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ISP Planet
Network
Management System Series - SNMP
ToolChest |
An Extensible SNMP ToolChest
| Here's a collection of task-specific network
management tools that can easily be customizedor augmentedvia
Tcl scripting. It's not a comprehensive NMS, but it can flexibly supplement
such a system. |
Any software vendor will tell you: Users come in all shapes and sizes.
Some users prefer shrink-wrapped software; others like to "roll their
own" from home-grown or open source software. ISP network admins often
straddle both ends of this spectrum. In this fast-paced world, successful
tools increase productivity without requiring development effort. But
many admins like to tweak, adapt, and extend their favorite tools and
avoid rigid software that can't be customized.
In part three of our entry-level NMS series,
we evaluate SNMP ToolChest Silver
Edition, a collection of real-time network monitoring and trouble-shooting
utilities. Developed by Dave Zeltserman, co-author of "Building Network
Management Tools with Tcl/Tk," SNMP ToolChest provides both turnkey applications
and a platform for refinement using Tcl, a simple scripting language.
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SNMP ToolChest Silver Edition
$399
The SNMP ToolChest Company
Brookline, Mass. 02446
http://www.snmptoolchest.com
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Getting Started
SNMP ToolChest's developer bent is evident from the get-go: you start
by selecting a Tcl/Tk platform. The Silver Edition ($399) uses Scotty
(freeware) to support 5 tools under Windows NT. The Gold Edition ($899)
uses TickleMan/Lite ($599, SNMP Research) to support 8 tools under NT
or *NIX. To keep our installed price under $1K, we evaluated the Silver
Edition on a PIII 500 running Windows NT4 SP5.
| Silver Edition installation involves several discrete
steps described in a README file. To deploy Scotty, install Tcl 8.0.5
and Tkined 1.5.0a, then set a pair of NT environment variables (Below,
left). Next, execute the self-expanding ToolChestSilver zip file.
Invoke scottypatch.scotty and associate this file extension with tcl/bin/wish80.exe.
Finally, customize default SNMP community strings by editing CommStringVars.itcl
(Below, right). After installation, five ToolChest applications
can be found in the installed directory: DiscoverPlus, IPScope, NetDelayPlus,
RouterScope, and SmartBrowser. |
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Those familiar with NT administration will have no trouble following
instructions to complete installation; a setup file to automate these
steps and add Start Menu entries would be nice. Each application has its
own Help file, but overall Help would be useful to understand relationships
between applications and features common to all applications. In short,
a little superficial glue could pull these largely stand-alone tools together
into an integrated toolset.
Go to Part 2: Network Discovery
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