Hey there,

At the moment i'm looking for a solid IPAM tool and it seems ONA is going to fit that bill. However there are a ton of features that I currently have no use / need for and that actually detract from my user experience (note i said "my user experience" - YMMV).

All i require is that I be able to enter my IP space and keep track of it in a clean fashion.

I have no need for DHCP, DNS /etc (that group is entirely unrelated to what i do in my current capacity).

So what I'm looking for are a few things (and if you'd like i can add them to the bug database as feature requests) :

- not require DNS entries for every subnet / host i enter (i realize i should care a bit more about my dns entries) - maybe via an install option that'll just hide certain options and also unlink the need for DNS on every subnet.
- note on the "add" screens what fields are required and which are not (if all fields are required - note that - although i dont believe all fields *should* be required)
- maybe give a spot to designate an AS # (not required - just nice)

I understand your desire for a simple IP tracking solution. So here are my responses:

* I would suggest adding your feature requests to the bug tracking system just so I dont forget about them
* As far as requiring the PTR domain be created for each new subnet that is created in a new class A range, I do want to remove this and put the logic elsewhere. As far as it not being required, I'll have to think on how I can manage that. Worst case it would remain a requirement, but hopefully you would only have to add a few PTR domains at the beginning.
* As far as not requiring a host name. This will prove more difficult to do. There is a lot of things tied to having a name for searching and other tasks. I do believe that I could make an option that will generate some host names in a more automated fashion. That way all you will need to worry about would be IP address info etc and names would be generated for you. I think this could serve many others in different scenarios as well.
* I do agree that noting which fields are required is a good thing. I've had intentions on doing that but never got around to it. I feature request will go a long way to getting me motivated to do so
* Tracking an AS# is a feature that will come eventually. Maybe as a plugin or something. It too should be an option as many others may not care about it.

All of these things are great input. I think I can accommodate most of it and hopefully find some compromises on others. Thanks for the suggestions, they help me immensely.

I understand your desire for a simple IP tracking solution. So here are my responses:

* I would suggest adding your feature requests to the bug tracking system just so I dont forget about them
* As far as requiring the PTR domain be created for each new subnet that is created in a new class A range, I do want to remove this and put the logic elsewhere. As far as it not being required, I'll have to think on how I can manage that. Worst case it would remain a requirement, but hopefully you would only have to add a few PTR domains at the beginning.
* As far as not requiring a host name. This will prove more difficult to do. There is a lot of things tied to having a name for searching and other tasks. I do believe that I could make an option that will generate some host names in a more automated fashion. That way all you will need to worry about would be IP address info etc and names would be generated for you. I think this could serve many others in different scenarios as well.
* I do agree that noting which fields are required is a good thing. I've had intentions on doing that but never got around to it. I feature request will go a long way to getting me motivated to do so
* Tracking an AS# is a feature that will come eventually. Maybe as a plugin or something. It too should be an option as many others may not care about it.

All of these things are great input. I think I can accommodate most of it and hopefully find some compromises on others. Thanks for the suggestions, they help me immensely.

thanks for the quick reply : some responses to you

- the intial PTR creation is something that i personally dont need - others may - so making it optional upon host addition is what i'd be looking for
- hostname requiring - come to think of it isn't bad - most every device has a name or reference point of some nature (even if its router1 or server10 or whatever) - perhaps i'm more just taking the "hostname" too literally?
- as for AS# like i said - thats more of just a nicety.
- i forgot to mention a request for the option to supernet - but i have to poke more and see if what i'm looking for isn't accomplished already in some manner.

- the intial PTR creation is something that i personally dont need - others may - so making it optional upon host addition is what i'd be looking for
- hostname requiring - come to think of it isn't bad - most every device has a name or reference point of some nature (even if its router1 or server10 or whatever) - perhaps i'm more just taking the "hostname" too literally?
- as for AS# like i said - thats more of just a nicety.
- i forgot to mention a request for the option to supernet - but i have to poke more and see if what i'm looking for isn't accomplished already in some manner.


* This is one that will probably not go away as a requirement. However I want to make it smarter so that it only happens if needed and not on every subnet creation. Subnet creation time was convienient but not really the right place to trigger that action.
* I would agree with you.. Most every host has some sort of "name".. this does not have to be what is in the DNS system, just something to reference it by. It would for the sake of ONA need to be part of a domain but that is fairly trivial.
* Agreed on the AS#.. I think it would be nice too ... just low on the priority list for now.
* As far as supernets go, I think what you might be looking for in ONA is "blocks". It allows you to define chunks of address space with a name/description. Its loosely tied to the subnet map functionality. (lots more plans on its feature set to come). You can do true and valid CIDR blocks as well as any arbitrary range of IPS.

Thanks again.

* This is one that will probably not go away as a requirement. However I want to make it smarter so that it only happens if needed and not on every subnet creation. Subnet creation time was convienient but not really the right place to trigger that action.
* I would agree with you.. Most every host has some sort of "name".. this does not have to be what is in the DNS system, just something to reference it by. It would for the sake of ONA need to be part of a domain but that is fairly trivial.
* Agreed on the AS#.. I think it would be nice too ... just low on the priority list for now.
* As far as supernets go, I think what you might be looking for in ONA is "blocks". It allows you to define chunks of address space with a name/description. Its loosely tied to the subnet map functionality. (lots more plans on its feature set to come). You can do true and valid CIDR blocks as well as any arbitrary range of IPS.

Thanks again.

blocks seem to be it

to note - i did add some feature requests

Good posts guys. I was talking to Matt a few months ago about the same subject.

Interested to see what will come of this. I'm using ONA as a IPAM right now as well - don't need the DHCP/DNS stuff either.

Keep up the good work!