I use BlueCat Integrity for end-to-end DDI management, which includes DNS, DHCP, and IP management. It helps in creating domains, records, and networks. It serves IPs to specific hosts, simplifying life as a DDI engineer. 

The overall benefit of using BlueCat Integrity is that it allows access to servers and troubleshooting of servers, which is not offered by some of the other market products. When you use BlueCat Integrity, you learn more than VDI. You get hands-on experience with Linux. You get to learn more things when you are using BlueCat Integrity. They also offer exceptional customer service.

BlueCat Integrity provides a single-pane-of-glass view of our IP address space. Within this single pane of glass, we can also have multiple views. I can create multiple subblocks and configure them, for example, country-wise.

It drastically reduces human error, reducing it by 80% to 85%.

BlueCat has helped our organization reduce downtime. We can monitor the online status of services with the help of SNMP. We can use all three SNMP variables, such as SNMPv1, SNMPv2, and SNMPv3. With the help of that, we can monitor server health.

It has helped save a huge amount of time in the domain and record creation process. It saves about 90% of our time.

BlueCat Integrity has relieved engineers from manual tasks, freeing up time for other projects. It relieves engineers in a huge way. It relieves the DDI engineers from touching the Linux bind servers or DB servers. Using BlueCat Integrity saves a huge amount of time. With that time, we can handle other projects.

I use REST APIs. I create scripts, and we have our gateway, so we create our own gateway workflows. We use BlueCat automation to create around four to five thousand objects. It saves about two minutes per object.

The most valuable aspect is its user-friendly interface. It is straightforward to use. Even individuals with minimal DNS knowledge can easily work with BlueCat GUI.

It offers multiple additional services, such as Edge, K3, etc. We can integrate it with multiple applications and achieve more things. For example, we can use REST API with the help of GUI and achieve REST API construction in a single place. We can give it to multiple users to use it.

Some areas need improvement, especially the issue with stale entries in the BlueCat tenancy. I have heard that it is already fixed in BlueCat Integrity 10. I have not used that yet.

Additionally, they can integrate DIG into BlueCat Integrity.

I have been working with BlueCat Integrity for the past five to six years. I was also a BlueCat TAC engineer for about two years.

The stability of BlueCat is sometimes problematic. Every two months, something breaks, and if not resolved immediately, it leads to downtime for several hours. In some situations, we get no answer from BlueCat because we cannot replicate the issue, but it still affects the organization. Recently, because of that, BlueCat Integrity was not available for anyone for at least two and a half hours. I would rate it a five out of ten for stability.

BlueCat is scalable, but it needs to be more robust. As an enterprise product, BlueCat needs to listen to customer feedback and make improvements where necessary.

We have more than 1,000 users in our organization. They are at multiple locations around the globe.

The technical support by BlueCat is excellent. I would rate their support a nine out of ten.

Positive

I have worked with multiple vendors like VitalQIP and Infoblox in different organizations.

BlueCat is more straightforward than others. If you know DNS, you can work with BlueCat GUI very easily. Other vendors are difficult to work with for someone new, whereas with BlueCat Integrity, within 30 to 40 minutes, you can do basic things. It is more user-friendly. BlueCat's GUI interface and customer support set them apart from others. It does not require a lot of DDI knowledge.

Infoblox is a more robust product. BlueCat needs to reach that level. I worked with Infoblox for nearly a year, and I did not have to contact their TAC, whereas I have to contact BlueCat TAC every one or two months with a high priority.

I was not involved in its deployment. If you know DDI, you can easily work with BlueCat Integrity.

The maintenance part is hard, but that is not because of BlueCat; that is because of technology. DNS has many vulnerabilities. We have to patch or upgrade the server every three to six months. We cannot avoid that.

I would recommend a DDI solution like BlueCat Integrity if you have more than 100 users at multiple locations.

BlueCat provides plugins for various applications, such as ServiceNow and Cisco Umbrella. They have plugins for many applications, but we do not use these plugins. BlueCat Integrity is a very easy tool. If you know what you are doing, you can do it in a minute.

