Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is a method for a FortiManager system to monitor and report on FortiGate devices. It also can allow you to monitor a FortiManager system on your local computer. You will need an SNMP agent on your computer to read the SNMP information.

Using SNMP, your FortiManager system checks the attached FortiGate devices for their system health, traffic levels, and many other details. By default when a FortiGate device is initially configured on your FortiManager system, that FortiGate device’s SNMP settings are configured to report to the FortiManager system.

Go to System Settings > Advanced > SNMP v1/v2c to configure your FortiManager system’s SNMP settings.

The Real Time Monitor uses SNMP traps and variables to read, log, and display information from connected FortiGate devices. For more information, see “RTM Profiles”.

SNMP has two parts - the SNMP agent or the device that is sending traps, and the SNMP manager that monitors those traps. The Real Time Monitor is the manager that monitors the FortiGate devices that are sending traps. To this end, the SNMP communities on the monitored FortiGate devices are hard coded and configured by the FortiManager system - they are not user configurable.

The FortiManager SNMP implementation is read-only — SNMP v1 and v2c compliant SNMP manager applications, such as those on your local computer, have read-only access to FortiManager system information and can receive FortiManager system traps.