Secure Network Management Within an Open-Source Mobile Agent Framework

Mobile agents (MAs) have been proposed for decentralized network management. This paper explains how Aglets, a Java open-source MA framework, not a proprietary system, can be used for security-enhanced network management, complementing the security of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) version 3. The solution prototyped is a hybrid environment where network management applications use MAs that interact locally with SNMP agents via the SNMP protocol. The implemented class libraries extend the security infrastructure of Aglets, by incorporating cryptographic functions through the Java Cryptography Extension. The extension enables data fields to be encrypted, while code is to be digitally signed. Legacy SNMPv1 and v2 enabled devices, with elementary security, can also be upgraded through this approach, which can effectively avoid a range of attacks. Consideration has been given to auxiliary functionality such as responding to SNMP traps, key distribution, logging, and secure clock synchronization.