🚀 go-pugleaf

Is there a publicly available SNMP package whose user agent
is text-based rather than graphically-based?  The majority of
the SNMP packages around are based on the various windowing
I/O formats such as Sunview or X-windows.  I am looking for
something that is text-based for two reasons.  Graphically-
oriented programs are totally useless to blind people.  They
are also end-points in that nothing much else can be done
with the output from the program, but look at it.  Text-based
programs, on the other hand, can be accessed from many
different kinds of terminal devices from dumb terminals to
PC's running scripts.

     Basically, what I am looking for is an open-ended text-
based system whose source is available to modify, when
necessary.  Like all universities, we have lots of expertise,
a reasonable amount of time, but very little extra money.

     If I find out about anything that works for us, I will
post results to the group.

     Here at Oklahoma State University, our networking system
is getting more and more complex.  We have a very extensive
and expensive commercial NMS program which is totally
graphical.  I am a blind person who is the system
administrator on the system on which this program resides,
and I can't even access it, much less use it.  While there
are several others who can use the program, network
management is officially one of my areas of responsibility.
I hope that something can be done without reenventing the
wheel.

     As a bit of background, many blind computer users get
along just fine using the sort of text-based programs that
used to be the main stay of computing.  The easiest method of
access is to use a personal computer equipped with speech
synthesizer, screen-reading software, and telecommunications
hardware and software connected to either a serial port on a
Unix system, terminal server, or via dial-up modem.  There
are companies and groups who are working on accessible
interfaces for MS-Windows and X-Windows, but that still means
that existing older equipment is forced in to obsolescence
even though nothing is really wrong with it.  The frustrating
thing is that text-based interfaces are usable by everybody
but graphical interfaces are only usable by certain people
running certain hardware.  Interchangeable parts are what
made the industrial revolution possible.  In computing I/O,
we seem to be slipping backwards to an earlier time when it
was a real miracle when two pieces of gear made by different
manufacturers would even sort of work, much less work
properly.

     Any constructive suggestions of software packages that
do not require graphics terminals are greatly appreciated.

Martin McCormick WB5AGZ   Stillwater, OK
O.S.U. Computer Center Data Communications Group