Infoblox's Lineup Gets Anticipated Rejuvenation

The Infoblox appliances provide a hardened, nonstop environment for the delivery of network identity services such as Domain Name System (DNS), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), IP Address Management (IPAM), RADIUS and Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP)—services that help network administrators answer important questions such as "who's on the network, what device are they on and what are they allowed to do?" said Stuart Bailey, founder and CTO of Infoblox, Sunnyvale, Calif.

Such services typically are controlled by separate applications running on a variety of servers and operating systems, making them difficult and costly to manage and deploy, Bailey said. By contrast, Infoblox has built the services into a family of distributed appliances that can be managed as one and offer high availability, he said.

Network identity services are becoming increasingly important with the widespread rollout of IP telephony, said Richard Kagan, vice president of marketing at Infoblox. As a result, Infoblox is actively recruiting Cisco Systems VoIP partners to build its appliances into broader solutions, he said.

The new hardware offerings include Infoblox 550 for small enterprises and branch offices, Infoblox 1050 for medium enterprises and regional offices, Infoblox 1550 for enterprise headquarters and Infoblox 1552 for data centers and disaster recovery sites.

In addition, the vendor is launching version 4.0 of its NIOS operating system, which adds a redesigned GUI that should make it easier for customers to manage their appliances.

"Pre-4.0, the GUI had been the lacking part of the appliance," said Rick Grimaldi, senior consultant at Akibia, a Westborough, Mass.-based solution provider. "Customers have been saying that it needs enhancement."

The new appliances and software are scheduled for availability in July. Pricing for the appliances ranges from $4,995 to $21,995.