Infoblox appliances based on NIOS™ software deliver nonstop core network services—including DNS, DHCP, IPAM, RADIUS, TFTP, FTP, HTTP, NTP and others—that are critical to the operation of all IP-based networks. Infoblox NIOS appliances fortify your network with highly reliable services that are give you control and save time and money by automating labor-intensive and error-prone tasks. Distributed Infoblox appliances can be connected easily into unified grids that provide unparalleled management, control, visibility, and service resiliency.

Infoblox NIOS 4.2r4 software introduces significant new enhancements and functionality including: Enhanced authorization with the Object-Level Permissions Manager; granular control over maintenance upgrades with Staged Upgrades and increased security and flexibility with Enhanced RADIUS Policies.

Infoblox NIOS software is a security-hardened, real-time operating system that includes a built-in, zero-administration database, extensive support for high-availability operation, and comprehensive capabilities that automate appliance deployment and maintenance and simplify data management. Infoblox NIOS supports a series of modules that provide a range of network services, including:

• Naming services via Domain Name System (DNS);
• Addressing services via Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP);
• Network visibility and control via IP address management (IPAM);
• Network access control services via the NAC Foundation module and captive portal;
• Authentication services (RADIUS);
• File delivery services via File Transfer Protocol (TFTP), FTP and HTTP;
• Time synchronization services via Network Time Protocol (NTP);
• Logging services via Syslog

Infoblox NIOS software also supports several additional modules that provide unique capabilities:

• The grid module which provides patented Infoblox technology for linking distributed appliances into an Infoblox grid: unified, centrally managed system of appliances sharing a common, real-time distributed database. The Infoblox grid uses a secure SSL-based VPN among appliances and also uses sophisticated transaction management technology to maintain data integrity. This ensures that all appliances in the grid have the timely and accurate data and that the grid continues to deliver services without data loss or corruption in the face of device or WAN failures. Infoblox grid technology also supports intelligent data replication to minimize the use of bandwidth in the grid and to enable “right-sized” appliances to be deployed at each location.



• The integration module for Alcatel-Lucent VitalQIP® extends the benefits of Infoblox appliances and grid technology to Alcatel-Lucent VitalQIP® Remote Server software.

The Infoblox NIOS™ software in every Infoblox appliance includes a powerful API that enables external applications to interact with appliance services and applications. Via the API, third-party applications can import data from existing DNS and DHCP systems, read and modify the data in the Infoblox appliance bloxSDB™ database, perform administrative functions, and export data for archiving and reporting.

Infoblox toolkits are collections of software that dramatically reduce the effort required to interact with the Infoblox API. A library of toolkits is available from the Infoblox support and professional services teams to address a range of data import/export and migration tasks. The Infoblox ID Aware™ DHCP toolkit is available from certified Infoblox IDeal Partners and is used to link Infoblox DHCP services into a wide range of Network Access Control (NAC) solutions. Infoblox provides a web-based software tool for collecting and reporting on DNS and DHCP statistics and DNS query logs. These reports are invaluable when performing capacity planning or troubleshooting tasks.

Features and Benefits

High-availability Services: High-availability (HA) services are supported by bloxHA™ technology, which uses industry-standard Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) for sub-5-second network failover between active and backup appliances, and bloxSYNC™ technology to ensure real-time database synchronization with no loss or duplication of data. Together, these two technologies allow critical DNS, DHCP, RADIUS, TFTP, and other services to always remain responsive and up to-date and eliminate common but challenging problems such as issuing duplicate IP addresses.

Integrated, Zero-admin Database: Infoblox NIOS software stores all network data—including IP addresses, host names, MAC addresses, user credentials, and other data—in the integrated bloxSDB database, which is designed specifically to support integrated network services and provides unmatched consistency between service and management views of IP network data without compromising performance. The Infoblox Grid Manager application unifies the management of all services, devices, and data.

Staged Upgrades: Global enterprises need to control and manage upgrading Core Network Services world wide. The Infoblox NIOS Staged Upgrades feature allow for maintenance releases to be staged worldwide to optimize WAN bandwidth for package distribution and target maintenance windows for actual software upgrades. Administrators have fine-grained control over the upgrade process.

Easy-to-use GUI: Infoblox NIOS software includes the Infoblox Grid Manager that can be run from any PC running Windows 2000/XP or Linux. The data-centric interface streamlines complex and repetitive management operations and enables administrators to focus on data and services rather than boxes and protocols. New features, including fine-grained change management via DNS zone locking and the ability to “undo” accidental deletions of large DNS zones and DHCP networks via a recycle bin, further enhance usability and power. This reduces management time and eliminates many common data entry errors.

Integrated Management: Infoblox NIOS software provides practical operational efficiencies that lower total cost of ownership. For example, creating a DHCP range automatically creates an associated DNS record, reducing the number of tasks required of network administrators. User credentials are automatically distributed to appliances in the grid that are providing RADIUS services and one certificate can be shared by all of the appliances serving RADIUS. Files can be uploaded to the grid master and automatically distributed to all appliances serving files via TFTP and HTTP. All of these features save time and improve service delivery. [Network Templates? NS Groups? DNS Name Templates?]

Granular, Administration: Administrators can delegate the management of particular zones, networks, devices, and even specific resource record types to other administrators, and they can also create “read-only” profiles for delegated administrators. This allows companies to grant individuals in different parts of an organization management authority over only a portion of the network’s resources with extensive audit logging. [Should update with new Permissions Manager features]

Security Hardened: Infoblox NIOS software is hardened and consistently withstands security scans and attacks from the most demanding government and military organizations. In the event that a new exploit is discovered, the underlying Infoblox NIOS software can be upgraded in minutes via a single, simple operation. This makes it much more difficult to penetrate than general-purpose operating systems with known vulnerabilities. Management communication is secured using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)-encrypted VPNs for protection against management compromise.

Infoblox NIOS Modules and Packages

Infoblox software packages combine NIOS software modules to address different customer needs, as shown in the table below. All packages are available on all Infoblox models, except where noted.