---
title: NDM Profiles
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: Docs > Network Monitoring > Network Device Monitoring > NDM Profiles
---

# NDM Profiles

## Overview{% #overview %}

Network Device Monitoring uses profiles to tell the Datadog Agent the metrics and associated tags to collect. A profile is a collection of OIDs (Object Identifiers) (A unique ID or address on a device that when polled returns the response code of that value.) associated with a device.

## Configuration{% #configuration %}

You can enable device profiles in Datadog using either the recommended GUI-based (SNMP Profile Manager) workflow, or through an advanced configuration-based setup:

**[SNMP Profile Manager](https://docs.datadoghq.com/network_monitoring/devices/profiles/device_profiles.md) (recommended)**

- Guided UI to customize metrics collected from network devices directly from the [Network Device Monitoring Configuration](https://app.datadoghq.com/devices/profiles) page.
- Removes the need to source OIDs from vendor documentation by automatically recommending a list of relevant, human-readable metrics.
- Requires no manual configuration with `.yaml` files.
- Apply changes at scale to all Agents in a single click with [Remote Configuration](https://docs.datadoghq.com/agent/remote_config.md).

**[Advanced Setup](https://docs.datadoghq.com/network_monitoring/devices/profiles/build-ndm-profile.md)**

- Create and enable custom profiles manually with `.yaml` files, specifying the device metrics and tags.
- Ideal for large or dynamic environments.

By default, all profiles in the Agent configuration directory are loaded. To customize the specific profiles for collection, explicitly reference them by filename under `definition_file`, or provide an inline list under `definition`. Any of the Datadog profiles can be listed by name. Additional custom profiles can be referenced by the file path in the config, or placed in the configuration directory.

**Note**: The generic profile is [generic-device.yaml](https://github.com/DataDog/integrations-core/blob/master/snmp/datadog_checks/snmp/data/default_profiles/generic-device.yaml), which supports routers, switches, and other devices.

## Terms and concepts{% #terms-and-concepts %}

### sysOID mapped devices{% #sysoid-mapped-devices %}

Profiles allow Network Device Monitoring to reuse metric definitions across several device types or instances. Profiles define which metrics to collect and how to transform them into Datadog metrics. Each profile is expected to monitor a class of similar devices from the same vendor. They are automatically used by the Datadog Agent by comparing the sysObjectIds of the network device with the ones defined in the profile file.

The Datadog Agent provides out-of-the-box profiles in the `conf.d/snmp.d/default_profiles` directory. This directory is cleaned and reset upon Agent upgrades so do not save anything there. You can write your own custom profiles and extend existing ones by putting files in the `conf.d/snmp.d/profiles` directory. Custom profiles in the `profiles` directory take precedence over default profiles with the same name.

The following example profile is used on any network device whose `sysobjectid` either *is* `1.3.6.1.4.1.232.9.4.10` or *starts with* `1.3.6.1.4.1.232.9.4.2.`:

```yaml
sysobjectid:
 - 1.3.6.1.4.1.232.9.4.10
 - 1.3.6.1.4.1.232.9.4.2.*

metrics:
  - MIB: CPQHLTH-MIB
    symbol:
      OID: 1.3.6.1.4.1.232.6.2.8.1.0
      name: cpqHeSysUtilLifeTime
```

If you need different metrics for network devices that share the same `sysobjectid`, you can write profiles without any `sysobjectid`, and configure the `profile` option in the SNMP configuration.

```yaml
instances:
   - ip_address: 192.168.34.10
     profile: my-profile1
   - ip_address: 192.168.34.11
     profile: my-profile2
   - ip_address: 192.168.34.13
     # For this device, the Agent will fetch the sysObjectID of the device and use the closest match
```

### Metric definition by profile{% #metric-definition-by-profile %}

Profiles can be used interchangeably, meaning devices that share MIB dependencies can reuse the same profiles. For example, the [Cisco c3850 profile](https://github.com/DataDog/integrations-core/blob/master/snmp/datadog_checks/snmp/data/default_profiles/cisco-3850.yaml) can be used across many Cisco switches.

For more Datadog provided profiles, see the [GitHub repository](https://github.com/DataDog/integrations-core/tree/master/snmp/datadog_checks/snmp/data/default_profiles).

### Metadata definition by profile{% #metadata-definition-by-profile %}

In the profiles's metadata section, you can define where and how metadata is collected. Values can be static or come from an OID value. See the [DeviceMetadata](https://github.com/DataDog/datadog-agent/blob/main/pkg/networkdevice/metadata/payload.go#L51-L76) section for the supported fields.

With Datadog Agent version 7.52 and later, there is a `device_type` field for device metadata. This can be set manually in the profile and can be used to filter on specific types of devices. Accepted values include:

- access_point
- firewall
- load_balancer
- pdu
- printer
- router
- sd-wan
- sensor
- server
- storage
- switch
- ups
- wlc

See the [Profile Format Reference](https://datadoghq.dev/integrations-core/tutorials/snmp/profile-format/) for more information about profiles formats.

## Further Reading{% #further-reading %}

- [Data Collected with Network Device Monitoring](https://docs.datadoghq.com/network_monitoring/devices/data.md)
- [Monitor SNMP with Datadog](https://www.datadoghq.com/blog/monitor-snmp-with-datadog/)