One of the most common questions we hear from network engineers, as it relates to IP address management, is: I already have a spreadsheet for IPAM, why would I want to spend money on something else? For those that have multiple users managing multiple spreadsheets across multiple locations, it is much easier to see the value in an IP address management application such as SolarWInds IPAM. For the rest of us, it comes down to the value that you place on the real benefits of an IPAM solution.
So, what is the real driver for IPAM? Can we agree that it allows you to do a better job every day as well as making your life much easier? I could tell you about the ROI but many of you have said that a hard ROI would be difficult to sell internally since most don’t really understand what managing the IP address space is all about. After all, it’s not a switch or server that can bring your network down. I could also give you the shameless marketing spin but most of you would see right through that. Instead, I am going to share with you how IPAM makes your life easier from the feedback of thousands of network engineers that are currently using SolarWinds IPAM.
IP Conflict Prevention
Whether you’re using a formal application or a spreadsheet, this should be one of your main priorities. IP address conflicts can actually be painful problems that result in downtime for a user and more than likely a support call to you.
Categorizing your IP addresses based on availability status along with automated scanning of your network and your Microsoft or Cisco DHCP server will help ensure that your IP address space is always up to date and help avoid IP conflicts.
Manage Subnets, Addresses and DHCP ScopesThe ability to view your subnets, drill down into the details of a given subnet or IP address, and automatically scan your network for subnet or IP address changes is something that simply cannot be done with a spreadsheet.
Historical Tracking
IP addresses change over time and an IPAM application offers the ability to historically track those address to see how certain properties change over time.
Monitoring and AlertingReceive proactive notifications before your subnets reach capacity and you run out of available spaces or use a spreadsheet and be the last to know when address conflicts begin to occur and your users start to complain.
Planning
Save time and reduce errors when you’re planning and mapping out a new IPv4 or IPv6 network. Efficiently organize your managed IP address space into appropriately sized subnets with built-in subnet calculator. Quickly and easily allocate, add, edit and delete addresses and subnets with a few simple clicks.
So, as you can see from network engineers just like you, a real IPAM solution can buy you a lot more than a spreadsheet. Are these worth paying for? That’s a question that only you can answer. I can, however, tell you that the thousands of engineers who own SolarWinds IPAM don’t want to go back, and for me that tells the story.
Are we right on or totally off base? We’d love to hear your thoughts.
