Documentation forSolarWinds

SNMP MIB Browser tool

The SNMP MIB Browser tool in ETS for the Desktop uses SolarWinds extensive MIB (management information base) database of over a thousand standard and proprietary MIBs. A MIB Browser is a core fundamental tool for network engineers. It enables an engineer to query a remote device for software and hardware configurations via SNMP. It also enables an engineer to make changes to the remote device. The remote device could be a router, switch, hub, server, firewall, or any other device that supports SNMP.

The most critical part of any MIB Browser is the number of standard and proprietary MIBs it supports. Without the correct MIBs, the data collected from a remote device is difficult to interpret and use. MIB Browser is shipped with over 250,000 precompiled unique OIDs from hundreds of standard and vendor MIBs. SolarWinds engineers continually update the MIB database with the latest MIBs. Updates to the MIB database are available periodically to SolarWinds subscription customers.

Another common use for a MIB Browser is to find out what MIBs and OIDs are supported on a particular device. The MIB Browser enables an engineer to easily walk any MIB Tree (even if the MIB tree is not in the SolarWinds database) and determine what MIBs a particular piece of hardware supports. This is important when determining the SNMP OIDs from which to collect statistics or to monitor. The SolarWinds MIB Browser automatically analyzes the results from each SNMP query and displays the information in a readable form.

The query results windows are also customizable. An engineer can select the type of information to be displayed for each SNMP query. OIDs, defining MIB, access (read-only, read and write, no access), OID status (standard, deprecated, obsolete), raw value, cooked value, English description, and other properties can be displayed while querying a remote device.

Open the SNMP MIB Browser

  • To launch the tool from the Toolset Launch Pad, locate the SNMP MIB Browser tool and click Launch.

  • You can add the tool to a tab in the Workspace Studio, and access it from there.

  • To launch the tool from the Windows Start menu:

    1. Click Start > All > SolarWinds Engineer's Toolset.

    2. Right-click SNMP MIB Browser, click More, and click Run as administrator.

Explore MIBs on a device

Specify the device

  • If you opened the MIB Browser from the Workspace Studio, you can drag an existing device from the Devices Explorer to the device field.

  • If the device has not been defined, enter the IP address or host name of the switch you want to map, and then select or enter in the credentials used to communicate with the device. See Add device credentials.

View a single MIB

  1. Browse to the MIB you want to view.

  2. Right-click the MIB, and then click Get/Walk Tree.

  3. To add or remove columns, click Columns, and then click the column you want to add or remove.

  4. To view additional MIBs, click Get Next, and then click the number of additional MIBs you want to view.

View a MIB table

  1. Browse to the MIB table you want to view.

  2. Right-click the table, and then click Get Table.

  3. To refresh the MIB value, click Refresh, and then select the items to refresh.

  4. To swap the columns and rows in the table, click Pivot.

Bookmark a MIB or table

To bookmark a specific MIB or table, right-click the MIB or table, and then click Bookmark Selected OID.

To locate a previously bookmarked MIB or table:

  • In Workspace Studio, click in the upper-right corner of the gadget. From the drop-down, click Bookmarks, and then click the bookmark you want to view.

  • If you accessed the tool from Toolset Launch Pad, click Bookmarks, and then click the bookmark you want to view.

To rearrange or delete bookmarks:

  • In Workspace Studio, click in the upper-right corner of the gadget. From the drop-down, click Bookmarks> Manage Bookmarks.

  • If you accessed the tool from Toolset Launch Pad, click Bookmarks > Manage Bookmarks.

Search the MIB tree

The MIB Browser incorporates a powerful MIB tree OID search capability. This search capability can locate specific OID, OID name pattern, or keyword in the descriptions.

  1. Click Search MIB Tree.

  2. Select a tab:

    • Search by OID
    • Search by Name
    • Search Descriptions

  3. Enter the search criteria.

    You can use asterisks (*) as a wildcard character. For example, system* finds all OIDs that start with system, and *number finds all OIDs that end with number.

  4. Click Search.

  5. To view the OID in the MIB tree, click Show in MIB Tree.

  6. To copy or print the OID information you find, click the Copy or Print button.

When you use the Search Descriptions tab, the first 500 OIDs that match the pattern are displayed. Click the OID to display details.