SNMP is a networking monitoring protocol that is incorporated within the TCP/IP suite of Internet protocols. It is used to monitor and manage devices remotely across a network and has 3 key components which are the managed devices, snmp agents and network management systems often just referred to as an NMS.

Basic Network Management With SNMP

A managed device is an active network device such as a server, router, switch, workstation or in fact any device that is network capable. The managed devices are programmed to collect information from the host device, possible store that information and have the ability to forward that information to the Network Management Station.

An SNMP agent is a piece of software residing on a host network device which collects the programmed information and communicates that information in the form of SNMP Traps to the Network Management Station.

A Network Management Station is used to monitor and control SNMP host devices through a series of simple messages and also report that information to the network monitoring team in the form of some kind of alarm or report.

The NMS can run a number of application processes designed to gather information about known networked devices. This information can be status information such as a change in status of a Router interface or a Switch Port, device configuration changes or information relating to the performance of a managed device.

Often the software applications loaded onto Network Management Stations are proprietary, but do contain and operate with TCP/IP standards based SNMP. One good example of an SNMP application is HP Openview.

Devices that communicate with a NMS are often configured to be a member of a known community with a community string or password providing the community identity or authentication. Later versions of SNMP use a stronger form of Authentication and Encryption of SNMP messages. A NMS must be part of a community before it can receive or view messages or make configuration changes to the devices already part of the community.

The SNMP messages themselves contain the information from the managed device or instructions from the NMS in a data field and each message also contains the identity of the community to which the device belongs. The SNMP messages are sent across the network encapsulated within a UDP (User Datagram Protocol) packet, which in turn is encapsulated within an IP (Internet Protocol) packet.

The agent software installed on the host devices have what is known as a MIB (Management Information Base), which is a database containing a list of manageable objects on the device. When a device needs to inform the Network Management Station about a configuration or status change, it sends a message known as a TRAP to the community NMS informing of the change.

The NMS has a number of message types it can use to interrogate or make changes to configuration on the managed devices and these are:

GET - Is used to ask the managed device for certain information about a managed object on the device. It could be a request for status of a router interface or the amount of disk space on the device hard disk drive.

GET-NEXT - Used to request the value of the next managed object in the device MIB.

SET - This is where the NMS can actually change the value of a managed object's variable, providing the object allows READ / WRITE access. If READ Only then this will not be possible.

The Management Information Base on the managed device will contain hierarchically organized information which are identified by what are known as object identifiers, which are universally known.



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The world of computer forensics -- like all things computer -- is rapidly developing and changing. While commercial investigative software packages exist, like EnCase by Guidance Software and FTK by AccessData, there are other software platforms which offer a solution for obtaining computer forensic results. Unlike the two aforementioned packages, these open sources alternatives do not cost hundreds of dollars -- they are free to download, distribute and use under various open source licenses.

Computer Forensics is the process of obtaining information from a computer system. This information may be obtained from a live system (one that is up and running) or a system which has been shut down. The process typically involves taking steps to obtain a copy, or an image of the target system (often times an image of the hard drive is obtained, but in the case of a "live" system, this can even be the other memory areas of the computer).

After making an exact "image" or copy of the target, in which the copy is verified by "checksum" processes, the computer specialist can begin to examine and obtain a wide range of data. This copy is obtained through write protected means to preserve the integrity of the original evidence. Information like pictures, videos, documents, browsing history, email addresses, and phone numbers are just some of the information (or evidence if being collected for possible court purposes), which can often be obtained. Even deleted elements are often retrievable.

Some of open source packages available for free download include SANs SIFT (SANS Investigative Forensic Toolkit), DEFT (Digital Evidence & Forensics Toolkit), and CAINE (Computer Aided INvestigative Environment) bootable CD's. These powerful packages are built upon a Linux Ubuntu windows type (graphical environment) operating system and feature dozens of tools, with each disk containing many of the same open source tools, offering similar capabilities. Some of these tools are The Sleuth Kit (a complete platform in and of itself), Photorec (great for recovering all sorts of deleted files), Scalpel (another deleted file recovery tool), Bulk Extractor (bulk email and URL extraction tool), Chntpw (a utility to reset the password of any user that has a valid local account on a Windows NT/2k/XP/Vista/7/8 system), Gparted (a partition editor for creating, reorganizing, and deleting disk partitions), and Log2timeline (a timeline generation tool).

So if you have an interest in things technical, download one of these disks and start becoming a computer sleuth today.



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In the ever changing and increasingly digital world of business that we live in, having a proper visual management tool for your company is of growing importance. All of the top companies, whether they are tech companies, accounting firms, or retailers, have some sort of visual tools to help them manage their everyday activities. All of these tools should have the following characteristics in order to be successful.

