Simple IPs Manager — Lightweight Tool for IP Inventory & MonitoringIn modern IT environments—whether a small office, a growing startup, or a distributed remote team—keeping track of IP addresses is a deceptively complex task. Address conflicts, undocumented devices, forgotten DHCP reservations, and scattered spreadsheets all contribute to downtime and wasted time. Simple IPs Manager aims to solve these problems with a focused, lightweight approach: maintain an accurate IP inventory, monitor address usage, and make lookups and reporting simple and fast.
What Simple IPs Manager Does
Simple IPs Manager organizes your network addressing information in a single, accessible place. Instead of scattered spreadsheets, sticky notes, or ad-hoc documentation, it provides a minimal but powerful feature set tailored to common IP management needs:
- IP inventory and allocation tracking (IPv4 and IPv6)
- Subnet and VLAN grouping
- Hostname and MAC address association
- Status labels (active, reserved, decommissioned)
- Searchable notes and tags per entry
- CSV import/export for easy data migration
- Basic monitoring/uptime checks for assigned IPs
- User roles and simple access control for team collaboration
Why “Lightweight” Matters
Many enterprises rely on full-featured IPAM products that are powerful but complex and costly to deploy and maintain. Simple IPs Manager targets users who need clarity and control without that overhead:
- Quick deployment: install or run as a single binary / container
- Low resource usage: suitable for a Raspberry Pi, low-end VPS, or corporate server
- Minimal configuration: sensible defaults so you can start adding entries immediately
- Small learning curve: intuitive UI and straightforward workflows
- Focused feature set: avoids rarely used enterprise bells and whistles
Core Features — Detailed Breakdown
IP Inventory and Allocation
Track IPv4 and IPv6 addresses with required fields such as hostname, MAC address, assigned user, and contact. Each record supports notes and tags so teams can store routing info, device serial numbers, or purchase order references.
Subnet & VLAN Management
Group addresses into subnets, define subnet masks, and attach VLAN IDs. The manager can compute available hosts within subnets and highlight overlapping allocations to prevent conflicts.
Status & Lifecycle Management
Use status labels (active, reserved, free, maintenance, deprecated) to reflect real-world device states. Filter and bulk-update statuses to manage reassignments or decommissioning waves.
Search, Filters & Bulk Operations
Powerful search supports CIDR ranges, hostnames, MACs, and tags. Bulk actions include importing CSVs, exporting selected ranges, and batch-updating tags or statuses.
Import/Export and Integrations
CSV import/export for easy migration from spreadsheets or legacy IPAMs. REST API endpoints allow automation scripts to query or update records; webhooks can notify other systems when changes occur.
Lightweight Monitoring
Basic monitoring pings or HTTP checks assigned to IPs on configurable intervals. Alerts (email/Slack/webhook) trigger on state changes. Monitoring is intentionally minimal to avoid the complexity of full NMS platforms.
User Management & Security
Role-based access (admin, editor, viewer) controls who can add, edit, or delete records. Basic audit logs capture change history. TLS and simple auth mechanisms protect the web UI and API.
Typical Use Cases
- Small IT teams replacing spreadsheets with a centralized inventory
- MSPs managing multiple small networks with clear, separate workspaces
- Home labs and testers who want a reliable, low-cost IP tracker
- Organizations wanting a lightweight complement to a full NMS or IPAM
Deployment Scenarios
- Containerized: run as a Docker container behind your existing reverse proxy and TLS termination
- Single binary: download and run on Linux for quick trials or small installations
- Lightweight VM: deploy on an inexpensive VPS for central access across distributed teams
- Local server: run internally on a Raspberry Pi or NUC for offline or air-gapped networks
Example Docker docker-compose snippet:
version: "3.7" services: simple-ips-manager: image: simple-ips-manager:latest ports: - "8080:8080" volumes: - ./data:/app/data restart: unless-stopped Benefits Over Spreadsheets
- Prevents accidental duplicates and address conflicts through validation rules
- Faster lookups with indexed searches and CIDR-aware queries
- Centralized access control reduces accidental overwrites
- Automated monitoring removes manual checks and stale entries
- Easier auditability and historical tracking of assignments
Limitations and What It’s Not
Simple IPs Manager intentionally avoids feature bloat. It is not meant to replace enterprise IPAMs with deep DHCP/DNS integration, advanced IP discovery, or large-scale network automation out of the box. For environments needing complex DNS/DHCP orchestration, integration with dedicated systems or upgrades to full IPAM solutions will be necessary.
Best Practices for Adoption
- Migrate existing spreadsheets via CSV import; preserve original files as backup.
- Define a tagging and status convention (e.g., tag by location/team; statuses: active/reserved/decommissioned).
- Set up role-based users before bulk changes to limit accidental edits.
- Schedule periodic audits: run export & validation scripts monthly to catch drift.
- Use the REST API for any automation to keep a single source of truth.
Example Workflows
- Onboarding a new device: create a new record, assign IP, set status to active, add monitoring check, and notify the team via webhook.
- Decommissioning: change status to deprecated, add decommissioning date, remove monitoring, and bulk-export affected entries for asset disposal records.
- Network expansion: create new subnets, mass-import planned allocations, and flag reserved ranges for future use.
Pricing & Licensing (Typical Models)
- Free/community tier: single-instance, basic features, and limited users
- Pro/self-hosted: paid license for larger teams and advanced API rate limits
- Hosted SaaS: subscription with managed hosting, backups, and support
Conclusion
Simple IPs Manager provides a pragmatic, low-friction solution to the everyday problem of keeping IP address records accurate and accessible. It trades complexity for usability while still offering the core features teams need: inventory, grouping, lightweight monitoring, and integrations. For small-to-mid environments and labs, it closes the gap between fragile spreadsheets and heavyweight enterprise IPAMs—helping prevent outages, accelerate troubleshooting, and save time.
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