Global Automotive Manufacturer Adopts Core Network Services with the Added Value of Security from Infoblox
I’ve been very satisfied with our relationship with Infoblox over the very intensive last six or seven months. They really do step up to the plate, and they delivered for us big time.”
— Director of Network Architecture, Global Automotive Manufacturer
THE CUSTOMER: GLOBAL AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURER
A global automotive manufacturer with a large, complex IT environment embarked on a major in-sourcing effort for core network services, such as Domain Name System (DNS), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), and IP Address Management (IPAM).
THE CHALLENGE
Adopting Network Services Built for Distributed Enterprises
The DNS and DHCP solution the company had acquired from a major vendor was faltering under the burden of 150 locations, 400 DNS and DHCP servers, 12 million IP addresses, 3 million DNS host names, and 10,000 very widely distributed zones. To further complicate matters, a major data center consolidation project was under way. The IT organization decided to migrate to a centrally managed solution that could more efficiently support such a large and complex environment.
Industry: Automotive Manufacturer
Industry: Manufacturing
Location: Global
Objectives: Adopt a solution built for scale, Consolidate data centers and manage DDI operations centrally, Manage millions of addresses and devices in a reliable network environment
Results: Centralized management of networks and customized to local requirements, Reliability and disaster recovery, Streamlined provisioning in support of major data center consolidation, Self-service provisioning
Products: NIOS DDI
THE SOLUTION
Next-Generation DDI with Built-In Security Measures
According to the company’s Director of Network Architecture, IT brought in four of the major providers of DNS and DHCP solutions, including Infoblox, and did a head-to-head evaluation. “Infoblox did everything it was supposed to do,” he says. “The Grid technology is really next generation, and no one else has it.” The evaluators found it ideally suited for the company’s large, complex environment, with ease of manageability and operational streamlining that directly addressed the problems the legacy solution presented.
The IT team also evaluated DNS Firewall, a solution for identifying bad domains, blocking malware communications, and helping to pinpoint infected clients. They intend to deploy it as part of a defense-in-depth strategy because DNS vulnerability to malware and denial-of-service attacks is missing in their overall security measures. They expect DNS Firewall to add value without complexity.
THE RESULTS
An Empowered IT Team with Individualized Network Requirements
To avoid problems, the IT team rolled out the Infoblox solution in a very methodical way, and the result was a trouble-free transition from the legacy solution. Altogether, it took six months, which the director of network architecture considers a “very aggressive timeline.” Infoblox Professional Services supported the IT team during the rollout.
Now management of the complex network is more effective and less difficult. The Grid gives IT central management of the entire network, and yet allows different areas of the network to be configured to match their own unique requirements.
The initial deployment consisted of two grids; one for the legacy environment and one for the new consolidated data center. Now the company is planning a third one for a private-cloud environment under development. Not only will all three grids be managed from a central point the Grid technology will make them far more reliable and able to recover from disasters than the legacy system.
One capability in particular that is helping with the data center consolidation is the ability to provision automatically and according to policies from a central point. DNS records are automatically tracked when applications are moved, reducing work and accelerating the process. The IT team is opening up this capability as a self-service offering so that application owners can do most of the work themselves, which further streamlines the workflow and reduces overhead for IT.
“I’ve been very satisfied with our relationship with Infoblox over the very intense last six or seven months,” says the network architecture director. “They really do step up to the plate, and they’ve delivered for us big time.”