Introduction

The CSV Import feature of Grid Manager provides one way to perform "bulk" updates which create or modify many DNS and/or DHCP objects at once. Not every imaginable use case is supported, but most common tasks are fairly straightforward (with one exception: you cannot use CSV Import to delete existing objects).

Note that you can also perform bulk updates using the Grid Manager API; the advantages and disadvantages of each approach vary depending on the nature of the task at hand.

Caution: it is not possible to "undo" or roll back a CSV import after it is run!

Creating CSV Data Files for Import

For your convenience, CITES has created ready-made template data files for a number of common tasks, which can be used for their intended purpose just by reading and following the instructions on this page.

If you wish to adapt any of the templates for other purposes, or to create your own data files from scratch, please refer to the CSV Import Reference guide published by Infoblox (the appliance vendor) which is available from the Help panel in the main window (see Getting Started and Navigating the Interface) or directly from the Infoblox website at NIOS_CSV_Ref_6.5.pdf

Import Modes

Each CSV import operation must be run in one of the following three modes:

Add

Adds a new Grid Manager object based on the data in each row (will fail if an object with the same required field values already exists).

Edit/Overwrite

Uses the required field values in each row to select an existing Grid Manager object (will fail if no suitable object exists), then overwrites any other attributes of that object specified in the remaining columns.

Edit/Merge

Uses the required field values in each row to select an existing Grid Manager object (will fail if no suitable object exists), then fills in any attributes specified in the remaining columns for which the object does not already have a value.

Note that a single CSV import operation can either add new objects to Grid Manager or modify existing objects, but not both. Keep this in mind when creating your data files.

Performing a CSV Import

Once you have created a CSV data file and decided on an import mode, use the following steps to import your data file into Grid Manager:

1. Click "CSV Import" on the Toolbar panel to bring up Import Job Manager.
2. Click the Add (+) icon above the table to create a new job.
3. In the "File Selection" subscreen, click the "Select" button.
4. In the Upload dialog,
   1. Click "Select" and choose a CSV file to upload. The file path should appear in the text box.
   2. Click "Upload".
5. The first few rows of your data file should appear in the File Preview area.
6. In the "Options" subscreen,
   1. Select your chosen import mode: Add, Edit/Overwrite, or Edit/Merge.
   2. Underneath "On error:", choose "Skip to the next row and continue" (recommended).
      Note that no matter which behavior you select here, any rows before the first error row will always take effect.
7. Return to the "File Selection" subscreen and click the "Start" button to begin importing.
8. The "File Selection" subscreen will display the current status of your job.
9. Once the import operation has completed, check the "Rows with Errors" counter to see if there were any errors. If so, click the "Download Errors" button to retrieve another CSV containing the error rows and error messages. Remember: any rows that did not produce errors will still have been imported.

Managing Existing Jobs

You can use the other table buttons within Import Job Manager to reopen the dialog box for a job you have previously submitted (completed or otherwise), or to cancel a job you submitted which has not yet been run.

Templates

The following templates are available to help you perform common tasks via CSV Import.

Each template contains at least one header row which can be used exactly as provided, followed by one or more sample object rows which should be modified (and more rows added if necessary) to reflect the actual data you wish to import. The header row beginning with e.g. "Header-Foobar" tells Grid Manager how to interpret the columns of the corresponding object rows beginning with e.g. "Foobar" (which must be a valid object type).

Some templates include columns whose values are described as optional; you may safely choose to leave these columns blank when filling in your object rows.

• Create new DNS-only Host Records

  Mode: Add

  Importing this spreadsheet will create a new Host Record for the FQDN in each row, with the specified IPv4 and/or IPv6 address(es) and Host Aliases. You must specify at least one address. The "aliases", "EA-Property Tag" (Property Tag extensible attribute) and "comment" values are optional. Host records created using this template will not be enabled for DHCP.

• Create new DHCP-enabled Host Records

  Mode: Add

  This template expands on the previous one to create new Host Records whose IPv4 addresses are also enabled for DHCP. Each new Host record to be created needs one "HostRecord" row specifying the FQDN and all of its associated IPv4 and/or IPv6 addresses (as well as optional "aliases", "EA-Property Tag", and "comment" values), plus one or more "HostAddress" rows which enable the DHCP checkbox and specify the associated MAC address for each individual IPv4 address within the Host.

• Enable DHCP for Existing Host Addresses

  Mode: Edit/Overwrite (required to change configure_for_dhcp from FALSE to TRUE)

  For each row, "parent" and "address" must match the FQDN and an IPv4 address of an existing Host record in IPAM. Importing this spreadsheet will enable the DHCP checkbox for that IPv4 address and overwrite its associated MAC address (as described in Enabling DHCP for an IP address within a Host record).

  Hint: you can obtain names and IP addresses of existing Host records on a network (to use as a starting point) by opening the Network in IPAM view and exporting visible data.

• Create DHCP Fixed Addresses

  Mode: Add

  Importing this spreadsheet will create a new DHCP Fixed Address with the IPv4 address and MAC address specified in each row. The "EA-Property Tag" (Property Tag extensible attribute) and "comment" values are optional.

• Add MAC Addresses to a MAC Address Filter

  Mode: Add

  Importing this spreadsheet will add the MAC address in each row to the MAC Address Filter whose name appears in "parent". The "registered_user", "EA-Property Tag" (Property Tag extensible attribute), and "comment" values are optional.

Exporting data from Grid Manager

Many tables in Grid Manager can be exported as a downloadable CSV in two different ways, using the drop-down menu for the Export (diagonal arrow pointing up+right) icon:

• Choose "Export visible data" to download a CSV containing precisely the columns and values that are actually visible within the current table (i.e. as shown on the screen, except that all pages of the table are included).
• Choose "Export data in Infoblox CSV Import Format" to download a full CSV representation of the IPAM objects that appear in the current table, including all of their configuration attributes.

Hint: you can restrict which rows or objects are included in the CSV by setting a Filter on the table.

Other tables in Grid Manager provide only a single Export button with no drop-down menu, which is equivalent to the "Export visible data" feature described above: