Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is AdventNet SNMP API?

AdventNet SNMP API is a set of class libraries in Java for writing the network management applets and applications.

2. What can I do with this product?

This package can be used to develop SNMP management applications to manage SNMPv1, SNMPv2c, and SNMPv3 agents and talk to agent systems using any of the three versions at the same time.

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3. What operating systems does it run on?

The product is developed in Java and therefore it is platform independent. You can use the product in any operating system with the JDK port of that particular OS. On our part, we have tested the product in the following platforms.

Windows 95
Windows 98
Windows 2000
Windows NT
RedHat Linux 6.x
RedHat Linux 7.x
RedHat Linux 8.x
RedHat Enterprise Linux 4
Solaris 7
Solaris 8
Solaris 9
Solaris 10

The JDK versions supported are 1.2 and above. However MibBrowser will work only with JDK 1.2.2 and above.

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4.How do I start using this package?

AdventNet SNMP API distribution consists of the following.

SNMP API - a set of class libraries in Java to build SNMP management applications.

The product distribution also includes various example applications and applets. It provides a hierarchy of Java packages for SNMP, MIBs, beans, UI/Swing, RMI, CORBA, and EJB, which helps in developing various non-UI and UI applications. The com.adventnet.snmp.ui package provides a number of useful Bean components that can be used in developing management GUI applications. The MibBrowser application is one such application that is developed using this API library.

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5. What do I need to start developing applications and applets in Java using this package?

You need the Java Developers Kit (JDK-1.1.6 and above) to develop applications and applets using this AdventNet SNMP package. In addition, you need to download and setup the AdventNet SNMP package classes.

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6. For what platforms is the JDK available?

JDK is available on a number of platforms, including Solaris, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, MacOS, HP-UX, Linux, AIX, and OS/2 from different sources. You can also use one of the Java development tools, such as Symantec Cafe, JBuilder, MS Visual J++, etc. which provides the JDK functionality.

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7. How do I run the various example applications provided?

The product distribution includes various example applications in the following directories:

examples/applications/ - contains examples which uses beans package
examples/uiapplications/ - contains examples which uses ui package
examples/low_level_api_examples/snmpapps/ - contains examples which uses snmp2 package
examples/low_level_api_examples/mibapps/ - contains examples which uses mibs package
examples/sasapps/ - contains examples which uses sas package
examples/httpapps/ - contains examples which uses HTTP tunelling
examples/rmiclient/ - contains examples which uses rmi package
examples/corbaclient/ - contains examples which uses corba package
examples/ejbclient/ - contains examples which uses EJB package

Examples include applications like snmpget (to get one or more SNMP variables), snmpgetnext (to do a getnext on one more SNMP variables). Multiple versions of these applications are available in the different directories. You can use them to query for information from the SNMP agents available on your network. All the applications that are used to query an agent have almost identical syntax. As a general rule, all the command line tools will give help information when you just type

java <command-name>

For example, to get help information on the command snmpgetnext, just type

java snmpgetnext

To compile or execute the application you have to set the classpath to the current directory and the classes directory. You have to run setenv.bat or setenv.sh (depending on the operating system environment you use) to set the JAVA_HOME and CLASSPATH environment variables.

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8. I am able to execute the example applications but I am not getting any results. What should I do?

If you get a timeout error after executing the application, the remote host given by you might not have an SNMP agent running on it. The agent should be running on the system on which you are querying. Therefore, install an SNMP agent in the machine or try on some other host which has the SNMP agent. Your network administrator might know more about this. In general, routers, ethernet switches, and network printers have the SNMP agent. You can try querying these devices.

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9. How do I view and use the various example applets?

You need a Java-enabled web browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer or the JDK appletviewer. Sun's Java plug-in is required to test/view the applets which use swing or JFC components. The standard Netscape 4.x or IE 4.x browsers do not support JFC classes. Applets which do not use swing components can be tested using standard web browsers.

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10. Why does the applets fail to work in my browsers?

If you want to load the Java classes and applet HTML file locally from your own file system, you need to invoke your web browser with your CLASSPATH set. Otherwise, the applet fails. The applet has to be loaded from the code base in your HTML file and this code base directory should be in the CLASSPATH. If you want to load the classes over the network, Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer do not allow any communication except to the host from where you have loaded your applet. In order to get this to work, you need to use the SNMP Applet Server (SAS) on your applet host (web server) or use HTTP tunneling.

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