Microsoft Windows Server IPAM vs phpIPAM

Microsoft Windows Server IPAM is an integrated suite for planning, deploying, managing, and monitoring IP infrastructure from a central interface. It automatically discovers IP infrastructure and DNS servers, manages DHCP scopes and failover, and organizes IP address blocks and ranges. Its DNS functions collect zone and resource-record data and allow administrators to create, edit, or delete records through the console. IPAM logs DNS configuration changes made there and includes built-in role-based access-control roles and access scopes. Microsoft describes installing it on a dedicated member server with WID or SQL Server storage. GPO-based provisioning supports DHCP, DNS, and domain-controller discovery. DNS collection works only with domain-joined Microsoft DNS servers; third-party and non-domain-joined DNS servers are unsupported. Microsoft lists applicability to Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2025, plus Azure Local 2311.2 and later. Windows Server 2025 Standard is $1,176, paid once; Datacenter is $6,771, paid once.

phpIPAM is a self-hosted web application for managing IPv4 and IPv6 address space. It organizes addresses into sections and subnets and displays available subnet space. Network tools include VLAN and VRF management, NAT support, rack management, an address calculator, automatic subnet scanning, and IP status checks. Administrators can set group permissions for sections and subnets; listed authentication options include AD, LDAP, and Radius. The application also lists PowerDNS integration and a REST API for use by other software. URL rewriting is required for the API, and its documentation recommends SSL to protect Basic authentication credentials. Installation requires Apache with PHP or Nginx with PHP-FPM, plus a MySQL server. The software is free at free. Stable files are available through GitHub and SourceForge, and development releases through GitHub. A demo installation is available, while community support is directed to GitHub. The project also offers help with custom development, integration, bug fixes, and installation or upgrades.