BlueCat DNS and DHCP Server for AWS

We are using BlueCat Integrity for DNS and DHCP management, including assigning static IPs for particular devices or hosts, creating subnets and providing entire subnets to the network, and adding CNAMEs and managing records per user requirements.

In a recent project, I worked on assigning IP addresses for particular hosts statically, where users would request a hostname and IP address. We provided those addresses and performed NS lookups and reverse NS lookups for verification. We also checked the same for CNAMEs and added a full DHCP pool on BlueCat Integrity to manage these elements.

I have used BlueCat Integrity with static DNS management including A records and IPv4 addresses only. We manage subnets by providing the total subnet to a network per user requirements, and we provide static addresses and alias names as CNAMEs. We also provide URLs with the CNAME that function as accessible URLs.

BlueCat Integrity improves efficiency, and managing records is very useful. When adding a subnet, it shows entire details including IP, subnet mask, and DNS, which are very helpful.

It definitely saves time when a user requests bulk IP address assignments. Managing records shows errors if there are any conflicts, making it an error-free mechanism for DNS and DHCP. BlueCat Integrity is very useful.

BlueCat Integrity's integration of DDI has improved network visibility for my team. When we add a subnet for a particular network, it shows IP assignment and how IP usage occurs. These details include network address, broadcast address, usable IPs, and which IPs have already been used, providing very high-level visibility. I can recommend it for any organization.

One of the best features BlueCat Integrity offers is bulk IP address assignments, where it displays the bulk address and bulk IP assignment from sheets we provide to entire hosts. Sometimes it gives an error for duplicate IPs, which prevents those from being added. Other than duplicates, it successfully adds all entries.

When users request the addition of many IP addresses, hostnames, and CNAMEs, instead of adding them one by one and performing NS lookups individually for verification, we create a sheet with proper assignment formatting where names and IP addresses follow the same format. We then upload this sheet to the BlueCat Integrity DNS portal, receive results, and if there is any duplicity, it shows the error. Based on those errors, we modify the sheet and upload it again to resolve the issues.

BlueCat Integrity provides a single-pane-of-glass view of my IP address space, which is very important for my organization because managing BlueCat Integrity is easy. We can see the entire subnet network, what IPs are already used, and what free IPs are available, making these details clearly visible.

BlueCat Integrity's performance in supporting hybrid infrastructures is very useful because we can see a clear network of IP address assignments. We are not wasting IPs on BlueCat Integrity as the dashboard visibility is clear, making IP assignment very useful.

When we upload a file, it calculates and shows error details, but the error details are not in a formatted form. It fetches the entire line, and those lines are messy and hard to read. If error details were presented in a particular format, it would be very useful for reading and understanding, as we currently cannot easily check what the host and IP are. A formatted presentation when showing errors would be better.

Regarding needed improvements, as we worked manually, we could accomplish much more with automations.

BlueCat Integrity has difficulties with ease of use, as we need to be very cautious while adding IPs and names to ensure they are correct. Users provide sheets based on names, and the IPs must be configured correctly to redirect to the user, making caution crucial.

I initially used BlueCat Integrity in my project for around 2.5 years.

I rate BlueCat Integrity around 8.5 on a scale of 1 to 10.

I chose 8.5 for my rating because it has been a very good experience working with BlueCat Integrity in managing IPAM, which provides a better experience for managing records. I did not give a 10 because, as I mentioned earlier, the formatted details need improvement and some automation also needs to be added, such as sending proper emails when errors occur. If we mistakenly add any subnet or subnet mask, we should immediately receive an email stating what needs to be re-added.

I would recommend using BlueCat Integrity because of its assignment features, dashboard capabilities, and bulk address assignment, which are all very useful.

We have used BlueCat Integrity for our internal project, which uses BlueCat to find geo-locations of different sites, and then we use them for other purposes internally.

