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QUOCIRCA INSIGHT REPORT January 2009 Addressing a growing problem Contacts: An explosion of IP addresses Fran Howarth Given today's economic climate, businesses are, more than ever, looking to create additional Quocirca Ltd value through the reduction of risk and by saving costs. For many, the economic downturn is Tel +31 35 691 1311 seen as the best time to optimise the infrastructure that they already have in place, to look at Fran.howarth@quocirca.com ways to trim unnecessary expenditure and to use existing resources more effectively. As Rob Bamforth organisations are increasingly reliant on data networks that encompass an ever-growing Quocirca Ltd range and number of internet protocol (IP) enabled devices and applications, they need to Tel +44 7802 175796 more effectively administer and manage these assets-they can no longer take the Rob.bamforth@quocirca.com management of their IP networks for granted. Branko Miskov IP Address Management (IPAM) is an essential service for managing an BlueCat Networks organisation's IP infrastructure, but is often neglected by IT departments Tel +1 416 646 8398 IPAM involves the allocation, classification and management of all IP addresses for bmiskov@bluecatnetworks.com securely controlling network access. However, many organisations use rudimentary manual methods, such as spreadsheets, that are costly and inefficient, and are often out of date and error prone. The proliferation of IP-connected devices is leading to an overload of IP addresses that have to be managed Not only mobile IT devices and smart phones, but Voice over IP (VoIP), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and other devices used for industrial automation each have IP addresses associated with them that need to be managed. This can lead to the REPORT NOTE: This report has been number of IP addresses in use growing exponentially. written independently by Not only is the number of IP addresses in use by organisations growing, but each Quocirca Ltd to address address is becoming more complex certain issues found in The IP address system most commonly in use today-IPv4-was put in place in 1977 today's organisations. The report draws on and the number of available addresses is fast running out. Its successor-IPv6-provides Quocirca's extensive a seemingly limitless stock of IP addresses as each address space is a 128-bit string, as knowledge of the opposed to the 32-bit space of IPv4. Although both systems will run in parallel for some technology and business time to come, the switchover to IPv6 will increase the complexity of manually arenas, and provides advice on the approach administering and processing each IP address. that organisations should Technologies to automate the allocation, classification and tracking of all IP take to create a more addresses in use are available and these can also be used to manage other closely effective and efficient environment for future related technologies, including Domain Name System (DNS), Dynamic Host growth. Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and endpoint security solutions IPAM tools provide greater visibility into IP networks, as well as enhancing the accuracy During the preparation of and simplification of management tasks, allowing organisations increased control over this report, Quocirca has spoken to a number of costs and productivity, and providing greater control over the security of networks. suppliers and customers The benefits of IPAM are tangible, promising to slash costs from the bottom line involved in the areas and help achieve compliance objectives covered. We are grateful Organisations can use such technology to account for which IP addresses are in use and for their time and insights. Quocirca would like to who is using them, which will boost their governance efforts. thank BlueCat Networks for its sponsorship of this Conclusions report. Organisations today are reliant on their IP infrastructure, and with more and more IP devices in use, that reliance is growing. By implementing IPAM tools, organisations of any size can reduce their dependence on the manual processes that impact the productivity of limited IT management resources and bring down costs by gaining better control of essential business assets.
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