Network Management Protocol addresses a series of different tasks aimed at operating a network for optimal performance. It is generally used by a human network manager to evaluate and troubleshoot the network connection between a host and client device. When executed, these protocols provide information such as the status of a host and information about its availability, network latency, packet/data loss, errors and other related information. The procedures and policies defined within NMP are equally applicable to all network-enabled computing devices such as switches, routers, computers and servers.

Some of the popular network management protocols include Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).