This project is called Network Geo-location. We use C#, YAML parser, BlueCat Integrity, ServiceNow, and the network geo-location fetches the ranges of IP addresses with CIDR values. We then use these to fetch location from ServiceNow and maintain a collection of that in a YAML file, which we later use in our internal app called Boomerang. We check what different IP locations we have and which IP the user is coming from, so we can restrict users who are logging in.

We had to implement a feature to restrict users coming from different IP addresses, and BlueCat Integrity helped us achieve that. It helped us restrict users coming from different locations.

Users could have been coming from different locations that are not restricted. Any outside user could have come in as well. For example, if we restrict users to only coming from Europe, they could come in from Africa. By restricting users based on IP addresses, we reduce the risk of people accessing the website from other locations. Users can only come from the locations we specify, and that's how we create metrics and all the information, ensuring only valid users are coming to the website.

BlueCat Integrity helped reduce human error. Before, we used to have Excel sheets of IP address ranges. Now BlueCat Integrity provides us all the security and everything related to IP addresses and geo-location. With the manual work, there used to be errors related to geo-location and IP address, but now it's much better and we don't see any errors.

It helped reduce downtime because before it was manual work. Now it's all computerized with no errors.

The ranges of different API endpoints that BlueCat Integrity offers are really useful.

We currently use it for geo-locations, and we only use those endpoints. However, we haven't used the other endpoints so far.

Security-wise and governance-wise, it's quite strict. As I mentioned, it's related to different IP address ranges. When we specify ranges that we like, then it only gives us back those locations that we're interested in and it doesn't allow outside users. So it has quite good security.

The accuracy and reliability is to the mark. Whatever parameters we pass related to IP addresses, it gives back correct results, and we have verified it.

It is easy to use.

We would find it useful if BlueCat Integrity could provide a dashboard where it gives us information such as what endpoint we're using, how many times an endpoint has been hit, and what other endpoints are available that we can utilize. A dashboard with metrics, reports, and everything would be useful.

We have used BlueCat Integrity for almost two years in my company.

BlueCat Integrity is stable so far.

We are using a few servers, and we deploy to different nodes. If one server is down, it switches to another server. It's on Azure, so it's scalable.

Our internal customer support is good. If there are any issues with users trying to log in from different restricted zones, then they provide support.

We haven't used any other solution previously. It was all manual work before, so we went directly to BlueCat Integrity.

The main initiative was automation. It was manual before, so BlueCat Integrity automated our processes.

Another team set it up for us, and then we use the endpoints and do the development work.

We needed fewer employees. Before, it was manual work. We saved money because we don't have to employ people to do the manual work, as it's all automatic. The company saved money in the end.

The setup is all managed by another team. We were only doing the development work.

It was all manual work before. Our management did research and found BlueCat Integrity, and they started using it.

BlueCat Integrity helped our team achieve the results we tried to achieve. We only focused on one area related to IP address ranges and achieved that, so we haven't fully utilized BlueCat Integrity. If we utilized everything and all the aspects and endpoints, I would have given a rating of 10. I gave BlueCat Integrity a rating of 9 out of 10.

If anyone wants to use BlueCat Integrity, they should look at all the aspects of BlueCat Integrity, not just one area. Then they can start using and getting the benefit of that.

My main use case for BlueCat Integrity involves DNS, DHCP, and all related IPAM. I specifically use the Address Manager and the BDDS servers with BlueCat Integrity to add records, delete records, and modify everything according to requirements, as well as troubleshoot any related issues to DNS and DHCP, which are all related to DDI. I work in a DDI environment, so everything is related to DDI BlueCat Integrity.

BlueCat Integrity has positively impacted our organization because we are using more than 500 BlueCat DNS and DHCP servers in hardware. I prefer the older version before the new one, even though I have seen a glimpse of the new version. BlueCat Integrity has helped with efficiency.

Currently, I am on version 9.5.3 of BlueCat Integrity and have not yet upgraded to the latest one. I can tell you that some features stand out. While I am only using BlueCat DDI and have never used any other DDI solution, I can tell you it is much easier to use BlueCat DDI with respect to the GUI and the server, since it is uniquely based.

