Before an NMS can process an SNMP trap from an agent, what must the NMS have available?

For an NMS (Network Management System) to understand and process an SNMP trap, it needs to interpret the OID (Object Identifier) contained within the trap. This interpretation is provided by the Management Information Base (MIB) file. The MIB acts as a dictionary, defining the structure and meaning of the managed objects on a device. Without the relevant MIB loaded, the NMS would receive the trap but wouldn't know what the OID represents, making the trap unreadable or uninterpretable. Receiving multiple traps or an inform message doesn't provide the necessary MIB definition. The NMS and agent do not need to be on the same router; they communicate over the network.