Configuring SNMP traps to enable network monitoring

Use Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) traps to monitor your network switches.

About this task

Note:

This topic describes how to access this task in the IBM® Flex System Manager Web user interface. If you are using the IBM FSM Explorer, use the finder at the top of the user interface (shown here) to locate this task:

Network switches must be configured with the IP address of the IBM Flex System Manager as an SNMP trap address to have the events they produce logged by IBM Flex System Manager event logging. For fiber channel switches, or network switches that do not have IBM Flex System Manager I/O module plug-ins, this configuration must be performed using interfaces specific to each switch, such as a Telnet or HTTP interface. Refer to the documentation provided with the network switch for the procedure to set the SNMP trap address on those devices.

Switches that are supported by IBM Flex System Manager I/O module plug-ins can be configured using the IBM Flex System Manager Configuration Manager feature. To set the SNMP trap address on switches that are supported by IBM Flex System Manager I/O module plug-ins, use the following procedure:

1. If you have not already discovered the switch in Systems Director, follow these steps:
   1. On the Initial Setup tab of the IBM Flex System Manager Home page, click the System Discovery link.
   2. Select Single IPv4 address or Single IPv6 address and enter the IP address of the switch you want to manage. Some switches cannot be discovered using an IPv6 address. If you are uncertain whether a switch can be discovered with its IPv6 address, or you are unable to discover a switch with its IPv6 address, try discovering it with its IPv4 address.
   3. Set Select resource type to All and click Discover.
2. If you have not already obtained access to the switch, follow these steps:
   1. In the IBM Flex System Manager Web interface, click Resource Explorer and navigate to the switch that you want to access.
   2. Right-click the switch for which you want to request access and select Security > Request Access.
   3. On the Request Access page, type the user ID and password of a user with administrator privileges on the switch.
   4. Select the access status, such as no access or partially unlocked, enter the user ID and password and select Request Access for IBM Flex System Manager to obtain access to the switch.
   5. If the access request is successful, the access status for the managed system changes to OK. If the status remains no access or partially unlocked, click Help for more information about requesting access.
3. On the Plug-ins tab of the IBM Flex System Manager Home page, go to BladeCenter and System x Management and click Setup required for I/O module plug-ins.
4. If the status for the switch you are configuring indicates Required - Not installed, you will need to perform the following steps to download and install the plug-in for the switch:
   1. Click Download Plug-ins to open a web page with available plug-in download packages for various switches.
   2. Download the package and follow the installation instructions contained in the package
   3. After the plug-in is installed, the status for the switch you are configuring changes to Active. It may be necessary to restart the IBM Flex System Manager for the plug-in to become active.
5. Set the SNMP trap address. If you are setting the SNMP trap address on a single switch, use option 1. If you are setting the SNMP trap address on multiple switches, use option 2.
   • Option 1: Set the SNMP trap address on a specific switch.
     1. On the IBM Flex System Manager Home page, click the Resource Explorer link under the Discovery Manager heading.
     2. Navigate to the network switch you are configuring by selecting All Network Systems.
     3. Click the network switch name.
     4. On the Current Configuration page, select the switch and click Edit.
     5. For SNMPv1 Agents:
        1. On the Switch Module Protocol Configuration page, select the SNMPv1 Agent tab.
        2. Select the entry in the Community Table and click Edit. The Edit Selected Community page displays.
        3. Enter the IP address of the IBM Systems Director Server in the Trap IP address or host name # field.
           Note: # represents the number of SNMP trap addresses (1-3) being specified.
        4. Click OK to save your changes to the Selected Community.
        For SNMPv3 Agents:
        1. On the Switch Module Protocol Configuration page, select the SNMPv3 Agent tab.
           Note: If an appropriate SNMPv3 user does not exist, create one.

           1. On the SNMPv3 User IDs table, click Create. The Create User ID window displays.
           2. Enter an appropriate User ID.
           3. For Authentication and Privacy settings, select the desired protocol to use. If you select anything other than None, enter a Password and Confirmation password for each.
           4. Select the type of access to grant the SNMPv3 agent:

              Read-only

              The user will only have read-only access to SNMPv3 information, as well as the ability to receive notifications.

              Read/write

              This user will have read and write access to SNMPv3 information, as well as the ability to receive notifications.

