DNS appliances | DNS Tool

Features and Benefits

The NS1 with Grid package is available on all Infoblox appliance platforms.

The NS1 with Grid package delivers reliable, manageable, scalable, and secure core network services at a lower cost and with higher security than server-software and with greater network availability than any other solution. The services included in the NS1 with Grid package are:

Naming services via Domain Name System (DNS/DNSSEC);
Addressing services via Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP);
Network visibility and control via IP address management (IPAM);
File delivery services via Trivial File Transfer Protocol and other services (FTP, HTTP, TFTP);
Time synchronization services via Network Time Protocol (NTP)

Scalable, Integrated Managemant

The NS1 with Grid package also includes the Grid upgrade which provides patented Infoblox technology for linking distributed appliances into a unified Infoblox Grid. The embedded databases in all Infoblox appliances within an Infoblox Grid are intelligently interconnected so that they share a common, real-time view of host names, IP leases, and other network services data. The Grid uses secure communication among appliances and also uses sophisticated database technology to maintain data integrity. This ensures that all appliances in the Grid have the right data and that the Grid continues to deliver services without data loss or corruption in the face of a wide range 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 “rightsized” appliances to be deployed at each location.

The flexible Infoblox Grid Manager user interface provides the visibility and control needed to manage all core network services in dynamic IP networks. The Grid Manager consolidates the management of all appliances, services, and data—and provides summary and drill-down views with a simple click. Granular, role-based management capabilities enable administrators to delegate specific networks, ranges, hosts, and devices to junior or departmental personnel. The Infoblox Grid Manager makes it easy to cope with fast-changing networks, and because all data reside in the Infoblox appliance database, the status of devices and services within the Grid Manager always reflects the actual, real-time state of the network.

Additional Benefits Include

High-availability Services
The NS1 with Grid package runs on the reliable Infoblox appliance platforms, which are designed for nonstop operation in high-performance networks. High-availability (HA) services are supported by bloxHA™ technology—which uses industry-standard Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) for sub 5-second network failover—and bloxSYNC™ technology to ensure real-time database synchronization with no loss or duplication of data.

Integrated, Zero-admin Database
The NS1 with Grid package stores all DNS/DNSSEC and DHCP data in the integrated bloxSDB™ database, which is built into the Infoblox NIOS™ operating system software provided on all Infoblox appliances. The bloxSDB database is designed specifically to support integrated core network services and provides unmatched consistency between service and management views of IP-address-centric network services data without compromising performance.

Integrated Web GUI
The Infoblox Web GUI allows administrators to deploy and manage the entire DNS/DNSSEC, DHCP and IPAM infrastructure with just a few mouse clicks. The powerful, Web-based Infoblox GUI is the only solution that manages all aspects of the infrastructure and data – including software updates and upgrades, backup and restore, disaster recovery and all services and data management – without resorting to client based or command-line interfaces. The Infoblox Web UI manages all aspects of the product including DNS/DNSSEC, DHCP, IPAM and Grid management, monitoring and reporting. Wizards and visual tools are available to make configuration and monitoring error-free.

Integrated Management
The NS1 with Grid package 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.

Granular, Role-based Administration
Role-based administration is a powerful way to ensure that administrators are only given access to view and modify specific core network services attributes consistent with their organizational and functional role. For example, this means that a senior DNS administrator could have the ability to define new domains and add new appliances to a Grid, while a help desk administrator might only have the ability to view specific subnets and issue IP addresses to new devices by picking from a pre-defined list. Infoblox has created a very scalable, yet very granular role-based administration framework. The framework provides customers the ability to delegate administration down to the object level and yet maintain permissions for a large, complex administration model. Some specifics include:

Easy workflow to manage permissions:The administrator can quickly set permissions by right-clicking on any object to bring up a list of permissions. This is much easier than having to switch to a separate administration panel. It also provides a comprehensive list of which permissions have been granted to each administration group.
Administration is also eased through the use of roles: Roles can be mapped to an organization or job (e.g., Printer Admins, DNS Admins) and then roles can be assigned to administrative groups. This abstraction model allows a set of permissions to be defined once any changes to the role are inherited by all groups that are associated with it.

Hardened Security
The Infoblox NIOS software is hardened and consistently withstands security scans and attacks within the most demanding government and military organizations. DNS/DNSSEC and DHCP services can be upgraded easily to support the latest versions of BIND and DHCP, ensuring minimum exposure to security threats. 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.

DNS Attack Detection and Mitigation
Infoblox provides the ability to detect, alert and mitigate any attacks against members that are configured as recursive DNS servers. The NIOS software will monitor two key parameters that are indicators of an attack: mis-matched DNS message IDs and mis-matched UDP ports on DNS responses. This happens when an attacker is guessing on those parameters to “spoof” a response with the poisoned data. The administrator can set a threshold for both parameters and when either is exceeded the system will send an email alert and/or SNMP trap (whichever is configured for the system). This feature will give administrators an early warning that one of their servers is under attack.

In addition, Infoblox NIOS allows attack mitigation by implementing query rate-limiting. The administrator can implement a filter on a specific IP or network to limit or stop all traffic. This will slow down or stop the attack, the success of which is based on the attacker’s ability to try as many response "guesses" as possible before the legitimate DNS server can respond.

Push Button DNSSEC Implementation and Management
DNSSEC management is completely automated. Zones are signed with a single command and are re-signed automatically when records are updated. Keys are generated and distributed automatically. Infoblox provides the only DNSSEC solution with fully automated key management and key rollover.