Supported Platforms for Hosts

Default DNS server for NIOS-X servers is the Infoblox Threat Defense public anycast that can resolve all *.infoblox.com domains publically (52.119.41.100 or, formerly, 52.119.40.100)

Datasheet for On-Prem Hosts is here. Note: B1-105 is EOS/EOL. Dell is no longer selling the VEP line of appliances.

NIOS-X Virtual Server

• Dell VEP-1425 6,800 QPS @85% CHR | 320 LPS
• Dell VEP-1485 6,800 QPS @85% CHR | 400 LPS
• B1-105 - 2,000 QPS @85% CHR | 80 LPS

• AWS is the timesource for Infoblox Portal.

Each NIOS-X server will be the IP of ns.b1ddilocal.infoblox.com.

• NOA = NextGen OnPrem Agent = Next Generation On Premise Agent
• CSP = Cloud Services Portal = cps.infoblox.com/csp.eu.infoblox.com = Single Point of Admin for all Cloud based Infoblox Products. Now called “Infoblox Portal”.
• OPH = On-Prem Hosts. Now called NIOS-X servers
• Docker = 17.09 and below (except for 17.05 and 17.06), or 18.09 and above. Kubernetes is not supported. Always check the latest documentation. CPU 4 core, 8 GB RAM, 64GB disk
• VMware OVA = ESXi 5.5, 6.0 and 6.5. VM can be 1 core with 0.5 GB RAM but will default to 4 cores and 8 GB RAM. I run my home lab pair of B1DDI/B1TD on 1 core and 0.5Gb of RAM.
• BloxOne B1-105 Appliance. Compact. Fanless. Zero-Touch Provisioning. Connected back to CSP automatically. Infoblox add them to the appropriate portal as part of the sales process.

The following should always work

dig @52.119.41.100 +short A www.infoblox.com

dig @threatdefense.bloxone.infoblox.com +short A www.infoblox.com

nslookup www.infoblox.com threatdefense.bloxone.infoblox.com

The following will only work when querying from a public IP that is in an External Network definition in your Infoblox Threat Defense Tenant.

dig @52.119.41.100 +short A www.google.com

The B1-105 appliance can be rebuilt using the ISO image that is available for the Dell VEP servers.

• Download the ISO image from the CSP portal (CSP > Administration > Downloads > On-Prem Hosts). You want the Dell VEP 1425/1485 image.
• Use that ISO image and create a bootable USB stick with it. The commands below use the 7-Zip command-line utility tool to do this.
  • On Linux: (Assuming /dev/sdb1 is the USB drive)
    • apt install p7zip-full
    • mkdir -p /mnt/usb && mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/usb
    • 7z x ~/Downloads/bloxone-appliance-vX.Y.iso -o/mnt/usb
  • On Mac OS: (Assuming /dev/disk2 is the USB drive)
    • brew install p7zip
    • diskutil list
    • diskutil eraseDisk FAT32 BLOXONE MBRFormat /dev/disk2
    • diskutil mountDisk /dev/disk2
    • 7z x ~/Downloads/bloxone-appliance-vX.Y.iso -o/Volumes/BLOXONE
  • On Microsoft Windows (Assuming F:\ is the USB drive)
    • “C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe” x C:\Downloads\bloxone-appliance-vX.Y.iso -oF:\

Check that the host serial is in the CSP still and that its state is one of the following: “Pending/Awaiting Approval/Review Details”.

Now we reset the BIOS.

• Connect a USB keyboard and also a monitor with a VGA cable to the B1-105 appliance.
• Connect the power brick that comes with the appliance to the appliance (but don't plug it into the mains yet).
• Connect an ethernet cable using the LAN2 port on the front of the appliance. (You must use the LAN2 port to connect the appliance in the initial setup. Once the appliance is up and running, you can use both the LAN1 and LAN2 ports in your configuration.)
• To power up the appliance, connect the power cable to a power source. Power up the appliance by pressing the power button and releasing it quickly. The monitor screen will display the copyright screen. Press <DEL> or <ESC> to enter setup.
• On the BIOS screen, choose Restore Defaults.
• Press F4 to save the selection and exit the screen.
• When prompted with Save & Exit?, select Yes and press Enter.

Now we install the ISO image.

• Insert the bootable USB drive that you created earlier, and then restart the appliance by pressing the power button.
• Press <DEL> or <ESC> to enter setup in the BIOS screen.
• Select the Boot Option #1 as your USB drive.
• If the USB drive not detected in Boot Options, select the Hard Drive BBS Priorities and change the order for Boot Options #1 to the detected USB drive.
• Press F4 to save the selection and exit the screen.
• When prompted with Save & Exit?, select Yes and press Enter.
• Before installing the Image on the box, it would display stdin: not a typewriter; checking integrity, this may take some time.
• The first option Install BloxOne Appliance on To be filled by O.E.M. serial xxxxxxx is selected by default and the installation starts automatically if you do not already have the same ISO image pre-installed on the appliance.
• If you have the same ISO image pre-installed on the appliance, the second option Boot from next volume is selected and you must manually select the first option if you want to reinstall the same ISO image.
• The installation starts automatically once you select an option and may take up to 30 minutes to complete.
• The appliance restarts by itself.
• If your network does not have DHCP servers available, the appliance will fall back to the default IP address 192.168.1.2. Configure the B1-105 appliance through an internet browser.

After you have successfully installed the ISO image and connected the physical appliance to the Cloud Services Portal, the appliance will automatically enter the Awaiting Approval state. You will be able to log in to the Cloud Services Portal and approve. After approval it would take 30 minutes or so to complete to ONLINE status.

It is important to make sure we give ample amount of time for the appliance to complete each of its milesstones as said above or else we may not achieve the desired results.