Monitoring Network Switches with SNMP Exporter, Prometheus, and Grafana

Grafana
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1

Introduction

Network switches are critical components of any infrastructure. Monitoring interface bandwidth, device uptime, and fault conditions helps administrators proactively identify issues before they impact production.

In this guide, we’ll build a complete monitoring solution using:

  • SNMP-enabled Switch
  • SNMP Exporter
  • Prometheus
  • Grafana

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Step 1: Verify SNMP Connectivity
Before configuring monitoring, verify that SNMP is enabled and accessible from your monitoring server.
Run:
snmpwalk -v2c -c public x.x.x.x
Expected Result:
• SNMP OIDs should be returned successfully.
• If no response is received, verify:
o SNMP service is enabled on the switch.
o Community string is correct.
o Firewall rules allow UDP 161.

Step 2: Install SNMP Exporter

Download the exporter:

cd /tmp
wget https://github.com/prometheus/snmp_exporter/releases/download/v0.25.0/snmp_exporter-0.25.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Extract:

tar -xvf snmp_exporter-0.25.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz

cd snmp_exporter-0.25.0.linux-amd64

Copy binary and configuration:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/snmp_exporter

sudo cp snmp.yml /etc/snmp_exporter/

sudo cp snmp_exporter /usr/local/bin/

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/snmp_exporter

Step 3: Configure SNMP Exporter as a Systemd Service

Create service file:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/snmp_exporter.service

Paste:

[Unit]

Description=SNMP Exporter

After=network.target

[Service]

Type=simple

ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/snmp_exporter --config.file=/etc/snmp_exporter/snmp.yml

Restart=always

RestartSec=5

[Install]

WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save and exit.

Step 4: Reload Systemd

sudo systemctl daemon-reexec
sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Step 5: Start SNMP Exporter

sudo systemctl start snmp_exporter

Step 6: Enable Auto Start

sudo systemctl enable snmp_exporter

Step 7: Verify Service Status

sudo systemctl status snmp_exporter

Expected:

Active: active (running)

Step 8: Verify Listening Port

SNMP Exporter listens on port 9116 by default.

netstat -tulnp | grep 9116

Expected:

:9116 LISTEN

Step 9: Test SNMP Exporter
Run:

curl "http://localhost:9116/snmp?target=x.x.x.x&module=if_mib"

Expected output should contain metrics such as:

ifHCInOctets

ifHCOutOctets

This confirms that SNMP Exporter can successfully query the switch.

Troubleshooting

If the service does not start:

journalctl -u snmp_exporter -f

Common issues:

  • Invalid snmp.yml configuration
  • Incorrect file permissions
  • Port already in use
  • Firewall restrictions

Step 10: Configure Prometheus

Edit Prometheus configuration:

sudo nano /etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml

Add the following jobs.

Interface Metrics

- job_name: ‘snmp-switch’

metrics_path: /snmp

params:

module: \[if_mib\]

static_configs:

- targets:

  - x.x.x.x

  - x.x.x.x

relabel_configs:

- source_labels: \[\__address_\_\]

  target_label: \__param_target



- source_labels: \[\__param_target\]

  target_label: instance



- target_label: \__address_\_

  replacement: x.x.x.x:9116

System Metrics

- job_name: ‘snmp-system’

metrics_path: /snmp

params:

module: \[system\]

static_configs:

- targets:

  - x.x.x.x  //ip address

  - x.x.x.x

relabel_configs:

- source_labels: \[\__address_\_\]

  target_label: \__param_target



- source_labels: \[\__param_target\]

  target_label: instance



- target_label: \__address_\_

  replacement: x.x.x.x:9116

Siemens Fault Monitoring

- job_name: ‘snmp-siemens-fault’

metrics_path: /snmp

params:

module: \[siemens_system\]

static_configs:

- targets:

  - x.x.x.x

  - x.x.x.x

relabel_configs:

- source_labels: \[\__address_\_\]

  target_label: \__param_target



- source_labels: \[\__param_target\]

  target_label: instance



- target_label: \__address_\_

  replacement: x.x.x.x:9116

Step 11: Restart Prometheus

sudo systemctl restart prometheus

Verify:

sudo systemctl status prometheus

Expected:

Active: active (running)

Step 12: Validate Targets

Open Prometheus:

http://<prometheus-server>:9090/targets

All SNMP jobs should display:

State = UP

Step 13: Create Grafana Dashboard

Add Prometheus as a datasource if not already configured.

Useful metrics include:

Interface Traffic

rate(ifHCInOctets[5m]) * 8

Inbound bandwidth.

rate(ifHCOutOctets[5m]) * 8

Outbound bandwidth.

Interface Status

ifOperStatus

Monitor interface up/down status.

Device Uptime

sysUpTime

Fault Monitoring

Use metrics generated from the Siemens SNMP module to create:

  • Fault count panels
  • Critical alarm panels
  • Device health overview

Alerting dashboards

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Benefits of This Architecture

  • Agentless monitoring
  • Supports almost all network devices
  • Scalable for hundreds of switches
  • Centralized monitoring through Grafana
  • Historical performance analysis
  • Real-time fault visibility
  • Easy integration with existing Prometheus environments

Conclusion

Using SNMP Exporter with Prometheus and Grafana provides a powerful and scalable solution for monitoring network infrastructure. By collecting interface statistics, system health metrics, and fault information, administrators gain complete visibility into switch performance and can quickly respond to issues before they affect operations.

2

it’s also great to collect and pass some links metadata to observe the network infrastructure in a topology view. Seems as a natural fit. Network on a node graph

3

Thanks @vaduga for your suggestion.