IP Address Assignment Manager - Does one exist?

[Josh]

Alright DC hive mind, I seek your wisdom.

I know there are several IP Address Management tools out there that allow you to manage your networks by detecting active addresses, performing scans for inactive hosts, etc. What I am looking for is something different. I want to be able to assign a higher level subnet, say a /23, and break out by location where each network is allocated. I would like the ability to search for an active subnet, say a /27, to issue out to a new device or mark a range no longer in use and available for issue.

Does such a product exist?

[ewemoa]

The following seemed to have at least some overlap with what you described:

  http://www.solarwinds.com/ip-address-manager.aspx

Starts at USD 1995...but there's a 30-day free trial...

[ewemoa]

Possibly relevant list?

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Address_Management

[Stoic Joker]

Not sure if you have one in your environment, but Windows Server 2012 has a built in IPAM that IIRC interacts with the DHCP service for live-ish data.

I've not had the time to play with it myself...but it is on the to-do list.

[Josh]

I've used solarwinds extensively but found it to be far too complex for my needs. I am tempted to create an access database to organization my networks but I felt perhaps something already existed to do this that wasn't focused on automated discovery, but manual management.

[x16wda]

Manual management is fine until you get to a certain point. The Solarwinds freebie is nice since it knows when it last saw an address being used and can tell you. The freebie requires you to run the scan manually though. But when you acquire a few plants that use /15s and you don't know where the "stuff" is, something you can scan with a few times can give you a better idea of where things are, IP-wise.

[Stoic Joker]

I'm guessing Josh is in that middle ground where there is too much to keep straight in your head, but not enough to justify the learning curve. This I can understand (we've got a /22 in house now..).

[40hz]

I'm guessing Josh is in that middle ground where there is too much to keep straight in your head, but not enough to justify the learning curve. This I can understand (we've got a /22 in house now..).

Yup. Right up there with end-user patch management and software updates. When do you say "the hell with this," bite the bullet, and automate it?