Setting IP Interfaces

The IP Interface Settings page lists information about network interfaces configured for a server. Whether or not you can modify information on this page depends on how your server was deployed. Infoblox Platform supports modification of interfaces for the following deployments: NIOS-X (BloxOne) VM, NIOS-X (BloxOne) Virtual Server, and NIOS-X (BloxOne) Container.

If you have multiple network interfaces configured for a server, you can enable or disable them and set routing priorities by configuring routing metrics. You can also modify the network configuration for physical and virtual appliances deployed through OVA, by using a downloaded Infoblox image. If you have configured multiple network interfaces on Kubernetes-based servers, all Ethernet ports will be displayed on this page. For information about using multiple interfaces, see Multiple Network Interfaces for Servers.

You can also configure VLAN interfaces if you opt to virtualize your network.

On the IP Interface Settings page of the Edit <Server> wizard, you can view or update IP interface settings, as follows:

Select the checkbox of the network interface from the list, and click Edit.

In the Edit IP Interface Settings section, click Edit and specify the following:

Network Interface: The names (such as enp1s0 and enp2s0) of the Ethernet ports on the appliance. All network interfaces you have configured appear in the table. You cannot modify this field.
Interface Type: WAN or LAN, based on your deployment. You may or may not be able to change the interface type. When your servers have multiple interfaces, the lowest metric interface will be marked as WAN and the rest of the interfaces will be marked as LAN.
Interface Label: The interface label defines the interface binding between the Infoblox service and the interface on which the service runs. You can add a custom label to associate the server with the interface binding. To add multiple interface labels, click Add Interface Label. Note that WAN and LAN are considered as interface labels.
Note that if you configure VLAN on an interface, ensure that the parent network contains all the labels of the VLAN interfaces. Otherwise, queries by the DNS forwarding proxy at the VLAN interface might fail.
Protocol: From the drop-down menu, choose IPv4 to configure IPv4 interfaces or Dual Stack IPv4/Pv6 to configure IPv6 interfaces.

Note that you cannot revert to IPv4 from Dual Stack IPv4/IPv6 if you have configured IPv6 on a server.

IPv4 MTU: The maximum transmission unit for the IPv4 network, which is the size of the largest protocol data-unit that can be communicated in a single network-layer transaction. Enter a value from 576 to 9001. The default value is 1500.

If you are configuring a dual-stack network for the server, you must set the minimum MTU value for the IPv4 address to 1280; if you do not, the IPv6 address will not be functional.

IPv4 Network Mode: An indication of whether the IPv4 interface is configured as DHCP or Static. When it is configured as DHCP, the IP address associated with the interface is assigned dynamically and cannot be modified. When it is configured as Static, you must assign a valid IPv4 address for the interface.
Gateway: The gateway used for the interface. Each IPv4 gateway supports up to two network interfaces. If you configure more than two network interfaces for the same gateway, the gateway address will not be displayed for them.
IPv4 CIDR: The IPv4 address and netmask.
IPv4 Metric: A value that you assign to an IP route for a particular interface, for routing purposes. Valid IPv4 metric values are from 0 (default) to 999999.

The Infoblox Platform uses the metric value to determine which interface is to be used for cloud communications. The metric value is important if you have multiple network interfaces configured with the gateway. The lower the metric value, the higher the priority the interface has in the IP routing table. For example, when you set the metric value to 0 for one interface and 20 for another, the interface with the metric value 0 will have a higher priority and will become the primary interface to be used for cloud traffic that goes through the configured gateway. If the primary interface is down, the traffic will go through the next prioritized interface. If you configure the same metric value for two interfaces, the system will decide and take the best route (the one with fewest hops) to the destination via the associated interface. If the number of hops is the same for both paths, the traffic will be load-balanced between the two associated interfaces.

IPv6 MTU: The maximum transmission unit for the IPv6 network, which is the size of the largest protocol data unit that can be communicated in a single network-layer transaction. Enter a value from 1280 to 9001 and greater than or equal to the IPv4 MTU. The default value is 1500.

If you are configuring a dual-stack network for the server, you must set the minimum MTU value for the IPv4 address to 1280; if you do not, the IPv6 address will not be functional. In addition, the IPv6 MTU must be greater than or equal to the IPv4 MTU.

