phpIPAM Hosting

How phpIPAM works

Administrators create address spaces and sections, define subnets, and record individual IP addresses with status, hostname, description, owner, and custom metadata. VLANs, devices, racks, locations, circuits, and related objects can be linked to the address plan so the inventory reflects more than a flat list of numbers.

MariaDB stores the network records, permissions, audit history, and configuration. Role-based access lets administrators delegate selected sections or subnets to different teams. The API supports integrations and scripted updates where a source system can reach the hosted service securely.

Key phpIPAM features

Subnet views show used and available addresses, while search helps locate records across the inventory. IPv4 and IPv6 planning, VLAN management, device records, custom fields, import tools, and visual subnet information support day-to-day documentation.

The upstream project offers discovery and scanning functions, but those depend on network reachability and suitable permissions. A public AvaHost application is not automatically connected to an organisation's private LAN, VPN, routers, or DHCP servers. Without a routed path, data must be entered, imported, or supplied through the API rather than discovered directly.

phpIPAM vs SolarWinds IP Address Manager

phpIPAM is a self-hosted IP address inventory and administration application with subnets, addresses, VLANs, devices, permissions, imports, and an API. SolarWinds IP Address Manager is a commercial platform that combines IPAM with automated discovery, scanning, DHCP and DNS management, conflict detection, alerting, reporting, and vendor support.

SolarWinds may suit larger environments that need integrated DDI operations and commercial monitoring workflows. phpIPAM is more appropriate when a team wants a lighter independently hosted source of address records and is prepared to connect or import data through its own network architecture.

Who uses phpIPAM

Hosting providers document allocated ranges, IT departments track office and data-centre subnets, and network engineers record VLANs, devices, circuits, and reserved addresses. Delegated permissions help separate customers, locations, or departments without maintaining disconnected spreadsheets.

The application does not create network reachability. Discovery, ping checks, DNS lookups, and integrations work only where the hosted service can contact the relevant systems, so administrators should avoid assuming that private addresses become visible merely because they were entered into the inventory.

Self-hosting phpIPAM: requirements and cost

Resource use grows with address count, subnet hierarchy, audit history, imports, API traffic, searches, reports, and reachable discovery jobs. MariaDB stores the IPAM dataset and is included with the application but remains unmanaged. The database container is outside the application RAM figure, so the confirmed rule moves the hosted stack to the next plan.

phpIPAM has no separate application charge in the catalogue, and AvaHost recommends Plan 2 at €5. One-click deployment, a custom IPAM domain, automated HTTPS, automatic application updates, and scheduled backups are included. Application email is disabled, and private-network scanning requires customer-provided connectivity that is not part of the standard hosted application.