This guide describes how to install and use the Infoblox IPAM Plug-In for VMware with vRealize® Orchestrator (vRO; formerly vCenter® Orchestrator) and vRealize Automation (vRA; formerly vCloud Automation Center). It provides information about the Infoblox Plug-In workflows and actions library.

The Infoblox IPAM Plug-In for VMware supports Infoblox NIOS and its Cloud Network Automation platform, which automates IP address and DNS management for physical and virtual network devices for your VMware management platform. Instead of manually provisioning IP addresses and DNS or DHCP records for network devices and interfaces, you can use Cloud Network Automation to leverage DNS and DHCP features of the Infoblox Grid to manage your cloud networks, through your current VMware management platform. For more information, see Cloud Network Automation Deployments.

The Infoblox IPAM Plug-In for VMware supports static and fixed IP address allocation and address allocation from DHCP ranges. When you use the Infoblox IPAM Plug-In for VMware to allocate IP addresses to virtual machines (VMs), it creates corresponding DNS records on your Infoblox Grid NIOS or vNIOS appliance. The Plug-In is configurable and can create Infoblox host records or individual DNS resource records along with fixed address records to enable VMs to be located through their FQDNs as soon as the VMs are provisioned. This information is also visible through the vRealize Automation console. For information, see Provisioning and De-provisioning VMs with Registration in NIOS.

If you use Microsoft servers for DNS and DHCP, you can integrate them with the Infoblox IPAM Plug-In for VMware to synchronize records. For more information, see Integrating Infoblox IPAM Plug-In for VMware with Microsoft DNS and DHCP Servers.
You can also use Infoblox IPAM Plug-In for VMware with VMware’s NSX platform to provision machines for your load-balanced resources and automatically create routed and NAT networks in NIOS at VM deployment. For information, see Integrating Infoblox IPAM Plug-In for VMware with NSX.

The following figure illustrates the architecture of the Infoblox IPAM Plug-In for VMware.

Intended Audience

Information in this document is intended for anyone who is installing and configuring the Infoblox IPAM Plug-In for VMware, and using its workflows, actions library, and APIs. This information is written for experienced users who are familiar with virtual machine technology, vRealize Orchestrator workflows, vRealize Automation, and VMware vSphere. This document also assumes that readers are familiar with NIOS appliances and NIOS software.

Procedures detailed in this document may vary depending on the version of vRA that you are using. For version-specific instructions, refer to the VMware documentation links listed in the Resources section.