The advanced guide to network monitoring with Grafana and Prometheus delves into the use of SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) and the snmp_exporter for effective monitoring of network infrastructure devices such as switches, routers, and firewalls. SNMP is a standard protocol that, despite its name, is complex and involves collecting data from network devices using Management Information Bases (MIBs). The guide explains how the snmp_exporter facilitates the exposure of SNMP-collected information for use by the Prometheus monitoring system, outlining the configuration process involving a Prometheus server, the generator for parsing MIBs, and the snmp_exporter itself. Emphasizing the importance of surgical precision in selecting Object Identifiers (OIDs), the instructions guide users through retrieving MIBs, running snmpwalk for data extraction, generating configuration files, and setting up the snmp_exporter. The document also highlights the integration of these components into Prometheus for data scraping and visualization in Grafana dashboards, providing insights into the nuanced setup process while promoting the use of Grafana Cloud for an accessible start with Prometheus and Grafana.