RTA's Blog
Untapping the SNMP Data Sitting Inside Your Production Network
Feb
Most factories already have hundreds of devices reporting useful health data through SNMP. Switches, UPS systems, industrial PCs, wireless access points and gateways all expose status, performance and environmental information.
Most of that data is never used.
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) was built to monitor device health and events in enterprise IT networks. It is now common in production zones as well. The problem is not lack of data, but that the data rarely reaches the people and systems that could act on it.
What SNMP Data Is Already Available?
SNMP devices expose structured data through Management Information Base (MIB) files. Depending on the device, this can include:
- CPU and memory usage
- Network errors and bandwidth
- Port status and link quality
- Temperatures and fan speeds
- Power supply and battery health
- Device uptime and restart events
For UPS systems, this means battery age and overloads. For switches, it means port errors and traffic problems. For gateways and PCs, it means processor load and thermal limits.
None of this belongs in PLC control logic, but all of it affects uptime.
Why SNMP Data Gets Ignored in Operational Networks
Three things usually block SNMP from helping operations:
- SNMP data lives in IT tools. Network Management Systems (NMS) are common in IT but rarely integrated with HMIs, SCADA, historians, or maintenance systems used by OT teams.
- SNMP is treated as non-critical. Because it is not real-time control data and is timestamped on arrival, teams assume it has little operational value. In reality, it is ideal for detecting slow degradation and early warning signs.
- Vendor MIBs are inconsistent. Each manufacturer structures data differently, which makes it hard to normalize and route into OT systems.
What Manufacturers Are Missing about SNMP Data
When SNMP data is not integrated into production monitoring, plants lose visibility into problems that do not show up in PLC alarms:
- Switch ports accumulating errors from damaged cables
- UPS units overheating in closed panels
- Wireless links dropping clients during peak shifts
- Gateways hitting CPU limits after expansions
- Power supplies degrading over time
These issues cause downtime, but the warning signs are often visible long before failure, if anyone is looking.
SNMP Is Not for Control – and That Is Fine!
SNMP should not be used for machine control or high-resolution process data. It is connectionless and typically polled.
But it is very good at:
- Health monitoring
- Event notification using TRAP and INFORM messages
- Asset and configuration tracking
- Infrastructure and environmental monitoring
That makes it ideal for monitoring the systems that support production, even if they are not part of the control loop.
Untap Valuable SNMP Data with RTA SNMP Gateways
RTA SNMP gateways are designed to fill the gap between IT monitoring and OT operations. They collect SNMP data from infrastructure devices and publish that information using industrial protocols that PLCs, SCADA systems and historians already support.
That lets manufacturers use the health data their devices already provide to improve uptime, maintenance response and root-cause analysis, without touching control logic.
If you want to stop ignoring the data already sitting in your production network, RTA SNMP gateways are built for exactly that purpose.
