Datacenter Automation

Network address management ought to be, according to the conventional wisdom, a problem that’s been solved long ago. Yet, when you add in complexities like a private cloud infrastructure, everything isn’t always as easy as it seems at first blush. DDI (the management of DNS, DHCP and IP addresses) can be problematic at times, and even the larger providers of cloud solutions, such as OpenStack, don’t always have the answers that you need.

The Infoblox DDI

Infoblox is doing what they can to make the process smoother and more manageable. The Infoblox DDI series of appliances will contain both virtual and hardware appliances. These appliances will automate the way in which VMs provision their IPs and DNS. They’re designed to work with a number of private cloud companies, including:

• VMware
• Microsoft
• HP
• Cisco

As well as a few others. The idea is that the Infoblox DDI can provide IP and DNS automation across multiple physical and/or virtual sites. Perhaps best of all, it’s designed to do so in a way that is easily digested and managed.

A surprising problem

This might sound initially like a bit of a non-issue for a private cloud infrastructure that’s managed well. The truth is, however, that DNS and IP management are often unaddressed by many of the open source vendors. Perhaps the most glaring example of this is OpenStack. And, while Cisco offers Cisco Prime Network Registrar to try to address DDI issues, this product isn’t used very widely and the technology in the product actually comes from an OEM partnership.

Not just SDN

The solution offered by Infoblox is more than simple software-defined networking. In fact, Infoblox doesn’t see its solution as mere SDN. SDN is primarily concerned with network endpoints. Even implemented in a private cloud, SDN doesn’t fully address the IP address and DNS concerns of the private cloud.

Infoblox DDI is designed to be deployed alongside of expsting SDN products, offering a greater degree of management and efficiency.

By offloading IP address and DNS tasks to Infoblox DDI, private cloud vendors or providers are freed up to focus on what they do best: offering resilient, redundant automated services.