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Cisco Knowledge Network 

Managing the IP Address Explosion 

Introduction to Cisco Prime Network Registrar 

Charlie Mascari, Product Manager 

Peter Newcomb, Technical Marketing Engineer 

Network Management Technology Group 

January 24, 2013 

Cisco Confidential 1

C97-698002-00 © 2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 2

• Technical Education Series 

• Focus on Key Service Provider Management Challenges 

- Business, Architectural & Technical Transitions 

- Operational Support & Network Lifecycle 

- Functional Automation Solutions 

• Modular Curriculum Approach 

- Challenge & Impact 

- Architectural Solution & Demonstration 

- Q&A 

- Session Recording Archive 


Design 

• Rapid time to revenue 

• Differentiated 

services 

Analyze 

• Grow ARPU 

• Increase loyalty 

Fulfill 

• Low-cost operator 

• Zero touch 

• Lowest cost 

Assure 

• Improve QoS 

• Reduce turnover 

• Lowest cost 

Domain Managers 

Provide core information for devices and technologies 

Automated discovery and configuration management 

Network visibility 


V A L U E 

Analytics 

Executive 

Decision Making 

Business 

Enablement 

Technology 

Enablement 

• IP Address Mgmt & 

Configuration 

• DHCP & DNS Mgmt 

• IPv6 dual stack capable 

• CPE provisioning & 

management 

• AAA 

Core Services 

Network 

Management 

• Auto-discovery 

• Physical/logical 

inventory & topology 

• Event management 

• Root cause analysis 

• Change & Configuration 

management 

• Performance 

Service 

Management 

• Service creation and 

design 

• Service activation & 

fulfillment 

• Customer impact 

database 

• Service path tracing 

• Service assurance / 

Service-Level 

Agreements (SLAs) 

Subscriber 

Management 

• Policy management 

• Subscriber data 

management 

• Home subscriber 

management 

• End-user experience 

monitoring 

• Self-Service Portals 

• Real-time, streaming 

data 

• Multi-dimensional 

• Customer usage to 

service mapping 

• Subscriber profiling 

• New service generation 

• Traffic shaping 

• Planning Tools 

• Decision analysis 

Cisco 

Alignment 

Mobile Services 

Video Services 

IP Next Generation Network 

Cloud & Managed Services 


Analytics 

Service Fulfillment 

Cloud Automation 

Voice/Video Collaboration 

Carrier Management 

IT Management 

Core Services 

Prime Analytics 

Prime Order Management 

Prime Active Catalog 

Prime Service Inventory 

Prime Provisioning 

Cloud Portal (NewScale) 

Process Orchestrator 

Server Provisioner 

Network Services Manager 

Prime Collaboration Manager 

Prime Unified Provisioning Manager 

Prime Unified Operations Manager 

Prime Unified Service Monitor 

Prime Unified Service Statistics Manager 

Prime Central 

Prime Network 

Prime Performance Manager 

Prime Optical 

Prime Infrastructure Lifecycle 

Prime Infrastructure Assurance 

Prime Infrastructure Best Practices 

Prime Network Analysis Module 

NetFlow Generation Appliance 

Prime Home 

Prime Cable Provisioning 

SP Wi-Fi Service Manager for Prime 

Prime Access Registrar 

Prime Network Registrar 


• The Address Management Challenge 

• Introduction to Cisco Prime Network Registrar 

• Live Demonstration 

• Q&A 

• More Information 


The number of IP addresses and IP devices continues to increase dramatically, 

as does network size and complexity 

DNS and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) are mission-critical in 

today’s service provider and enterprise networks 

New technologies are being introduced into the network: voice over IP 

(VoIP), video, cloud computing, virtualization, etc. 

Network operators need to accelerate provisioning and 

simplify service activation 

IP address management (IPAM) costs are rapidly accelerating, 

and manual processes and tools cannot scale 

Network operators are under pressure to reduce operating 

expenses (OpEx) 

Network operators have begun to transition 

from IPv4 to IPv6 


DNS, DHCP, and IP Address Management (DDI) 

Network operators need an 

integrated DDI solution that 

provides: 

Customer 

Management 

Reduced OpEx 

Improved workflow 

Automation 

Simplified manageability 

Access 

Management 

Configuration 

Management 

DDI 

Operational 

Tasks 

Regulatory 

Compliance 

Business 

Support 

Security and compliance 

Reporting 



Four Integrated Components Focused on Scalability, Reliability, and Future-Readiness 

