In Multi-Grid Manager, you use the Net Map (network map) and List panels to manage your IPv4 network infrastructure. After you select a network container from the IPAM tab, Multi-Grid Manager displays it in the Net Map panel, by default. The Net Map panel provides a graphical view of your networks and has a number of features that simplify network management. The List panel displays the networks in table format.

You can always switch your view of a network container between the Net Map and List panels. Multi-Grid Manager keeps track of which panel you last used. When you select a network container, Multi-Grid Manager displays it in the Net Map or List panel, depending on which one you last used.

After you create an IPv4 network, you can modify its properties, resize it.

IPv4 Network Map

After you select an IPv4 network container from the IPAM tab, Multi-Grid Manager displays it in the Net Map (network map) panel, by default. Net Map provides a high-level view of your IPv4 network address space. You can use Net Map to design and plan your network infrastructure, configure and manage individual networks, and evaluate their utilization. Its unique display of the IPv4 network address space across multiple rows is similar to a road map that starts with the first IP address in the network and ends with the last address. Net Map displays the network address space across a maximum of eight rows, depending on the size of the network. It automatically scales the map so that it displays the entire address space of a network container.

The Net Map panel presents a complete view of the network space, including the different types of networks that are in it and its unused address space. IP addresses that belong to a network are blocked off. Each color-coded block represents a network container, a leaf network, or a block of networks that are too small to be displayed individually in the map. For example, in a /8 or /16 network, networks smaller than /20 or /28 respectively and that are beside each other are represented as a multiple network block. In addition, the fill pattern of the blocks indicates their utilization. Therefore, you can quickly evaluate how many and what type of networks are in a network container, their relative sizes, utilization, and how much space you have left.

As you mouse over areas of the map, it displays IP information about the area. Net Map also has a zoom feature that allows you to enlarge or reduce your view of a particular area.

The below figure displays the network map of a 20.0.0.0/8 network, which is a network container that has network containers and leaf networks.

Open

Displaying IP Information

As shown in 20.0.0.0/8 Network Map figure, as you mouse over the map, Net Map displays IP information about the area. When you mouse over an unused area, Net Map displays the following information:

• The start and end IP address

• The number of IP addresses that can fit in that space

• The largest possible network

• The number of /16 and /24 networks that can fit in that space

When you mouse over a network, Net Map displays the following information:

• Network address and netmask

• Utilization of the network. For a leaf network, Net Map reports the percentage of used IP addresses, except the broadcast and network addresses. For a network container, Net Map reports the percentage of the IP address space that has been allocated to either network containers or leaf networks.

• The first and last IP address of the network

• The total number of IP addresses in the network

When you mouse over a block of multiple networks, Net Map displays the following information:

• The start and end IP address of that block of networks

• The total number of IP addresses in that block of networks

• The number of networks in that block

Zooming In and Out

Use the zoom function to enlarge and reduce your view of a selected area. You can zoom in on any area in your network. You can zoom in on an area until it displays 128 addresses per row, for a total of 1024 addresses for the map. When you reach the last possible zoom level, the Zoom In icon in the Net Map task bar and the menu item are disabled.

After you zoom in on an area, you can click the Zoom Controller icon to track where you zoomed in. The Zoom Controller lists all the areas that you zoomed in and updates its list dynamically. You can click an item on the list to view that area again. Click the Zoom Controller again to close it.

To select an area and zoom in:

1. Right-click and select Zoom In, or click the Zoom In icon in the Net Map task bar. The pointer changes to the zoom in selector.

2. Select a starting point and drag to the end point. The starting point can be anywhere in the map. It does not have to be at the beginning of a network.
   Net Map displays a magnified view of the selected area after you release the mouse button. As you mouse over the zoomed in area, Net Map displays IP information about it.

3. You can do the following:

   • Select an area and zoom in again.

   • Add a network. If you zoom in on an area and click Add without selecting an open area first, Net Map selects the area where it can create the biggest possible network in that magnified area.

   • Select a network and perform any of the following operations:

     • Resize the network.

     • Edit its properties.

     • Open it to display its network or IP map.

   • Right-click and select Zoom Out, or click the Zoom Out icon in the Net Map task bar. Each time you click Zoom Out, Net Map zooms out one level and the Zoom Controller is updated accordingly.

Net Map Tasks

From Net Map, you can create IPv4 networks, and evaluate and manage your network resources according to the needs of your organization.

You can do the following:

• Zoom in on specific areas.

• Add a network, as described in Adding a Network from Net Map.

• Select a network and view either its network or Net Map, as described in Viewing Network Details.

• Select a network and edit its properties.

• Resize a network, as described in Resizing IPv4 Networks.

•  Select a network and click the Open icon you will be redirected to the IP Map Map panel. Note that if you select a network container and click the Open icon, Multi-Grid Manager displays the Net Map panel of the selected network container. If you select an open area and click the Open icon, Multi-Grid Manager will drill down to that selected Network.

• Select the open option in the toolbar to navigate to the individual Grid.

