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Overview

Tip

Please use the main branch when viewing on the IP Fabric Documentation Portal for all Integrations. These documents are not versioned. However, you can find versioned files in the GitLab releases.

Relying on ITAMs, CMDBs, and monitoring tools to discover and manage your network is no longer viable. These tools are feeding your IPAM (and other IT management systems) inaccurate data because they all rely on manual processes and protocols which are constantly missing devices and unable to point out configuration issues automatically. IP Fabric leverages time-based snapshots across your multi-vendor environments and gives you immediately actionable information such as where you have misconfigured subnets, rogue devices which are not covered by policy or configured to be found by monitoring tools, and where you can optimize your networks for better efficiency.

Infoblox NIOS and IP Fabric work together by validating DDI data with end-to-end network insights. IP Fabric’s automated network mapping and time-based snapshots, combined with Infoblox’s up-to-date DDI data, provide network engineers with an accurate and actionable view of the network. This integration enhances network visibility, ensures configuration and compliance consistency, and helps maintain a secure and stable network environment.

Prerequisites

The following are prerequisites for integrating IP Fabric with Infoblox NIOS:

  • IP Fabric version 7+ deployment with valid license.
  • Credentials with API access for both products.
  • Network connectivity between IP Fabric and NIOS.

How it Works

The IP Fabric NIOS integration is developed as an ETL (Extract, Transform, and Load) process using python scripts that extract data from the IP Fabric and NIOS APIs, transforms and validates the data for interoperability between the two systems, and loads the data into the NIOS appliance. These sets of scripts are packaged into a container that is loaded and running on the IP Fabric instance (or can be deployed externally).

Network Import

Importing IPv4 networks into NIOS can be customized to fit the needs of your company. This includes selecting the correct Network View to import the IP Fabric discovered network in one of four methods:

  • Default: The optional default NIOS Network View to use. If a network or address does not match any of the following rules it will be placed in the default view.
  • VRF: If a network or address is discovered within a specific VRF then that object is imported into the configured view.
  • Site Name: Alternatively, the network or address can be mapped to a view based on the IP Fabric Site Name ( siteName) assigned to the device.
  • Network: A list of IPv4 or IPv6 networks in CIDR notation mapping the discovered network or address to the correct view. Administrators can also specify ranges using the following:
    • RFC1918: 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, and 192.168.0.0/16
    • CGNAT: 100.64.0.0/10

VRF, Site Name, and Network can be either included or excluded from a view. Every view except the default must have one inclusion rule. The default view does not allow for inclusion but supports exclusions. Exclusion takes priority over inclusion and by default all public and private networks and addresses are included. Inclusion performs an “and” operator whereas exclusion list behaves as an “or” operator. Please see the example configurations for a more detailed guide and explanation.

Features

An administrator can control certain behaviors of the import process by enabling or disabling the following features per Network View:

  • Container-less Networks: Enable or disable the creation of networks that do not have a parent Network Container within NIOS.
  • Split Networks: Enable or disable the ability to split networks into smaller subnets in NIOS if IP Fabric discovers discrepancies. The network must not have any IP addresses assigned to be able to split the network.
  • Smallest IPv4 Network: By default, the integration will not synchronize /32 networks and will only push /31 or larger subnets however this can be adjusted to your needs.

IP Address Discovery Details

IP Fabric contains many tables that are related to IPv4 and IPv6 addresses found on the network. Currently, discovery information about the IPv4 addresses in the Managed IP table can be imported into NIOS which will add the following fields, if applicable:

  • FQDN or Hostname
  • Interface Name and Description
  • MAC Address
  • Vendor, Model, and OS Version
  • SNMP Contact and Location
  • Port Duplex, L1 Status, and L2 Status
  • VLAN Number and Name
  • VRF Name and RD

Future support for IPv6 and more IP Fabric tables (such as ARP) is being developed.

Support and Feature Requests

Issues can be raised directly in GitLab at:

https://gitlab.com/ip-fabric/integrations/ipfabric-infoblox/-/issues

When submitting a bug please provide:

  • IP Fabric Version
  • Infoblox Version
  • Integration Version

If you would like to send sensitive log information in the issue, please check the box underneath the issue description that says, “This issue is confidential and should only be visible to team members with at least the Planner role.” Only members of the IP Fabric team will be able to view this request to ensure your data is protected.

Prior to submitting any new Feature Request, please check if there is an open issue related.

If you are unable to submit an issue on GitLab, please contact your IP Fabric Solution Architect directly.