Import subnets in IPAM

11/29/2018 10:39 PM

6/5/2026 4:04 PM

This article provides steps on how to  import subnet structure (including subnets, groups, supernets, IPv6 Subnets, IPv6 sites and global prefixes) into IPAM. 

IP Address Manager

1. Create a .csv, .xls, or .xlsx spreadsheet. This needs a column showing the Type (i.e. subnets, groups, supernets, IPv6 Subnets, IPv6 sites and global prefixes) of each entity being imported. This is the only required field. You can also add the following:
   • Address/CIDR
   • Address
   • Mask
   • CIDR
   • Display Name
   • Group Description
   • Scan Interval
   • Node Expunge Interval
   • Retain User Data (Y/N)
   • Transient Period
   • Disable Auto Scanning (Y/N)
   • Disable Neighbor Scanning (Y/N)
   • Neighbor Scan Address
   • Neighbor Scan Interval
   • VLAN
   • Location

   Additional columns can be created and then imported by creating custom fields in step 11.

2. Go to My Dashboards > IP Addresses > Manage Subnets and IP Addresses.
3. Click Import > Import spreadsheet.
4. If you have not selected to hide it, the Preparing to import a spreadsheet is displayed.
   This screen gives links to example spreadsheets for importing IP addresses and Subnets. You can also find these sample import spreadsheets located on your Primary Polling Engine or Additional Web Server within the website directory: 

   <DRIVE:>\inetpub\SolarWinds\Orion\IPAM\res\samples

   Click Next to continue.
5. Select the spreadsheet you want to import.
6. Select Group/Supernets/Subnets, and click Next.
7. Match the IPAM column names to the column names within the spreadsheet using the dropdown buttons.
   Select "[Do not import]" if you do not want to import a field.

   

8. Select whether you want IPAM to create the subnet hierarchy from the information provided or to import into a single folder called Subnet/Supernet/Group which you can organize later. Click Next.
9. The information is now validated and any problems displayed.
10. If there are problems, the columns or portions are displayed in red. If you need help in determining the problem, export the results to the spreadsheet to check. Adjust as needed and re-import.

    A common error is caused by trying to import a blank field when IPAM is expecting Y or N, such as Retain User Data. In this case, select "[Do not import]" from the field dropdown.

    If errors involve IP addresses and CIDRs, you can use a subnet calculator such as that provided by MXToolBox (© Copyright 2004-2018 MXToolBox Inc., available at https://mxtoolbox.com, obtained on Dec 30, 2021) to verify addresses and CIDRs.

11. If your spreadsheet has additional columns that you want to add to IPAM, a Custom Fields page is displayed. Here you can click Add Custom Field to add this column as a custom field.

    For more information on custom fields, see Creating and configuring custom fields.

12. Click Next.
13. Confirm the fields to import, and click Import.

    Important: Overwrite Behavior and Pre-Import Validation

    The import will overwrite existing data. If a subnet or IP address in your spreadsheet already exists in the target address space, the import will overwrite the existing entry's fields with the values from your spreadsheet. The official documentation states: "The import may overwrite existing subnets of the same address spaces."

    Reference: Import IP addresses from a spreadsheet

    There is no built-in "simulate" or dry-run mode. The validation step in the Import Wizard (step 10 above) only checks the integrity of your spreadsheet data — it flags errors such as invalid IPs, CIDR mismatches, and blank fields where Y/N is expected. It does NOT show a comparison or diff against existing data in the database. The "Confirm choices" page is a preview of your spreadsheet data mapped to IPAM fields, not a comparison against what currently exists.

    Recommended pre-import workflow:

    1. Export your current data first — From the target subnet in Manage Subnets & IP Addresses, use the Export option to save the existing data to a spreadsheet. This serves as both a baseline for comparison and a rollback reference.

    2. Compare in Excel — Open both the export and your import file side by side. Filter for entries that appear in both files to identify exactly which values will be overwritten.

    3. Take a database backup — Run a full SQL backup of the SolarWinds database before importing. This is the safety net for a complete rollback if needed.

    4. Pilot on one small subnet — Start with a small subset of your import data. Import it, verify the results in the Web Console, and confirm the behavior matches expectations before running the full import.

    Additional considerations:

    • If your environment has overlapping address spaces (same IP ranges in different VRFs or sites), the import may fail with an "Overlapping with Subnet" error. To resolve this, navigate to Settings > All Settings > IPAM Settings > System Settings and enable "Enable Duplicate Subnets," then retry the import. See: IPAM import of IP address custom fields fails with "Overlapping with Subnet"

    • After import, IPAM's automatic subnet scanning will run. If the scan does not find a specific value for a custom field for a given IP address, it may overwrite the existing value with a blank or default value. To prevent this, mark imported IP addresses as Static within IPAM, or use the "Update without erasing manually entered data" scan setting on the target subnets. See: After setting an IP Address to Used in IPAM it can change status to available after some time

14. Go to the Manage Subnets and IP Addresses page to see the result of this import.

NOTE:

• The structure spreadsheet contains two columns, ID and ParentId, which are used to organize the structure. While using sample files (or export) numbers starts from 1 with an increment of 1 (1, 2, 3, ...) but this is not essential and any numbers can be used as long as they can reflect the structure correctly.