The authors have divided this book into three sections, each containing three chapters: an introduction, a section on wire management, and a section on host management. The first chapter defines the model for using Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) versions 1 and 2 to manage a network. It includes the rules for defining the Structure Management Information (SMI) objects using a grammar similar to Backus-Naur form, their collection into a management information base (MIB), and the operations supported by the request/response protocol.

In the second chapter, the authors note that no existing application program interface (API) meets their criteria, so they offer one, which uses the Tool Command Language (tcl) and tk for graphical interfacing (primarily X Windows–oriented). The authors present a quick tutorial on tcl so the reader can follow the examples. An implementation is available via the Internet for SNMP version 2.

The information in the first two chapters is used in chapter 3 to implement a browser agent as an example. The implementation considers the design; code fragments in tcl illustrate portions of the design.

The remaining chapters have the following form: a minimalist tutorial on the chapter topic, a discussion of the managed objects, and tcl code fragments to gather data for analysis by the user. These chapters move from areas where the standards for objects are well-defined to those in which standards have been proposed but not finalized. Many of the MIB objects introduced throughout are described in a sentence or two.

Section 2 is about managing wires. Chapter 4 deals with interface management from the Internet Protocol layer down in the protocol stack. Chapter 5 handles LAN management and includes IEEE 802.3/EtherNet and IEEE 802.5/Token Ring. Chapter6 discusses WAN management. The tutorial portion of this chapter is on DS1 and DS3 links and their operation and possible errors.

Part 3 begins with host management, which is a new idea for SNMP. This section discusses additional devices that are not network oriented, such as disks, and software packages for the host. The next chapter is titled “Applications Management” but deals with the transport layer (transmission control protocol, or TCP), since managing applications is so new that no software with this capability is available. The last chapter is short, and considers managing the SNMP agents.

The appendices offer a quick reference to the SNMP API and the tcl core, a listing of Internet standards and documents and where to obtain them, and implementations of network management software that are available via the Internet. The bibliography is almost entirely references to Internet  documents. 

If you plan to write your own SNMP software, this book does set forth the structures you will encounter and offers a software base (via the Internet) to start from if you know tcl and tk. If you plan to purchase a commercial product, it does not mention any. In either case, having made the information available, the authors offer few hints as to its interpretation.