Which management protocol is commonly used to query device status and performance in a network?

Which management protocol is commonly used to query device status and performance in a network?

• A. SNMP
• B. FTP
• C. SMTP
• D. DHCP

Answer: (A)

Querying device status and performance in a network is handled by a protocol designed for network management. The message is about which protocol provides a standardized way to ask devices for current values and operational metrics, and to receive notifications when something changes. The appropriate choice is SNMP, which defines a simple set of operations—like getting current values, walking through tables of data, and setting parameters on devices—so a central management system can monitor CPU usage, memory, interface counters, uptime, and error conditions across many devices. Devices expose these data points as objects in MIBs (Management Information Bases), making it possible to collect consistent, structured information across diverse equipment. SNMP also supports asynchronous alerts called traps, which allow devices to notify the manager when predefined conditions occur, enabling proactive monitoring without constant polling. While other protocols serve different purposes—FTP for file transfer, SMTP for email, and DHCP for IP address assignment—they don’t provide the standardized, structured mechanism for querying device status and performance across a network. That makes SNMP the standard choice for this management task.

Querying device status and performance in a network is handled by a protocol designed for network management. The message is about which protocol provides a standardized way to ask devices for current values and operational metrics, and to receive notifications when something changes. The appropriate choice is SNMP, which defines a simple set of operations—like getting current values, walking through tables of data, and setting parameters on devices—so a central management system can monitor CPU usage, memory, interface counters, uptime, and error conditions across many devices. Devices expose these data points as objects in MIBs (Management Information Bases), making it possible to collect consistent, structured information across diverse equipment.

SNMP also supports asynchronous alerts called traps, which allow devices to notify the manager when predefined conditions occur, enabling proactive monitoring without constant polling. While other protocols serve different purposes—FTP for file transfer, SMTP for email, and DHCP for IP address assignment—they don’t provide the standardized, structured mechanism for querying device status and performance across a network. That makes SNMP the standard choice for this management task.