IP addresses allocation
Summarize
Summary of IP addresses allocation
The IP addresses allocation feature in ServiceNow enables you to create, view, and update IP Address Blocks and IP Subnetworks, as well as manage allocated IP addresses and active IP address records. This functionality is essential for organizing and tracking IP address usage within your network infrastructure.
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Key Features
- IP Address Block: Represents a top-level range of IP addresses defined by a CIDR and corresponds to the Managed IP Pool class.
- IP Subnetwork: A subdivision of an IP Address Block that can be nested to any depth, allowing detailed segmentation of IP address space.
- Allocated IP Address: Individual address slots within a subnetwork’s CIDR, marked automatically as reserved if structurally unassignable, or managed when linked to an IP address record.
- IP Address: Active CMDB records representing either a single host address created from an allocated IP or an entire subnetwork using the subnetwork’s CIDR.
- Managed Network: Defines a network scope ensuring CIDR uniqueness within it; the assigned Managed Network propagates from IP Address Blocks to all nested subnetworks.
- IP Allocation Methods: Two mutually exclusive methods for creating IP address records within a subnetwork:
- From allocated IPs: Select individual allocated IP slots to create corresponding IP address records, suitable for device or interface assignments.
- At subnet level: Create a single IP address record representing the entire subnetwork, suitable for binding to services or customers.
- State Requirements: Records must be active (Operational and In Use) before creating child subnetworks or allocating IP addresses.
- Reserved Addresses: Certain addresses are automatically reserved depending on protocol and subnet size, such as network and broadcast addresses in IPv4.
- CMDB Relationships: IP Address records maintain relationships with allocated IP slots and subnetworks, which are visible in related item panels and dependency views.
Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers
This capability allows you to manage IP address space efficiently within your CMDB, ensuring clear tracking and assignment of IP addresses and subnetworks. By choosing the appropriate IP allocation method, you can tailor IP address management to your organizational needs, whether assigning addresses to devices or managing subnet-level associations. The enforced active state and reserved address rules help maintain data integrity and operational consistency. The built-in CMDB relationships facilitate comprehensive visibility into IP address dependencies and usage.
Using the IP address allocation, you can create, view, and update IP Address Blocks and IP Subnetworks. You can also manage allocated IP addresses and IP addresses.
IP address tables
- IP Address Block
- A top-level range of IP addresses expressed as a CIDR. The user interface label IP Address Block refers to the underlying Managed IP Pool class.
- IP Subnetwork
- An operational subdivision of an IP Address Block. An IP Subnetwork can itself contain further nested IP Subnetworks, which lets you subdivide IP address space to any depth.
- Allocated IP address
- A single address slot within an IP Subnetwork's CIDR. Allocated IP address records carry two flags. Is Reserved is set automatically for structurally unassignable addresses. Is Managed is set automatically when an IP Address record is created from this slot.
- IP address
- The active CMDB record for an address. It can represent a single host address within a subnetwork, created from an allocated IP. Alternatively, it can represent the entire subnetwork by using the subnetwork's CIDR as its value.
- Managed Network
- A network scope within which an IP Address Block's CIDR must be unique. The same CIDR may exist in different Managed Networks without conflict. The Managed Network assigned to an IP Address Block propagates to its IP Subnetworks and cannot be changed at a lower level. For more information, see Create a Managed Network.
IP allocation methods
An IP Subnetwork uses one of two methods to create IP address records. The two methods are mutually exclusive: A subnetwork may use one or the other, but never both at the same time.
- From allocated IPs: The user selects one or more allocated IP records on a subnetwork and creates a corresponding IP address record for each selected slot. Each new IP address record uses the host address as its value. This method is appropriate when individual addresses are being assigned to devices, interfaces, or services.
- At subnet level: A single IP address record is created for the subnetwork as a whole. The IP address record uses the subnetwork's CIDR as its value, rather than a single host address. This method is appropriate when the subnetwork is bound to a service, port, customer, or interface.
After the first IP address record is created on a subnetwork by either method, the other method is locked for that subnetwork. To switch methods, delete the existing IP address records. Deleting IP address records preserves the underlying allocated IP slots.
Active state required for operations
A record must be in an active state before child records or IP allocations can be created against it. A record is active when the Life Cycle Stage is Operational and the Life Cycle Stage Status is In Use. Any other combination of values prevents the creation of subnetworks beneath the record or the allocation of addresses from it.
Reserved addresses
When allocated IP records are generated for a subnetwork, addresses that are structurally unassignable are flagged automatically with Is Reserved = True. The rule differs by protocol. For IPv4, the first address (the network address) and the last address (the broadcast address) are reserved. A /31 IPv4 subnet reserves no addresses (RFC 3021); a /32 IPv4 subnet reserves no addresses. For IPv6, only the first address — the Subnet Router Anycast address (RFC 4291) — is reserved. IPv6 has no broadcast address. A /128 IPv6 subnet reserves no addresses.
CMDB relationships
Every IP Address record participates in standard ServiceNow CMDB relationships. The relationships created depend on the method used. When IP Address records are created from selected Allocated IPs, the system writes two relationships per record. The first is an IP Address Manages Allocated IP relationship, linking the new record to its source slot. The second is an IP Subnetwork Contains IP Address relationship, linking it to the subnetwork. When a single IP Address record is created at the subnetwork level, only the IP Subnetwork Contains IP Address relationship is created.
Both relationship types are visible on each IP Address record's Related Items panel and in the Dependency View.