Plan and leases
- phpIPAM (+ your DHCP)
- IPAM sheet; DHCP is still Windows/ISC/Kea
- Lattice
- One catalog
Replace
phpIPAM vs DHCP
phpIPAM is the sheet. Lattice is the Offer.
phpIPAM vs DHCP: a reservation in phpIPAM is a comment until something syncs it. In Lattice that write is the next Discover. One catalog. You keep AD, Unbound, or BIND.
On-prem · Ubuntu tarball · Community: 1,000 managed IPs · No phone-home
Beta signup issues a lifetime perpetual Starter license so you can test three-node HA. Not a sale.
Today — two systems
Plan
- Spreadsheet
- dhcpd.conf
DHCP
- MMC scopes
- Lease file
Keep them in sync yourself.
Lattice — one catalog
The reservation you save is the next Offer.
- prefix
- subnet
- pool
- reservation
- assignment
- lease
dhcpd serves these rows. Console writes them. There is no second copy to sync. A/PTR follow the grant into the DNS you already run.
Cutover
Lattice is not a phpIPAM clone. It is not your DNS. It will not import your phpIPAM database as a dump-and-run. Prefixes and subnets you care about get mapped and POSTed. Devices that must keep an IP become reservations. Your existing DHCP is what you turn off at cutover, not phpIPAM’s ping scan.
Playbook: Migrate · HA is not Microsoft failover — three-node VIP.
A Tuesday after cutover
phpIPAM is the sheet. Your DHCP is still someone else. Lattice is one catalog, so the reservation is the Offer.
9:05
What IP does this MAC have?
Helpdesk pastes a suffix. Search lands on the lease. Neteng is not the lookup API.
11:20
Give the printer .10 forever
The reservation you save is the next Offer. No scope to edit, no sheet to sync.
2:40
Laptop will not get an address
Work names the queue. No capture first. There is no primary to restart.
4:10
Who had this IP last Tuesday?
Occupancy is every remaining lease row. As-of a day. CSV. Not Audit, not a ping.
Scale-out / failover
- phpIPAM (+ your DHCP)
- Whatever your DHCP does
- Lattice
- Same pool on every node (Starter: extra dhcpd + three-node VIP). Beta signup includes lifetime Starter.
Find a MAC
- phpIPAM (+ your DHCP)
- phpIPAM search ≠ live lease
- Lattice
- Console search
Who held this IP
- phpIPAM (+ your DHCP)
- Ping scan / last seen — not the grant
DNS
- phpIPAM (+ your DHCP)
- Not the resolver (same as Lattice)
- Lattice
- A/PTR after Ack into DNS you keep
Cutover
- phpIPAM (+ your DHCP)
- Map prefixes/subnets you care about; turn off the DHCP server at cutover, not phpIPAM’s ping scan
- Lattice
- Dump → map → API
What hurts in phpIPAM
The plan is not the grant
phpIPAM holds prefixes. Windows, ISC, or Kea still Offers. A reservation in phpIPAM is a comment until something syncs it.
Used is a ping or a note
There is no lease object that dhcpd must honour. Helpdesk has two consoles and a sheet that might be true.
DHCP is still someone else
You already knew that. The pain is keeping them aligned when a printer MAC changes.
What Lattice does
One catalog
The reservation you save is the next Offer. Assignments (static servers) and tracking-only VLANs sit on the same map.
Who held this IP
Occupancy is lease rows dhcpd already wrote. As-of a day. phpIPAM last-seen is a ping.
dhcpd serves those rows
No second DHCP product to keep in sync. Identical processes, shared Postgres.
Keep your DNS
Names after Ack into AD or BIND. phpIPAM was never the resolver. Neither is Lattice, unless you publish lattice-dns on purpose.
Same pool, any node
Community is one Ubuntu node. Same binaries. A Starter file adds dhcpd processes on the same database (Discover on one node, Ack on another, same pool) and three-node HA behind a VIP. Signup includes a lifetime perpetual Starter license so you can test HA.
FAQ
- Does phpIPAM do DHCP?
- No. phpIPAM is IPAM. It holds a plan. It does not Offer an address. Your DHCP is still Windows, ISC, or Kea.
- phpIPAM vs DHCP — which one do I need?
- Today you need both: phpIPAM (or a sheet) plus a DHCP server. Lattice is both as one catalog. You keep AD, Unbound, or BIND. What DDI is.
- Is phpIPAM a DDI?
- No. phpIPAM is IPAM. Your DHCP is still Windows, ISC, or Kea. Lattice is DHCP and IPAM as one catalog. You keep AD, Unbound, or BIND. What DDI is.
- Can Lattice import my phpIPAM database?
- No dump-and-run. Prefixes and subnets you care about get mapped and POSTed. Devices that must keep an IP become reservations. Your existing DHCP is what you turn off at cutover. Read the migrate playbook.
- Does Lattice replace my DNS?
- No. phpIPAM was never the resolver. Neither is Lattice, unless you publish lattice-dns on purpose. Keep AD, Unbound, or BIND.