Infoblox Inc. today announced the availability of new automated network control capabilities and an intuitive Automation Task Board designed to enable IT department members to initiate multi-step, often-repeated and time-consuming network tasks with the click of a single button. The “one and done” automation capabilities enhance the ability of enterprise IT teams – ranging from helpdesk personnel to server team engineers – to install, maintain, and support highly dynamic virtualized and cloud environments.
“Server virtualization deployment is a cross disciplinary process. IT departments still remain highly siloed, lacking cross-domain training and common tools. This makes for a more manual collaboration process, and the more manual the process is, the more prone it is to delays and errors. Automation improves operational efficiency. To fully realize the value of virtualized infrastructure, manual processes need to be replaced with automated ones,” said Tracy Corbo, Principal Research Analyst at Enterprise Management Associates.
Virtualization and Cloud Drive the Need for Greater IT Team Collaboration
According to recent Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) survey results (see related announcement: Survey Reveals Lack of Communication and Cross Domain Tools Impedes Collaboration Needed for VM Deployments), IT teams recognize that virtual machine (VM) deployments are a multi-disciplinary task. When organizations were asked to characterize their overall approach to cross-collaboration between IT teams over the VM lifecycle, the majority claimed that they had a formalized, yet manual approach. The problem is that manual approaches do not scale efficiently and over half, 56%, of the respondents were deploying between 500 and 1,000 VMs on average per month. As VM deployments continue to grow, automation will become even more necessary in order to keep pace with the rate of change.
Respondents recognized a need for better cross-team collaboration, but factors such as staffing resource constraints, lack of control, and lack of common tools ranked among the top three barriers to achieving the IT cross-group collaboration needed to accelerate the VM deployment process. Infoblox addresses these concerns with its newest automated network control capabilities.
Infoblox Capabilities Enable “One and Done” Efficiencies, Visibility, and Collaboration
Through built-in discovery technology, real-time automation intelligence, complete tracking, and user-based controls, the new automated network task capabilities reduce the need for scripts or command line interface logins to create auditable and designated procedures. These tasks can be accessed and triggered through the Infoblox Automation Task Board by any approved IT department member with little risk of error.
The instant “one and done” results achieved by the click of a button save countless administrative hours and speed deployments. And, the Automation Task Board offers visibility across team silos.
In addition to extensive automated IP address management capabilities, such as adding a network and a host, the new automated network control capabilities now accessible from the new Infoblox Automation Task Board include:
- Network Provisioning – used to add IPv4 or IPv6 subnets.
- VLAN Reassignment – for reassigning virtual local area networks.
- Port Activation – for activating or re-activating a port.
- Bare Metal Provisioning – for configuring new network devices at branch offices.
- Rogue DHCP Server Remediation – for identifying and remediating unauthorized DHCP servers.
“Infoblox’s Automation Task Board helps streamline network operations and bridge the visibility and control barriers that are prevalent in today’s siloed IT departmental structures,” said Kevin Dickson, Vice President of Product Management at Infoblox. “This new functionality can help dramatically speed expansion of virtualization and cloud environments so that enterprise businesses realize greater benefit from these initiatives.”
Availability
The Infoblox automated network control capabilities and the Automation Task Board are now available. Pricing for the systems required to acquire this functionality starts at $15,735 in North America and $18,885 in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), as well as Asia Pacific.
For existing customers with a valid maintenance contract, the Automation Task Board and automated IP address management capabilities are available in the latest software release. New automated network control functions are available through the Infoblox Network Automation Change Manager; pricing for the Network Automation Change Manager starts at $11,990 in North America and $14,390 in EMEA and Asia Pacific.
About Infoblox
Infoblox is a global leader in automated IT network control solutions. The Company’s purpose-built physical and virtual appliance platforms combine real-time IP address management (IPAM) with network control, configuration and change capabilities. The solutions help Infoblox’s more than 5,400 end customers achieve more dynamic and reliable networks, efficient operations and increased value from their virtualization and cloud computing initiatives. Headquarters are in Santa Clara, Calif. with additional operations in 30 countries.