Understanding BGP SNMP OIDs: A Quick Guide

It can be helpful to monitor BGP sessions with SNMP. Here’s a breakdown of what OIDs are involved and what they represent.

What the OID Represents

The OIDs below come from the BGP4-MIB, specifically the bgpPeerTable:

.1.3.6.1.2.1.15.3.1.2.12.12.12.12.1 = INTEGER: 6
.1.3.6.1.2.1.15.3.1.2.13.13.13.13.1 = INTEGER: 6

The key part is:

.1.3.6.1.2.1.15.3.1.2  →  bgpPeerState

In the BGP4-MIB, bgpPeerState reports the session state using an integer enumeration.

Decoding the MIB Index

Everything after .2. represents the BGP peer’s IPv4 address, turned into OID format (each octet becomes a number).

Example:

  • 12.12.12.12 → peer IP: 12.12.12.12
  • 13.13.13.13 → peer IP: 13.13.13.13

📌 Decoding the BGP State Value

INTEGER: 6 corresponds to:

ValueMeaning
6Established

So both peers are fully up and exchanging routes.