Finding the first available IPv4 block - BlueCat Integrity - 26.1.0

Address Manager Administration Guide
ft:locale
en-US
Product name
BlueCat Integrity
Version
26.1.0

An Address Manager configuration can have many IP blocks. You can use the Find First Available IPv4 Block function to quickly locate the first available IPv4 block. You can search through all blocks in your configuration, or you can search within a specific block. -->

The search displays only IPv4 blocks to which you have at least view access rights. You can either search through the existing empty block or create a new block with the specified size.

When searching for the first available block with the exactly equal size match option, you can only search for a block that's the same size you specified. For example, if you specify the /23 IPv4 block size, Address Manager will only find or create a block size of /23.

When searching for the first available range with equal or larger size match option is selected, you can search for a block that's the same size as or larger than the size you specified. If no such block is found, it will create a new block of the specified size. For example, if you specify the /23 IPv4 block size, Address Manager will first try to find a block size of /23 or more, if no block is found, Address Manager will create a new block of /23.
Note: If running the Find First Available Block function at the configuration level, there must at least one block already created under the configuration. If no blocks exist, the Find First Available Block operation will fail.

To find the first available IPv4 block:

  1. Select the IPAM tab in the sidebar, then select IPv4 blocks.
  2. Navigate to the IPv4 block that you would like to search within by selecting the block's range in the IPv4 blocks table, or by selecting the block in the IPAM tree view panel.
  3. Select Actions > Find first unassigned IPv4 block.
  4. Under General, set the search parameters:
    • Size of the range—select a range size. Range sizes in the drop-down menu will be populated based on the selected block, and will be listed by CIDR notation and by the number of addresses within the range.
    • Reuse existing unused ranges—select this option to find the existing unused ranges of similar size. By default, this option isn't selected and Address Manager always creates a new range of specified size.
    • Method to find first available range—set the following parameters:
      • Find block with exact size—select this option to locate a block that's of the size selected in the Size of the range drop-down list.
      • Find block with equal or larger size—select this option to locate a block equal to or larger than the size selected in the Size of the range drop-down list.
  5. Select Find block.

    • If Address Manager can't find a block, an error message will appear to indicate that no suitable block was found. Modify your search criteria to perform another search.

    • If a block matching the specified search criteria can be created, the block will appear at the top in the The First available block field.

  6. Under General, set the following parameters:
    • Name—enter a name for the block. This name is used only in Address Manager and isn't deployed to servers.
    • Location—select a location from the drop-down menu on which the IP object that you are adding or editing will be based. Blocks created within blocks will inherit the location of the parent block, unless a different location is specified at the block level here.
    • Default view—select a view from the list. The selected view is inherited by addresses within in the block. For IP addresses that are assigned to multiple views, the default view determines the view to which the IP address is assigned.
  7. On the DNS restrictions tab, set the zones or views to restrict the IPv4 block to be used in:
    • Inherit restricted domains from parent—select the checkbox to inherit the parent object’s DNS restrictions. Selecting this option will autopopulate the Inherited restricted domains field with the names of restricted DNS zones and views defined in the parent object. Top-level blocks do not have restricted domains to inherit.

      Unselect the checkbox to display the Restricted domains field. In the Restricted domains field, enter the names of DNS zones and views to configure block-specific restricted domains settings.

    • Note:
      • Any DNS zone or view you add to the Restricted domains list is restricted for use only in the specified IPv4 block. The IPv4 block is also restricted for use only in the specified view(s) and zone(s).
      • You can't add an IPv4 block to a DNS zone if that DNS zone contains IP addresses outside of that IPv4 block.
  8. On the Default domains tab, set the zones—containing domains—to be used when you are configuring the host name for an IPv4 address. The default domains help ensure accuracy when specifying the host name for an IPv4 address. When this is configured, you don't have to type the complete FQDN(s); you can select the name from a list of available domains.
    • Inherit default domains from parent—select the checkbox to inherit the parent object’s default domains. Selecting this option will autopopulate the Inherited default domains field with the names of DNS zones defined in the parent object. Top-level blocks do not have default domains to inherit.

      Unselect the checkbox to display the Default domains field. In the Default domains field, enter the names of DNS zones to configure block-specific default domains settings.

    • Note: If you set DNS restrictions in the DNS restrictions section, the default view and default domains must be located in the view and zone restrictions.

      The zones specified here will be available in the Host record field, when you are assigning an IPv4 address.

  9. On the Assignment options tab, set the following options:
    • Duplicate name check—select Enable to prevent the use of duplicate host names in networks within the block, or select Disable to allow the use of duplicate host names.
      Tip:
      • When setting this option at a top-level block, only the Enable and Disable options are available.
      • When setting this option for a child block, the Inherited option is available. Select Inherited to have the block inherit the duplicate name check setting of its parent object. By default, all child blocks and networks inherit the duplicate name check setting.
    • Ping before assignment—select Enable to have Address Manager ping IP addresses before assigning them, or select Disable to have Address Manager assign addresses without checking their availability. When Address Manager pings an address and finds that it's in use, Address Manager indicates that the address is in use and can't be assigned.
      Tip:
      • When setting this option at a top-level block, only the Enable and Disable options are available.
      • When setting this option for a child block, the Inherited option is available. Select Inherited to have the block inherit the ping before assign setting of its parent object. By default, all child blocks and networks inherit the ping before assign setting.
  10. On the DHCP alert settings tab, set the values for DHCP alerts:
    • Inherit watermark value from parent—when selected, the block inherits the DHCP alert settings from its parent object.

    • Low watermark (%)—triggers an alert when DHCP use falls below this value (when too few addresses are being used).

    • High watermark (%)—triggers an alert when a DHCP use rises above this value (when too many addresses are being used).

    Note: If you are using a shared network in DHCP, a DHCP alert notification for all networks inside the shared network will be sent as a single entity notification using the DHCP alert set at the configuration level. DHCP alerts for each individual network within any shared network will also be sent only if object-specific DHCP alerts are set at the network or DHCPv4 range level.
  11. In the Change control section, add comments if required.
  12. Select Create or Create and add another.