Mutiny Blog

Network monitoring and management in small businesses is often easy to handle. A limited number of devices, PCs, printers and a server that allocates IP's are probably all you require. IP conflicts are unlikely, and when they occur they probably have little effect.

However as a business grows, additional infrastructure and layers of devices adds a degree of complexity, and with that a need to better monitor and manage them. Opting to move to multi-site also presents further complications, with the need to identify where devices are within your estate.

Many businesses are still using spreadsheets and simple lists to keep track of their IP estate, but these can quickly become out of date and inaccurate. Human error accounts for a number of issues, and remembering to update credentials with the latest information is often overlooked.

What can IPAM do for me?

IP Address Management (IPAM) enables system admins to reduce or eliminate network conflicts and outages, making it easier to track critical assets and help ensure network security. In its most basic form IPAM tools allow you to track IP addresses, understand how many are in use, how many are still available, and how stable changes are when they are implemented.

Advantages of using IPAM:

• Know the status of your IP addresses; if they are dynamic, static, available, reserved. Further understand DHCP lease information (including lease date/time, time left on lease, time of last renewal).
• Understand who owns or operates a particular device and what address it sits on. Assigning a user to the device allows you to identify it more easily, and by attaching owner information such as the email and phone number of the owner, you can contact them quickly if there are issues.
• Identify what site, region, country or geography the IP address is in. Grouping your IP addresses by these categories allows you to identify where issues are occurring more quickly.
• See the visibility of the address, for example if the IP is visible externally or if it is part of a protected area of the network such as a DMZ.

The integration of an IPAM solution into your infrastructure can greatly reduce the chances of IP conflict, improve your ability to identify devices and flex to the growing number of devices within your infrastructure. Unlike spreadsheets, IPAM does not go out of date and removes the risk of human error.

To read more about the advantages of IPAM to your business read our whitepaper here.

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