Maybe you have a company with several remote workers. You’ve developed a computer platform for them to use. They log in and do their work, and you have security features in place to make sure no unauthorized individuals can access your client data, trade secrets, etc.
You might have DDI network concerns. In this article, we’ll break DDI down a little bit, including what it is, why it matters, and what you might do to protect it.
What Precisely is DDI?
We’ll get into things like an alternative to Infoblox DDI, but before we do, we’ll explain what DDI is for anyone who’s uncertain. DDI:
- Is a reference term that tech-savvy individuals often use
- Is DNS-DHCP-IPAM shorthand
DNS means domain name system. It’s a decentralized, hierarchical naming system. It often covers computers, resources, or other internet or private network-connected services. The reason you need it is that it associates domain name assignments with various information subsets, revealing critical network details.
DHCP means dynamic host configuration protocol. It’s a handy network management protocol system. On an Internet Protocol network, your DHCP server dynamically assigns your devices IP addresses. Once it does this, they can communicate safely with other devices.
IPAM means IP address management. This is a rather wide-reaching or broad term. Essentially, it means computer software-imprinted methodology.
It’s something software developers put in their creations for IP address assignment management and planning. In other words, it’s how software developers make sure their programs interface with the rest of the internet with no significant problems.
Why Does DDI Matter?
DDI is three concepts or protocols in one. We’ve explained what each one of them is and what they mean. But why would you care about them, either individually or collectively?
DDI matters because:
- If you can’t handle these three system aspects, your network will not function properly
- If you don’t control each element, it exposes potential system vulnerabilities
Whether you want to handle these three concepts together or separately, you cannot ignore them or diminish their importance. If you don’t have an orderly DNS setup, you can’t track what devices are on your network at any given time. You need to do this because if you don’t, hackers might get on and steal your data or trade secrets.
Your DHCP server needs to function correctly as well. Since it assigns your approved devices IP addresses, without it, your workers can’t access your network with their laptops, desktops, etc. They can’t use them for Internet Protocol communications, i.e., accessing various websites.
You also need to be IPAM-aware because that’s how your network admin can keep track of your used and unassigned IP addresses. This is how you track details like hostname, status, subnets, and any associated hardware.
With a high-functioning DDI system in place, you can improve your network’s support, reliability, and consistency. You get an efficiency enhancement and more auditing and reporting context.
When you update service data, you get clear conflict visibility if anything goes wrong. You can also automate various tedious or time-consuming maintenance tasks.
What is Infoblox DDI?
Infoblox is one of the popular DDI maintenance systems that are on the market. However, you should also understand there are alternatives to it. You might sometimes hear about this one, but there are other services that have made significant market inroads.
If you want to get a DDI maintenance system, you should look for one that’s the right price and has excellent reviews. You want one that can update, delete, or add host records and assign new work devices IP addresses instantly and automatically.
You want one capable of network device selective deployment. It should be able to add, delete, or update IP address records, and it should also be able to edit, delete, or add DNS records automatically.
You want your DDI maintenance system to manage your IP addresses in a user-friendly interface that’s not needlessly complex. It should be physical and virtual-appliance compatible. It should offer advanced critical security features and give you a single-pane, real-time network, and DDI data view.
The right DDI setup saves you a lot of time and money. You don’t need to have a whole infrastructure management team. You can better allocate IT department resources.
Your networking teams can then achieve a higher-level initiative focus. You can achieve your goals quicker while knowing you have total network security. You’ll have comprehensive DDI management, visibility, and control. As a modern, fully-functioning company, that’s what you want to achieve.
