Home / Solutions / Ipv6 / Features

IPv6 Transition and Management

Talking IPv6 with Richard Hyatt

Want to learn more about IPv6 and IP Address Management (IPAM)? IPv6 thought leader Richard Hyatt discusses how to prepare for IPv6 and how IPAM can help.

Watch the Video Series

With the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses, your organization must start preparing for the move to IPv6. IP Address Management is a key building block for any successful IPv6 strategy. BlueCat Networks' IPAM solution will ensure that your network and naming infrastructure are ready for IPv6 when you are. Our powerful solution allows you to discover IPv4 and IPv6 network assets, plan and model your IPv6 addressing scheme and map your IPv6 network onto existing IPv4 resources. Beyond IPv6 planning and implementation, our solution allows you to cohesively manage IPv6 and dual-stacked environments. BlueCat Networks' DNS and DHCP solution also supports the IPv6 naming and addressing infrastructure.

Solution Highlights

  • Discover and take inventory of your IPv4 and IPv6 resources
  • Plan and model how your IPv6 network should be deployed
  • Map your current IPv4 network and devices to your IPv6 space
  • Schedule your production IPv6 implementation – whenever you're ready
  • Simplify the ongoing management of IPv6 and dual-stacked networks

BlueCat Networks' IP Address Management, DNS and DHCP solutions address the six key phases of any successful IPv6 strategy. By bringing a structured approach to IPv6 readiness, our solutions provide an essential technology for adopting and managing IPv6 and dual-stacked networks.

1. Discover
IPv4 and IPv6 Discovery and Reconciliation
In order to build your IPv6 environment, you need accurate knowledge of your existing IPv4 network. Proteus provides fully automated IP discovery and reconciliation for both IPv4 and IPv6 so you can easily obtain an up-to-date picture of the current state of your network and available IPv4 and IPv6 resources. Document networks and addresses already in use, identify conflicts based on DNS hostname and MAC address and track dynamic IPv6 assignments. IP Reconciliation allows you to identify unused IP addresses for reclamation and determine if there are any unknown IPv6 networks already running within your organization that need to be reviewed.
Migrate existing DNS, DHCP and IPAM Data
Proteus Blueprint is a fully IPv6-enabled DNS, DHCP and IPAM migration tool that allows you to easily import and transform name and address data from outside services and spreadsheets into the Proteus system. IPv6 information can also be added using built-in commands to augment any imported data. Users can massage and cleanse the data before converting into the Proteus XML format.
2. Plan
Develop an Optimal IPv6 Plan
BlueCat Networks' Proteus IPAM solution allows you to plan what your IPv6 network space will look like based on a detailed inventory of your existing IPv4 networks and resources. At this stage, you can leverage BlueCat Networks' IPv6 expertise and professional services to develop an optimal roadmap for IPv6 readiness. We can help you avoid common IPv6 pitfalls based on our experience working with large organizations, government agencies and service providers to develop and implement their IPv6 strategies.
3. Model
Build and Represent Data in IPv6
Proteus provides the perfect tool to help model and plan your IPv6 deployment. Create and lay out your IPv6 networks, for both Unique Local and Global Unicast address spaces, alongside your existing IPv4 networks to prototype your IPv6 deployment. This allows you to begin modeling out your IPv6 blocks and networks to match your IPv6 plans. In addition to this, track user-defined information to provide added descriptions and details about your networks in order to better define and track your IPv6 space.

View and model all IPv4 and IPv6 data from a single pane of glass
Proteus presents a centralized business-centric view of all IP, DNS and DHCP data regardless of where it resides on the network for both IPv4 and IPv6. The ability to view and manage "everything IP" from a single Web-based interface simplifies management of IPv6 and dual-stacked IPv4/IPv6 environments and saves you time and resources.
4. Map
Integrated IP Address, DNS and DHCP Data
Proteus provides a single authoritative source for all IPv4 and IPv6 name and address information. Consolidated management of IP, DNS and DHCP data via a single interface provides you with a view of every device on your IPv4 and IPv6 networks including its MAC address, DHCP lease information and DNS host record. Map IPv4 devices to IPv6 addresses and identify the association of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses to a device based on a MAC address and host name (DNS name) or an IPAM-specified device.
Track dual-stacked hosts via DNS, MAC Address and Device
Proteus allows you to track dual-stacked systems which are both IPv4 and IPv6 enabled. To map which IPv6 addresses belong to which IPv4 devices, Proteus provides mapping by DNS name, MAC address or "device" – a Proteus-specific object that allows tracking of systems with multiple IP addresses. Using one or a combination of these methods, you can map how IPv4 and IPv6 infrastructures interrelate and visualize how you can integrate your current IPv4 network and devices into your proposed IPv6 space.
5. Implement
Deploy IPv6-enabled Core Network Services
Proteus provides the ability to easily manage and deploy DNS for IPv6-enabled hosts. When adding a host, you can add any number of IP addresses, whether they are IPv4 or IPv6. Once added, Proteus allows you to deploy these hosts, creating the necessary IPv6 AAAA records and corresponding NAPTR records on the DNS server. This allows you to easily add and deploy IPv6-enabled DNS, alongside your existing IPv4 DNS data. In addition to creating DNS hosts, Proteus also supports Dynamic DNS (DDNS) and DNS Security (DNSSEC) for IPv6, ensuring that full functionality is available for both IPv6 and IPv4.
6. Manage
Manage IPv4 and IPv6 networks in parallel
Proteus provides visibility across your entire IPv4 and IPv6 environment to simplify the ongoing management of IPv6 and dual-stacked networks. Cohesively manage IPv4 and IPv6 from a single Web-based interface and configure IP blocks and networks more quickly and with less manual effort.
Flexible Role-Based Access Control
With Proteus, you can define permissions at a high or low level, allowing you to assign or restrict IPv6 and IPv4 access rights to those who need it – regardless of their physical location or logical area of responsibility. You can define permissions for any number of zones or networks right down to the record level. Customizable configuration control ensures that your administrators and operators have the appropriate level of management rights based on their skills and experience. Concurrent administration allows multiple users to make changes on the network simultaneously, while ensuring that they changes do not cause conflicts.
Tracking and Auditing
Track both IPv4 and IPv6 networks with comprehensive transaction auditing. Proteus provides the real-time and historical data you need to answer important questions such as who, what, where and when. Each DNS and DHCP change is listed with user names and time stamps associated with it. Track IPv6 networks and dynamic IPv6 assignments and manage IPv6 network boundaries.
Scheduled and On-Demand Deployments
DNS and DHCP data configured in Proteus does not go live until you choose to deploy it. Depending on your organizational needs, you can deploy changes on demand or schedule deployments to occur at off peak hours.
Integrated Data Validation
Proteus includes several tools to ensure that your data is clean. As you add new data into the system, Proteus validates it for syntactical or logical errors. You can also schedule Proteus' Data Checker to examine DNS and DHCP data for industry best practices and configuration errors.
Web Services API
All Proteus IPAM features including DNS, DHCP and IPv6 and IPv4 inventories are accessible via a simple, unified Web services API. Add, get, assign and clear IPv6 blocks and networks via the Web services API and integrate Proteus with other systems for trouble ticketing, network automation or asset/configuration tracking.

Next Steps

Visit the Resource Center to learn more about our products and solutions

Contact a BlueCat Networks representative now

Download a free trial of our IPAM software today

Resources

Webinar Replay