Abbreviation for simple network management protocol. Protocol that provides network management services between a central management console and network devices such as routers, printers, and PACs.

The protocol encompasses three parts:

• Software agents that reside in the device.

• An agent management application.

• A network management system (NMS) terminal.

The protocol is part of the Internet protocol (IP) suite as defined by the Internet engineering task force (IETF), which consists of network management guidelines, including an application layer protocol, a database schema, and a set of data objects.