A.3.6 Distinguishing Multiple Instances Through SNMP v3 Context Names

While there is no downside to using Messaging Server's SNMP support in standalone mode as described in A.3.3 Running as a Standalone SNMP Agent, it is recognized that some sites may prefer to use a more traditional subagent mode while still maintaining the capability of monitoring multiple instances of Messaging Server running concurrently on the same system. For instance, an SNMP monitoring system whose licensing model limits the number of IP addresses which may be polled. To achieve this goal, continue to run Messaging Server's SNMP subagent with local.snmp.standalone set to zero. Additionally, configure each instance of Messaging Server to use a distinct SNMP v3 context name by specifying a non-zero value for the local.snmp.enablecontextname option. If a context name different than the value of service.defaultdomain is desired, then set the desired name with the local.snmp.contextname option. Once each instance of Messaging Server's SNMP subagent is restarted, they can then be monitored via SNMP v3 queries which include the proper context names. The MIBs of two instances of Messaging Server running on the same system are distinguished by the instance's SNMP v3 context name and so no MIB object identifier (OID) conflicts will arise.