Infoblox Integrated IP Address Management Solution

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Infoblox Integrated IP Address
Management Solution
"Built-in," Appliance-based DNS/DHCP/IPAMfor Real-time Data and Services DeliveryIntegrated IP Address Management Solution
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An Introduction to IP Address Management
IP address management (IPAM) provides the ability to effectively manage, control, monitor, and assign the IP address space within a company. An IPAM solution reduces operations costs and improves network uptime by mini-mizing administrative effort and network downtime. To provide effective IP address management, it is essential to co n trol the two key services within a company that provide the naming and delivery of IP addresses-which are DNS and DHCP-as well as to supply the feature sets necessary to generate and present reports detailing IP address information and usage. In this paper, we will explain the importance of IP address management, discuss the criteria for an ideal IP address management solution, and explain the features and advantages of the Infoblox IP address management solution.
Why Is IP Address Management Important?
Nearly all companies today, from the Fortune 500 to small and medium enterprises, rely on TCP/IP networking for core business services. At a minimum, their internal e-mail, web, network printing, and file storage infrastruc-ture depends on the network. In most cases, the network also supports critical business applications, such as e-commerce, enterprise resource planning, customer management, and sales force automation. Increasingly, networked applications also link companies with their customers, suppliers, and partners.
The network has become such an essential corporate resource that an outage can have devastating effects, crippling a company's ability to do business. Consequently, companies have invested substantially in network infrastructure, including routers and wide-area connections.
The criticality of TCP/IP networks continues to increase over time. The growth in mobile computing and the intro-duction of diverse IP-based devices such as IP telephones, cameras, and RFID readers means that soon virtually every business activity-from gaining access to a building to making a phone call-will be mediated by the IP network. In this light, IP network connectivity becomes as basic as electricity.
As the network takes on the role of a utility, like power and plumbing, the management of IP addresses and the data associated with them such as MAC, location operating system etc. becomes key. Organizations need tools to help allocate and track address space, from entire ranges to individual IP addresses. They need central control of and visibility into DHCP and DNS configuration, and central monitoring of the status of these services. And these tools need to be an integral part of the network, because change happens much more frequently as contractors and partners come and go, customers become part of the network, and mobile employees expect constant connectivity as they roam the halls, or the globe.
Regulatory compliance adds another dimension to the challenge. To comply with a subpoena, a company might need to produce a log of which computers had a particular IP address over a period of time. Even if not mandated by regulations, these are clearly vital functions necessary for an organization to detect and thwart attempts to misuse the network.
_ _1 ? ? ? © 2008 Infoblox Inc. All rights reserved. wp ipam 20Oct08Integrated IP Address Management Solution
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An IPAM system makes it easy to assign static IP addresses. Without an IPAM system administrators need to manually maintain Lower and keep updated a spreadsheet of IP addresses in use, resulting IP Management and in higher administration costs. Additionally, an IPAM system provides alerts to administrators when IP addresses usage reaches Monitoring Costs unusually high or low mark, thus reducing the effort to constantly monitor the usage of IP space and minimize IP outages.
About 50% of network related helpdesk calls arise due to IP Reduced address outages. An IPAM system provides alerts when IP address usage is extremely high allowing administrators to take IP Related action before users start to experience outages. This results in Helpdesk Calls fewer outages and helpdesk calls, saving effort and costs associated with processing and servicing helpdesk calls.
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