I would rate BlueCat Integrity an eight out of ten.

Our company provides network infrastructure management services for ten clients. We handle DNS, DHCP, and IPAM for these clients, all utilizing the BlueCat Integrity platform.

The most effective features for IP management are log reviews and configuration management.

BlueCat Integrity is easy to use but it can be time-consuming. It has improved our troubleshooting. We can go to the server and see the logs.

BlueCat Integrity has helped reduce downtime andhas saved 50 percent of our time.

It has streamlined our IT team's workflow, freeing up valuable time for other projects. The intuitive user interface simplifies the process of provisioning IP addresses to customers.

We recommend the BlueCat automation to our customers because it saves almost 50 percent of our time. Through the self-service portal, our customers can complete their requests themselves.

BlueCat Integrity helped improve network stability.

The professional DNS and support service helps integrate BlueCat Integrity.

The most valuable features of BlueCat Integrity are the user-friendly UI and the permission management.

A common complaint about BlueCat is that adding new features or making even small changes requires a full deployment process, which can be time-consuming. This is especially problematic for deployments using SSP (hidden primary), the business-critical DNS server, which can take up to seven minutes to deploy depending on network size.

Unfortunately, BlueCat Integrity doesn't support bulk Content Security Policy configuration. We'll need to set these policies manually for each element or develop a script to automate the process.

I have been using BlueCat Integrity for two and a half years.

I would rate the stability of BlueCat Integrity eight out of ten. At times we get high utilization on some servers. 

I would rate the scalability of BlueCat Integrity ten out of ten.

The technical support is responsive and they have resolved any issues we have had.

Positive

We previously implemented Infoblox and it remains in use, but we've also added BlueCat Integrity to our network management toolset. We prefer the integration and automation in BlueCat.

While BlueCat Integrity is easy to deploy, the overall deployment time varies based on network complexity. New customers can be up and running in two weeks, but migrating existing configurations from Infoblox to BlueCat Integrity can take up to three months. This is because the migration involves a staged approach, transitioning DNS settings first, then DHCP, and finally finalizing DNS changes.

BlueCat Integrity is more cost-effective than Infoblox.

I would rate BlueCat Integrity eight out of ten.

The majority of our clients who use BlueCat Integrity are enterprise customers.

Once BlueCat Integrity is deployed there is no maintenance required.

We did not face any challenges when integrating BlueCat Integrity into our client's systems.

Even for organizations hesitant about needing a full-suite DDI management solution, BlueCat Integrity's time-saving features and cost-effectiveness make it a compelling choice. I recommend BlueCat Integrity to others.

BlueCat Integrityk is our central DDI System used for DNS, DHCP, and IPAM.

Our BlueCat address managers are deployed on-premises in a clustered configuration. All the servers are physical machines located on-premises, except for one virtual server running in the Azure cloud. This external DNS server is specifically maintained to support our remote clients.

The key advantage of BlueCat Integrity is its adherence to open standards, allowing for integration with external tools. While I find Integrity's built-in bulk update functionality lacking, I can leverage open-source ISC tools and the standard NS update protocol for a smoother update experience. This gives me far better results.

I recognize that companies try to sell extra features and products. One of BlueCat's main competitors, Infoblox, heavily advertises and pushes its additional security features. However, my priority is a product that excels at DDI, which I believe BlueCat does well. While I welcome improvements, it currently performs its core function effectively, and I don't want additional features to compromise its security. I simply want it to do its job well, which it demonstrably does.

BlueCat Integrity effectively manages our IP address space with a centralized view, similar to how many companies encounter, we have a few exceptional cases where we've lost control of entire blocks or ranges. While this creates discrepancies, it's not a fault of BlueCat's but rather a result of these specific edge cases within our organization. Overall, BlueCat Integrity performs well. Having a single pane of glass view is important in an IPAM system.

BlueCat Integrity significantly improves our operational efficiency by automating IP address management. Manually tracking all our IPs would be a cumbersome and error-prone task, which Integrity effectively eliminates.

