To efficiently manage Microsoft AD based networks, organizations should implement a centralized and automated IP address management system in their network. This approach allows them to introduce the transparency required to monitor utilization rates of subnets, track the use of IP addresses in real time, and plan their networks accordingly.

The traditional solution pitched by many DNS, DHCP and IP Address Management (DDI) vendors has been to either forklift the existing Microsoft DNS and DHCP server environment in favour of an external DDI service platform, or to install and run external management agents on Microsoft AD servers. While forklifting all DNS and DHCP servers in an existing network environment poses business continuity risks, installing management agents on Microsoft AD servers opens them up to new attack vectors, creating significant system instability and information security threats.

Nixu Software's deployment strategy in existing Microsoft AD environments (view the architecture diagram) is to keep the Microsoft DNS and DHCP architecture as is, and implement Nixu NameSurfer Suite as an IPAM overlay on top of the existing Microsoft DNS / DHCP environment. To support this un-intrusive deployment strategy, Nixu Software was the first in the DDI industry to develop an ingenious next generation technology allowing agentless remote management of Microsoft DNS and DHCP, a deployment strategy many of our competitors still claim to be technically impossible.