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Check Point has produced a solid product, with many new features. One of the more prominent is its faster Java-based GUI, though it still doesn't quite meet the standard set by Shadow IP and NetID. MetaIP's GUI includes search capabilities, and additional auditing and reporting capabilities. Each of the resource records can now have a comment.

Because MetaIP does not rely on an external database, it is designed for network administrators only. Like Shadow IP and Join, MetaIP manages its databases internally, which makes setup and installation a snap. We found it quite a bit easier to deal with MetaIP's database than it was to cope with NetID's database (but if you have a SQL presence within your organization, this may not be an issue for you).

MetaIP supports Hewlett-Packard Co.'s HP-UX 10.20, Sun Microsystems Solaris 2.6 and Linux. With Unix support, MetaIP now has the unique capability to control non-MetaIP daemons. For instance, MetaIP can install a management daemon on a Unix machine that is currently running a BIND 8.2 server. This management daemon creates the files that the BIND server reads; when those files need to be updated, the MetaIP management daemon sends a Unix signal to the BIND server. The signal is interpreted by most standard daemons as a reconfigure command. This method allows for seamless integration of current, potentially custom, servers to be managed by MetaIP. It's possibly a perfect way to handle those political footballs out there.

Along with the addition of contextdependent popup menus to its GUI, MetaIP has added a new feature called "manage leases state," which allows you to manage any leases that are available. We were able to turn them from dynamic to static hosts, as well as delete active leases. While other products spread most of this functionality throughout their GUIs, MetaIP let us carry out all these tasks in one place.

As we would expect from the security experts at Check Point, the company wants to integrate the IP management information with its security products, most notably its firewalls. Check Point is also bringing out a user-to-address map (UAM) server. This unit is integrated into the normal NOS servers (such as Novell and NT Server), and will provide a way to link a user to an IP address, if the person is running a single-user OS. The UAM server is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to become an important piece for many network managers.

MetaIP, $24,995 for 5,000 nodes, Check Point Software Technologies, (650) 628-2000, fax (650) 654-4233, www.checkpoint.com or info@checkpoint.com