Understanding the MIB file is definately a good idea if you are going to be working with SNMP. For they most part you will find them using the same format and once you understand the layout, you can quickly find/research the different things you can do using SNMP.

Here is one book I found on the net that deals specifically with MIB's : Understanding SNMP MIB. I haven't read this myself but you may want to check it out.

I have read the ORA book Essential SNMP which I found great to start using SNMP. It deals with many basics, as well as covering many popular tools like MRTG, HP OpenView and.....Perl!

One great online resource is The Simple Times - its an online publication of various SNMP articles and more.. You can find it here: The Simple Times.

These are good well-rounded resources to SNMP and I'm sure will provide (you|anyone) with solid information on how to use this technology.

djw