With Enhanced, Integrated Management 

DHCP DNS IPAM DNS Caching 

• Single DHCP server that 

supports both IPv4 and 

IPv6 for IP address 

translation and service 

delivery 

• Internal and external client 

reservations 

• Single DNS server that 

supports both IPv4 and IPv6 

for device network access 

• Standards compliant 

• Enhanced, comprehensive 

IPAM integrated with DNS 

and DHCP for configuration 

as well as reporting and 

management of IPv4 and 

IPv6 

• Recursive, extremely fast 

DNS Security Extensions 

(DNSSEC) caching server to 

gain better performance 

• DNS64 support (IPv4 

access for hosts with only 

an IPv6 address) 

• Standards compliant 


USGv6 Certification 

• Cisco Prime Network Registrar has achieved 

USGv6 (US Government IPv6) certification for its 

DHCP IPv6 server and now may be sold to US 

Government agencies. 

• Today, all civilian agency networks are required by 

law to be IPv6-capable. These US Government 

agencies are required to procure only IPv6 products 

that are USGv6 certified. 


More than 1,200 customer deployments 

• Service providers 

• Cable providers: 90% market share 

• Large enterprises 

Service 

Providers 

Cable 

Providers 

Large 

Enterprises 


Distributed architecture that supports millions of 

subscribers in some of the largest deployments in the 

world 

A DHCP server with industry leading performance 

Dedicated DNS caching server that significantly 

improves DNS query throughput 

The industry’s most scalable DHCP server, 

supporting more than 50 million devices in a single 

customer deployment 


Multiple levels of redundancy: 

Support for DHCP safe failover and 

High-Availability DNS (DNS-HA) 

DHCP-Induced Avalanche 

Discover 

Discover 

Patent-pending discriminating rate 

limiter based on packet prioritization 

Request 

Request 

Request 

Discover 

Discover 

Reduce downtime after network 

outages 

Optional chatty- client filter 

Discover Discover 

Discover Discover 

Discover 

Request 

Request 

Request 


Platform is extremely customizable and flexible to meet unique 

business needs 

Powerful extension support allows network operators to alter and 

customize DHCP server operations for both IPv4 and IPv6 

Extensions easily create new solutions such as billing, security, 

and lawful interception 

Extensive APIs and command-line interfaces (CLIs) enable 

integration points between the IPAM component and external 

systems for advanced IPAM automation 


Tenant A 

Environment 

Multitenancy Support for 

Cloud-Based DHCP and DNS 

Isolation Within the Secure Cloud Architecture 

Tenant B 

Environment 

Security & 

Isolation 

Security & 

Isolation 

VMware Virtual 

Machines 

VMware Virtual 

Machines 

Multitenant Virtualized Infrastructure 

Managed Through a Self-Service Portal 


Cisco Prime Network 

Registrar IP Address 

Management (IPAM) 


Need to Manage > 5,000 IP Addresses 

• How large is your network How many IP addresses How many 

DHCP/DNS servers 

• Describe your DNS infrastructure (Microsoft, BIND) 

• Describe your DHCP infrastructure 

• How do you manage your IP addresses, DNS/DHCP servers 

• Have you experienced any network outages due to IP address or naming 

issues 

• How many roles / people are involved to set up DNS, DHCP, and network 

equipment when deploying a new site 

• Do you need to track IP address assignment history on your network 


• Simple, centralized, integrated management of DNS and DHCP services, IPv4 

and IPv6 address space, subnets and address blocks, and address assignment 

• DHCP server configuration, including address pools derived from IP plan and 

converged device configuration, and DNS server configuration, including 

address-hostname mappings and more 

• Automated IP tracking and allocation with full network IP discovery and IP 

reconciliation, helping to eliminate IP conflicts 

• Intuitive GUI for real-time visibility and detailed IP audit reporting and diagnostics 

• Flexibility and user control through role-based IPAM delegation of DNS and 

DHCP 

• Heterogeneous support for open source BIND, Microsoft, and Cisco Prime 

Network Registrar DNS and DHCP 

IPAM Is Critical for IP Network Operations 


Reconcile 

The number of IP addresses and IP devices continues to increase dramatically, 

as does network size and complexity 

Allocations 

Services 

• IPv4/IPv6 blocks/subnets 

Plan 

• DNS/DHCP deployment 

• DNS/DHCP configurations 

• Address space mapped to 

business operations 

Discrepancies 

IPAM 

Lifecycle 

Deploy 

• Multiple vendors and/or 

appliances 

• Dynamic DNS 

Actual Network 

• Reconciliation of actual and 

planned configurations 

• Reporting (audit utilization) 

Discover 

• Simple Network Management 

Protocol (SNMP) v2 and v3 

discovery 

• IP host discovery 

• Switchport mapping 

• DHCP pool utilization 



• Dual stack IP address management in a single user interface 

• Integrated data collection from routers, Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) 

caches, DHCP servers, and ping sweeps facilitates IP address space 

discovery, planned vs. actual reconciliation, alerts, and capacity 

management 

• Unsurpassed user definability enables customers to manage IP address 

space consistent with their management methods 

• Enables easy transition to IPv6 with options to integrate IPv4 and IPv6 

networks 

DHCP/DNS/IP (DDI) is a critical network services layer. 

