Free NPM sample questions

Correct answer: authPriv

This is the highest security level for SNMPv3. It provides both authentication (auth) to verify the message source and privacy (priv) through encryption of the data payload. This ensures message integrity, authenticity, and confidentiality, meeting the highest security requirements.

Correct answer: The MIB file has a dependency on another MIB file that has not been loaded yet.

MIBs often use definitions and object types from other, more standard MIBs (e.g., RFC1213-MIB). If a vendor MIB references an object from a parent MIB that is not already present in the Orion MIB database, the compiler will fail because it cannot resolve the dependency. The solution is to load the required parent MIBs first.

Correct answers: Configure the security level to authPriv.; Use strong, complex passwords for both the authentication and privacy passphrases.; Select strong encryption algorithms like AES-128 or higher for the privacy protocol.

The authPriv security level provides both authentication and encryption (privacy), which is the strongest security available in SNMPv3 and is essential to meet the audit requirement.

The security of SNMPv3 relies on the strength of the passphrases. Using weak or default passwords would undermine the security provided by the protocol, even with authPriv enabled.

When using authPriv, you must select both an authentication protocol (e.g., SHA) and a privacy protocol. Choosing a strong encryption algorithm like AES is crucial for ensuring data confidentiality.

Correct answer: An Inform message requires an acknowledgment from the management station, while a Trap does not.

This is the primary difference. An SNMP Trap is a 'fire-and-forget' message; the sending device does not know if it was received. An SNMP Inform is a confirmed message; the management station must send an acknowledgment (response PDU). If no acknowledgment is received, the agent may resend the Inform. This makes Informs more reliable for critical notifications.

Correct answer: Create a Universal Device Poller (UnDP) using the specific OID for the temperature reading.

The Universal Device Poller (UnDP) is the designated tool in NPM for this exact purpose. It allows administrators to define custom pollers for any metric available via an SNMP OID. Once created, the poller can be assigned to the node, and its data can be charted, displayed, and used in alerts just like a native metric.

Correct answer: False

This is correct. The Universal Device Poller (UnDP) is limited to the SNMP protocol for custom polling. WMI polling is a separate mechanism primarily associated with the SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (SAM) module.

Correct answer: On the SNMP credentials page of the discovery wizard, reduce the number of community strings being tested against each IP.

A major time sink in discovery is testing multiple SNMP credentials against every IP in the range. By refining the list to only the known, valid community strings for that subnet, the discovery can proceed much faster. It avoids waiting for timeouts on incorrect credentials for each potential device.

Correct answer: Define CSW-1 as the parent of DSW-1. Then, define DSW-1 as the parent for a group containing ASW-1 and ASW-2.

This correctly models the network topology. Making DSW-1 a child of CSW-1 ensures that if CSW-1 goes down, DSW-1 enters an 'Unreachable' state, suppressing its own 'Down' alert. Subsequently, making the access switches (ASW-1, ASW-2) children of DSW-1 ensures that when DSW-1 is down or unreachable, alerts for the access switches are also suppressed. Using a group for the access switches is an efficient way to manage this second dependency.

Correct answer: To enable more powerful filtering, grouping, and reporting based on the assigned value.

Custom properties act as metadata tags. Their main purpose is to allow for flexible organization of monitored entities. Once defined, you can use these properties to create dynamic groups, build targeted alert conditions (e.g., 'only alert on 'Production' nodes'), create specific views, and generate filtered reports.

Correct answer: The SNMPv3 'engineID' on the router does not match what Orion expects or has cached.

SNMPv3 uses a unique engineID for each device. Orion discovers and uses this ID for communication. If the device's configuration is changed, or if it's a clone of another device, it might have a duplicate or incorrect engineID. This mismatch prevents the cryptographic keys from working correctly, leading to authentication failures that manifest as an 'Unknown' status even when credentials appear correct. Forcing a rediscovery of the node in Orion often resolves this.