 capabilities of remote configuration, it was only in SNMPv3 that a stan- dard that provides commercial grade administration and security framework was introduced. The discussion on SNMPv2 in this chapter deals with generic non- conflicting recommendations and does not relate to a specific version. SNMPv2C endorsed by IETF is the most popular implementation of SNMPv2 that is available in the majority of NMS products. The advantages offered by SNMPv2 over SNMPvl are: Better event handling using "inform." In SNMPvl "Trap" message generated by the agent for event notification is simply collected by the manager, while SNMPv2 "Inform" message from the agent is acknowledged by the manager with a response. "Inform" message for event notification generated by the agent will be resent to the manager, if the manager does not send a response message to acknowledge the reception of the message. Improved error handling with new error and exception definitions. Expanded data types like BITS, Unsigned32, Counter64 in addition to many others. Standardized multiprotocol support. Enhanced security. Fundamentals of EMS, NMS and OSS/BSS Large data retrieval possible using Get-Bulk operator, leading to better effi- ciency and performance. Improved data definition with additions to SMI, new MIB objects, and changes to syntax and semantics of existing objects. The Get, GetNext, and Set operations used in SNMPv1 are exactly the same as those used in SNMPv2. They perform the action of getting and setting of managed objects. Even the message format associated with these operations has not changed in SNMPv2. Though Trap operation in SNMPv2, serves the same function as that used in SNMPvl, a different message format is used for trap operation in SNMPv2. SNMPv2 defines two new protocol operations: GetBulk: This operation is used to retrieve a large bulk of data. This opera- tion was introduced to fix the deficiency in SNMPvl for handling blocks of data like multiple rows in a table. The response to a GetBulk request will try to fill as much 