Last June, upon joining the organization, I began using BlueCat Integrity and found it to be a valuable tool. It has facilitated the smooth migration of various departments, similar to integrating external companies, and effectively addresses our general needs.

While DHCP redundancy has demonstrably reduced downtime, the existing DNS redundancy seems sufficient. There was a proposal for a redundant primary DNS server, but it appears to deviate from standard protocols and therefore won't be implemented.

BlueCat Integrity has streamlined the process of integrating external solutions, making it easier to incorporate products from other companies into our systems.

I am happy with the peace of mind BlueCat Integrity provides. I am not up at night worrying about anything related to BlueCat.

The most significant advantage of BlueCat is its foundation on open-source software, specifically BIND and ISC DHCP. Notably, BlueCat avoids any modifications to these underlying products, instead building its IPAM and DDI systems on top of them. 

BlueCat is releasing a completely new interface next January. While it doesn't currently have all the minor features I want, hopefully, they'll be added over time.

While knowledge is a factor, both technical support and training need a significant overhaul. The root cause lies in the BlueCat support's attitude, which seems focused on closing tickets quickly rather than ensuring solutions. This means genuine attempts to improve functionality, even if not strictly broken, are met with workarounds and closed tickets. This focus on expediency hinders true problem-solving and a positive user experience.

Unfortunately, due to development timelines, new features won't be considered until the release of the next version of BlueCat Integrity, expected in January of next year. Any interface improvements or requests specific to the older system are a waste of time. This will ensure our requests are well-positioned for implementation in the upcoming release.

I have been using BlueCat Integrity for eleven months.

BlueCat Integrity has been stable. I would rate the stability ten out of ten.

BlueCat Integrity supports our network scalability and response to changing demands. I would rate the scalability seven out of ten.

While the advanced support team has some excellent individuals who offer valuable design changes and assistance, the quality of day-to-day technical support is unfortunately lacking.

Compared to other solutions, BlueCat's technical support is poor.

Negative

While the majority of our organization uses the industry-leading IPAM solution, BlueCat Integrity, there are a few pockets still utilizing Infoblox. Additionally, Active Directory continues to influence IP address management in some areas, requiring integration with the DDI system.

If we're considering replacing BlueCat Integrity, there are two main drawbacks to consider. First, unlike Infoblox, BlueCat directly interacts with existing DNS, DHCP implementations BIND and ISC DHCP, allowing for more granular control. Second, Infoblox creates a management layer that separates us from core functionalities like DHCP leases and zone files. This lack of direct access makes troubleshooting and advanced configuration difficult with Infoblox, which is a major advantage of BlueCat Integrity.

While the initial setup of the entire system was easy, deploying the BlueCat software that manages the underlying services, ISE, DHCP, and Bind proved more complex. This complexity stems from legitimate reasons, but it can be challenging. For instance, setting up failover redundancy within BlueCat was more intricate than on our previous DHCP server, requiring additional learning on my part. These additional steps, though not impacting the core system's functionality, do add some complexity to the deployment process.

I would rate BlueCat Integrity eight out of ten. BlueCat Integrity excels at its core functionality of managing DNS, DHCP, and IP addresses. Unlike some competitors who prioritize security features in their marketing even though they're DDI solutions, BlueCat should stay focused on what they do best: providing a robust DDI platform. While expanding into other areas is understandable because they want to increase profits, it's crucial not to lose sight of their core strength and risk compromising the user experience.

We operate four geographically separate data centers across two locations in Switzerland. These house two BAM servers, 34 production BDDS DNS DHCP servers of which one is virtual, and a small, entirely virtualized lab environment.

Two administrators manage the DDI system with full access, handling everything from BlueCat to DNS and DHCP. We focus on complex tasks and leave routine record updates to end users or a dedicated layer two team at the network operation center that handles tickets and other tasks. There's also a first-level support team, but their exact involvement in DDI maintenance is unclear.

