Question

How can you efficiently restrict the read-only function of a requesting SNMP management station based on the IP address?

Answer 1

Answer:

Place an ACL on the line when configuring the RO community string.

Explanation:

Controlling Access via SNMP

SNMP is a protocol used by network management systems to monitor and control network-attached devices. Ciscoworks, HP Openview, and other management stations all use SNMP.

SNMP access can be granted on a network device in two ways—read-only and read-write. Read-only access allows the management station to poll the device for statistics and other information, but it does not allow anything to be changed. Read-write access allows the management station to make changes to the configuration of the device.

It's obviously a good idea to make sure you trust the devices allowed to make changes to your configuration, but some versions of SNMP use only a simple shared password to permit access. To make this more secure, an ACL can be applied, which limits the source IP addresses that can use SNMP.