Netbox Update Device Interfaces Task

task api name: update_device_interfaces

The Netbox Update Device Interfaces Task is a feature of the NorFab Netbox Service that allows you to synchronize and update the interface data of your network devices in Netbox. This task ensures that the interface configurations in Netbox are accurate and up-to-date, reflecting the current state of your network infrastructure.

Keeping interface data accurate and up-to-date is crucial for effective network management. The Netbox Update Device Interfaces Task automates the process of updating interface information, such as interface names, statuses, mac addresses, and other relevant details.

How it works - Netbox worker on a call to update interfaces task fetches live data from network devices using nominated datasource, by default it is Nornir service parse task using NAPALM get_interfaces getter. Once data retrieved from network, Netbox worker updates records in Netbox database for device interfaces.

1. Client submits and on-demand request to NorFab Netbox worker to update device interfaces

2. Netbox worker sends job request to nominated datasource service to fetch live data from network devices

3. Datasource service fetches data from the network

4. Datasource returns devices interfaces data back to Netbox Service worker

5. Netbox worker processes device interfaces data and updates records in Netbox for requested devices

Limitations

Datasource nornir uses NAPALM get_interfaces getter and as such only supports these device platforms:

• Arista EOS
• Cisco IOS
• Cisco IOSXR
• Cisco NXOS
• Juniper JUNOS

Update Device Interfaces Sample Usage

NORFAB Netbox Update Device Interfaces Command Shell Reference

NorFab shell supports these command options for Netbox update_device_interfaces task:

nf# man tree netbox.update.device.interfaces
root
└── netbox:    Netbox service
    └── update:    Update Netbox data
        └── device:    Update device data
            └── interfaces:    Update device interfaces
                ├── timeout:    Job timeout
                ├── workers:    Filter workers to target, default 'any'
                ├── instance:    Netbox instance name to target
                ├── dry_run:    Return information that would be pushed to Netbox but do not push it
                ├── devices:    Devices to update
                └── datasource:    Service to use to retrieve device data, default 'nornir'
                    └── nornir:    Use Nornir service to retrieve data from devices
                        ├── add_details:    Add task details to results, default 'False'
                        ├── run_num_workers:    RetryRunner number of threads for tasks execution
                        ├── run_num_connectors:    RetryRunner number of threads for device connections
                        ├── run_connect_retry:    RetryRunner number of connection attempts
                        ├── run_task_retry:    RetryRunner number of attempts to run task
                        ├── run_reconnect_on_fail:    RetryRunner perform reconnect to host on task failure
                        ├── run_connect_check:    RetryRunner test TCP connection before opening actual connection
                        ├── run_connect_timeout:    RetryRunner timeout in seconds to wait for test TCP connection to establish
                        ├── run_creds_retry:    RetryRunner list of connection credentials and parameters to retry
                        ├── tf:    File group name to save task results to on worker file system
                        ├── tf_skip_failed:    Save results to file for failed tasks
                        ├── diff:    File group name to run the diff for
                        ├── diff_last:    File version number to diff, default is 1 (last)
                        └── progress:    Display progress events, default 'True'
nf#

Python API Reference

Update or create device interfaces in Netbox. Interface parameters updated:

• interface name
• interface description
• mtu
• mac address
• admin status
• speed

Parameters:

Name	Type	Description	Default
instance	str	The instance name to use.	None
dry_run	bool	If True, no changes will be made to Netbox.	False
datasource	str	The data source to use. Supported datasources: nornir - uses Nornir Service parse task to retrieve devices' data using NAPALM get_interfaces getter	'nornir'
timeout	int	The timeout for the job.	60
devices	list	List of devices to update.	None
create	bool	If True, new interfaces will be created if they do not exist.	True
batch_size	int	The number of devices to process in each batch.	10
**kwargs		Additional keyword arguments to pass to the job.	{}

Returns:

Name	Type	Description
dict	dict	A dictionary containing the results of the update operation.

Raises:

Type	Description
Exception	If a device does not exist in Netbox.
UnsupportedServiceError	If the specified datasource is not supported.

