Table of Contents

Infoblox Hardware

RMA

Data on hardware support

Data on hardware RMA

Disk Partition Size

Hardware Swap

Hardware HA Swap

Datasheets

Documentation

Physical Appliances

Shipping Box Size

Shipping box size:

Network

NIOS Network Interfaces

(Also true for Infoblox NIOS VM)

NIOS Fibre Ports

TE-906 and TE-805 hardware supports copper only. 10/100/1000M

TE-1506, TE-1606, TE-2306, TE-4306, TE-1405, TE-2205 and TE-4005 hardware support variants that have fibre.

You cannot change format after purchase. You purchase a devices with either Copper OR SFP ports (X5 generation, you have to choose between SFP or SFP+ at purchase. X6 fibre option allows for both SFP and SFP+). The device is then fixed with those ports for the rest of its life. However, if you get a SFP+ box that is part of the X6 series, you can insert SFP optics and copper adapter optics in (this is not true of X5 series where there are separate models for 1G fibre and 10G fibre). If you get a SFP box, you can use copper adapters. You can also mix and match. e.g. if you have a SFP+ box, you can use SFP+ for LAN1 and SFP for HA.

It isn't possible to determine from CLI/UI what SFP transceivers are installed or whether the device uses copper or fibre. It is possible with “show interface” on the EOL PT-xxxx appliances and EOS TE-4030 appliance. Those EOS appliances have the following in the “show interface” output 

SFP Type:    Copper
SFP Model:  Finisar(FCLF-8521-3)

Having said that, look at the MAC addresses. The following is an incomplete list of fibre MAC addresses that would indicate a fibre card.

Optical transceivers are available. Details are here (all the same) for TE-1506, TE-1606, TE-2306, and TE-4106.

Note on “SX” - Cisco 1000BASE-SX SFP is fully covered in the standard IEEE 802.3z and it can only be operated over multimode fiber, such as OM1 and OM2. The letter “S” in the term “SX” stands for short range.

X6 fibre hardware supports (see documentation links above):

Disks

NIOS Disks SKU

The following SKUs are for hard drives. Before buying a hard drive, confirm you have the right size by providing support with a tech support bundle and getting them to confirm.

NIOS Disk Drives for X5

The Trinzic TE-1415 and TE-1425 appliances, and Advanced Appliance PT-1405 each provide one (1) Infoblox hard disk storage device.

The Trinzic Reporting TR-1405 appliance, and Network Insight ND-1405 appliance provides two (2) hard disks in a RAID 1 array.

We can use the hard drives in the SKU intended for the 1405 appliance to replace the existing drives of 1405 appliance. The hard disk drives are located behind the drive bay doors and the appliance cover needs to be removed for the hard drive replacement.

Power

Power Cables

Infoblox does not sell or supply C13-C14 cables. These cables typically used to connect appliances to UPS strips.

Power Sockets around the world and images of plug types.

This page provides the electrical appliance connector types

B105 and B212 comes with a US Power cord by default. If country specific cord is added (e.g. UK), you end up with two power cables, the default US cord and the country specific cord.

With X5 and X6 hardware, you only get one cord and it is set at time of sale (e.g. US, UK, etc)

Power Cable SKU

Cables offered by Infoblox. All are C13 connector (kettle lead) at one end and country specific at the other end.

SKU Description Gauge Applies to
IB-POWER-CORD Power Cord - Group A 18 Gauge (10 amps) X5 hardware & B1-212
IB-POWER-CORD-14G Power Cord - Group B, 14 Gauge 14 Gauge (15 amps) X6 hardware (and X5)
IB-POWER-CORD-B1 Cable, AC Power Cord, BloxOne 18 Gauge (10 amps) B1-105

NOTE: On quotes, the country type will be added to the end of the SKU. e.g.

B1-105 has its own SKU due to supply channel sources.

NIOS PSU SKU

These are suitable for TE-1405 and TE-2205, TE-906, TE-1506, TE-1606, TE-2306 and TE-4106 hardware.

NOTE: Although you can technical remove a PSU from a TE-1405 or TE-2205 appliance and use it in an X6 appliance, you should not do this for a long term. Although they are the same SKU, more recent productions of the PSU have a higher MTBF span and these should be used rather than older X5 PSUs. You cannot mix AC/DC.

