The sys admin’s daily grind: OpenNetAdmin

Hooked on Tables

Article from Issue 132/2011
Author(s):

Last month, the Havege daemon helped organize the chaos in this column. Today, Charly attempts to organize the network – a tale of suffering in three chapters.

People who want to keep track of the continually growing number of network objects have a whole world of software products at their disposal. These products are generically referred to as IPAM (IP Address Management) tools, and none of them is really popular. Admins initially resist using them before finally giving in. This process typically takes several years and is divided into three levels.

Level one: The network is still pristine. Administrators have set it up themselves and are familiar with every single server, router, and switch – in fact they are on a first-name basis with everything on the net: They even know the IP addresses by heart.

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