Getting Started with IPNow Manager — Setup & Best PracticesIPNow Manager is an IP address management (IPAM) and network visibility solution designed to simplify IP address allocation, DHCP and DNS integration, and device inventory for medium to large networks. This guide walks through initial setup, core concepts, common deployment patterns, integrations, and operational best practices to get you productive quickly and keep your network healthy.
What IPNow Manager does (overview)
IPNow Manager centralizes IP address data and network asset information so teams can:
- Track IPv4 and IPv6 addressing and subnets.
- Automate address assignment and reclamation.
- Integrate with DHCP and DNS for synchronized state.
- Maintain device inventory and correlate IPs to hardware, VLANs, and locations.
- Audit address usage and generate compliance reports.
Use case examples: data center IP planning, campus network management, cloud subnet coordination, and merger/acquisition consolidation of addressing spaces.
Core concepts and terminology
- IP Pool / Prefix: A contiguous block of addresses (e.g., 192.0.2.0/24) from which addresses are allocated.
- Subnet: A subdivision of an IP pool used for a specific network segment.
- Address Record: A single IP with metadata (owner, device, MAC, hostname, lease status).
- DHCP Scope Integration: Synchronization between IPNow and DHCP servers so leases and reservations are reflected.
- DNS Integration: Mapping IP records to DNS A/AAAA and PTR entries, often via dynamic updates or API calls.
- Tags / Attributes: Custom metadata fields to filter and group addresses (site, department, environment).
- Discovery: Active or passive scanning to detect devices and reconcile IP records with observed devices.
Pre-deployment checklist
- Inventory your existing address space (RFC1918 and public ranges).
- Identify DHCP and DNS servers (vendors, versions, API/feature support).
- Decide on authentication method (local users, LDAP/AD, SSO).
- Define initial team roles (IP admin, network engineer, auditor).
- Backup current DHCP/DNS configurations and IP documentation.
- Plan for high availability and backup strategy for IPNow Manager.
Installation options (typical architectures)
IPNow Manager is commonly deployed as:
- Single-node virtual appliance — suitable for small teams or PoC.
- Clustered/high-availability appliance — recommended for production, removes single point of failure.
- Cloud-hosted instance — for managed or SaaS-like deployments.
Considerations:
- CPU/RAM/disk sizing depends on address space size and discovery frequency.
- Use separate disks or volumes for database storage and application logs.
- Network access: ensure IPNow can reach DHCP/DNS servers, SNMP endpoints, and discovery targets.
Step-by-step setup
- Provision the appliance/instance
- Deploy the virtual appliance or cloud instance and assign a management IP.
- Open required management ports (web UI, SSH for support if needed).
- Initial login and administrative account
- Log in using the default admin account and set a strong password.
- Configure account lockout and 2FA if available.
- Configure authentication
- Integrate with LDAP/Active Directory or SAML if your organization uses centralized auth.
- Map AD groups to IPNow roles (administrators, editors, viewers).
- Add IP spaces and subnets
- Import existing IP ranges via CSV or API.
- Define site/location, VLAN, and owner for each subnet.
- Set allocation policies (static, dynamic, reserved ranges).
- Integrate DHCP and DNS
- Configure DHCP server connectors (Windows DHCP, ISC, Cisco, etc.).
- For DHCP: enable periodic sync and on-demand reconciliation.
- For DNS: configure dynamic update credentials or API credentials for authoritative servers.
- Test bi-directional updates: create a record in IPNow and verify DHCP/DNS reflect the change and vice versa.
- Configure discovery and polling
- Enable SNMP and ICMP scanning for subnets you want to monitor.
- Schedule regular discovery windows and limit concurrency to avoid network impact.
- Configure credential vaulting for device logins if using authenticated discovery.
- Set up notifications and audit logging
- Configure email or webhook alerts for address exhaustion, conflicting records, or policy violations.
- Enable audit trails for IP allocation, deletion, and bulk imports.
- Backups and DR
- Configure automated backups of the IPNow database and configuration.
- Test restore procedure in a sandbox.
Initial data hygiene and import tips
- Clean up duplicate records in source CSVs before import.
- Normalize hostname and MAC address formats.
- Tag imported records with a source tag (e.g., “imported-2025-09”) for traceability.
- Import in stages: critical ranges first, then less-used spaces.
- Use dry-run/import validation where available to catch errors.
Best practices for day-to-day operations
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Adopt a clear addressing policy
- Use consistent subnet sizes by purpose (e.g., /24 for user VLANs, /26 for printers).
- Reserve ranges for static infrastructure (servers, routers).
- Document and version the policy.
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Enforce role-based access control (RBAC)
- Limit who can create or delete IP records.
- Use read-only roles for auditors.
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Automate repetitive tasks
- Use templates for new site/subnet creation.
- Automate DNS/DHCP record creation via IPNow API for provisioning systems.
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Monitor capacity and plan growth
- Set thresholds and alerts when a subnet reaches 70%/85% utilization.
- Regularly run address usage reports and trend analyses.
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Reclaim unused addresses
- Schedule periodic sweeps for stale records (>90 days inactive).
- Use discovery data and DHCP lease history to confirm inactivity before reclamation.
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Maintain synchronization with DHCP/DNS
- Run reconciliation jobs weekly and address conflicts promptly.
- Use conflict reports to prevent duplicate allocations.
Integrations and automation examples
- Integrate with ITSM (ServiceNow, Jira) to create tickets when address requests are made.
- Connect with orchestration tools (Ansible, Terraform) to pull IP assignments from IPNow during provisioning.
- Use webhooks to trigger network configuration changes when IPNow records change.
Example automation flow:
- Developer requests a VM via ServiceNow form.
- ServiceNow calls IPNow API to reserve an IP from a designated pool.
- Orchestration tool configures the VM with the assigned IP and updates DNS via IPNow.
- IPNow logs the assignment and notifies the requester.
Troubleshooting common issues
- DHCP/DNS drift: check connector credentials and network reachability; run manual sync.
- Duplicate IP conflicts: use discovery data to identify the active host; quarantine or change allocation policies to prevent manual allocations in dynamic ranges.
- Discovery missing devices: verify SNMP/SSH/Telnet credentials, firewall rules, and ICMP reachability.
- Performance: increase resource allocation, tune discovery concurrency, and archive old logs.
Security considerations
- Limit management plane access via firewall and VPN.
- Regularly apply vendor updates and security patches.
- Encrypt backups and use secure credentials for connectors.
- Monitor audit logs for unexpected mass deletions or API usage.
Reporting and compliance
- Create recurring reports: address utilization, lease history, orphaned records, and audit logs.
- Export compliance snapshots for audits (CSV/PDF).
- Tag sensitive subnets and restrict access to them.
Example rollout plan (6–8 weeks)
Week 1: Plan, inventory, and provisioning.
Week 2: Deploy appliance, basic config, and auth integration.
Week 3: Import critical IP ranges; integrate DHCP for test scopes.
Week 4: Enable discovery and reconcile results; fix data hygiene issues.
Week 5: Integrate DNS and automation workflows; train staff.
Week 6: Roll out to remaining sites; enable alerts and reporting.
Week 7–8: Stabilize, tune performance, and document procedures.
Checklist before declaring “production-ready”
- HA or backup validated and tested.
- DHCP/DNS integration working bi-directionally.
- Auth and RBAC in place.
- Addressing policy documented and enforced.
- Monitoring and alerting configured.
- Staff trained and runbook created.
If you want, I can: import sample CSV templates for IP/ subnet import, draft an addressing policy tailored to your environment, or produce Ansible/Terraform snippets to consume IPNow’s API.
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