![\"Create](\"https:\/\/blogs.infoblox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/create-extensible-atrribute.png\")
<\/p>\nThere is a lot of useful information in an Infoblox DDI grid, all nicely collected for you in IPAM (IP Address Management). Navigating through the user interface to get the desired information works just fine, but if there is a large amount of information, or if you want to see a combination of information neatly organized in a particular way, you should consider using Smart Folders.<\/p>\n
Smart Folders are an extremely powerful and flexible way to gain visibility to just the information you need to see. Simply stated, Smart Folders are customized searches that dynamically update as objects are created or changed. There is a large amount of search criteria that can be used for Smart Folders, so results can be very specifically tailored. Infoblox supports two scopes of Smart Folders;\u00a0Global Smart Folders<\/i>\u00a0(visible to all users), and\u00a0My Smart Folders<\/i>\u00a0(separate private space for each user).<\/p>\n
Using \u201cExtensible Attributes\u201d (metadata attached to an object) in combination with Smart Folders further increases the ability to refine the visibility of your information, and is highly recommended. Extensible attributes are completely customizable, and are an excellent way to help identify the individual components of your infrastructure. But even without Extensible Attributes, there is a lot that Smart Folders can do to help organize your data.<\/p>\n
In this discussion, we\u2019ll create some Extensible Attributes (EAs), attach some of them to objects, and then create some Smart Folders that use EAs, and some that don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start by creating some Extensible Attributes.<\/p>\n
To create a new EA, access\u00a0Extensible Attributes<\/i>\u00a0from the\u00a0Administration<\/i>\u00a0tab:<\/p>\n
\ufffc<\/p>\n
In this example, we have servers located in several co-location facilities, and want to keep track of the location and function of these servers.<\/p>\n
Create a\u00a0CoLo<\/i>\u00a0EA, of type List. This will limit the EA to only the values on the list. Create\u00a0CoLo #1<\/i>,\u00a0CoLo #2<\/i>,\u00a0CoLo #3<\/i>,\u00a0CoLo #4<\/i>\u00a0values for the\u00a0CoLo<\/i>\u00a0list. Click\u00a0Next<\/i>, take a look at the other optional settings, then click\u00a0Save & Close<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Similarly, create a\u00a0Cabinet<\/i>\u00a0list, with values\u00a0Cabinet #1<\/i>,\u00a0Cabinet #2<\/i>,\u00a0Cabinet #3<\/i>,\u00a0Cabinet #4<\/i>. Similarly, create a\u00a0Deployment<\/i>\u00a0list, with values\u00a0Production<\/i>,\u00a0Staging<\/i>,\u00a0QA<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Similarly, create an\u00a0Application<\/i>\u00a0list, with values\u00a0Oracle<\/i>,\u00a0SharePoint<\/i>,\u00a0Exchange<\/i>, but let\u2019s only allow a\u00a0Host<\/i>\u00a0to be associated with these values. Before saving, click the Add (+) button in the\u00a0Restrict to Specific Object Types<\/i>\u00a0box. The\u00a0Admin Group<\/i>\u00a0object is automatically added. Click to the right of this object to expose the down arrow. Click on the down arrow to show the available list of objects.<\/p>\n
\ufffc![\"Create](\"https:\/\/blogs.infoblox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/create-extensible-atrribute-2.png\")
<\/p>\n
Select\u00a0Host<\/i>, then\u00a0Save & Close<\/i>. This EA (Application<\/i>) can now only be assigned to\u00a0Hosts<\/i>.<\/p>\n
![\"Create](\"https:\/\/blogs.infoblox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/create-extensible-atrribute-3.png\")
<\/p>\n
\ufffcLet\u2019s assign some the EAs we created to some objects.<\/p>\n
In our example grid, we have a 10.15.0.0\/16 IPv4 parent network, with four child \/24 networks within it, containing production, staging, and QA application servers. Using Data Management > IPAM, we browsed to each Host, and added EAs. Here is an example for server\u00a0oraprod1.myzone.com<\/i>:<\/p>\n
\ufffc![\"Create](\"https:\/\/blogs.infoblox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/create-extensible-atrribute-4.png\")
<\/p>\n
It is a good idea to assign EAs to your objects as you create them. Every wizard that adds an object contains a step to add EAs. Adding them \u201cas you go\u201d is easy and quick. Adding them later (after you have many objects) would be more time consuming. EAs can be individually configured to be mandatory, to enforce proper data entry.<\/p>\n
Now, let\u2019s create some Smart Folders in\u00a0My Smart Folders<\/i>, using our example data.<\/p>\n
Click\u00a0Create<\/i>, specify these filter criteria for our production Oracle servers, and click\u00a0Apply<\/i>, to see the results in the editor window:<\/p>\n
The results look good, so click\u00a0Save<\/i>. You\u2019ll see the name populate in\u00a0My Smart Folders<\/i>, and the\u00a0Finder<\/i>\u00a0window. The\u00a0Finder<\/i>\u00a0window (on the left) is the quickest and easiest method to navigate much of the grid\u2019s data, including Smart Folders.<\/p>\n
\ufffcNow, let\u2019s create a Smart Folder that shows all the staging servers:<\/p>\n
\ufffcSmart Folders are dynamic. If we add another object that matches a Smart Folder\u2019s criteria, it will automatically appear in the Smart Folder.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s create another Oracle staging server using\u00a0Data Management > IPAM<\/i>, making sure to assign EAs:<\/p>\n
Using the\u00a0Finder<\/i>\u00a0(on the left), locate the\u00a0Staging Servers<\/i>\u00a0Smart Folder created earlier \u2013 the new staging server appears:<\/p>\n
\ufffcAs you can see, using EAs along with Smart Folders makes it easy to keep track of important objects, but Smart Folders can still be used even without EAs.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s create a Smart Folder that doesn\u2019t use EAs, and will contain all our email servers. Email servers have\u00a0MX<\/i>\u00a0records, so we can leverage this to create a Smart Folder.<\/p>\n
Click\u00a0Create<\/em>, specify these filter criteria for our email servers, and click\u00a0Apply<\/i>, to see the results in the editor window:<\/p>\n \ufffcClick Save.<\/em><\/p>\n Now let\u2019s create another Smart Folder that doesn\u2019t use EAs, and will contain all the IPv4 DNS reverse zones on the grid.<\/p>\n Click\u00a0Create<\/i>, specify these filter criteria for our reverse zones, and click\u00a0Apply<\/i>, to see the results in the editor window:<\/p>\n \ufffcClick\u00a0Save.<\/em><\/p>\n Try creating additional Smart Folders. Take a look at the available search criteria to get additional ideas on how to provide useful dynamic windows to your IPAM data using Smart Folders. Remember, the ways you can organize your data is almost limitless if you also use Extensible Attributes along with Smart Folders.<\/p>\n Consult the NIOS Administrator Guide (available in the Infoblox DDI user interface) for additional useful information regarding Smart Folders and Extensible Attributes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There is a lot of useful information in an Infoblox DDI grid, all nicely collected for you in IPAM (IP Address Management). Navigating through the user interface to get the desired information works just fine, but if there is a large amount of information, or if you want to see a combination of information neatly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":2813,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4465","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community","8":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n