Infoblox Breaks the “White Box Barrier” with New DNS/DHCP Appliance for Branch Office

May 9, 2007; 06:11 AM
Infoblox Inc. today announced availability of a new appliance, the Infoblox-250, ideally suited for branch/remote office sites – extending the company’s family of “right-sized” appliances for distributed enterprises.  Additionally, Infoblox introduced today significant enhancements to its unique NIOS™ software that increases IP address management (IPAM) capabilities for its growing core network services appliance family and strengthens IPv6 support, helping preserve core network services infrastructure investments. 

The resiliency and manageability of core network services, including domain name resolution (DNS), IP address assignment (DHCP), IP address management (IPAM), authentication (RADIUS), configuration (TFTP/HTTP), network time (NTP) and others – directly impact the ability to operate all applications, such as email, web services, Microsoft Active Directory, Voice over IP (VoIP) and wireless.

According to IDC (“Worldwide IP Address Management 2007-2011 Forecast and Analysis;” doc #205884, April 2007), appliances, which offer inherent security, deployment and manageability advantages, are emerging as the preferred approach for delivering these services, instead of general-purpose server and software (aka: white box) solutions.

However, extensive deployment of appliances at branch offices has been deterred in some organizations in part because acquisition costs have been perceived as too high for branches and smaller sites.  The new Infoblox-250 appliance smashes the “white-box barrier,” enabling organizations to gain the benefits of appliances with virtually no cost premium over conventional white box servers.

This is especially valuable in large distributed enterprises with multiple branch offices, such as retail points of presence, warehouses and health-care clinics, where there are little to no IT resources to maintain legacy systems or address local problems and yet local survivability of core network services is critical. 

New Infoblox-250 Provides Local Survivability While Reducing IT Overhead
The Infoblox-250 delivers up to 3,000 DNS queries and 25 DHCP leases per second.  There are two options available: 100 or 300 active DHCP leases without limit on fixed or statically defined addresses.  The 1-rack unit device, with low airflow, noise emissions and easy installation features, is ideally suited for deployment at sites without skilled IT staff.
 

All Infoblox appliances can be linked together into a unified Infoblox grid, enabling distribution and local survivability of services while allowing central management.  One-button software upgrades across a grid make it easy to add new features.  And, in the unlikely event of a device outage, another grid member will take over service delivery until a new device is installed.  Replacement devices automatically receive the latest software and data so that error-free recovery is achieved and service availability is maintained.

Compared to a conventional, general-purpose server and software approach, the grid-enabled Infoblox-250 increases service reliability and dramatically reduces IT dependency and overhead at local sites.

Network Architect Ben Cabrera of Stater Bros., a privately owned supermarket chain in Southern California and a long-time Infoblox customer, commented:  “As a purpose-built appliance with unique grid technology, the Infoblox platform is easy to deploy and manage.  Now, the newest addition to the company’s appliance family, the Infoblox-250, has the capacity, performance and cost-effective price point ideally suited for small and remote branch sites, including many of our stores.  This is key to enabling nonstop delivery and local survivability of core DNS and DHCP services at remote sites, where there are no skilled IT representatives.”

New Software Enhancements Strengthen IPv6 Support and IP Address Manageability
The newest version of Infoblox’s NIOS operating system includes strengthened support for IPv6, including full dual-stack IPv6, completely integrated with DNS for easy configuration and management of domains.  With this enhancement, any dialog that accepts IPv4 addresses also will accept an IPv6 address and perform error checking.  Also added are new IPv6 troubleshooting and diagnostic tools. 

These advancements, available without additional cost or licensing fees, help future-proof core network services infrastructure investments and meet several mandated IPv6 requirements in key customer segments like higher education/universities, U.S. and international government agencies, and more.

Continuing to expand IPAM features built into the Infoblox solution, new enhancements in the latest release include addition of a “Recycle Bin”, zone locking capabilities and enhanced audit logging.  The Recycle Bin allows selective, auditable recovery of deleted DNS/DHCP objects, including zones, networks, ranges and more, enabling quick and easy recovery from mistakes and restoration of data records.

Zone locking provides granular control locks at a zone level, preventing unauthorized overwrites when multiple administrators are using the system.  And, information captured in audit logs is now more detailed to include the value of the properties that were changed, such as the actual range of IP addresses that were modified and what permissions or filters were applied.  This level of detail helps organizations meet compliance and change management system requirements.

“Users in branch offices and remote sites are becoming more dependent on IP applications for day-to-day operations.  And, already stretched IT resources are challenged to find an affordable, reliable and manageable core network services solution to meet the needs of this geographically dispersed and demanding environment,” said Richard Kagan, vice president of Marketing at Infoblox.  “With the manageability and local survivability advantages of the Infoblox solution, including the new, cost-effective Infoblox-250 appliance, replacing any legacy solution at remote sites is a sound investment.” 

Pricing and Availability
The new appliance platform and the NIOS version 4.1r3 are now available.  Pricing for the solution on the Infoblox-250 appliance starts at $2,495 in the U.S. 

About Infoblox
Infoblox appliances deliver utility-grade core network services, including domain name resolution (DNS), IP address assignment and management (IPAM/DHCP), authentication (RADIUS) and related services.  Infoblox solutions, which provide the essential “glue” between networks and applications, are used by over 1,800 organizations worldwide, including over 90 of the Fortune 500.  The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., and operates in more than 30 countries.  For more information, call +1.408.625.4200, email [email protected], or visit www.infoblox.com.