alert sent by an agent to the manager about some abnormal condition. For instance, if the temperature on the unit leaves an acceptable range, the temp sensor can send an SNMP trap to the manager.