SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is a protocol that allows network managers to monitor and control network devices using a set of standardized messages and data structures. SNMP uses a client-server model, where the network manager (client) sends requests to the network device (server) and receives responses. The network device has an SNMP agent that collects and reports the data using a MIB (Management Information Base), which is a hierarchical database of variables that describe the device’s status and configuration. Each variable in the MIB has a unique identifier called an OID (Object Identifier), which is a dot-separated sequence of numbers that follows a tree structure12.

To retrieve a single value in SNMP, you can use two types of requests: GET and GET NEXT. A GET request asks for the value of a specific OID, and the SNMP agent responds with the value if it exists, or an error if it does not. A GET NEXT request asks for the value of the next OID in the MIB tree, and the SNMP agent responds with the value and the OID of the next variable, or an error if there is no next variable. A GET NEXT request can be useful for discovering the OIDs and values of a device, or for iterating over a table of values34.

A GET VALUE request is not a valid SNMP request, and a GET TABLE request is not a single request, but a series of GET NEXT requests that retrieve all the values in a table . References: 1: SNMP Basics, 2: SNMP Tutorial Part 1 – Understanding MIBs and OIDs, 3: SNMP Tutorial Part 2 – SNMP Get, GetNext, GetBulk, 4: SNMP Commands, : SNMP Table Operations, : SNMP Table Retrieval

You can share with others the PerfStack URL of any troubleshooting project you save in the SolarWinds Platform Web Console. PerfStack is a feature that allows you to create and customize interactive and dynamic charts that correlate time series data from multiple SolarWinds products and entity types. When you save a troubleshooting project, the URL becomes a sharable link that you can copy and paste to other users, such as your team members, network administrators, or product owners. The URL contains a compressed version of the project data, so it does not exceed the browser character limit. The users who receive the link can access the same project view as you, as long as they have the appropriate account permissions and limitations. References: Troubleshooting Analysis Projects, Create analysis projects with the Performance Analysis dashboard, Share analysis projects.

An OID (Object Identifier) is a unique identifier for a specific variable in a MIB (Management Information Base) that can be polled or monitored by SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol). However, not all OIDs are supported by all devices or SNMP agents, which are software components that collect and report the MIB data. If you select an OID that is not supported by the device or the SNMP agent, you will get an “OID not supported” error when you try to create a custom poller for that device in NPM (Network Performance Monitor). This means that the device or the SNMP agent does not have the information for that OID or does not respond to the SNMP request for that OID12.

To resolve this issue, you can try the following steps34:

• Verify that the device supports the OID that you want to monitor. You can use the MIB Browser or the MIB Walk tool to browse the MIB tree of the device and find the OID. You can also check the device vendor’s documentation or website for the supported OIDs and MIBs.
• Verify that the SNMP agent on the device is configured properly and has the latest version. You may need to update the SNMP agent or enable some features or extensions to support the OID. You can also check the SNMP agent’s logs or status for any errors or warnings.
• Verify that the SNMP credentials and settings are correct and match the device’s configuration. You may need to use a different SNMP version, community string, port, or timeout value to communicate with the device. You can also test the SNMP connectivityusing the SNMP Test tool or the Test button in the UnDP (Universal Device Poller) application.
• Verify that there are no network issues or firewalls that are blocking the SNMP traffic between the NPM server and the device. You may need to allow the SNMP protocol and port on the firewall or router, or use a different network path or interface to reach the device. You can also use the Ping or Traceroute tools to check the network connectivity and latency.

References: 1: What is an OID?5, 2: The OID is not supported, 3: Troubleshoot Unknown Nodes, 4: Troubleshoot SNMP issues

 NetPath is a feature of NPM that helps you identify network problems faster by automatically creating a map of the problem area, with a wide variety of supporting information. NetPath displays the performance details of devices inside and outside of your network. NetPath can analyze paths to any network segment, whether it is on-premise, cloud, or hybrid. NetPath uses distributed monitoring and path analysis to discover how applications are delivered through the network to your users. You can deploy agents on Windows computers that act as synthetic users and use advanced probing to discover and test the network path that traffic takes to any network endpoint, such as your local file print server, your website, or external websites. NetPath can also incorporate data from NPM, NCM, and NTA about your on-premises gear, as well as data from the Internet nodes and providers12. References: 1: Discover your network paths in NPM3, 2: NetPath - Easy Visual Network Path Analysis | SolarWinds4