I am not using automation with BlueCat Integrity, but perhaps another team is. I am more related to delivery and service-related delivery. I use the GUI interface and the server CLI, and I really appreciate the CLI based on the BDDS server while troubleshooting.

BlueCat Integrity can be improved with a bulk option to add different zones or subzones. The feature I would prefer in BlueCat Integrity is to find the IP address availability, which is present but not efficient.

I have been using BlueCat Integrity for more than seven years.

I would rate BlueCat Integrity a nine out of ten. I give it a nine because I appreciate using BlueCat Integrity, but I believe there must be small improvements in a few areas. I have not used the AI capabilities related to BlueCat appliances, so I am not sure how they are supposed to work regarding governance and security. Regarding the accuracy and reliability of output from BlueCat Integrity's AI capabilities, I am uncertain.

My advice to others looking into using BlueCat Integrity is that it is better to use it. Anyone can learn and use it very efficiently, as it is not complicated. My overall rating for BlueCat Integrity is nine out of ten.

My main use case for BlueCat Integrity is for centralized management of DNS, DHCP, and IP address management, which helps us in centralizing the management of critical network services, maintaining visibility into our IP address space, and ensuring consistency across our network infrastructure.

A quick specific example of how I use BlueCat Integrity for centralized management in my day-to-day work is that in our infrastructure, we have both labs and our IT network, so BlueCat Integrity is being used by both our labs along with our infrastructure, helping us avoid overlaps, and we specifically assign the IP address and DNS along with DHCP.

The reliability of DNS and DHCP services from BlueCat Integrity has made a difference for our team and organization by improving operational consistency and making ongoing network management more organized compared to our prior usage of on-premise Microsoft services.

BlueCat Integrity has positively impacted our organization by improving the management of DNS and DHCP along with IP addresses through a centralized platform, which has particularly helped our junior engineers manage DNS, DHCP, and resolve IP address conflicts.

Specific outcomes that show how BlueCat Integrity has helped our team include avoiding IP address conflicts, especially since our labs are scattered with locations across the globe, making it very easy to manage with BlueCat Integrity, and providing better visibility, scalability, and consistent management.

BlueCat Integrity has indeed helped reduce human error, and we have almost achieved zero errors these days.

BlueCat Integrity has helped our organization reduce downtime, as if we had gone for the manual or older Microsoft services, we would have definitely faced a lot of downtime; now it's almost zero downtime.

BlueCat Integrity has helped consolidate tools and applications as we used to use Microsoft server for DNS and a separate server for DHCP, which were scattered, requiring a lot of research; now, with BlueCat Integrity, we have a centralized tool providing full visibility over all our tools.

We do not see any reduction in the workload of our IT staff because BlueCat Integrity helps maintain zero errors instead.

One of the key strengths of BlueCat Integrity is its centralized approach to managing IP addresses, DNS records, subnets, and DHCP configurations, which in our environment, especially where networks span multiple locations and involve a large number of devices, significantly simplifies administration and reduces the risk of configuration errors and IP address conflicts, while also providing visibility and controlling our network resources, helping our junior engineers maintain better documentation, manage address allocations, and support capacity planning as our infrastructure grows day by day.

The best features BlueCat Integrity offers include providing reliable DNS and DHCP services, which are critical and essential for our day-to-day operations.

One thing that stands out to me about BlueCat Integrity's features is the ease of licensing, the costs involved, and how the integration with the existing infrastructure is straightforward along with the implementation effort.

BlueCat Integrity does provide a single pane of glass view of our IP address space, which is very helpful as we do not have to switch between tabs to find our IP addresses.

To improve BlueCat Integrity, I would consider enhancing the documentation and training part, as I feel it is not organized and needs more detail for those who are newer to networking, particularly junior engineers.

I give it a nine because I have used multiple other DDI services, including those from Infoblox or Microsoft, and feel that the documentation and support areas have room for improvement.

