Which of the following is true about an SNMP agent?

• A. It is the central server that stores all network configurations.
• B. It is a hardware switch.
• C. It is 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. It is a browser plugin for monitoring.

Answer: (C)

An SNMP agent is the software component that runs on a managed device and holds access to that device’s management information. It keeps data about the device (like interface statuses, CPU load, memory usage, etc.) in a Management Information Base (MIB) and responds to requests from the SNMP manager. The manager asks for data (using SNMP GET/GETNEXT/GETBULK), and the agent replies with the requested values; the agent can also proactively send traps to alert the manager about events. This setup means the agent is the device’s own source of truth for its data and communicates information via SNMP, rather than being a central server, a separate hardware switch, or a browser plugin.