NIPAP vs OpenNetAdmin
NIPAP
spritelink.github.ioOpenNetAdmin
opennetadmin.comSide by side
| Figure | NIPAP | OpenNetAdmin |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · IP Address Management Software | 8.3 (#9) | 8.1 (#12) |
| Deployment | The maker officially supports Debian and Debian derivatives; it says NIPAP should also run on Unix-like systems with manual dependency installation. | The download page offers the current release, tagged releases, and add-ons; the project README instructs users to install it on a web server. |
| Integrations | The maker lists Python and Java client libraries and a web interface that communicates with the backend through an XML-RPC API. | User-defined host action links can connect records to tools such as Splunk, Nagios, Cacti, and Base; the page describes Puppet and MCollective integration as in progress. |
| License | NIPAP is open source under the MIT license. | The project repository says OpenNetAdmin is released under the GPLv2.0 license. |
| Purpose | NIPAP is an IP address management system built to handle large amounts of IP addresses. | OpenNetAdmin tracks IP network attributes, including subnets, hosts, IP addresses, MAC addresses, and DNS names. |
| Support | The maker directs users to GitHub issues for bugs, feature requests, and other issues. | The community page directs users to GitHub issues for questions and problem reports and provides documentation links. |
Plans
In their own words
NIPAP
NIPAP is a self-hosted IP address management system for large address inventories. It offers a web interface and a feature-complete command-line tool, and can allocate the next available address automatically. Search supports IP prefix operators and regular expressions. IPv6 has feature parity with IPv4, and VRFs are supported natively. The system also includes subnet planning, integrated statistics, and audit history. Address data is stored and indexed in PostgreSQL with the ip4r module. The backend communicates through an XML-RPC API, and the project lists Python and Java client libraries. NIPAP is open source under the MIT license and is free. Debian and Debian derivatives are officially supported; the maker says other Unix-like systems may run it with manual dependency installation. Installation involves configuring authentication accounts for both the backend and web interface. The maker describes user documentation as rather limited and directs users to GitHub issues for bugs, feature requests, and other issues.
OpenNetAdmin
OpenNetAdmin is a free, open-source, self-hosted IP address management system for tracking network attributes and supporting configuration work. Its inventory can include DNS names, IP addresses, subnets, MAC addresses, IPv6 addresses, VLANs, DHCP pools, NAT, and custom attributes. Administrators can manage records through an AJAX-enabled web interface or use the command-line interface for scripting and bulk work. The project describes the inventory as manually maintained and authoritative, with discovery tools helping to populate and audit it. Templates and backend processes can generate DNS, DHCP, and router configurations, including for distributed servers. Other capabilities include overlapping DNS views, plugins, LDAP and local authentication, and configuration archives with syntax-highlighted comparisons. BIND-DLZ can query the ONA database directly, and host actions can link to applications such as Splunk, Nagios, Cacti, and Base. The core is released under GPLv2.0, though some add-ons may have separate licenses. The features page says multiple database backends are possible, but only MySQL is tested.