This read-create INTEGER (readOnly/readWrite) sets the privilege level of an SNMP community string: readOnly restricts the server to responding only to GET, GETNEXT, and GETBULK requests using that string, while readWrite allows any request, including SET, using it. An admin configures readOnly for community strings shared with external monitoring tools and reserves readWrite for trusted internal management stations. Setting this to readOnly(1) for a community string handed to a third-party NOC ensures that string can never be used to modify configuration.