While BlueCat excels as a DDI solution for managing DNS security, its attempts to expand into other areas like full device discovery are unnecessary for our needs. 30 specialized tools can handle those tasks more effectively. We prefer to keep BlueCat focused on its core strength: DNS security within our network.

I recommend BlueCat Integrity for DDI needs. Unlike QIP and Infoblox, Integrity adheres to open standards without modifying them, and leverages the most popular open-source implementations available, ensuring compatibility and avoiding potential issues arising from custom code.

We are fortunate to have two incredible individuals from BlueCat who provide exceptional support and guidance. Their expertise and willingness to help are truly invaluable.

We use BlueCat Integrity to manage all of our IP addresses. Whenever we deploy a new device or anything that needs an IP address, we consult our IP address manager. This includes anything that is not on our DHCP scope, mainly server-based systems. We manually enter the DNS names for these IP addresses. We use DHCP for quite a few systems, but we set reservations for certain endpoints that require static IP addresses, such as admin desktops that we only want to allow those IPs through.

We have BlueCat Integrity deployed on-premises. We have three servers: a master and two IP address managers, which are devices that serve up IP addresses and handle DHCP.

BlueCat Integrity is easy to use for those who are accustomed to Windows. There was a slight learning curve, but it wasn't difficult at all. Everything is laid out very well. Creating records, CNAMEs, subzones, and so on is all quite straightforward. I didn't have any problems with it and didn't need to call support or ask other people for help most of the time. It's very well laid out. BlueCat gave us a quick overview when they helped us set it up, and from there, I was able to figure everything out on my own. I would say it's quite intuitive.

BlueCat provides us with a single pane of glass view. This is a convenient feature to have but not necessary.

Since implementing BlueCat, we have experienced fewer problems, anomalies, and strange issues. Our desktop support staff no longer complains about not receiving DHCP addresses. BlueCat seems to be more reliable.

BlueCat has helped reduce downtime.

BlueCat has freed up around 20 percent of our staff's time, making it easier and quicker for us to manage IP addresses, since we didn't have an IPAM system or even use Windows before. We now only use Windows for DNS integration, so having a reliable source for IP address management has been helpful.

I'm a security engineer, so I do a lot of deployments, especially for POCs. When we need a new server built, we request an IP address from the infrastructure team. We verify that the IP address is not being used through IPAM, DACP, and the DNS server. These tools are essential for anyone who works in IT, but they are not unique to us. 

One complaint about the interface is BlueCat's handling of subzones. We have many subzones in our domains, so getting to each one requires a lot of clicking, instead of having them all listed out for us. I'm not sure why BlueCat chose to do it this way but this is an area for improvement.

I have been using BlueCat Integrity for almost eight years.

We have not had any downtime. BlueCat Integrity is stable.

We previously used SolarWinds IPAM, but it was terrible, so we switched to BlueCat, which we have found to be more reliable.

We had some concerns about the deployment so we hired a team for the implementation. We had around five people from our organization who helped with the deployment.

We hired consultants to help us implement BlueCat to minimize downtime during the transition. They were very knowledgeable and did a great job.

The professional DNS and support services were quite good. I had no serious problems, and everything went smoothly. We didn't encounter any major hiccups.

We have seen a return on investment from reducing downtime, and even just managing IP addresses helps.

BlueCat's pricing is good, though not as cheap as SolarWinds'. However, we are happier with the BlueCat product. We paid around $5,000 per year for SolarWinds, and now we pay around $20,000 per year for BlueCat, but we have less downtime and fewer issues with DNS and DHCP.

Before selecting BlueCat Integrity we evaluated the offerings from SolarWinds and ManageEngine.

We chose BlueCat because it offered an all-in-one IPAM, DNS, and DHCP solution. We received some good recommendations from consultants, and we made our decision based on reviews. Everyone who had used it seemed to like it.

I would rate BlueCat Integrity eight out of ten.

BlueCat has helped us reduce our total cost of ownership by around $2,500 per year since we implemented it eight years ago.

With BlueCat, I can rest knowing I have peace of mind and don't have to think about it.

We do patches on the systems every few months.

