Which description best captures the concept of an agent in this material?

• A. The device responsible for building routing tables.
• B. A protocol used for remote management.
• C. Network management software running on a managed device; by design has local knowledge of management information on the managed device and communicates that information via SNMP.
• D. A hardware component that stores configuration data.

Answer: (C)

In SNMP, an agent is software that runs on the device being managed. It holds the device’s management information locally (in the MIB) and responds to requests from the manager, using SNMP to share that information. It can also send notifications (traps) to alert the manager about events. This on‑device component is what makes the device’s data accessible to the management system.

The other descriptions don’t fit this role: one describes the routing function of a device rather than an on‑device management agent; another names the management protocol itself rather than the software on the device; and another refers to hardware that stores configuration, which isn’t the management agent.