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SNMPinfo is a consulting and software development company founded in 1997 by David T. Perkins.
David "Dave" Perkins has been involved with networking since 1982 and network management since 1989. Before specializing in networking, he wrote code at Data General for a source-level debugger, a compiler, and parts of an operating system. After leaving DG, he worked for Zenith Data Systems where he was the lead software developer for creating device drivers and porting MS-DOS to the Z-100. At ZDS, he developed a proprietary network protocol for a file service and the device driver for a ZDS-developed network adapter. California called, and he moved west to work for 3Com in 1983 where over several years he developed a file system for 3Share, a file and print server for 3Plus, and a directory server for 3Plus. Looking for greater challenges, he got into network management - first learning CMIP/CMOT and then SNMP. At 3Com he wrote the first version of a MIB compiler for a network management platform (which 3Com never shipped). He also started attending the IETF conferences, and focused on network management. After over seven years at 3Com, he left in 1991 to coordinate MIB usage at SynOptics. There he wrote an all new second generation MIB compiler, called SMIC. He and his group wrote many (seventeen) tools at SynOptics based on SMIC to help agent developers, management application developers, product testers, and product managers.
Dave participated in the IETF's SNMPv2 effort. After the RFCs were published, Dave wrote a third generation MIB compiler called SMICng. In it were pieces from SMIC "classic", but most of the major data structures were changed to support the constructs in SMIv2. Meanwhile, SynOptics and Wellfleet merged to form Bay Networks. In 1994, Dave started writing the book "Understanding SNMP MIBs". Dave left Bay Networks in 1995 to join Peer Networks, a small supplier of SNMP agent tool kits. Peer was acquired soon after in 1995 by BMC software and Dave left to devote his full time to completing the book. Writing the book took most of 1996, but Dave was also able to obtain a license for the source code of the first version of SMICng from Bay Networks, create an updated SMICng, and do some consulting work. The updated version of SMICng supports the latest version of the SMI (defined in RFCs 1902, 1903, and 1904). With the book out of the way and demand for SMICng high, Dave felt the time was right for starting SNMPinfo. In 1998, Dave wrote his second book, which is on RMON. Also in 1998, Dave was one of the three co-authors that updated the SMI documents, which are RFCs 2578, 2579, and 2580.
Dave continues to be an active participant in IETF activies, and on the comp.protocols.snmp news group. He is also a member of the network management research group of the IRTF.
The updated version of SMICng from SNMPinfo is the latest and most up-to-date version, since Bay Networks has not made available an updated version.
Contact SNMPinfo to obtain the best MIB tools to develop your SNMP-based management products.
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