The research objective of our work is to develop a SNMP MIB to XML translation algorithm and to implement an SNMP-XML gateway using this algorithm. The gateway is used to transfer management information between an XML-based manager and SNMP-based agents. SNMP is widely used for Internet management, but SNMP is insufficient to manage continuously expanding networks because of constraints in scalability and efficiency. XML-based network management architectures are newly proposed as alternatives to SNMP-based network management, but the XML-based Network Management System (XML-based NMS) cannot directly manage legacy SNMP agents. We also implemented an automatic specification translator (SNMP MIB to XML Translator) and an SNMP-XML gateway.

Embedded Web servers are widely used today for IP-based element management. In this paper, we present a new management architecture that combines this technology with XML, DOM, and XPath to unify element management and network management. XML is used for both management information modeling and manager-agent communication. By taking advantage of modern Web technologies, the proposed architecture provides a method to develop management applications efficiently and to manage network devices effectively. We also explain how legacy SNMP agents are integrated into our proposed architecture.