IPV6 Network Mode:
- DHCP: The IP address is dynamically assigned by the DHCP server, so you cannot modify the IP address associated with the interface.
- RA: (router advertisements): The server in your IPv6 network auto-generates a link-local address to communicate with other servers or neighbors on the same network.
- Auto Select: The system selects the best way to obtain an IPv6 address for the server.
- Static: You have to manually assign a valid IPv6 address, CIDR, and a gateway for the server.
Gateway: The default gateway used for the IPv6 interface.
IPv6 CIDR: The IPv6 address and CIDR associated with the interface.
IPv6 Metric: A value that you assign to an IP route for a particular interface, for routing purposes. Valid metric values are from 0 to 999999, and the default value is 1024

The metric value is used by the Infoblox Platform to determine which interface should be used for cloud communication. The metric value is important if you have multiple network interfaces configured with a gateway. The lower the metric value, the higher the priority the interface has in the IP routing table. For example, when you set the metric value to 0 for one interface and 20 for another, the interface with the metric value 0 will have a higher priority and will become the primary interface to be used for cloud traffic that goes through the configured gateway. If the primary interface is down, the traffic will go through the next prioritized interface. If you configure the same metric value for two interfaces, the system will decide and take the best route (the one with fewest hops) to the destination via the associated interface. If the number of hops is the same for both paths, the traffic will be load-balanced between the two associated interfaces.

Interface State: An indication of whether the admin state of the configured network interface has been enabled or disabled administratively. All network interfaces other than the one with the lowest metric value are disabled by default; a disabled network interface will not be in use, but the configuration will stay intact. To use a specific interface, toggle the state to Enabled (green).
Enable Service Traffic: An indication of whether the Infoblox service is enabled on all IP interfaces or only on LAN.
- On all IP Interfaces indicates that Infoblox services for this server are enabled on all IP interfaces.
- LAN indicates that the Infoblox services for this server are enabled only on LAN.
Redundant Cloud Connectivity: To enable Redundant Cloud Connectivity, toggle the setting to Enabled. By default, the setting is disabled. Redundant cloud connectivity refers to the setup of multiple network connections or paths to ensure continuous and reliable network connectivity between the server and the Infoblox Platform. It is a method used to minimize the risk of network downtime and improve network resilience. By having redundant connections, if one connection fails or experiences issues, the network traffic can automatically be rerouted through an alternate path, ensuring uninterrupted connectivity. In the context of Infoblox Platform, redundant connectivity can be achieved by enabling port redundancy on the server. Once enabled, all the enabled interfaces with default routes configured will be considered to participate for the feature. This feature updates the route metric if the connectivity to cloud from an interface is broken, so that another interface becomes the preferred route and the connectivity to the cloud remains intact through the new interface. Therefore, the server never loses connectivity with the Infoblox Platform. It’s important to note that redundant connectivity can be configured in different ways depending on the specific network setup and requirements. The details of the configuration may vary based on the network equipment and software being used.

Redundant Cloud Connectivity is not supported on servers configured with HTTP Proxy.
Redundant Cloud Connectivity will be greyed out if it has zero or one interface enabled. It will be enabled only if it has two or more interfaces enabled.

It is not recommended to use DHCP mode for WAN interfaces and service interfaces.

VLAN INTERFACES

Due to an anycast limitation, there is no option to provide routing ID in the routing configuration. You will not be able to configure anycast advertising on a VLAN interface or multiple interfaces. Anycast will choose the WAN interface by default. For information, see Anycast Addressing.

To add VLAN interfaces, click Add VLAN to interface.

In the Edit IP Interface Settings section, click Edit and specify the following:

Interface: The names (such as enp1s0 and enp2s0) of the Ethernet ports on the appliance. All network interfaces you have configured appear in the table. You cannot modify this field.
VLAN ID: Enter the VLAN ID here. It VLAN identification that specify the VLAN to which the Ethernet frame belongs.
Interface Type: WAN or LAN, based on your deployment. You may or may not be able to change the interface type. When your servers have multiple interfaces, the lowest metric interface will be marked as WAN and the rest of the interfaces will be marked as LAN.
Interface Label: The interface label defines the interface binding between the Infoblox service and the interface on which the service runs. You can add a custom label to associate the server with the interface binding. To add multiple interface labels, click Add Interface Label. Note that WAN and LAN are considered as interface labels.
Note that if you configure VLAN on an interface, ensure that the parent network contains all the labels of the VLAN interfaces. Otherwise, queries by the DNS forwarding proxy at the VLAN interface might fail.
Protocol: From the drop-down menu, choose IPv4 to configure IPv4 interfaces or Dual Stack IPv4/Pv6 to configure IPv6 interfaces.

