To whet your appetite and show how simple it can be, here is a PHP script to get the system name via SNMP:
 Code:
#! /usr/local/bin/php -q
<?
        print "Device name is: " . snmpget("10.0.0.1","public","system.sysName.0") . "\n";
?>


I use PHP to back up my switch / router configs by triggering a TFTP file transfer through SNMP writes, then compare the configuration with a known good state and highlighting any unauthorised changes.

I also use it for monitoring the state of the DLCI (Frame Relay) interfaces on my routers, and mailing me when a circuit changes state.