For medium-sized and large businesses, It is very important to have an IP Address Management solution. No one wants to have IP conflicts, especially if we are manually assigning IP addresses or using only a ping tool. An IPAM solution can help reduce downtime more reliably than Windows or some cheaper products.

For those who can afford it, I recommend using professional services. They can help to smooth out the deployment process and show how to use the tool more effectively. A lot of training is not required, but having professional services walk us through everything can be helpful to get our IT team comfortable with the product and to ensure that our update process is properly documented.

We replaced our legacy solution used to manage our network with BlueCat Integrity, a vendor-backed solution.

BlueCat Integrity is easy to use for end users and not difficult for administrators. I have used much more difficult solutions that are not directly related to DDI. For end users, the solution is intuitive on a daily basis.

It provides a single pane of glass view for our IP address space, which is important for our organization.

BlueCat Integrity is flexible and user-friendly for our end users.

BlueCat Integrity has helped improve our organization by simplifying the end user's experience and improving our integration with third parties. 

Managing our DDI infrastructure globally is simple, and BlueCat's personalized relationship with us is valuable to our organization.

The interface is good, better than what we were used to.

The integration has room for improvement.

Everything related to automation can be improved.

The deployment process needs to be simplified.

I have been using BlueCat Integrity for ten years.

Yes. In-house built solution, lacking lots of features, complex to support and almost impossible to evolve or enhance with new functionalities (e.g.: IPv6 support)

The deployment took around three years because we were migrating from our pre-existing in-house tool.

The solution was deployed through an in-house team with support from BlueCat's professional services, who played a critical role in the success of our migration.

I would rate BlueCat Integrity eight out of ten.

We use BlueCat Integrity to have visibility into our address management.

BlueCat Integrity is fairly straightforward. I have been using it myself for quite a long time. The actual user interface is a little dated, but that is being addressed in the upcoming release.

BlueCat Integrity provides a single-pane-of-glass view of our IP address space, which is important for our organization to see what is being utilized.

For the six years we have been using BlueCat Integrity, we have begun to transition from Microsoft to BlueCat DHCP and DNS. The ability to easily view our options and zones is a significant improvement over our previous approach. The user interface has improved over time, but it is still somewhat dated. A major UI overhaul is planned for release 10, which is scheduled for release next spring.

BlueCat Integrity can help reduce human error by pushing changes to multiple places with only one human input, reducing the likelihood of errors. Compared to our previous solution, BlueCat has reduced human errors by 25 percent.

BlueCat Integrity has not really helped us consolidate any tools. We were already using one Microsoft tool, and now we are using one BlueCat tool, with the advantage of only having to use one interface with BlueCat Integrity versus multiple with Microsoft.

BlueCat Integrity is a solid product. It does not have flashy features, but it is reliable and we have few problems with it. BlueCat does a good job of keeping the product up-to-date with security patches and updates. BlueCat Integrity provides us with flexibility and visibility that we did not have before.

The most important improvement is that it would be nice to have more built-in tools for bulk updates and bulk changes. I understand that there are APIs for this, but that requires coding skills. I am no longer a coder, so it would be helpful to have built-in tools for imports and other tasks.

The UI is outdated and needs a modern refresh.

The RFC is over 25 years old, and some record types have become obsolete. I would like newer DNS record types, even if they are not part of the RFC.

I have been using BlueCat Integrity for six years.

We originally used Microsoft for DHCP, DNS, and IP address management. We have since migrated to BlueCat Integrity for better visibility into our address management. Multiple people are able to manage using BlueCat Integrity.

The initial deployment was straightforward. The basic deployment took one month, but the full deployment with the server took around six months and was completed by two people.

Originally, we compared BlueCat Integrity to other products. It was not the cheapest nor the most expensive solution, but it was among the more expensive ones. Overall, I would say that it is priced fairly, though perhaps a bit on the high side.

I would rate BlueCat Integrity eight out of ten.

BlueCat Integrity is deployed in our corporate environment across multiple locations around the world.

