Network Administrators who work with SNMP-enabled networking devices and services need a MIB browser.
It will be beneficial to have a basic understanding of MIB and its working before moving on to different MIB browsers for managing SNMP devices.
What is MIB?
MIB stands for Management Information Bases. A MIB is indeed a structured text file that compiles all the network objects used by a specific hardware device that can be managed and controlled using the SNMP protocol.
The setup and configuration of the SNMP-enabled devices are described by MIBs, which also include additional data on the IP address, the operating system version, as well as the amount of memory space available.
There are MIB extensions for any class of connected networking devices that can be regulated. The accessible entity structure and instance variables of the SNMP-enabled device are documented in MIB files, which are typically provided by the manufacturers of SNMP configurable equipment.
What does a MIB Browser do?
A MIB Browser is a network analysis tool that enables users to extract MIB data from all types of SNMP-enabled devices and displays it in an understandable format.
Features of MIB Browser
- Obtain and show MIB data in an understandable format.
- Add, edit, or remove abstract table cells by setting MIB variables.
- Enables the user to add additional MIB definitions.
- Display device configuration details in a clear, understandable format.
- Compatibility for all SNMP versions, especially SNMPv3.
In this article, we’ll show you some top-notch MIB Browsers to manage SNMP Devices. Users can easily retrieve, view, query, and execute basic operations on MIB files using these MIB Browsers.
Let’s get started!
SolarWinds
Among IT and network professionals, SolarWinds is a well-known brand. Its MIB Browser, as well as various other networking applications and valuable tools, are included in the SolarWinds Engineer’s Toolset (ETS) to assist users in ensuring the proper operation of your whole IT infrastructure. Using this robust MIB browser, the user can efficiently manage and update MIBs, and any SNMP-enabled device can be easily queried and configured.
You can also quickly traverse through a MIB tree to see which MIBs are enabled by a specific networking device, making it easier to track and gather information for Object identifiers. Over a million discrete object identifiers from hundreds of standard and manufacturer MIBs come pre-installed as a library in this MIB Browser utility.
The built-in MIB scanner assists the user in identifying a particular MIB or group of MIBs handled by a particular networking device. The user can additionally provide a network range that will be tested to see if it supports the specific MIB.
Features:
- visualize network performance and bandwidth usage metrics on a real-time basis
- Built-in effective MIB scanner to quickly locate specific MIB files and object identifiers.
- Access 50+ essential networking tools, including a MIB browser, with ease.
The Engineer’s Toolset from SolarWinds is available for a free 14-day trial. You can download it from the Solarwinds website after registration.
Paessler PRTG
Paessler MIB Importer is a straightforward and user-friendly MIB viewer for Windows. It is a freeware MIB browser application that works with the PRTG-Network Monitor to monitor, load, and import MIB files and converts them to object identifier libraries. It tracks SNMP-enabled devices using MIB data sets provided by the device manufacturer and translates the MIB data into an object identifier library, which the PRTG monitor then uses to display specific device performance.
Features:
- Simple to use and very customizable
- Displays network and device configuration metrics in graph formats
- Converts MIB data files of abstract definition language to an understandable format.
This MIB Importer’s job is to convert MIB data files into XML-based repository format. To get the most up-to-date functionalities of this tool, simply download the newest version.
ManageEngine
ManageEngine offers a free and powerful SNMP MIB browser for IT professionals and individuals to view MIB files. It allows you to browse through any MIB tree and see which MIBs a given specific network component supports. It fetches a wide range of data from SNMP network devices instantaneously. The user can also load & inspect several MIB data files and conduct various SNMP operations such as GET/ SET request and response.
Features:
- Sends push notifications and emails to the network administrator to inform the device’s condition and performance status.
- Real-time visualization of SNMP Table data is available.
- Supports SNMP versions 1, 2, and 3
- Supports both the CBC-DES ( Data Encryption Standard ) and CFB-AES-128 ( cipher feedback ) privacy protocols.
- Execute SNMP queries directly from Windows and Linux systems.
- Shows a list of all OIDs used by your network equipment.
The Free SNMP MIB Browser can be downloaded from the ManageEngine Download page.
iReasoning
The iReasoning MIB browser is a versatile and user-friendly application. This tool allows the user to plot numerical OID data in the form of graphs and charts to keep track of device performance. Network professionals can load MIBs, send SNMP queries, and receive alerts with this tool. To troubleshoot network problems, it also offers simple ping, traceroute, and network browsing utilities.