 Visual Management Tool

1. The Ability to Brainstorm

All great platforms will allow your employees to brainstorm and throw ideas up on the big board without having to start the planning process right away. In order to do this properly, they should be able to have a digital holding center for all of these ideas where all of the team members can access it, no matter where they might be. This brings us to our next requirement.

2. The Ability to Work With Remote Team Members

There are many reasons why team members cannot be all in the same location at once. Maybe different team members are on other teams as well and time slots do not match up. Maybe there are field teams and corporate teams in your company. No matter what the reason is, these visual tools should be able to be used by all team members no matter where they are in the world. This means there has to be a web-based interface and the ability to host several users at once.

3. An Easy-To-Use Interface

All of these tools need to be usable by all members of the team. Unlike some programs, where only certain team members can use them, such as accounting or finance software, this program has to be accessible. This means that all members can be easily trained on how to use it. Usability is one of the key features of a visual tool like this, and without it the tool is essentially useless. In order to determine the ease-of-use and accessibility of these management tools, you should do a trial run and have several different team members test out the software. If it is easy to use, your employees will let you know!

4. Customizability and Pleasing Aesthetics

The final and most important aspect that your management tool must have is that it must be customizable to your different management and project team needs. There should be a variety of different visualizations for progress, including calendars, charts, and workflow boards. There also needs to be the ability for creating colorful and easy-to-follow workflows in order to engage upper management and members outside of the team that may not be as familiar with several of the aspects of the project.

A proper visual management tool encompasses all of the aspects touched on above. It needs to be easy to use for all team members and it has to be customizable to the needs of the team.



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Despite the arrival of the Solid State Drive (SSD) on the market, offering quicker speeds and improved durability, the (HDD) remains the most common type of hard drive for personal computers today. Offering a higher storage capacity and a significantly lower price per GB of storage than the SSD, this is perhaps unsurprising.

How to Choose a Hard Disk Drive

The uses one or several storage platters as well as a motorised arm that reads and writes information onto disk. These devices use random access data retrieval, meaning that information can not only be read sequentially, but also in any order required.

There are a number of factors to consider when investing in a HDD for your computer. These include looking at various specifications of the model as well as the price tag and compatibility with your PC. A few other important considerations are listed below.

One of the first things to take into account is how much data storage you will need. Although the hard disk remains a better option for storage volume compared to the SSD, HDD products can vary significantly so it is worth making an honest evaluation of your specific requirements before purchasing.

Those who should consider investing in a higher storage capacity drive - and therefore a possibly more expensive product - include those who record and store videos on their computer. Other computer users such as gamers, those with an extensive music library and professional photographers with large portfolios are also advised to opt for more space.

On the other hand, users who mainly use their computer for word processing tasks and a more modest collection of photos and music files can comfortably choose a smaller capacity drive and be reassured that they will likely never run out of space.

It is also critical to consider the capacity for performance before investing in a new HDD. There are various factors that fall under the 'performance' umbrella, including data transfer rate, cache or buffer size, spindle speed and interface. For technophobes, it is best to ask a drive specialist at a reputable computer store to explain how these factors will affect you specifically.

Spindle speed is a significant aspect to consider when looking for a disk drive whose principalfunction will be to store data. Spindle speed refers to how fast the mechanisms inside the drive work to read and write data. Faster spindle speeds, therefore, mean that information can be quickly written on and read from disks more rapidly.

Cache or buffer speed will also affect the performance of the hard drive. The cache is a memory for frequently-used information, allowing users to quickly access this data. It therefore is logical that any disk drive with a large cache can provide better speeds of data retrieval.

It is necessary to take into account the durability of the hard drive that you are looking to purchase. Because of their mechanical components, HDDs are susceptible to damage if bumped or dropped. Other factors such as heat, moisture and vibration also come into play here.

If looking for a hard drive for a laptop, which due to its portability is much more likely to suffer shock damage than a fixed desktop computer, consider manufacturers who take this into account and can deliver a more durable and shock-resistant product. Otherwise, if price and volume of data storage aren't issues for, a solid state drive could be a great alternative option.

These are just a few of the factors that need to be taken into account when choosing a hard disk drive for your desktop or laptop computer. By looking at your data storage needs, the performance of the drive and its durability, you will be on your way to choosing the right disk drive for your specific requirements.

SCSI Shop is the online one-stop shop for everything SCSI. Stocking a huge variety of products including SCSI drives, cards, adaptors and cables and many more, SCSI Shop pride themselves on being able to provide all the products you need with just the simple click of a button. SCSI Shop stock top brands including HP, Dell, Seagate, IBM, Compaq and Maxtor, and they also aim to offer all their goods at the best prices around. SCSI Shop provides customers with an easy-to-use online catalogue, making purchasing products a smooth and stress-free experience.



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