Add an interfaces list view

[darcynz]

Environment

• Python version:
• NetBox version:

Proposed Functionality

Add a GUI page for interfaces -> https://netbox/api/dcim/interfaces/. Filtering by site/region and tags would allow easier management of interfaces.

Export template functionality would also add.

Use Case

Enable holistic management of interfaces.

We would use this for our Switch port register (currently done in a spreadsheet to keep track of allocated interfaces in the datacenter).

In general Netbox would be ideal for holistic management of interfaces, making it easy to view them and. It can also be leveraged by adding metadata via tags. Eg monitoring groups.

Noted this was raised before ( #291) but wanted to show the relevance with our use case.

Database Changes

None that I'm aware off

External Dependencies

None that I'm aware off

[jeremystretch]

I don't think it would make sense to do this for only interfaces and not for the six other types of device components (console ports, power ports, etc.).

[wols]

I could export all interface descriptions (before the connection) to fill device configuration templates.

[darcynz]

I agree. I can see benefits seeing the the other components holistically eg one use case could be to find devices with only one power port that need another. It would also enable each component type as a source of truth domain, as users able to see the items holistically easily and any mistakes / omissions. Currently this is done via reports.

Perhaps a multi discipline components page could work. The main difficulty would be filtering, I suppose component specific tags could be listed under their own headings. A check box filter could be used to hide/add component types.

Curious to see community thoughts on this...

[darcynz]

We've managed to make a work around via a recent post (Thanks Jeremy!!) that enables exporting associated interfaces via the device model.

Would still be great to see interfaces via the GUI but this helps provide the overview we wanted.

In case any one else is looking to do the same, below is the adjusted the template to give a report like format:

devicename, deviceid, interfacename,  IP Address(es), description, connected device, connected endpoint, formfactor, mtu, lag, enabled?,  tags
{% for device in queryset %}{% for interface in device.interfaces.all %}{{ device.name }},{{ device.id}},{{ interface.name }}, {% for ip in interface.ip_addresses.all %}{{ ip.address }} - {% endfor %}, {{ interface.description}}, {{interface.connected_endpoint.device}}, {{interface.connected_endpoint}},{{interface.form_factor}}, {{interface.mtu}}, {{interface.lag}}, {{ interface.enabled}}, {% for tag in interface.tags.names %}{{tag}}{% if not forloop.last %} - {% endif %}{%endfor %}
{% endfor %}{% endfor %}

[candlerb]

Adding an explicit 'interfaces' view opens the door to importing interfaces as CSV, which was requested as #822 (and #1492 for virtual machines)

[candlerb]

Just found another use case for this: I wanted to view which MAC addresses I have stored in Netbox.

[candlerb]

The example export above doesn't work with virtualmachines.

The admin interface does let you create an export template for dcim > interfaces, so I made this:

name,device,virtual_machine,type,enabled,mac_address,mtu,mgmt_only
{%- for i in queryset %}
{{i.name}},{{i.device}},{{i.virtual_machine}},{{i.type}},{{i.enabled}},{{i.mac_address}},{{i.mtu}},{{i.mgmt_only}}
{%- endfor %}

However, the GUI doesn't appear to have anywhere to run it :-(

If I manually create the URL /dcim/interfaces/?export=foo I get a 404. As was recently mentioned elsewhere, I don't think the API allows you to run an export either.

Workaround is to use nbshell:

>>> print(ExportTemplate.objects.get(name="foo").render(Interface.objects.all()))

[darcynz]

Thanks Brian! Forgot about VM's, That export will be handy!