Documentation forIP Address Manager
Managing IP addresses is a key capability of SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted (formerly Hybrid Cloud Observability) and is available in the Essentials edition. IP Address Manager (IPAM) is also available in a standalone module.

IPAM Installation and Upgrade Guide

Introduction

This topic provides an introduction to installing IPAM as a stand-alone and integrated product. Full instructions for installing IPAM, as with all SolarWinds products, can be found in the SolarWinds Installer documentation.

IPAM offers the following benefits and more:

  • Integration with DHCP and DNS: gain visibility and control with smart IP address and multi-vendor DHCP and DNS management.
  • Roles and permissions: delegate IP administration so systems and network admins can manage their own range of IP addresses.
  • Alerting and reporting: gain access to real-time data about your IP addresses statuses. Manage change and fix problems faster with IP discovery, alerting, and reporting.
  • IPv4 and IPv6 management: manage both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses from a single platform.

This guide leads you through the process installing SolarWinds IPAM and supports the following scenarios:

  • Stand-alone installation
  • Integrated with the IPAM
  • Evaluation installation

Stand-alone installation

For a stand-alone installation of SolarWinds IPAM, install the product on a dedicated server. The dedicated database instance is for IPAM use only. This installation assumes you have not installed any other IPAM products on the target server.

Integrated with the IPAM

SolarWinds IPAM supports an integrated installation into an existing IPAM. For this installation, you can install the product on the SolarWinds server to connect to the SolarWinds SQL database. As part of this installation, you must verify if installed products need to be upgraded prior to installing SolarWinds IPAM. If your environment uses SolarWinds High Availability, follow the additional instructions as part of the installation.

Evaluation installation

SolarWinds IPAM supports an evaluation installation with a trial period. This installation is a full installation of the product with a 30-day license. To continue with a full product license, contact SolarWinds Sales.

Understanding terms

The following terms provide context for the architecture and components of SolarWinds products. See the abbreviations article for a list of all acronyms and abbreviations used by SolarWinds.

SolarWinds main polling engine: The main server you install your IPAM products. In the IPAM environment, you will have a single main polling engine. With a license for SolarWinds High Availability, the main polling engine will be in a pool with a primary and secondary server pair. Also called the main poller.

IPAM: The common backend platform used by the Solarwinds suite of products, including NPM, SAM, NCM, NTA, and more. The platform provides the backbone for navigation, settings, and common features like alerts and reports. It also provides a consistent look-and-feel across products, giving you a “single pane of glass” for your SolarWinds monitoring tools.

SolarWinds Web Console: The web interface you see when you log in to SolarWinds that is used to view, configure, and manage all of your monitored objects.

SolarWinds Application Server: A Windows server that runs the SolarWinds Web Console and collects data from monitored objects. Also called the SolarWinds Main Poller.

SolarWinds Database Server: A Windows SQL server that should be hosted on a dedicated server in a production environment, separately from the SolarWinds Application Server. It stores SolarWinds configuration data and all collected performance and syslog data.

Scalability engine: Provides additional web servers (AWS) to scale your environment. These options also include stacked pollers with additional polling engines on the same server. For more information, see the Scalability Engine Guidelines.

Scalability Engine Installer: Installs the SolarWinds product on additional web servers (AWS). This installer is light-weight and accesses the main polling engine to determine products and versions to install on the server. Use this installer in place of the larger bundles. For details on the installers, see the Scalability Engine and Bundle installer article.

Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following prerequisites for installation:

  • SolarWinds ID and Customer Portal Account
  • For existing IPAM environments, SolarWinds user account with administrator access
  • Full or evaluation license for the product. IPAM supports both perpetual licenses and subscription licenses. See License types in the IPAM help for details.