Introduction to PI Interface for SNMP

The PI Interface for SNMP gathers information from SNMP-enabled devices residing in a TCP/IP network. The devices must be able to send and receive messages using the SNMP protocol. Specifically, they must run an SNMP agent that supports SNMPv1, SNMPv2c, or SNMPv3. Because remote monitoring (RMON) is a specific application of the SNMP protocol, the interface supports the retrieval of RMON values.

The interface can retrieve values from SNMP devices into input points in the PI Data Archive and can set values on SNMP devices using output points. However, the interface cannot receive data by means of traps sent by SNMP agents. Its purpose is to gather statistics and data, not to control or configure network nodes.

This guide assumes that you are familiar with the basics of SNMP and PI System technologies.

Note: The SNMPGet and SNMPWalk utilities, which were included in previous releases of the interface, are no longer supported or distributed. The Tag Builder plug-in for PI SMT 3.x can test the connectivity to SNMP devices and build points. You can use any valid SNMP client tool to obtain diagnostic information about SNMP devices.

We are revising terminology to reflect the growth of PI Server from its original single-server architecture. The term PI Data Archive means the component that stores time-series data (formerly called PI Server). The term PI Server means the entire suite of PI System server products, and includes both PI Data Archive and PI Asset Framework. This document uses the revised terminology.