The DETR's UK UTMC Programme is examining communications protocols hither more usually found in networked computer equipment. Oscar Faber leads a project assessing the suitability of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) for the UK from the message content viewpoint. Two innovative projects have implemented SNMP and this paper reviews their experiences. These are possibly the first such implementations in the UK concerning roadside equipment. This paper provides three views: (1) the Client view - Glasgow City Council included migration to SNMP within their specification for a new city centre car park management system. The client's view reviews the what payback this decision has delivered and expected to deliver; (2) the manufacturer's view - what challenges does a car park systems manufacturer new to SNMP and TCP/IP to remote street equipment have to overcome to change his products to use existing standards promoted by UTMC; and (3) the operation's view - what flexibility does SNMP provide and what are the operational implications of using SNMP to roadside equipment - the Traffic Director for London's A12 test site has roadside equipment running SNMP installed in January 1999 provides practical guidelines to validate theoretical capacity calculations for message throughput that illustrate the operational implications of using SNMP for signal control and other traffic engineering applications. This paper then summarises the lessons learnt so far in using these standards and provides practical pointers to clients and implementers to help them achieve a smoother implementation.
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