Ports 161 and 162 are UDP ports used by the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) for communication between network management systems and devices.
SNMP Port Usage
| Port | Protocol | Description | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 161 | UDP | Used for polling by SNMP Managers to query SNMP Agents for information. SNMP Managers connect to SNMP Agents using this port. | Manager -> Agent |
| 162 | UDP | Used by SNMP Agents to send unsolicited traps (alerts or notifications) to the SNMP Manager. SNMP Agents send these notifications without being specifically requested. | Agent -> Manager |
In summary:
- Port 161: This is the port the SNMP manager uses to query an agent. The manager is actively requesting information.
- Port 162: This is the port the SNMP agent uses to send traps to the manager. Traps are unsolicited messages, typically indicating an event or threshold has been crossed.
This two-way communication allows network administrators to monitor and manage network devices efficiently.