Cisco Prime Network Registrar helps enable network operators to 

eliminate duplicate IP addresses, accurately configure DHCP/DNS 

services, and centralize IPv4 and IPv6 inventory. 


Case Study: IBBS 

• IBBS is a managed services provider supporting small and medium-sized cable operators. 

Background 

• IBBS has 250 customers managing more than 1 million cable modems across North and South 

America. It automates the provisioning and diagnostics of these devices via a managed service. 

• Cisco ® Network Registrar has been an important part of this managed service since the business 

was established in 2001. The solution supports DNS and DHCP services as the basis of a 

DOCSIS ® cable modem provisioning system. Cisco Network Registrar is deployed as a single, 

multitenant cluster in the IBBS data center in Atlanta. 

Impact on customer 

and Results 

• The flexibility and scalability of Cisco Network Registrar have enabled IBBS to provide cable 

modem access services using a cloud model for the last 10 years with very little cost-long 

before it was called “the cloud.” Economies of scale and cost savings far exceed those of the 

competition. 

• Extension points give IBBS precise control over the DHCP requests coming in and the 

responses going out, based on very complex and detailed criteria. 

“ 

All day, every day, Cisco Network Registrar reliably identifies each device and 

class of service, and then provides IP addresses and the right configuration files 

and profiles to keep each modem up and running. 

“ 

-Kyle Johnson, 

-IBBS Director of Product Strategy 

C97-698002-00 © 2012 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 24 

2

Case Study: Comcast 

Background 

• Comcast is a leading media and entertainment company, providing high-speed video, telephony, 

and Internet services to business and residential customers. 

• Comcast delivers more than 150,000 TV shows, movies, and other video content to over 49 

million customers across North America. 

• Comcast began planning the transition of its network to IPv6 in 2005. The ability to operate in 

“dual stack” mode, to accommodate IPv4 and IPv6 traffic, has been a critical component of its 

strategy. 

Impact on customer 

and Results 

• The flexibility and scalability of Cisco Network Registrar have enabled Comcast to transition to 

IPv6 seamlessly with no disruption to subscribers. 

• Cisco Network Registrar enabled Comcast to go well beyond feature parity between its 

management of IPv4 and IPv6 traffic, to actually advance its business by being able to 

implement advanced features, from device management to subscriber services, while running in 

dual stack mode. 

“ 

With Cisco Network Registrar our IPv6 program was able to go well beyond feature 

parity and device management. We were able to design and implement features that 

enabled us to advance our business with new subscriber services. 

“ 

- John Brzozowski, 

Distinguished Engineer, Chief Architect 

IPv6 Transition, Comcast 


2

Summary 

• Superior manageability 

• Real-time visibility into IPv4 and IPv6 

• Accountability promoted through detailed IP audit reporting and 

diagnostics and granular administrative policies for access 

• Helps ease the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 

Discover and take inventory of IPv4 and IPv6 resources 

Plan and model the way the IPv6 network should be deployed 

Map current IPv4 network and devices to IPv6 space 

• Scalable and able to grow with the business 

• Secure with DNSSEC 

• Easy to deploy with low-risk options 


2

• Cisco.com/go/prime-sp 

• Cisco Prime Network Registrar on Cisco.com: 

www.cisco.com/go/networkregistrar 

• Cisco ® Network Registrar Tech Center developer support: 

http://developer.cisco.com/web/cnr/home 

• For additional information, please contact: 

ask-networkregistrar@cisco.com 


Archive: 

Cisco Prime Carrier Management 

Suite 

- Prime Network 

- Prime Optical 

- Prime Provisioning 

- Prime Performance Manager 

Prime Home 

- Introduction to TR-069, 

Home Network Administration 

- New Service Opportunities 

Coming Soon: 

Service Fulfillment (March – May) 

- Overview & Introduction 

- Multi-Vendor Service Orchestration 

- Multi Domain Service Orchestration 



Thank you.

Cisco Knowledge Network

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