Abstract: A method is provided that issues custom traps for a network containing disparate network devices. In the method, a custom trap is stored in a network manager. The custom trap includes a triggering condition for a selected device among the network devices. The network manager monitors the selected device to detect whether the triggering condition has been met. In response to detecting that the triggering condition has been met, the network manager automatically issues the custom trap. In an example embodiment, the network manager stores the custom trap in a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent, and the SNMP agent automatically issues the custom trap to an administrative workstation. The custom traps may be used to send uniform traps for network devices to an administrative workstation, despite differences in trap configurations, if any, in the network devices.

Abstract: A system and method for accessing and managing disparate video network devices supports a user interface with an interface protocol communicating through a management adapter. The management adapter communicates with a device access layer that represents video network devices as objects, such as Management Beans, with a class of objects associated with a type of device. The objects translate communications from the management adapter into a protocol and attributes native to the device to allow the management adapter access to device attributes, which are then available to the user interface via the interface protocol. The device access layer thus establishes a proxy relationship so that video network devices are more easily interacted with and managed by applications communicating through the management adapter by a uniform protocol.