BIND Based Appliances.

Larry Fahnoe fahnoe at fahnoetech.com
Sat Oct 4 15:16:48 UTC 2008


I did not expect quite such a spirited sub-discussion about the
Infoblox appliances, but at the risk of being off topic (given that
this is a bind list), I'll offer a little more on my experiences using
them.  My thoughts may also help to answer Paul's question about how
bind and dhcpd can be improved.

The fundamental reasons that I chose to use Infoblox in this
application were the need for a bullet proof GUI with logging and fine
grained access control for less experienced admins to use when making
DNS and DHCP changes, and the integrated database underneath BOTH bind
and dhcpd.  The need for the bullet proof GUI and appliance style
deployment seems to be the original question that sparked this
conversation, but to me the fact that Infoblox has implemented these
features on top of an integrated, distributed database with a
full-featured API to talk to it is the key differentiator between
Infoblox and other bind integrators.  This in my opinion represents an
architectural enhancement to bind and dhcpd.  A significant side
benefit of the integrated database is the IP network and address
management that comes along for the ride.

For all the good that I see in the Infoblox way of doing things, they
are far from perfect.  For those who see that it is an ISC bind/dhcpd
based appliance and therefore expect to simply import the config and
data files without a hitch, well, you're in for a bit of a hurdle.
Infoblox has chosen to bolt the two protocol engines on top of their
own database which means that they don't use the same config/data
files as the original protocol engines.  I was (and still am) a bit
frustrated by this, but it makes sense to me: their view of the world
is different, therefore the way I need to feed them data is also
different.  The current Infoblox java import tool is a good first
step, but doesn't always get it right.  Once I run data through the
import tool, I sometimes have to make additional modifications using
the API or the GUI to get things set the way I want them.  This is a
hassle, and I know that Infoblox continues to be open to customers who
have suggestions for enhancements.  However, once the data is
imported, it has been a rock solid and easy to manage environment.

--Larry

-- 
Larry Fahnoe, Fahnoe Technology Consulting, fahnoe at FahnoeTech.com
952/925-0744      Minneapolis, Minnesota       www.FahnoeTech.com


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