I have been using BlueCat Integrity for over eight years.

I would add that documentation is the first improvement needed, and also, when we call for support, there are often delays, as even when we raise a severity one or priority one, we often do not get instant responses from the TAC or support teams.

For someone experienced like me, BlueCat Integrity is not that complicated to use, but it may be a bit complicated for entry-level or junior engineers during the initial setup, though day-to-day usage is straightforward.

Regarding BlueCat Integrity's AI capabilities, I feel that governance and compliance are managed fairly through the open nature of most features.

For BlueCat Integrity's AI capabilities, we have seen almost 90 to 95 percent accuracy and reliability in its output.

To someone at an organization who does not think they need a full stack integrated DDI management solution, I would definitely suggest exploring this feature, especially if they have scattered or multiple sites, regions, labs, or similar circumstances, as DDI provides a single centralized point to identify visibility of IP addresses, DNS, DHCP, and a full solution stack.

My advice to others looking into using BlueCat Integrity is that it is a strong option for enterprises aiming to improve management of DNS, DHCP, and IP address resources through a centralized platform.

I would rate BlueCat Integrity a nine out of ten.

My main use case for BlueCat Integrity involves working in BlueCat Address Manager for IPAM and network IP address management, where I manage DNS zones, DNS records, host records, CNAMEs, A records, PTR records, TXT records, MX records, and other DNS record types. I perform DNS record creation, modification, deletion, and troubleshooting based on business requirements, work on forward and reverse zone DNS resolution, and investigate DNS-related issues using tools such as nslookup and dig. I also manage and troubleshoot DHCP scopes, IP ranges, leases, reservations, and DHCP options while working with the DHCP failover concept and understanding primary and secondary server communication, failover states, MCLT, and failback.

I troubleshoot DHCP issues by analyzing DHCP logs and server-side logs including CLI and PuTTY when required, and I use Linux commands such as grep, tail, and log filtering to investigate DHCP-related issues. I used BlueCat Integrity recently for DNS record creation and subnet IP address creation, which stood out as a particularly important task.

BlueCat Integrity has positively impacted my organization by being easier to use than other platforms.

Its ease of use has benefited my organization because it features a user-friendly GUI that is straightforward and easy to navigate with centralized management. DNS, DHCP, and IPAM can be managed from one platform with easy IP visibility, allowing quick checks on whether an IP is available, allocated, reserved, or in use. Simple DNS management is straightforward through the GUI for creating, modifying, or deleting DNS records.

My experience with BlueCat Integrity has been very positive, and working with the platform has given me a good understanding of how DNS, DHCP, and IPAM can be managed from a centralized solution. One of the things I liked most about BlueCat Integrity is its user-friendly interface, which makes it relatively easy to navigate through DNS zones, records, DHCP ranges, IP addresses, and other DDI-related configurations. The centralized management approach facilitates easier tracking and management of network resources.

From a troubleshooting perspective, I find BlueCat Integrity useful because it provides good visibility into the DNS and DHCP configurations and logs, helping me to understand the relationship between DNS, DHCP, IPAM, and the underlying networking infrastructure rather than looking at each component separately. BlueCat Integrity is a reliable and practical DDI platform for the enterprise environment, and my experience has strengthened both my technical knowledge and my troubleshooting approach, giving me a good foundation for working with other DDI platforms such as Infoblox.

For checking DHCP and DNS logs, BlueCat Integrity's specific features and functions make it stand out as reliable and practical for me.

Every time I do configuration in BAM, I need to deploy in BDDS, which wastes time. In Infoblox, I can create DNS records and everything gets updated directly, but in BlueCat Integrity, I must do that deployment process, which I really do not prefer.

I have been using BlueCat Integrity for five years.

My advice to others looking into using BlueCat Integrity is that it is useful and easy to use since there are no difficult things with configuration, making it easier to manage. I would rate BlueCat Integrity as nine out of ten.