Note that you cannot revert to IPv4 from Dual Stack IPv4/IPv6 if you have configured IPv6 on a server.

IPv4 MTU: The maximum transmission unit for the IPv4 network, which is the size of the largest protocol data-unit that can be communicated in a single network-layer transaction. Enter a value from 576 to 9001. The default value is 1500.

If you are configuring a dual-stack network for the server, you must set the minimum MTU value for the IPv4 address to 1280; if you do not, the IPv6 address will not be functional.

IPv4 Network Mode: An indication of whether the IPv4 interface is configured as DHCP or Static. When it is configured as DHCP, the IP address associated with the interface is assigned dynamically and cannot be modified. When it is configured as Static, you must assign a valid IPv4 address for the interface.
Gateway: The gateway used for the interface. Each IPv4 gateway supports up to two network interfaces. If you configure more than two network interfaces for the same gateway, the gateway address will not be displayed for them.
IPv4 CIDR: The IPv4 address and netmask.
IPv4 Metric: A value that you assign to an IP route for a particular interface, for routing purposes. Valid IPv4 metric values are from 0 (default) to 999999.

The Infoblox Platform uses the metric value to determine which interface is to be used for cloud communications. The metric value is important if you have multiple network interfaces configured with the gateway. The lower the metric value, the higher the priority the interface has in the IP routing table. For example, when you set the metric value to 0 for one interface and 20 for another, the interface with the metric value 0 will have a higher priority and will become the primary interface to be used for cloud traffic that goes through the configured gateway. If the primary interface is down, the traffic will go through the next prioritized interface. If you configure the same metric value for two interfaces, the system will decide and take the best route (the one with fewest hops) to the destination via the associated interface. If the number of hops is the same for both paths, the traffic will be load-balanced between the two associated interfaces.

IPv6 MTU: The maximum transmission unit for the IPv6 network, which is the size of the largest protocol data unit that can be communicated in a single network-layer transaction. Enter a value from 1280 to 9001 and greater than or equal to the IPv4 MTU. The default value is 1500.

If you are configuring a dual-stack network for the server, you must set the minimum MTU value for the IPv4 address to 1280; if you do not, the IPv6 address will not be functional. In addition, the IPv6 MTU must be greater than or equal to the IPv4 MTU.

IPV6 Network Mode:
- DHCP: The IP address is dynamically assigned by the DHCP server, so you cannot modify the IP address associated with the interface.
- RA: (router advertisements): The server in your IPv6 network auto-generates a link-local address to communicate with other servers or neighbors on the same network.
- Auto Select: The system selects the best way to obtain an IPv6 address for the server.
- Static: You have to manually assign a valid IPv6 address, CIDR, and a gateway for the server.
Gateway: The default gateway used for the IPv6 interface.
IPv6 CIDR: The IPv6 address and CIDR associated with the interface.
IPv6 Metric: A value that you assign to an IP route for a particular interface, for routing purposes. Valid metric values are from 0 to 999999, and the default value is 1024

The metric value is used by the Infoblox platflorm to determine which interface should be used for cloud communication. The metric value is important if you have multiple network interfaces configured with a gateway. The lower the metric value, the higher the priority the interface has in the IP routing table. For example, when you set the metric value to 0 for one interface and 20 for another, the interface with the metric value 0 will have a higher priority and will become the primary interface to be used for cloud traffic that goes through the configured gateway. If the primary interface is down, the traffic will go through the next prioritized interface. If you configure the same metric value for two interfaces, the system will decide and take the best route (the one with fewest hops) to the destination via the associated interface. If the number of hops is the same for both paths, the traffic will be load-balanced between the two associated interfaces.

Interface State: An indication of whether the admin state of the configured network interface has been enabled or disabled administratively. All network interfaces other than the one with the lowest metric value are disabled by default; a disabled network interface will not be in use, but the configuration will stay intact. To use a specific interface, toggle the state to Enabled (green).
Enable Service Traffic: An indication of whether the Infoblox service is enabled on all IP interfaces or only on LAN.
- On all IP Interfaces indicates that the Infoblox services for this server are enabled on all IP interfaces.
- LAN indicates that the Infoblox services for this server are enabled only on LAN.

Click Save to save your configuration, or click Cancel to discard your changes.

Click Next to go to the DNS Local Resolver Settings page. You can also click Cancel to cancel the configuration or click Finish to save it.