Network Inventory and Configuration Management

ZipTie is a framework for Network Inventory and Configuration Management. ZipTie allows you to easily discover all devices in your network to create a comprehensive inventory and to manage the configuration of those devices. Every installation includes a suite of tools to help manage your network. In addition, ZipTie is constantly under development and leverages a large community of network experts who share their tools, device adapters, and experience. It allows you to create or import your own custom tools or download them from the ZipTie community. The software is free to download, use, and distribute. ZipTie.org is the community site and tools exchange for Open Network Inventory and Configuration Management.
To view/download ZipTie's datasheet, click here.

For a more detailed explanation of ZipTie, please read this technical white paper by Roger Castillo, AlterPoint's CTO entitled ZipTie Network Inventory Management Framework - enabling the next era of network management tools.


The Problem
Today, most network engineers use a combination of proprietary, vendor-supplied network management systems and a "bag o' tools" comprising scripts and home grown applications written and maintained internally, but there is no standardization. As networks become more complex and include more unique and specialized hardware to perform specific duties within the network infrastructure, being able to manage them becomes increasingly more difficult. The proprietary network management systems—also known as element management systems—sadly only serve the purpose of that specific hardware vendor and not the greater network as a whole.


Who uses ZipTie and why?
The ZipTie project was created to provide a better option for the multi-vendor infrastructures. ZipTie provides a vendor-independent approach for maintaining a reliable and consistent inventory of network configurations.
These are some of the key stakeholders for ZipTie:
Enterprise Network Operations Team
Provides an open and flexible alternative to proprietary vendor supplied tools
Network Equipment Vendors
Enables development of unique device management tools on an open source framework
Network and System Management Vendors
Allows vendors to embed and extend ZipTie's open mediation layer in their products


What does ZipTie do?
ZipTie features include:
Discovery, backup and restoration of network device configurations
Comparison of network device configurations across devices and over time
Detection of configuration changes
Distribution of single- and multi-device configuration changes
Organized, extensible set of tools for performing administration tasks to any network device
Single, common ‘language’ for controlling the configuration of any network device, regardless of manufacturer
For details on future plans of ZipTie, see the ZipTie roadmap.


Why is it named ZipTie?
While the project was being conceived, AlterPoint hosted an internal naming contest and the development management team selected ZipTie as the winner. The nomination came from Brett Wooldridge, who not so ironically is now the development project lead on the ZipTie project. Brett’s explanation behind the name is that zip ties brings a lot of order in the chaotic cabled side of networks and that this project is chartered to bring order to the software management tools side.