The purpose of the solution is to provide DNS, DHCP, and icon services for the corporation and all subsidiaries. 

I like that it's a single source of truth for us. We automate against it. We use APIs against it due to the fact that it is where the data is. The solution provides a single pane of glass view. And we use it as a single source of truth. It’s crucial for us.

It’s flexible. The tool can certainly be customized to no end. You can make a lot of stuff work if you're willing to divert from the standard options, which of course then brings the risk that you're not running the planned configuration. We have a few border cases, so we actually do that.

The solution helped our organization reduce downtime. Compared to where it was before, even if it's a very theoretical question, I’d say the downtime has decreased.

BlueCat Integrity helped us consolidate tools or applications. Through an API and having the data there we were able to build some tools that have allowed us to get rid of a lot of other tools.

It is not that easy to use. It's not rocket science, however, even compared to other products in the BlueCat portfolio, it's one of the most complicated.

The big downside of the customization is when there are new releases and you have to customize all of it again since you’ve diverted from the standard.

One of my biggest criticisms is that you need additional pieces of software. Competitors have a lot of these things built into one solution. BlueCat doesn't. I need additional resources to actually do things. You actually need a lot of add-ons from the solution's portfolio. While some of them are provided, most you have to pay for separately. In reality, they should just be part of the product.

The reporting capabilities need improvement. It holds a lot of information, and that information is easily accessible in the tool and through API. However, for instance, the moment anybody who is not a user of the product asks me for some information and I just want to run a report to hand back to them or something like that, it gets utterly complicated. 

Quite a few times we have not been able to pull reports out of the tool and provide them.  

Usability needs to be better. The main structure basically hasn't changed in years. It's got a bit polished, however, it doesn't really have a modern UI-based tool. That said, the product is being used by IT professionals. Still, sometimes the old design makes things unnecessary and difficult.

I've been using the solution for four years now. 

BlueCat is stable. 

The solution is scalable in multiple ways. There are lots of ways to scale. 

While we did not exactly use anything else from the DDI side, we were using Windows DNS.

The main reason for the adoption of this product was to have one centralized management system. That was one of the key drivers. Also, we wanted visibility and stability for having that single source of truth.

We're running one special environment that is fully deployed in the cloud, and our main environment is deployed on-prem remotely.

It's easy to deploy on-prem and even easier to deploy the cloud version. Our migration team deployed the solution. They were comprised of three people. It took us a year to deploy, however, we had to make the whole transition to remote work first. 

We use the solution globally. We have it across a few production campus facilities and 25 subsidiaries globally. 

We have to run the updates. We're on our own for that. We basically do the data. When we get the notifications, we go into scheduling the when, what, and how internal testing will take place. We plan to do all of this in-house.

Of course, we have to monitor the devices themselves. They sometimes act up, and sometimes the product does not report certain issues efficiently and then we have to dig into the log file. There is a lot of proactive maintenance in that regard. The good thing is that the product is so standardized and open. At the end of the day, of course, I would prefer not to have to do it. 

BlueCat helped with implementation. During the design phase, we had some workshops with them and they provided good insights and best practices.

We have witnessed an ROI while using the product. The ROI mainly comes from the initiative itself, including centralizing data and having automated server deployment. We've saved money across a variety of products, so it's hard to pinpoint an exact number. 

We are paying for an enterprise license. I'm not aware of the exact cost. The pricing, as far as I understand it, is fair. It's not cheap and also not expensive. 

We use the API to do certain calls, however, not with ServiceNow or any other ITSM. It's more for other really technical tools that need specific kinds of information. We don’t really do integrations.

To anyone at an organization who doesn't think they need a full stack integrated management solution, I'd say, actually, this is an absolute must-have. Automation really is the biggest driver. I could not see how someone could ever do any meaningful automation without having this kind of platform. Also in terms of security, it's important for security initiatives. You simply need to have the visibility of your network. That's another big one. 

If a person is interested in the solution, it's important to evaluate the product. Look for a reference customer and dig into the possibilities of the product.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.