Articles

Importing Sense and Sensibility into DNS, DHCP and IP Address Management

Effective and reliable DDI management forms the cornerstone of any modern organization’s IT infrastructure.

Nov 3rd, 2015

According to some computer historians, the first personal computer was the IBM 610 Auto-Point Computer, introduced in 1957. It was the size of a fridge and cost $55,000. Apparently, it was easy to use but a tad slow, using about 20 seconds to calculate a sine. Not surprisingly, only 180 IBM 610s were produced.[1]

Some 58 years after the IBM 610, PCs are not only “somewhat” smaller, faster and cheaper, but they are everywhere:  the sheer increase in the number of devices is staggering. Just in 2015 it is predicted that a total number of 2,591,753 billion new units of PCs, tablets and mobile phones will be shipped[2]. On top of that, market analysts Gartner believe that 4.9 billion “things” will be connected to the internet by 2015, increasing to 25 billion in 2020. Or 50 billion according to Cisco. Or 75 billion as is anticipated by Morgan Stanley.[3]

Despite organizations being faced with an imminent deluge of devices that need to be connected to network infrastructures, too few are investing in DDI solutions that effectively bridge the gaps between DHCP, DNS and IP address management tools. On the contrary, many administrators and managers in mid- to large-sized companies today are still left struggling to make native tools or home-grown solutions do the trick. With the advent of bring your own device (BYOD) and the Internet of things (IoT), not to mention the incremental migration to IPv6 and cloud-computing, the situation is only set to become worse.

DDI Sense

Effective and reliable DDI management forms the cornerstone of any modern organization’s IT infrastructure. It directly affects an organization’s overall performance and productivity. Improving DDI efficiency strengthens network infrastructure, simplifies administration and leads to considerable increases in business value on the whole. It is estimated that organizations investing in a commercial DDI solution can reduce operating expenses related to DNS/DHCP and IP address management by 50% or more, which can lead to significant full-time equivalent (FTE) savings in larger organizations.[4]

Meeting IPAM Challenges Sensibly

The challenges faced by today’s network administrators and managers, an analysis of related problems and issues and a discussion on how to simplify IP Address Management and become more productive as a Windows administrator, form the topics of this White Paper by IT infrastructure and security specialist, Byron Hynes. Additionally, Mr Hynes discusses what benefits DDI solutions such as the Men&Mice Suite can bring to an organization’s infrastructure.

[1] Information retrieved on 28 October 2015.

[2] Estimates by market analyst Gartner, retrieved on 28 October 2015.

[3] Estimates as reported in Business Insider. Retrieved on 28 October 2015.

[4] Gartner Market Guide for DNS, DHCP and IP Address Management, published February 2015.