Orion Maps show you how entities are connected based on the data collected by the Orion Platform products. To display the connections between the nodes in Orion Maps, you need to enable Layer 2 and Layer 3 topology polling on those nodes. This will allow the Orion Platform to discover the network topology using protocols such as CDP, LLDP, or ARP. You can enable topology polling on individual nodes or in bulk using the Manage Nodes feature in the web console. You can also customize the topology polling settings and frequency on the Orion Polling Settings page. References: Intelligent Maps for SolarWinds Platform products; Understand connections on Intelligent Maps in the SolarWinds Platform; Network Mapping Tool – Automated Network Mapping | SolarWinds

NPM requires only one agent for Quality of Experience, NetPath, and system monitoring on the same Windows server. The agent is a software component that collects data from the server and sends it to the Orion server1. The agent can perform multiple tasks, such as packet analysis, network path analysis, and system health monitoring, depending on the configuration and the license2. You can install the agent on the server either manually or remotely from the Orion Web Console3. References: 1: Network Performance Monitor Administrator Guide - Agents 2: Network Performance Monitor Getting Started Guide - Monitor with agents 3: Network Performance Monitor Installation Guide - Install agents

According to the SolarWinds NPM Administrator Guide, you can use Orion groups to organize your network objects based on any criteria, such as location, device type, department, etc. You can then apply account limitations based on Orion groups to restrict user access to only the network objects that belong to a specific group. For example, you can create two Orion groups, one for Sydney and one for Perth, and assign the devices in each location to the corresponding group. Then, you can use the single group Account limitation to limit the users in Sydney to only view the Sydney group, and the users in Perth to only view the Perth group. References: SolarWinds NPM Administrator Guide, page 163-165; Limit users to specific network areas in the SolarWinds Platform

 Account limitations are a way of restricting the access of Orion user accounts to specific network objects, such as nodes, interfaces, groups, maps, or alerts. You can use account limitations to prevent a user from seeing or working with select monitored entities through the SolarWinds server. For example, you can limit a user to see only the nodesin a certain group, or only the maps that they have created. You can apply account limitations to individual users or user groups, and you can choose from predefined limitations or create custom limitations based on custom properties. The other options are not effective ways of limiting user access to monitored entities, as they either affect the monitoring status of the entities (unmanage), the permissions of the entities themselves (configure permissions), or the alerting scope of the entities (configure alert limitations). References:

• Limit user access to network areas with account limitations
• Predefined Orion Platform account limitations
• Create custom account limitations

One possible reason why you have not received any emails for the high CPU load alert is that the alerts are muted on the devices. Muting alerts means that the alert conditions are still evaluated, but the alert actions are not executed. This can be useful when you want to temporarily suppress notifications for planned maintenance or testing. You can mute alerts for individual nodes, groups, or applications, or for all alerts in the Orion Platform. To check if the alerts are muted on the devices, you can go to the Manage Nodes page and look for the Muted column. You can also use the Mute Alerts widget on the Orion homepage to see the status of alert muting. To unmute alerts, you can either use the same widget or the Unmute Alerts option in the node, group, or application details page. References: Mute alerts, Manage nodes, Mute Alerts widget

The Orion platform supports agent-based monitoring for Windows, Linux/Unix, and AIX systems. An Orion agent is software that provides a communication channel between the Orion server and the target system, as an alternative to WMI or SNMP. Agent-based monitoring can offer better performance, security, and reliability than agentless monitoring, especially for remote or cloud-based systems. The Orion platform does not support agent-based monitoring for Sun Solaris or IBM systems, as they are not compatible with the agent software. References: Monitor with SolarWinds Platform agents in SAM, SolarWinds Platform Agent requirements, Orion Platform | SolarWinds

Response time is the amount of time it takes for a service request to return a response. It is a critical SLA performance metric for a hosted data center service, as it directly affects the user experience and satisfaction. High response time can indicate network congestion, server overload, or other performance issues that can degrade the quality of the service. By tracking response time, you can monitor the availability and reliability of the service, identify and troubleshoot potential problems, and ensure that the service meets the SLA expectations and standards. References: How to measure your SLA: 5 Metrics you should be Monitoring and Reporting, Data Center SLA Frequently Offer a 100% Uptime Guarantee, How To Measure SLA Performance in 4 Steps (With Tips).

