The IT sector is riddled with acronyms, and in a specialist area such as data center management, it can be difficult to keep up with all the jargon used; especially when you need a working understanding to keep your business’ infrastructure up and running. Here, specialists Procurri explain another process – IPAM.
What does IPAM stand for?
IPAM is an acronym for IP Address Management, which is the process of administering and regulating all IP addresses within a specific network. Every device that connects to a network (including servers, routers and PCs) are given a unique IP address when they link to an IP-based network.
The process of IPAM includes the organization, distribution, monitoring, and management of all the IP addressed within the network. A centralized software process, it assists network administrators in managing such addresses in the most efficient way possible, helping to provide reliable network operations and a good service for end users.
What does IPAM actually involve?
To ensure the most effective management of the IP addresses on any given network, resource constraints, utilization, capacity and performance must all be considered. Networks must be able to operate with a good (ideally entirely seamless) service no matter how many IP addresses are being used, what devices they are connected to, where they are, and in what part of the network they are connected to. This requires a degree of contingency planning to provide sufficient network capacity and performance availability for any situation – particularly events that may be unwanted or undesirable in the case of emergency operations.
An IPAM example
An example of IPAM that’s fairly simple to understand is the software Infoblox. Infoblox monitors and manages all IP addresses across a given network, using DNS (Domain Name System) and DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) services.
DNS and DHCP are already commonly used by organizations managing data centers, but before such systems were mainstream, network connections were tracked and allocated using manual spreadsheets or even notebooks as monitoring. Today, software such as Infoblox has transformed the dynamic management of IPAM – saving time, effort and money.
How does IPAM work in practice?
IP addresses may be public or private. Public IP addresses are provided by the Internet Authority, and most organizations utilize several of these to create their internet presence for the public to access. Private IP addresses are taken from recognized private IP spaces, usually used internally for allocation however the organization wants. These IP addresses are totally local to the organization, or even household, so are used for devices like servers, workstations, or printers. There is no direct access from the internet or anything external to the organization to private IP addresses.
IPAM utilizes the IP addresses it needs, and allocates them out to devices in a way to maximize performance while maintaining sufficient capacity for further devices to join or demand events to occur.
Other processes enacted by IPAM include:
- ‘Ping’ and reverse DNS – to check (or ‘ping’) IP addresses to monitor them and ensure they are responding
- ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) – to identify which IP address is allocated to which MAC address (a process usually done by the DHCP).
The Challenges of IPAM
As with all technology operating in the networking and data center space, IPAM faces a number of challenges. These include (but are not limited to):
Obtaining precise information
In order to work as efficiently as possible, IPAM must source precise and accurate current usage data to then make decisions on how best to allocate resources. All IP addresses within the network must be tracked, and a list of allocated and free addresses kept. This can be tricky programming on systems that have a lot of devices joining and leaving the network rapidly.
Understanding current capacity
IPAM software must understand the ‘headroom’ availability held on the network – and be able to estimate what this is likely to be in the future. This involves the tracking and comprehension of usage patterns and user behaviour, which can be difficult to predict. IPAM systems therefore must utilize planning and tracking tools, alarms, IP address reclamation capabilities, and subnetting choices.
The allocation of IP Addresses and the comprehension of their Hostnames
IPAM systems must be able to identify and understand the allocation of Hostnames to each IP address on their network and map these effectively and automatically. Most modern IPAM software will use DNS integration and automated procedures to do this, and utilize troubleshooting and network administration principles when an issue occurs.
Should my organization use on-site or Cloud-based IPAM?
IPAM software can be administered either on-site in a data center or via a Cloud-based service, and what is right for one organization may not fit for another. Considerations that need to be made by a business include:
- The organizational needs of the business
- Security concerns
- Financial constraints
- The existing infrastructure in place
- Whether the organization wishes to enact their own control and customization
- Scalability requirements
- Usability requirements
- Required ease of maintenance.
Businesses will find that they’re able to hold more control and customization over their own on-site IPAM systems, but easier able to scale their services through using a Cloud-based provider.
The Difference between IPAM, DHCP and DNS
IPAM utilizes DHCP and DNS, and collectively the three systems are known as DDI; DHCP-DNS-IPAM.
DNS allocates Hostnames to IP addresses, and DHCP ensures that within the ranges, only one Host uses each IP address at any given time. Each resource is allocated an IP address for a ‘lease time’ during which they may use it. The network connection itself has a MAC address, which is unique worldwide. The DHCP associates these addresses together and remembers them to access the utilities needed.
The ‘Lease’ of IP Addresses
The lease period of IP addresses varies. If a lease period is just a series of hours, new IP addresses are allocated frequently. This is most often used in environments such as offices with multiple workstations, but can prove difficult to report on specific user activity as those users may shuffle through several addresses a day. This ‘churn’ is therefore directly impacted by the IP address lease time.
Some organizations choose, therefore, to extend the lease times of their IP addresses up to around 30 days. While this may result in less available capacity and more complicated resource allocation (because the DHCP simply doesn’t have more addresses to allocate), makes for much easier tracking and monitoring. Therefore, the business must weigh up their priorities to find a lease time that works for them and their workforce.
Why is IPAM Important?
Organizations can benefit from thorough and efficient IPAM in many ways, including:
Improved Network Observability
By providing a centralized view and control over IP address space, IPAM enables better tracking, management, and security of network resources.
Increased Network Security
The real-time monitoring IPAM provides centralized control and automation of IP address usage and allocation, reducing the risk of security breaches.
Decreased Network Downtime
IPAM systems help reduce network downtime by preventing IP address conflicts, improving network stability, and automating IP address allocation.
Improved Capacity Planning
Also known as ‘headroom planning’, IPAM’s centralized management and oversight of how IP addresses are being used by the network in real time allows for better capacity planning for future network usage.
Better IPv4 and IPv6 Management
IPAM ensures the optimization of both IPv4 (32-bit) and IPv6 (128-bit) addresses for the most efficient management of them possible.
Streamlined Compliance
The automated procedures enacted by IPAM systems provide adherence to any stated compliance protocol or policies required by the business. This allows for the continued maximization of efficient operations.
Rapid Troubleshooting
With IPAM’s precise and current details on network operations, administrators are able to gain a quick picture of any subnets or devices causing an issue and work to remedy it as soon as possible.
Need a Helping Hand with Network Management?
There’s no doubt about it: data centers are complicated and complex beasts, full of varied configurations, hardware, software and all the idiosyncrasies you could ever expect to find in an IT infrastructure! Dealing with data center management on a daily basis is a resource-heavy and time-consuming process that often requires staff with varied and lengthy expertise – an often not-realistic ask for businesses without a vast global presence.
As such, many organizations opt to outsource their data center and network management to specialist operators such as Procurri. We’re open 24/7 on a ‘follow-the-sun’ operational support model, have experience across all OEMs and can even maintain data centers way past their EOSL dates to maximize the value of your company’s IT assets. Want to learn more? Speak to the Procurri team today!