HOST-RESOURCES-MIB

MIB Reference — IPNetwork Monitor · Updated September 14, 2026

All MIBsHOST-RESOURCES-MIB

Organization: IETF Host Resources MIB Working Group

Last Updated: 2000-03-06

Category: Fibre Channel and Storage, Hardware and Environment

Description: Covers managed objects describing host computer systems, including storage, installed software, running processes, and device information.

IPNetwork Monitor uses several OIDs from this MIB in network discovery and polling the applicable devices. Start monitoring HOST-RESOURCES-MIB with a free 30-day trial of IPNetwork Monitor.

What Is HOST-RESOURCES-MIB?

HOST-RESOURCES-MIB is a vendor-neutral IETF standards MIB (RFC 2790) that defines managed objects for the resources and operational characteristics of general-purpose host computer systems, i.e., any internet-connected computer directly used by a person, though it is not strictly precluded from applying to other device types. It exposes broad categories of data including system-level attributes (uptime, date, boot device/parameters, number of logged-in users), running process information, installed software inventory, and storage/memory resources. It is one of the most fundamental hardware/software status MIBs in existence: hrSystemUptime tracks how long the system has been running, hrSystemProcesses/hrSystemMaxProcesses reveal process-table load, hrMemorySize and hrStorageTable expose memory and disk/filesystem capacity and usage, and hrSystemNumUsers shows active user sessions, together giving a full picture of host health and load. It typically works alongside SNMPv2-MIB (for sysUpTime/system group) and is often deployed together with vendor-specific extensions for deeper platform detail. It is deployed extremely broadly, on servers, workstations, and many network appliances that embed a host-like OS, wherever generic cross-platform system monitoring via SNMP is needed. As the canonical host resources mib, it remains the go-to standard whenever vendor-neutral, cross-platform system monitoring is required.

IPNetwork Monitor allows you to monitor SNMP objects defined in HOST-RESOURCES-MIB. Use the built-in SNMP Monitoring Browser to explore available variables, view their current values and descriptions, and select the objects you want to monitor. You can then create SNMP monitors, configure thresholds, and receive alerts when monitored values change.

Supported Devices

  • vendor-neutral, standards-based MIB, not tied to a specific manufacturer
  • general-purpose host computers (servers, workstations)
  • network appliances with an embedded host-like OS

Monitoring Examples

An operator would poll hrSystemUptime and hrSystemNumUsers to check how long a server has been running and how many users are logged in, and watch hrSystemProcesses against hrSystemMaxProcesses to detect an approaching process-table exhaustion. Walking hrStorageTable/hrStorageEntry (indexed by hrStorageIndex) reveals per-volume storage utilization, so a disk partition nearing capacity would show up as a shrinking free-space ratio in that table. hrMemorySize gives total physical memory, useful as a baseline when correlating with process or storage growth trends, while hrSystemInitialLoadDevice/hrSystemInitialLoadParameters record what device and parameters the system last booted from.

What Can Be Monitored

  • system uptime
  • system date/time
  • number of logged-in users
  • running process count vs. maximum
  • installed/running software
  • storage (disk) utilization per volume
  • total physical memory size
Imported Objects

From IF-MIB

InterfaceIndexOrZero

From SNMPv2-CONF

MODULE-COMPLIANCE
OBJECT-GROUP

From SNMPv2-SMI

Counter32
Gauge32
Integer32
MODULE-IDENTITY
OBJECT-TYPE
TimeTicks
mib-2

From SNMPv2-TC

AutonomousType
DateAndTime
DisplayString
TEXTUAL-CONVENTION
TruthValue

How to Use in IPNetwork Monitor

Example using hrStorageUsed OID:

Select a host computer or server running an SNMP agent as the target host to create a monitor — the SNMP service should be up and running on it. Click New Monitor, then check SNMP Custom on the Favorites tab, click Next, and confirm the host. On the next page, click Select... to open the built-in SNMP MIB Browser and type hrStorageUsed into the Find box to locate it in the OID tree, selecting the specific row/instance you want to monitor since this is a table column, then select it and click OK. It reports the amount of this storage entry currently allocated, in the storage's own allocation units. On the monitor's Main parameters page you can set the target's SNMP port (default 161), credentials, polling interval, and other settings — see the SNMP Monitor help for details. On the State conditions and Alerting tabs, configure when the monitor should change state and trigger an alert; since this is an Integer32-type OID, Value bounds is the most useful condition here — trigger an alert if usage approaches the storage's total capacity (e.g. above 85-90%), since running low on storage can cause application or logging failures. Click Finish to create the monitor; you can adjust any parameter later.

See also: hrSystemUptime

OIDs

RFC description

Defines managed objects for the resources and operational characteristics of host computer systems, including storage, installed software, running processes, and device information.

Start monitoring Vendor-neutral IETF standard (any host computer/server running an SNMP agent) with a free 30-day trial of IPNetwork Monitor. Import MIBs, browse SNMP OIDs, create custom SNMP monitors, configure alerts, and monitor any SNMP-enabled network device from a single console.

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