Appendix A Glossary of Terms
- Jyothi KP
The following table provides descriptions of some key terminology used in the Infoblox products. Some terms, such as Grids and high availability, are used in different ways by other networking product vendors. The alphabetically arranged table can help you understand the terms and concepts as Infoblox uses them and as they are used in this guide.
Term | Description |
|---|---|
CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing) Notation | A compact specification of an IPv4 or IPv6 address and its associated routing prefix. For example, the CIDR notation of |
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) | A configuration protocol that provides address assignments to network devices within a network. It keeps track of network configuration for each network device. |
DHCP Template | A set of predefined properties that you use to create IPv4 and IPv6 DHCP objects, such as networks and DHCP ranges, on the Infoblox appliance. |
DNS (Domain Name System) | A hierarchical naming system that translates domain names of any network devices into IP addresses for the purpose of locating and addressing these devices worldwide. |
DNS View | On Infoblox appliances, a DNS view provides the ability to serve one version of DNS data to one set of clients and another version to another set of clients. With DNS views, the Infoblox appliance can provide a different answer to the same DNS query, depending on the source and match destinations of the query. |
Extensible Attribute | Metadata you define to capture additional information about an object managed by the Infoblox NIOS appliance. You can use predefined attributes or create your own. You can also specify required attributes and restrict the values that users can enter for each attribute. |
Fixed Address | A fixed address is a specific IP address that a DHCP server assigns when a lease request comes from a particular MAC address of the client. |
FQDN (fully qualified domain name) | A complete domain name that specifies its exact location in the hierarchy of the DNS. It specifies all the domain levels, including the top-level domain and the root domain. |
Grid™ Technology | Infoblox’s unique and patented high availability Grid technology ensures network reliability. The Infoblox Grid provides resilient network services, failover, recovery, and seamless maintenance for an Infoblox deployment inside a single building, across a networked campus, or between remote locations. The Infoblox Grid establishes a distributed relationship between individual or paired appliances to remove single points of failure and other operational risks inherent in legacy DNS, DHCP, and IP address management infrastructure. |
Grid Manager | The NIOS web interface that provides access to your Grid for performing IPAM, DNS, and DHCP management and other administration tasks. |
Grid Master | The Grid member in an Infoblox Grid that maintains the NIOS database that is distributed among all members of the Grid. You connect to the Grid Master to configure and monitor the entire Grid. |
Grid Member | Any single Infoblox NIOS appliance or HA (high availability) pair that belongs to a Grid. Each member can use the data and services of the Grid. You can also modify settings so that a Grid member can use unique data and member-specific services. |
Host Record | On Infoblox appliances, host records provide a unique approach that enables you to manage multiple DNS records and DHCP and IPAM data collectively, as one object on the appliance. |
IPAM (IP Address Management) | Infoblox IPAM provides a means of planning, tracking, and managing IP address space in a network. It glues DNS and DHCP services together so that each service is aware of changes in the other. The Infoblox IPAM implementation offers an IP address-centric approach so you can manage your networks and IP addresses through a centralized GUI. |
Network Mask or Netmask | A numeric representation of the bits that are used to split an IP address into the network portion and the host portion. In Infoblox products, this is represented by either quad-dotted decimal representation or CIDR notation for IPv4 network masks, or by CIDR notation for IPv6 network masks. |
Network View | On Infoblox appliances, a single routing domain with its own networks and shared networks. A network view can contain both IPv4 and IPv6 networks. All networks must belong to a network view on the Infoblox appliance. |
NIOS | An Infoblox proprietary system that powers Infoblox solutions with an embedded processor that delivers core network services. It is the operating system that runs on the NIOS appliances—a security-hardened, real-time set of appliances built to ensure the non-stop operation of network infrastructure. NIOS automates the error-prone and time-consuming manual tasks associated with deploying and managing IPAM, DNS, and DHCP required for continuous IP network availability and business uptime. |
NIOS Virtual Appliance | Any Infoblox supported platform, such as the Riverbed Steelhead appliances or VMware appliances, that runs the vNIOS software. These appliances are also known as the vNIOS appliances. |
Reservation | On Infoblox appliances, a static IP address that you create for future use. A reservation is a pre-provisioned fixed address. You can reserve this static IP address on the NIOS appliance and assign it to a client in the future. |
Subnet (or network) | A logical division of an IP network. A subnet of network may also be called a network. For example, 10.1.0.0/16 is a subnet of 10.0.0.0/8, and fc80:8:8:16::/64 is a subnet of fc80:8:8::/48. |
Superuser | An admin user account that has unrestricted access to Infoblox Multi-Grid Manager, Grid Manager, or System Manager. |
vNIOS | The virtual version of NIOS. You can install Infoblox vNIOS software on any supported virtual platform and configure the system as a vNIOS virtual appliance. |