1520 - Creating a Host in NIOS

Scenario

A request ticket came in, supplying the IP address, fully qualified host name, and MAC address for a printer to be deployed. Please create the necessary configuration in NIOS so that when this printer is deployed in the field, it will automatically receive the IP address via DHCP, and its FQDN will be resolvable.

Estimate Completion Time

• 10 to 15 minutes

Credentials

Requirements

• Read-write access to DNS records

• Read-write access to DHCP objects

Course References

• 1007: Managing NIOS DNS Resource Records

• 1008: Using NIOS IPAM and Global Search

Lab Initiation

Access jump-desktop

Once the lab is deployed, you can access the virtual machines required to complete this lab activity. To initiate the lab, click on the jump-desktop tile and login to the Linux UI:

Username: training

Password: infoblox

Initiate lab

To initiate the lab, double-click the Launch Lab icon on the Desktop.

Choose the lab number from the list and click OK.

After clicking OK, you will see a pop-up message with a brief description of the lab task. If the description looks correct, click Yes to continue lab initiation.

Lab initiation will take a couple of minutes to finish.

Once complete, you will see another pop-up message with the login credentials and the URL for the Grid Manager’s User Interface. Note that the credentials may differ from those from prior labs.

Tasks

Task 1: Search the Grid to be sure this entry is not already in use

Login to the GM web interface. Use the search function to ensure that there are no other DNS or DHCP objects using the same information as listed in Table 1520-1

Table 1520-1

Task 2: Create a Host with the supplied information and enable DHCP for the entry 

Assuming there are no conflicts with existing data, please create the appropriate object or objects so that 1) this device will receive the specified IP address when it comes online via DHCP and 2) the device is reachable via the FQDN.

There is more than one way to achieve these goals. In NIOS, it is possible to do it with just a single object or with multiple objects. There is no single correct answer.

Solutions

Task 1 Solution: Search the Grid to be sure this entry is not already in use

The values mentioned in the task can be associated with more than one object in NIOS. For example, the same FQDN can be in multiple DNS views, the same MAC address could be in different network views etc. To get a clear understanding of the object that you are about to create, it is always a good practice to search for these values before the actual object creation.

1. Login to NIOS GM web interface.

2. Navigate to Global Search → Advanced

3. Provide the MAC address from Table 1520-1 as a search string then click Search for Type equals All
   

   

   

4. Here we see no information. This indicates that the MAC address is not present in NIOS database

   

5. Repeat the steps for IP address and FQDN mentioned in Table 1520-1.

Task 2 Solution: Create a Host with the supplied information and enable DHCP for the entry

The request fulfillment in this scenario requires you to create an object that ties both DNS and DHCP together. DNS best practices tell us that we should create forward and reverse-mapping for hostnames so that lookups will work in both directions. When an A record is created in DNS we should also create PTR record for the host’s IP address. DHCP Fixed address objects ensure that clients receive specific IP addresses based on the client MAC address.

A Host record is a unique Infoblox object, which allows you to create forward and reverse-mapping records(A and PTR) from the same wizard. Host records can simultaneously create DHCP fixed addresses as well.

To create a host record:

1. Navigate to Data Management → DNS → Zones

2. Click the link for techblue.net
   

   

3. Select the Records tab

4. Click the Add dropdown menu and choose Host → Host
   

   

5. At Step 1 of 3, enter printer44 for the Name

6. Click the IPv4 Addresses Add button

7. Enter the address 10.200.0.80

8. In the MAC Address field fill in ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff. This is an invalid MAC address used for lab only. It will not match anything on the network.

9. Place a check in the box for DHCP
   

   

10. Click Save and Close

11. We can now see the host record for printer44 under techblue.net
    

    

12. We can also see the Host record object for printer44 under the reverse-mapping zone 200.10.in-addr.arpa
    

    

13. Since we had checked the box for DHCP, we can find the Host record under Data Management → DHCP → Networks under the 10.200.0.0/24 network object
    

    

Alternatively, we can create 3 individual objects: A record, PTR record and a Fixed address object for the same results.

To create the A Record:

1. Navigate to Data Management → DNS → Zones

2. Open the techblue.net authoritative zone

3. In the Records tab, click + dropdown and choose A record
   

   

4. In Step 1 of 3, provide Name as printer44

5. Set the IP Address as 10.200.0.80

6. Optionally check the box Create associated PTR record

7. Click Save and Close

To create a PTR record:

1. Navigate to Data Management → DNS → Zones

2. Open the 200.10.in-addr.arpa authoritative reverse mapping zone

3. In the Records tab, click + dropdown and choose PTR Record
   

   

4. In Step 1 of 3, provide IP Address 10.200.0.80

5. Provide a Domain Name of printer44.techblue.net
   

   

6. Click Save and Close

To create the DHCP Fixed address:

1. Navigate to Data Management → DHCP v Networks

2. Open the network 10.200.0.0/24

3. Click the + dropdown menu and choose DHCP Fixed Address
   

   

4. In Step 1 of 5, choose Add Fixed Address and click Next
   

   

5. In Step 2 of 5, provide the IP Address value as 10.200.0.80

6. Provide the MAC Address value as ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

7. Click Save and Close
   

   

8. All the above actions are available from the Toolbar in the respective Workspaces as well

Another way is to create these objects from Tasks Dashboard: