DNS Management Module

Enterprise DNS Management solution for Microsoft DNS and BIND based environments

The Men & Mice DNS Management module provides a professional management system on top of standard nameservers such as Microsoft DNS for the Windows platform and BIND 8/9 on Unix and Linux.

The DNS Management module is built to meet the management challenges faced by organizations with distributed DNS operations. Centralized control is one of the key benefits of the Men & Mice DNS Management module. It provides a powerful, feature rich management console which interacts, via a central server, with existing standard DNS servers. This natural approach allows organizations to hold on to their investments and leverage existing infrastructure.

The Men & Mice DNS Managment module allows organizations to

• Keep their investment by leveraging existing skills and DNS servers.
• Minimize DNS look-up failures.
• Reduce the number of helpdesk calls by utilizing tightened security and intelligent user-interfaces to help prevent configuration errors.
• Increase up-time of critical network services such as Active Directory, web servers, e-mail and other network services.
• Significantly lowers the cost of DNS management by freeing up expensive resources and reducing support cost.

The DNS Management module provides a scaleable and adaptable platform that can accommodate any DNS management requirements. It is fully integrated with the Men & Mice Suite's DHCP and IP address management modules, enabling the operation of DNS, DHCP and IP address configuration as a managed unified whole.

• Non-intrusive, easy deployment. No migration or redesign required. Works with the existing DNS servers and data, no extra investment in hardware appliances. Simple installation and setup.
• Sophisticated management interfaces. The Management console is a sophisticated Windows GUI application that provides an efficient interface for managing any number of DNS servers. Powerful command line interfaces are also provided.
• Unified overview of the whole DNS infrastructure. This entails significant benefits for organizations which have multiple DNS servers and zones, not to mention organizations which have hybrid DNS setup, i.e. mix of BIND and Microsoft DNS servers.
• Multiple concurrent users. The DNS Management module supports multiple concurrent users. This means for example, that multiple users can simultaneously update the same zone. This works on all platforms for both dynamic and static (file based) zones. Users are notified if they try to overwrite someone else’s updates.
• Role-based, fine-grained access control. Administrators can create user profiles and grant users access to different parts of the namespace. Access levels can vary from “read-only” up to “full access”, i.e. rights to create and edit zones. This allows safe, distributed DNS operations by delegating administration to multiple operators.
• State of the art mission-based web interface. Junior administrators and helpdesk personel receive a "fool-proof" one page, web browser interface, customized for the task at hand (e.g. adding a new host).
• Powerful input validation and error checking. By default, all user input is checked for possible errors and consistency. It is also possible to define custom validation checks which better capture workflow processes.
• Mass updates. The Search & Update Wizard can be used to make multiple updates across servers and zones in one operation. The available actions are: Find and Replace, Find and Create, Find and Delete, and Find and Edit. For example, it is possible to find and delete all CNAMES pointing to a given A-record, or to move all A-records from one IP address block to another.
  
• Auditing. All updates are logged into a special history file. The system can also be set to query for a “Save Comment” on all updates. This can be used to save a work ticket number or any other reference.
• Automation. For example, reverse records are automatically added and deleted when forward zones are updated.
• Support for Dynamic DNS (DDNS) updates both for BIND and Microsoft DNS
• Full integration with Microsoft Active Directory. The DNS Management module works with Active Directory integrated DNS zones and can also authenticate users against Active Directory.
• Integration with IP Address Management. When the Men & Mice IP Address Management module is enabled, the creation, deletion and configuration of DNS data zones and records are automatically synchronized with other IP address related data.
• Integration with DHCP Management. Enabling the Men & Mice DHCP Management module further results in added benefits. Administrators can easily view device associations, both in DHCP and DNS. Changing information in DNS view (e.g. an IP address) will automatically change the corresponding information in DHCP, and vice versa.

The Men & Mice DNS Management module is one of four application modules which comprise the Men & Mice Suite. The other three modules are:

• DHCP Management Module
• IP Address Management Module
• Analyzing and Monitoring

The DNS module can be deployed independently of other modules of the Men & Mice Suite.