           5. Click OK to save the User ID.
              Note: Alternately, there is a checkbox option on the Create User ID window that, when checked, grays out the other inputs on the window and enables use of the IBM Flex System Manager Global ID and its default settings to create a new SNMPv3 user. This will automatically create an associated notification destination that uses the IBM Flex System Manager IP address.
        2. On the SNMPv3 Notifications table, click Create.
        3. Enter the IP address or host name of the IBM Flex System Manager in the Destination IP address or host name # field.
           Note: # represents the number of SNMP trap addresses (1-3) being specified.
        4. In the Type dropdown, select Trap.
        5. In the Assign User ID dropdown, select the appropriate User ID to receive this notification.
        6. Click OK to save this notification.
        7. Click the Deploy on the SNMPv3 page.
     6. Click the Deploy on the Community Table dialog.
     7. Click OK on the Run switch name Protocol Configuration page.
   • Option 2: Create a configuration template to set the SNMP trap address on a switch.
     1. On the IBM Flex System Manager Welcome page, click the Configuration Templates link under the Configuration Manager heading.
     2. On the Configuration Templates page, click Create.
     3. On the Create page, select the appropriate template type for the switch you are configuring.
     4. Select the network switch type for Configuration to create a template.
     5. Specify a name for the template, for example ConfigTrapAddress.
     6. Enter a description for the template and click Continue.
     7. For SNMPv1 Agents:
        1. Select the SNMPv1 Agent tab on the Switch Module Protocol Configuration page.
        2. Click Create. The Create New Community dialog displays.
        3. Set the SNMPv1 agent to Activate.
        4. Enter a Community Name and enter the IP address of the IBM Flex System Manager in the Trap IP address or host name # field.
           Note: # represents the number of SNMP trap addresses (1-3) being specified.
        5. Click OK to create the community.
        For SNMPv3 Agents:
        1. On the Switch Module Protocol Configuration page, select the SNMPv3 Agent tab.
           Note: If an appropriate SNMPv3 user does not exist, create one.

           1. On the SNMPv3 User IDs table, click Create. The Create User ID window displays.
           2. Enter an appropriate User ID.
           3. For Authentication and Privacy settings, select the desired protocol to use. If you select anything other than None, enter a Password and Confirmation password for each.
           4. Select the type of access to grant the SNMPv3 agent:

              Read-only

              The user will only have read-only access to SNMPv3 information, as well as the ability to receive notifications.

              Read/write

              This user will have read and write access to SNMPv3 information, as well as the ability to receive notifications.

           5. Click OK to save the User ID.
              Note: Alternately, there is a checkbox option on the Create User ID window that, when checked, grays out the other inputs on the window and enables use of the IBM Flex System Manager Global ID and its default settings to create a new SNMPv3 user. This will automatically create an associated notification destination that uses the IBM Flex System Manager IP address.
        2. On the SNMPv3 Notifications table, click Create. The Create Notification window displays.
        3. Enter the IP address or host name of the IBM Flex System Manager in the Destination IP address or host name # field.
           Note: # represents the number of SNMP trap addresses (1-3) being specified.
        4. In the Assign User ID dropdown, select the appropriate User ID to receive this notification.
        5. Click OK to save this notification.
     8. Click Save to save the configuration template.
     9. Click Deploy. The Run - <configuration template=""> dialog box displays.
     10. Select the targets to which the template is to be deployed and click Add to add them to the Selected list.
     11. When you have finished adding targets, click OK.
6. Verify that the SNMP trap address was successfully set.
   • For SNMPv1 Agents:
     1. On the IBM Flex System Manager Home page, click the Resource Explorer link under the Discovery Manager heading.
     2. Navigate to the network switch you are configuring by clicking All Network Systems and selecting the network switch name.
     3. Select the Configuration tab and select the configuration name for the switch.
     4. Click the SNMPv1 Agent tab and confirm that the IP address of the IBM Systems Director Server appears in the appropriate Trap IP address or host name field.
   • For SNMPv3 Agents:
     1. On the IBM Flex System Manager Home page, click the Resource Explorer link under the Discovery Manager heading.
     2. Navigate to the network switch you are configuring by clicking All Network Systems and selecting the network switch name.
     3. Select the Configuration tab and select the configuration name for the switch.
     4. Click the SNMPv3 Agent tab and confirm that the IP address or host name of the IBM Systems Director Server appears in the SNMPv3 Notifications table field.