SNMPv3 for HP Laserjet printer

If you do SNMPv2 does it work for you?  I'm suggesting a test that you perform quickly and then reconfigure for v3.  This could help validate SNMP connectivity end-to-end.

d09h, tested SNPMv2 and it works just fine. I've read some info suggesting that it may need to be a 16bit hexadecimal value but not clear if that should be set on the printer or what I would supply in Solarwinds. I don't feel it's an issue with Solarwinds but with how SNMPv3 is handled on the printer. I know you're supposed to be able to use it with the HP Web Jetadmin application but it would be rather convoluted that that protocol can't be used by anything other than their own application.

Can you successfully SNMPwalk the device with SNMPv3 credentials?  SolarWinds has been installing an SNMPwalk utility during NPM install for years...you probably have the snmpwalk.exe tool on your pollers.

Not sure how to help, but I found this and figured I would share it just in case it is part of the problem you are running into:

Assisting a customer with SNMPv3, we run into persistent problems trying

to configure SNMPv3 on some HP printers and accessing the device over

SNMPv3.

The printer comes with a device configuration web page where you have to

fill in a "Authentication Key". This key should be a "16byte hexadecimal

value" (32 characters), otherwise you get an error message.

No matter what configuration we tried (and trying to figure out how to

convert the HP "Authentication Key" to our Authentication password),

each SNMPv3 request we sent, returned an usmStatsWrongDigests error.

Searching the web, including some HP forums, it turns out that no one

from HP ever replies or knows the answer.

The customer has found the problem and reported back that two issues are

involved:

1. The device configuration page doesn't work. You must use the HP

WebJetAdmin program.

2. There's a pervasive error in HP's own documentation. They repeatedly

assert that the context name is "jetDirect". It is not. It is

"Jetdirect". After this was discovered on a trial and error basis, it

was found correct on the manual for one of their large colour printers.

There were some devices I had to monitor that would fail the process to add them via Network Sonar Discovery or even adding one at a time with SNMPv3.  I was able to add them as ICMP or external and then convert to SNMPv3 despite the credentials not working.  NPM was able to monitor, but the impression during the process to add the node was that it was pointless.  Custom MIB polling those devices worked for me though, even though the test SNMP button gave the impression it would not. I mention this on the off chance that your devices act this way.

This key should be a "16byte hexadecimal

value" (32 characters), otherwise you get an error message.

Turns out this was the problem. Once I gave it a 32 character authentication and privacy passphrase/password, it worked fine with the MD5/DES security settings. Oddly enough, on our newest printers, they have options for SHA1 and AES-128 which did not need this long of a passphrase.

Thank you everyone for your help!