PRTG Traffic Grapher - User Manual
What is an “SNMP Community String”?
The “SNMP Community string” is like a user id or password that allows access to a router's or other device's statistics. PRTG sends the community string along with all SNMP requests. If the community string is correct, the device responds with the requested information. If the community string is incorrect, the device simply discards the request and does not respond.
Note: SNMP Community strings are used only by devices which support SNMPv1 and SNMPv2c protocol. SNMPv3 uses username/password authentication, along with an encryption key.
By convention, most SNMPv1-v2c equipment ships from the factory with a read-only community string set to "public". It is standard practice for network managers to change all the community strings to customized values in the device setup.
What is PRTG Traffic Grapher?
PRTG Traffic Grapher is an easy to use Windows software for monitoring and classifying bandwidth usage. It provides system administrators with live readings and long-term usage trends for their network devices. The most common usage is bandwidth usage monitoring, but you can also monitor many other aspects of your network like memory and CPU utilizations.