NOTE: Officially, the dual PSU TE-906-2AC is NOT hot swappable.

NOTE: When ordering the TE-1506 hardware with dual PSU, the TE-1506 will ship with one PSU and the second PSU will be shipped in a separate package. The second PSU will need to be unboxed and installed into the TE-1506 chassis by the end user.

NOTE: You can use X5 PSU in X6 hardware. However, the warranty will stay with the X5 PSU if it has been used for sometime. It is recommend to buy new PSU with new hardware as PSU has shelf life of about 2 years due to the components inside the PSU aging. You cannot mix the AC/DC PSU within the same chassis.

NIOS PSU Power Draw

PSU Rated limits can be found in the datasheet.

Hardware Typical Draw Max Draw PSU Max Documentation
TE-906 250 W 300 W 400W TE-906
TE-906-2AC 250 W 300 W 600W TE-906
TE-1506 375 W 475 W 600W TE-1506
TE-1606 375 W 475 W 600W TE-1606
TE-2306 450 W 500 W 600W TE-2306
TE-4106 450 W 500 W 600W TE-4106

Racking Hardware

NIOS Air Flow

Air flow through Trinzic hardware is “Front to back”.

As per docs

“Ensure that you install the appliance in an environment that allows open air to the front and back of the appliance. Do not obstruct the appliance or block air flow going from the front to the back of the appliance.”

NIOS Racking Rails

Factory ships all NIOS hardware with the adjustable kit. If fixed kit is needed, that must be purchased separately.

TE-906, TE-1506 and TE-1606 are all 1U.

TE-2306 and TE-4106 are 2U.

Rack Mounting Safety Requirements

The Infoblox appliance draws air in through the front of the chassis and expels air through the rear. Adequate ventilation is required to allow ambient room air to enter the system chassis and to be expelled from the rear of the chassis.

The following space and airflow requirements are required for the Infoblox TE-906 system operation:

NIOS-X

NIOS-X Performance

Recommended for Small Branches Medium Branches Large Branches
DHCP Leases
Per Second (LPS)* 		25 300 400
DNS Queries
Per Second (QPS)* 		160 @ 0% CHR
681 @ 85% CHR
1.6K @ 100% CHR 		700 @ 0% CHR
2.9K @ 85% CHR
7K @ 100% CHR 		2.4K @ 0% CHR
6.8K @ 85% CHR
8.8K @ 100% CHR

*The stated performance numbers are for reference only. They represent the results of lab testing in a controlled environment focused on individual protocol services. Enabling additional protocols, services, cache hit ratio for recursive DNS, and customer environment variables will affect performance. To design and size a solution for a production environment, please contact your local Infoblox Systems Engineer.

B105

Also known as B1-105.

Single PSU only. Power Brick takes standard kettle lead (C13).

Infoblox announced that the EOS date for B105 is 31 Oct 2024. B105 only comes with 1 year warranty so that means all B105 will be out-of-hardware support on 31 Oct 2025.

Possibly

B212

The B212 (a.k.a B1-212) is a Dell VEP 1425 with an Infoblox logo and 1 year warranty from Infoblox. From January 2025 it is possible to purchase renewable maintenance contracts for B212 hardware. It does include a TPM module for possible future use and the “standard” VEP 1425 from Dell does not include this.

Single PSU only. Power Brick takes standard kettle lead (C13)

If you need more than 1 year hardware warranty, you need to by a Dell VEP 1425 directly from Dell.

Serial console works with Dell VEP 1425. 

Dell EMC Networking Versa ready VEP1425, 4 core, 8GB RAM, 16GeMMC, 120GSSD

Optional “Dual-Unit Tray” - VEP1405 supports desktop placement (rubber feet), wall mount (using brackets), and rack mount using the optional dual-unit tray (data sheet)

Dell VEP

Infoblox supports the two following Dell VEP servers for NIOS-X

Dell VEP Rack Mount Kit data here and SKU is 770-BCZE.

