[May 24, 2010]

Infoblox Expands Virtualized Solution Offerings

Infoblox (News - Alert) Inc. today announced it has expanded its portfolio of solutions for virtualized network environments with Infoblox IPAM for Virtualization, an advanced IP address management (IPAM) solution specifically designed to track IP addresses assigned to virtual machines.

Additionally, Infoblox announced the availability of Infoblox vNIOS™ for VMware®, the company's Network Infrastructure Operating System optimized for VMware, which allows deployment of a virtualized instance of an Infoblox appliance. This solution, in conjunction with Infoblox physical appliances in a datacenter, is ideal for enterprise branch offices, where footprint, power and other resources are often limited.

Virtual Environments Present New Network Challenges

As enterprises strive to take advantage of the flexibility, power, footprint and cost-reduction advantages associated with virtualization, they are encountering network visibility and scale challenges requiring advanced core network services, including domain name resolution (DNS), IP address assignment (DHCP) and especially IPAM. Spreadsheets and manual processes for tracking IP addresses cannot scale in a dynamic virtual environment. There are significantly higher rates of change and activity in a virtualized environment where virtual instances of servers and machines are dynamically deployed, "spun" up and down.

According to Gartner (News - Alert) (First Take: "Infoblox Expands Network Automation with Netcordia Buy", May 10, 2010 by Deb Curtis et al), "...the exploding number of IP addresses and network-connected devices, as well as the increased network complexity resulting from virtualized and cloud computing environments, will force network managers to embrace more automation."

The bottom line is that investments in virtualization cannot fully pay off without corresponding investments in a more flexible, automated network with visibility for both the physical and virtual environments.

Infoblox IPAM for Virtualization Transcends Physical and Virtual Infrastructure

Infoblox IPAM for Virtualization extends Infoblox's industry leading IPAM platform to include support for managing IP space and providing visibility into IP addresses assigned to "devices" in a virtual environment. With Infoblox IPAM for Virtualization organizations can:

• Discover virtual endpoints and their relationship to the physical network; for example, which physical host currently runs a specific virtual machine - important information for effectively troubleshooting network issues.
Enable virtualization teams to manage their own IP space without relying on or affecting the other teams.
• Enable network and server teams to have visibility into IP space usage in virtualized environments.

Standard Infoblox IPAM features, including the IP Map, Smart Folders and more, support the virtualization environment. For example, Smart Folders are automatically populated when new virtual endpoints are discovered and modified when virtual machines migrate, providing instant reporting of a dynamic virtual infrastructure. This data can be viewed and manipulated in the same Infoblox GUI for central visibility and control of both virtual and physical network environments.

Infoblox vNIOS on VMware Expands Deployment Choices for Branch Offices

Infoblox vNIOS for VMware is a highly automated and resilient DNS, DHCP and IP address management (DDI) solution that brings the advantages of Infoblox NIOS appliances and virtualization together. Infoblox vNIOS for VMware adds to the comprehensive portfolio of existing Infoblox NIOS hardware and virtual appliances to allow customers to choose the right solution for their environment.

Infoblox vNIOS for VMware Virtual Appliance is a full-featured software instance of the Infoblox DDI appliance that can be deployed on VMware ESX/ESXi servers. The vNIOS Virtual Appliance includes a full suite of core network services, including DNS, DHCP, IPAM, FTP, TFTP and HTTP.

In addition to providing an easy alternative to deploying hardware appliances at the branch office for providing highly available DNS and DHCP services, Infoblox vNIOS for VMware provides many benefits, including:

• Reduced power and footprint by minimizing the number of physical servers and appliances;
• Lower expenses by reducing hardware, cooling and real-estate costs; and,
• Increased resilience and availability of VMware environments.

Steve Nye, Infoblox Executive Vice President of Product Strategy at Infoblox, commented, "Enterprises are poised to take advantage of significant benefits from virtualized environments; however, some more advanced network services, such as automated IPAM instead of spreadsheets, are required to realize all the advantages. Infoblox is poised to help provide the visibility and automation necessary to broadly expand virtual environments from pilots to large-scale production deployments."

For more information about Infoblox virtualized solutions, visit: http://www.infoblox.com/solutions/overview-virtualization-automate-dns-dhcp-ipam.cfm.

Pricing and Availability

Infoblox vNIOS for VMware pricing starts at $4,545 in the U.S. and the product is now available through authorized Infoblox channel partners. Infoblox IPAM for Virtualization functionality is included in Infoblox's standard NIOS operating system and available on all Infoblox platforms May 30, 2010 at no additional fee. Pricing for an Infoblox appliance with the standard Infoblox NIOS starts at $4,545 in the U.S.

About Infoblox

Infoblox delivers highly reliable and manageable platforms for core network services like domain name resolution (DNS), IP address assignment (DHCP), IP address management (IPAM) and more. Infoblox solutions - the only DNS, DHCP and IPAM (DDI) solution given a "Strong Positive Rating" by Gartner - are used by over 3,800 organizations worldwide, including more than one third of the Fortune 500. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., and operates in more than 30 countries.

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