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ipMonitor comes equipped with a lightweight SNMP MIB database targeted at supporting most common SNMP data.

SolarWinds.Net's Custom Database Builder:

• Allows licensed ipMonitor customers to select MIBs from ipMonitor's MIB Repository and perform automated MIB compilations.
• Accommodates experienced SNMP users with a wider array of devices and services to monitor.

The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is organized into a virtual directory tree, infinitely extendible. Corporations add to this virtual tree on a regular basis by publishing and providing Management Information Bases (MIBs) to consumers. MIBs are text files created for Network Management software to read, understand, and locate data.

With the addition of the Custom Database Builder feature to the ipMonitor Support Portal, Administrators can now create their own custom MIB combinations, and then add the new database to their ipMonitor installation. Once the custom database has been added, Administrators can quickly and easily use the SNMP tools available in ipMonitor to configure one of the SNMP Monitors and begin monitoring a specific SNMP-enabled device or application.

Note: Although compiling a custom SNMP database for your ipMonitor installation is useful for browsing and identifying SNMP entries, ipMonitor's SNMP Monitors (SNMP, SNMP QA and SNMP Trap) do not require MIB files to be compiled within the program. With correctly defined parameters, most notably the "OID", SNMP Monitoring will function correctly without a customized SNMP database.

The Custom Database Builder feature located on the ipMonitor Support Portal is only available to customers with a valid Service Plan.

To create a custom MIB database, you must first log in to the Support Portal, located at https://support.ipmonitor.com. Should you not remember your password, click on the Forgot your Password? link to have a temporary password e-mailed to your registered email address.

Click the PDF icon to open a printable PDF version of this tutorial. It includes all the information found here, including images from the ipMonitor software, diagrams, and links to additional resources.

To build a custom MIB database, proceed with the following:

1. Click the Custom Databases link located at the bottom of the left-hand side menu bar.
2. Browse and expand the MIB tree as needed to select the desired MIB files or directories.

TIPS • Individual vendors can be located below the Enterprises branch of the MIB Tree. • The ipMonitorBase folder contains the default selection of MIBs shipped with ipMonitor. • The ipMonitorExtended folder contains the extended MIB database available in the Downloads section of the Support Portal. • Checking the root checkbox will add all available MIBs to your personalized database. After adding the entire collection, ipMonitor will consume approximately 90MB of additional memory, and the SNMP Tree will become large and less efficient to navigate. We do not recommend checking the root checkbox when selecting your MIBs for compilation.

3. Once you've made your selections, click the Construct MIB Database button to compile the SNMP database.
4. The email account registered with the Support Portal will receive an e-mail message indicating that the custom MIB database has been created and is now ready for download. This email will contain a link to your personalized SNMP MIB database. Additionally, the My Downloads section located on the Support Portal home page will also contain the link to your most recently created database.

The ZIP file containing your custom MIB database will also include a readme.txt file with installation instructions. To add the newly created custom MIB database to your ipMonitor installation, proceed with the following:

1. Stop the ipMonitor Service:

   a) Open the Start Menu
   b) Click Run
   c) Issue the following command: net stop ipmonitorsrv

2. Extract and overwrite the existing mib_base.bxml file located in the \ipMonitor\internal directory.
3. Restart the ipMonitor Service:

   a) Open the Start Menu
   b) Click Run
   c) Issue the following command: net start ipmonitorsrv

If you are an ipMonitor customer and would like additional MIBs added to the SNMP Center, please contact our Technical Support department with a list of MIBs you require.

The Technical Support department can be reached between the hours of 9am and 5pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, at support@ipmonitor.com.

For information regarding the various SNMP Monitors available within the ipMonitor Network Monitoring software, refer to the Monitors section of ipMonitor's Context-Sensitive Help system, and then select Monitor Types. The Context-Sensitive Help can be accessed by clicking the Help link located in the top right corner of ipMonitor's Administration web interface.

For information on other features and concepts related to those discussed in this article, refer to the following ipMonitor resources:

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Last Updated: May 9, 2007 | What did you think of this topic?