Adding a Network from Net Map

When you create networks from Net Map, you can evaluate your network infrastructure and add networks accordingly. You can view the address space to which you are adding a network, so you can determine how much space is available and which IP addresses are not in use. When you mouse over an open area, Net Map displays useful information, such as the largest possible network that fits in that area and the total number of IP addresses. In addition, you can create networks without having to calculate anything. When you add a network, Net Map displays a netmask slider so you can determine the appropriate netmask for the size of the network that you need. As you move the slider, it displays network information, including the total number of addresses. After you select the netmask, you can even move the new network around the open area to select another valid start address.

To add a network from the Net Map panel:

1. Do one of the following:

   • Click the Add icon.
     Net Map displays the netmask slider and outlines the open area that can accommodate the largest network.

   • Select an open area, and then click the Add icon.
     Net Map displays the netmask slider and outlines the largest network that you can create in the open area that you selected.

2. Move the slider to the desired netmask. You can move the slider to the netmask of the largest network that can be created in the open area.
   As you move the slider, Net Map displays the netmask and its corresponding number of IP addresses. The outline in the network map also adjusts as you move the slider. When you mouse over the outline, it displays the start and end address of the network.

3. After you set the slider to the desired netmask, you can drag the new network block around the open area to select a new valid starting address. You cannot move the block to a starting address that is invalid.

4. Click Launch Wizard to create the network.
   The Add Network wizard displays the selected network address and netmask.

5. You can add comments. 

6. Save the configuration. Multi-Grid Manager updates Net Map with the newly created network.

Viewing Network Details

From the Net Map panel, you can focus on a specific network or area and view additional information about it. If you have a network hierarchy of networks within network containers, you can drill down to individual networks and view their IP address usage.

1. Select a network or area.

2. Click the Open icon.

   • If you selected a network container, Multi-Grid Manager displays it in the Net Map panel. You can drill down further by selecting a network or open area and clicking the Open icon again.

   • If you selected a block of multiple networks, Multi-Grid Manager displays the individual networks in the Net Map panel. You can then select a network or open area for viewing.

   • If you selected a leaf network, Multi-Grid Manager displays it in the IP Map panel.

   • If you selected an open area, Multi-Grid Manager displays an enlarged view of that area in the Net Map panel.

This is useful when you are creating small networks in an open area.

IPv4 Network List

The Network list panel is an alternative view of an IPv6 network hierarchy. For a given network, the panel shows all the networks of a selected network view in table format. A network list displays only the first-level subnets. It does not show further descendant or child subnets. You can open a subnet to view its child subnets. Subnets that contain child subnets are displayed as network containers. If the number of subnets in a network exceeds the maximum page size of the table, the network list displays the subnets on multiple pages. You can use the page navigation buttons at the bottom of the table to navigate through the pages of subnets.
The IPAM home panel displays the following:

• Network: The network address.

• Grid: The name of the Grid managed by the Multi-Grid Manager.

• Network View: The network view to which the network block belongs.

• Comment: Information you entered about the network.

• IPAM Utilization: For a network, this is the percentage based on the IP addresses in use divided by the total addresses in the network. You can use this information to verify if there is a sufficient number of available addresses in a network. The IPAM utilization is calculated approximately every 15 minutes.

• Site: The site to which the IP address belongs. This is a predefined extensible attribute.

• Disabled: Indicates whether the network is disabled.

• Other available extensible attributes

You can sort the list of subnets in ascending or descending order by columns.
You can also modify some of the data in the table. Double click a row of data, and either edit the data in the field or select an item from a drop-down list. Note that some fields are read-only.

Tip: If you select a network from the list and switch to the Net Map panel, the network is also selected in the network map.

Filtering the Network List

You can filter the network list, so it displays only the networks you need. You can filter the list based on certain parameters, such as network addresses, comments and extensible attributes. When you expand the list of available fields you can use for the filter, note that the extensible attributes are those with a gray background.

Resizing IPv4 Networks

You can resize a network to increase or decrease the network size and the number of IP addresses in the network. When you resize a network to a smaller netmask, you increase the number of IP addresses within that network. You can change the size of an IPv4 network when the operation does not affect existing objects in the network. You can resize an existing network only if the resized network does not exceed the upper network limit or create orphan objects, such as hosts and DHCP ranges. When a network has a parent network or subnets, the upper limit of the network size is marked in red in the resize network slider, and you cannot resize beyond this limit. For example, if a network has a /16 parent network, you cannot resize the network to a network that is larger than /16.

To resize a network:

1. From the Net Map or List panel, select a network, and then click Resize from the Toolbar.

2. In the Resize Network editor, do the following:

   • Address: Displays the network address. You cannot modify this field.

   • Netmask: Displays the netmask of the network as you resize the network. You cannot modify this field.

   • Resize slider: Use the resize network slider to specify the appropriate subnet masks for the subnets. When you move the slider, Multi-Grid Manager displays the number of subnets and IP addresses within that subnet.

   • Click OK.