SNMP Polling Calculator

Size SNMP polling load: varbinds per second, PDUs per cycle, bandwidth and daily data points.

About SNMP Polling Calculator

Varbind rate is the total object count divided by the interval — the sustained work the poller must do. GETBULK packs many varbinds into one response, so PDU count depends on max-repetitions, and bandwidth doubles because every request has a matching reply. Poller capacity is measured in varbinds per second, and shortening a five-minute interval to one minute multiplies load fivefold on both the collector and every polled agent's CPU.

Formulas

SNMP Polling

poll load = OIDs × devices ÷ poll interval, giving varbinds retrieved per second.

OIDs: Object identifiers polled per device
devices: Devices in the polling group
poll interval: Seconds between polling cycles

GETBULK request count

PDUs per cycle = devices × ceil(OIDs ÷ max-repetitions)

max-repetitions: Varbinds returned per GETBULK response

Worked example

With the default values below, SNMP Polling Calculator returns Varbinds Per Second of 200.0. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Monitored devicesminimum 1 devices: 500 devices
OIDs polled per deviceminimum 1 OIDs: 120 OIDs
Poll intervalminimum 1 s: 300 s
Bytes per varbindminimum 8 bytes: 60 bytes
GETBULK max-repetitionsaccepts 1–100 varbinds: 25 varbinds

Results

Varbinds Per Second: 200.0 varbinds/s
Varbinds Per Poll Cycle: 60,000
SNMP PDUs Per Cycle: 2,500
Polling Bandwidth: 192.00 kbit/s
Data Points Per Day: 17,280,000

Step by step

1Values used
2SNMP Polling
3GETBULK request count
4Varbinds Per Second= 200.0 varbinds/s
5Varbinds Per Poll Cycle= 60,000
6SNMP PDUs Per Cycle= 2,500
7Polling Bandwidth= 192.00 kbit/s
8Data Points Per Day= 17,280,000

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is SNMP Polling calculated?

poll load = OIDs × devices ÷ poll interval, giving varbinds retrieved per second. Varbind rate is the total object count divided by the interval — the sustained work the poller must do. GETBULK packs many varbinds into one response, so PDU count depends on max-repetitions, and bandwidth doubles because every request has a matching reply.

Why does SNMP Polling matter?

Poller capacity is measured in varbinds per second, and shortening a five-minute interval to one minute multiplies load fivefold on both the collector and every polled agent's CPU.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 5 inputs: Monitored devices, OIDs polled per device, Poll interval, Bytes per varbind, GETBULK max-repetitions. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.

Why does max-repetitions matter so much?

Each PDU costs a round trip and an agent CPU cycle. Raising max-repetitions cuts the number of exchanges dramatically, but set it too high and responses exceed the path MTU and fragment or get dropped — 25 to 50 is the usual safe range.