Source code in norfab\workers\netbox_worker.py

def update_device_interfaces(
    self,
    instance: str = None,
    dry_run: bool = False,
    datasource: str = "nornir",
    timeout: int = 60,
    devices: list = None,
    create: bool = True,
    batch_size: int = 10,
    **kwargs,
) -> dict:
    """
    Update or create device interfaces in Netbox. Interface parameters updated:

    - interface name
    - interface description
    - mtu
    - mac address
    - admin status
    - speed

    Args:
        instance (str, optional): The instance name to use.
        dry_run (bool, optional): If True, no changes will be made to Netbox.
        datasource (str, optional): The data source to use. Supported datasources:

            - **nornir** - uses Nornir Service parse task to retrieve devices' data
                using NAPALM get_interfaces getter

        timeout (int, optional): The timeout for the job.
        devices (list, optional): List of devices to update.
        create (bool, optional): If True, new interfaces will be created if they do not exist.
        batch_size (int, optional): The number of devices to process in each batch.
        **kwargs: Additional keyword arguments to pass to the job.

    Returns:
        dict: A dictionary containing the results of the update operation.

    Raises:
        Exception: If a device does not exist in Netbox.
        UnsupportedServiceError: If the specified datasource is not supported.
    """
    result = {}
    instance = instance or self.default_instance
    ret = Result(task=f"{self.name}:update_device_interfaces", result=result)
    nb = self._get_pynetbox(instance)

    if datasource == "nornir":
        for i in range(0, len(devices), batch_size):
            kwargs["FL"] = devices[i : i + batch_size]
            kwargs["getters"] = "get_interfaces"
            data = self.client.run_job(
                "nornir",
                "parse",
                kwargs=kwargs,
                workers="all",
                timeout=timeout,
            )
            for worker, results in data.items():
                if results["failed"]:
                    log.error(
                        f"{worker} get_interfaces failed, errors: {'; '.join(results['errors'])}"
                    )
                    continue
                for host, host_data in results["result"].items():
                    updated, created = {}, {}
                    result[host] = {
                        "update_device_interfaces_dry_run"
                        if dry_run
                        else "update_device_interfaces": updated,
                        "created_device_interfaces_dry_run"
                        if dry_run
                        else "created_device_interfaces": created,
                    }
                    interfaces = host_data["napalm_get"]["get_interfaces"]
                    nb_device = nb.dcim.devices.get(name=host)
                    if not nb_device:
                        raise Exception(f"'{host}' does not exist in Netbox")
                    nb_interfaces = nb.dcim.interfaces.filter(
                        device_id=nb_device.id
                    )
                    # update existing interfaces
                    for nb_interface in nb_interfaces:
                        if nb_interface.name not in interfaces:
                            continue
                        interface = interfaces.pop(nb_interface.name)
                        nb_interface.description = interface["description"]
                        nb_interface.mtu = interface["mtu"]
                        nb_interface.speed = interface["speed"] * 1000
                        nb_interface.mac_address = interface["mac_address"]
                        nb_interface.enabled = interface["is_enabled"]
                        if dry_run is not True:
                            nb_interface.save()
                        updated[nb_interface.name] = interface
                        self.event(
                            f"{host} updated interface {nb_interface.name}",
                            resource=instance,
                        )
                    # create new interfaces
                    if create is not True:
                        continue
                    for interface_name, interface in interfaces.items():
                        interface["type"] = "other"
                        nb_interface = nb.dcim.interfaces.create(
                            name=interface_name,
                            device={"name": nb_device.name},
                            type=interface["type"],
                        )
                        nb_interface.description = interface["description"]
                        nb_interface.mtu = interface["mtu"]
                        nb_interface.speed = interface["speed"] * 1000
                        nb_interface.mac_address = interface["mac_address"]
                        nb_interface.enabled = interface["is_enabled"]
                        if dry_run is not True:
                            nb_interface.save()
                        created[interface_name] = interface
                        self.event(
                            f"{host} created interface {nb_interface.name}",
                            resource=instance,
                        )
    else:
        raise UnsupportedServiceError(
            f"'{datasource}' datasource service not supported"
        )

    return ret