Systems health and performance monitoring provider Monitis now offers a free SNMP monitoring service. The user can download and install Monitis Agents on any Windows, Linux or Solaris computer and then use the MontorSNMP web interface to add device monitors. SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is a network protocol used to monitor and manage network devices, servers, databases and printers. According to Wikipedia:

An SNMP-managed network consists of three key components:

1. Managed devices

2. Agents

3. Network-management stations (NMSs)

A managed device is a network node that contains an SNMP agent and that resides on a managed network. Managed devices collect and store management information and make this information available to NMSs using SNMP. Managed devices, sometimes called network elements, can be any type of device including, but not limited to, routers, access servers, switches, bridges, hubs, IP telephones, computer hosts, and printers.