Set up SNMP discovery

For background on how credentials work — types, scope models, resolution order, and auto-assignment — see Credentials.

Prerequisites

• SNMP enabled on target devices (v1, v2c, or v3)
• UDP port 161 reachable from the daemon host to target devices
• Community strings for SNMPv1/v2c (often public for read-only access), or USM credentials for SNMPv3

Creating a credential

1. Go to Assets > Credentials
2. Click Create Credential
3. Select SNMP as the credential type
4. Enter a name (e.g. "Core switches" or "Default read-only")
5. Choose the SNMP version and fill in its fields:
   • v1 / v2c — enter the community string
   • v3 — enter the security name, choose an authentication protocol (SHA-1 or SHA-256) and its password, choose a privacy protocol (AES-128 or AES-256) and its password, and optionally a context name. SNMPv3 always uses AuthPriv (authentication and privacy together)
6. Click Save

Community strings and SNMPv3 passwords are encrypted at rest and will not be shown again in the UI or API responses.

Assigning to a network

Creating a credential alone doesn't activate SNMP — you must assign it to a network or specific hosts.

1. Go to Assets > Networks
2. Select the network
3. In the network settings, set the SNMP Credential
4. Click Save

This activates SNMP for all hosts on the network. On the next discovery scan, the daemon will query every discovered host using this credential.

You can verify the assignment from Discover > Daemons — hover the Network chip to see whether an SNMP credential is configured.

Overriding credentials for specific hosts

In mixed environments where different devices use different community strings, you can override the network-level credential on individual hosts.

1. Open the host edit modal (click the host, then Edit)
2. Go to the SNMP tab
3. Select a different SNMP credential
4. Click Save

Host-level overrides take priority over the network default. See credential resolution order for the full priority chain.

Verifying SNMP is working

After assigning credentials, run a discovery scan and check the results:

1. Go to Discover > Scan > Scheduled and run a discovery (or wait for the next scheduled run)
2. Open a host that should have SNMP data
3. Check for:
   • sysName and sysDescr in the host details (SNMP tab)
   • Interfaces in the ifEntry tab — interface names, speeds, and IP assignments
   • LLDP/CDP neighbors in the topology view

If SNMP data isn't appearing, see SNMP troubleshooting for protocol-specific issues, or Credential troubleshooting for diagnosing credential loading and assignment using daemon logs.