The SNMP trap service is responsible for receiving, decoding, displaying, and storing the SNMP trap messages in the Log Analyzer database. If the service is not running, you will not see the messages in the Orion Web Console. You can verify the status of the service by using the Orion Service Manager or the Windows Services console. You can also restart the service if needed. The other options are not relevant for troubleshooting the cause of missing SNMP trap messages. References:

• Monitor SNMP traps
• Troubleshoot SNMP traps
• Orion Service Manager

 According to the SolarWinds NPM Administrator Guide, you can edit the node properties of any device and change the polling method to suit your needs. The polling method determines what data is collected and displayed for the node. The “Most Devices: SNMP and ICMP” polling method collects and displays the most comprehensive data, including CPU load, memory utilization, interface statistics, and more. The “Status Only: ICMP” polling method only collects and displays the node status, average response time, and packet loss. If you want to monitor the other statistics on switch A, you should change the polling method to “Most Devices: SNMP and ICMP”. This will not affect the historical data that has already been collected for switch A, as it will be stored in the database. However, deleting switch A and adding it again, or adding switch A again without deleting it first, will result in losing the historical data or creating duplicate nodes. References: SolarWinds NPM Administrator Guide, page 78-79; Polling methods used by Orion

To add a new subnet of 500 devices for monitoring, the first step is to perform a network discovery using the Network Sonar Wizard in NPM. This wizard allows you to scan your network by IP address range, subnet, or seed device and automatically discover and add nodes and interfaces to NPM for monitoring. You can also specify credentials, polling settings, and custom properties for the discovered devices. Performing a network discovery can help you quickly and efficiently incorporate new devices into NPM without manually adding them one by one. References: Discover your network devices, Specify subnets, Discover devices by subnets

For any node you monitor, you cannot use Network Discovery to automatically add child volumes or interfaces for monitoring. Network Discovery is a tool that helps you identify and add new devices to your network, but it does not automatically monitor all the components of the discovered devices. You need to manually select the volumes or interfaces you want to monitor from the list of resources on each node. You can also use the Network Sonar Results Wizard to filter and add the resources you want to monitor after running a discovery job. References:

• Discover your network with NPM - SolarWinds (see the Monitoring Settings panel section)
• Network Discovery Tool - Automated Discovery Software | SolarWinds (see the Monitor Devices section)

According to the SolarWinds NPM Administrator Guide, custom charts are created using the Orion Web Console and are not compatible with Excel file formats. Therefore, the only option to export a report with custom charts is to use a PDF format. Other report formats, such as HTML, CSV, or TXT, are supported for reports without custom charts. References: SolarWinds NPM Administrator Guide, page 171; Export reports to Excel - Forum, reply by ElisabethZakes; How to Export NPM Report Writer Data to Excel (xls or csv)??? - Forum, reply by borgan.

Orion agents are software components that you can install on nodes to collect and send data to the Orion server. Orion agents do not require a separate license, as they are included in the license of the Orion Platform product that you are using, such as NPM. You can install and use as many agents as you need, as long as you do not exceed the number of licensed nodes, interfaces, or volumes for your product. Orion agents can use either agent-initiated or server-initiated communication, depending on your network configuration and security requirements. References: NPM Administrator Guide, page 67; SCP Study Aid - NPM, page 15.

 By default, Orion NPM retains Syslog messages in the database for seven days before discarding them. This means that any Syslog messages older than seven days are deleted from the database and cannot be viewed or searched in the web console. To change the default Syslog retention period, you need to modify the Database Settings on the Orion Polling Settings page in the web console. You can also use the Database Manager tool to manually delete or archive Syslog messages from the database. References: SolarWinds SCP Study Aid - NPM, page 19; NPM Administrator Guide, page 111.

According to the SolarWinds Platform Agent requirements, the average resource consumption of an agent is less than 1% CPU, max 1 MB of memory, and 1 MB storage on the target computer. The agent software is designed to be lightweight and efficient, and does not impact the performance of the monitored devices. The other options are incorrect, as they either overestimate or underestimate the resource consumption of the agent, or imply that the agent does not use any local resources at all. References: SolarWinds Platform Agent requirements, section “SolarWinds Platform Agent resource consumption”.