← All cheat sheets

SNTOP

Authorized use only. Offensive reference for systems you own or are explicitly permitted to test. You are responsible for staying within the law.

OVERVIEW#

sntop is a curses-based SNMP network top utility. It polls
multiple SNMP-enabled devices and displays their status in a
real-time, top-like interface. Useful for quick monitoring of
network device availability.

BASIC USAGE#

sntop                            # Launch with default config
sntop -c /path/config            # Use custom config file

CONFIGURATION FILE#

# Default: ~/.sntoprc or /etc/sntop.conf
# Format: one device per line

# Basic format:
# hostname community_string label

# Example config:
192.168.1.1 public "Core Router"
192.168.1.2 public "Web Server"
192.168.1.3 private "Database"
10.0.0.1 public "Firewall"

INTERACTIVE COMMANDS#

# While running:
q                                # Quit sntop
h                                # Show help
r                                # Refresh display
UP/DOWN                          # Navigate device list
ENTER                            # Show device details

OPTIONS#

sntop -c <file>                  # Config file path
sntop -d <seconds>               # Poll delay (default: 30)
sntop -r <retries>               # SNMP retries (default: 3)
sntop -t <timeout>               # SNMP timeout in seconds

DISPLAY#

# Shows for each device:
# - Device name/label
# - IP address
# - Status (UP/DOWN)
# - System description
# - Uptime
# - Response time

EXAMPLES#

# Monitor with fast polling
sntop -d 10

# Custom config with increased timeout
sntop -c /etc/my-sntop.conf -t 5

# Quick network overview with retries
sntop -c devices.conf -r 5

NOTES#

- Requires SNMP access to target devices
- Uses SNMPv1/v2c community strings
- Good for quick health checks of multiple devices
- Curses-based terminal UI
- Config file lists all monitored hosts
- Lightweight alternative to full SNMP monitoring tools
- Limited compared to tools like Cacti or Nagios