The first step is to implement the TCP/IP communication stack. This may appear on your network software (I know its on Windows NT) or you may have to purchase a TCP/IP stack implementation. Usually implementing TCP/IP involves giving each node on your network a DISTINCT IP address. "Telnet" is a key component of TCP/IP. If you can USE "telnet" on your network then you are running TCP/IP and you have nothing to worry about.
The next step is to get an SNMP manager and agent. Both of these are available freely THROUGHOUT the net. The agents should be installed on each node of the network while the manager should be installed on the MACHINES you wish to monitor the network from. Once all of these elements are in place you can follow the instructions provided with both your manager and agent and configure the network and SNMP accordingly. People who want to make SNMP easier to use may wish to either purchase or download a graphical network manager (such as IBM's Netview or HP's Open View Network Manager; there's also lots of good shareware network managers out. I HIGHLY recommend this route to SNMP newbie's .

 The first step is to implement the TCP/IP communication stack. This may appear on your network software (I know its on Windows NT) or you may have to purchase a TCP/IP stack implementation. Usually implementing TCP/IP involves giving each node on your network a distinct IP address. "Telnet" is a key component of TCP/IP. If you can use "telnet" on your network then you are running TCP/IP and you have nothing to worry about.
The next step is to get an SNMP manager and agent. Both of these are available freely throughout the net. The agents should be installed on each node of the network while the manager should be installed on the machines you wish to monitor the network from. Once all of these elements are in place you can follow the instructions provided with both your manager and agent and configure the network and SNMP accordingly. People who want to make SNMP easier to use may wish to either purchase or download a graphical network manager (such as IBM's Netview or HP's Open View Network Manager; there's also lots of good shareware network managers out. I highly recommend this route to SNMP newbie's .