[mrtg] Re: how to get port information?

[Rick Horowitz]

Andre Boucher stated:
>> I agree with most of what Ken said, except that I would be careful before
>> using "public" as a community string.  The community string can be
>> considered as a password, and many systems uses public as the default.
You
>> must understand that this community string is here to protect the snmp
>> informations you have and you probably do not want to have everybody
>> retreiving information on your system.
>>
>> So, pick a community string which is secret to you or your organisation.

To which Alex van den Bogaerdt replied:
>I disagree with this. If safety is an issue you should not rely on secrets
>that can be sniffed from the network or otherwise found.
>Just configure the device you're monitoring with an access list (most can)
>so that only known clients can query or set OIDs.

This sounds a little bit like:

I disagree with this.  If safety is an issue, you should not rely on door
locks which can easily be broken down by a determined house robber.

Just have your nosey neighbor watch the front door and tell everyone to go
away.

It's really really easy to put a lock on: just set some other name than
"public" for your key.  And if that's not a really strong lock?  Well,
neither is a lock on a screen door, but not that many people come through
mine at night when I'm sleeping.  (In fact, fortunately, none so far.)

Rick Horowitz                          Cisco Certified Network Associate
Network Administrator                   Microsoft Certified Professional
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