VEP1425 (210-AREH) (Has WiFi and Bluetooth. Avoid for Infoblox)

VEP1425N (210-BCBE)

VEP1485 (210-AWIQ) (Has WiFi and Bluetooth but also 64GB RAM and extra 2TB SSD)

VEP1485N (210-BCBB)

NIOS Hardware Status

Example output of show hardware_status 

hostname > show hardware_status 
CPU_TEMP:  29 C
SYS_TEMP: 27 C
POWER:  Power #1 OK TYPE:AC FRU-ID:PWS-606P-1R SN:P606PCL03VV4222
POWER:  Power #2 OK TYPE:AC FRU-ID:PWS-606P-1R SN:P606PCL03VV4333
FAN1:   7400
FAN2:   7600
FAN3:   7500
FAN4:   7500
FAN5:   7600
FAN6:   7500

RAID_ARRAY: OPTIMAL
RAID_DISK1: ONLINE, IB-Type14
RAID_DISK2: ONLINE, IB-Type14
RAID_DISK3: ONLINE, IB-Type14
RAID_DISK4: ONLINE, IB-Type14
RAID_BATTERY: RAID battery OK

Hardware EOL

Model GA End of Life End of Extended Support Service Life
Trinzic A Q1 2009 Q1 2016 Q4 2017 8 Years
Trinzic X0 Q4 2011 Q1 2021 Q1 2023 11 Years
Trinzic X5 Q3 2016 Q2 2026 Q2 2028 11.5 Years
Trinzic X6 Q3 2023

NIOS Console Cable

Documentation. (In this case, TE-1506 hardware)

Physical NIOS appliances have a male DB-9 console port on its front panel.

HAS TO BE A NULL MODEM CABLE - Null modem, also called crossover, is a term associated with serial (RS-232) cables. A standard serial cable, also called an AT cable, has the wires inside the cable running straight through. Take a DB9 cable as an example. Pin 1 on one end of the cable would be connected to Pin 1 on the other end. Then Pin 2 to 2, 3 to 3, and so on. Null modem cables are serial cables that use an alternative pinout for different functionality.

https://docs.infoblox.com/space/IIGF2SA/36834963/Connecting+to+the+Appliance

Examples of cables/adapters that should work:

Another set of examples are getting USB Hub to connect to NIOS hardware

If buying a DB-9 female to RJ45 female adapter, that can be a “normal” one. The important thing is to get the DB-9 cable (female-female) to be the correct type (see above).

If creating a DB-9_to_RJ45 adapter, the pin out is as follows:

DB9 RJ-45
7 8
4 7
3 6
5 5
5 4
2 3
6 2
8 1

Hardware vs Virtual

One question many uses ask is “Should I have hardware appliances or virtual appliances?”.

In the majority of cases, Infoblox does not have an interest in whether customers deploy physical or hardware appliances. It is up to the individual customer for their specific circumstances and requirements.

The following list of pros/cons of running hardware is intended simply to provided some consideration points when thinking about your own environment.

Worldwide there are major enterprises that deploy fully in cloud and other fully on-prem; some fully physical and some fully virtual. Often is it actually a combination of physical and virtual.

Advantages of Hardware

Challenges with Hardware

As a side note; a common time for PSU to fail is at reboot of appliance due to temporary surge of power at boot.

NOTE: the “challenges” below are not necessarily problems or challenges to everyone. In some cases they can be viewed as beneficial. The main point of the list below is to give you things to consider around processes. Make sure you have a plan for every eventuality. Consider high-availabily for member deployment and also consider “on-site spare” if you have deployed in a region that does not have next-day delivery.

Other Thoughts

For HA pairs, do NOT mix physical and virtual. The only reason it is supported is to allow a physical HA pair to be migrated to a virtual HA pair (or vice-versa).

Don't forget the hybrid approach. A frequent concern is service availability if the hypervisor/storage is impacted. Quite often customers will consider visualizing the non-service members of a Grid such as reporting and network discovery. The GM/GMC could also be virtualized as they shouldn't be/don't serve DNS/DHCP. You could also consider physical appliances for one DC and virtual for another, etc.

If you go for hardware for GM/GMC, it is a good idea for GM to be HA. Why? If you try and promote the GMC and it doesn't come back, you are now without back if GM goes down until RMA completes. If you try and upgrade GM and something goes wrong (e.g. hardware failure), a HA GM means you still have a UI to log into and troubleshoot. if the GM isn't HA, you would have to promote the GMC and that will reboot all members of the Grid (with an impact to service).