Application logs and SNMP transactions exchanged between the network management system and the devices are displayed in the log panel. You can also handle SNMP alerts using the integrated trap listener, store network transactions, and analyze them later. It also has a built-in switch port mapper that lets users see port statistics such as bandwidth use.
Features:
- Cross-platform combability runs on various operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and Mac OS.
- MIB data sets are displayed in tabular form.
- Backlog and low memory alerts
- Trap transmitter and receiver for processing alarms and triggering actions when particular circumstances are met.
- Integrated Switch port mapper and networks explorer tools
- SNMP-enabled device comparison and configuration details
You can download the free version of this tool from iReasoning download page, or you can also try a premium version for 30 days according to your needs. Free-edition can load a maximum of 10 MIB files, and capabilities such as Time series charts and performance graphs are not accessible. The enterprise edition comes with a robust trap transmitter and receiver and security mechanisms.
OiDViEW
OiDViEW SNMP MIB browser is a specialized network administration and analytical tool. MIBs can be compiled, examined, and exported with this application. Unlike many other MIB browsers, the OiDViEW MIB browser can analyze SNMP mib walk files and fetches the value of each object identifier from multiple manufacturers.
MIB parameters are automatically processed and displayed in the Info window, whereas values are interpreted and displayed in the charting display based on the MIB definition. The MIB statistics panel displays MIB information such as the object identifier, label, class, status, description, etc. It is compatible with all versions of the Windows operating system.
Features:
- Interactive and Customizable LiveGrid for real-time data analysis
- Output data in the charting display can be aggregated and altered in a variety of formats.
Using this tool, you can easily visualize the MIB values and trace the protocol data units for session analysis. It provides a free trial edition for a week. After that, you can use it for free with certain limitations or upgrade to a professional edition.
ServersCheck
ServersCheck MIB Browser is a straightforward and cost-free MIB browser for Windows. By utilizing SNMPv1, SNMPv2, or the secure SNMPv3 protocol, this freeware tool enables the users to query an SNMP-supported networking device.
It can execute various SNMP operations WALK, GET/SET request & response. The regular Protocol mibs, the RFC (Request For Comments) mibs, and the ServersCheck mibs are included with this package. Additionally, you can query SNMP-supported networking equipment using the appropriate IP address, serial number, SNMP version, etc.
Features:
- MIB data sets are displayed in tabular form.
- Supports all versions of SNMP
- Users can execute various SNMP operations and work with MIB files.
Since it is a Java-based program, it can run on any computer that has Java run-time enabled. You can download Java Run-Time before using this browser.
MG-Soft
MG-Soft MIB Browser is capable of managing SNMPv3 USM (User-based Security Module ) users on virtual SNMP devices. The GUI for loading and integrating MIB elements in this MIB Browser is more responsive and easy to use.
And it also has functionalities like an enhanced SNMP Table listener, log analysis functionality, scanning for applied MIBs in devices, comparing SNMP agent snippets, and monitoring multiple SNMP-enabled devices at once.
Features
- Specified MIB files are automatically synthesized, stored, and displayed in MIB Viewer.
- Data packets sent and received by MIB Browser and SNMP-enabled devices can be displayed in the default Monitor panel.
This tool is available for various operating systems such as Windows, Linux, macOS, and Solaris.
Simple Soft
Simplesoft’s MIB browser is another well-known tool for network monitoring and analysis. It is an easy-to-use graphical interface for configuring and querying data from any SNMP-enabled equipment in the network.
Features:
- Ping and Traceroute are used to check network connections.
- Displays network performance metrics in graph formats
- Shows MIB details for the chosen management entity in the MIB hierarchy.
- It also helps diagnose and address communication issues by debugging all data transactions.
This tool can import specific network hardware MIB records and show the management information that consists of a visual structure for simple navigation. It also transmits different SNMP requests in order to fetch and set up the specific management information from the SNMP-supported network equipment.
Additionally, the frequent sampling method can be used to gather and visualize performance management information. Configuration information that has been individually developed or extracted from other equipment can be archived and propagated to other networking hardware that requires a similar system setup.
Conclusion
There are numerous MIB browsers available on the internet. We have compiled a list of the best MIB browsers in this post. Choose the best one based on your budget and the size of your infrastructure.
You may also be interested in learning about real-time bandwidth monitors.