PortProfiles for Interfaces

[PieterL75]

NetBox version

v4.1.11

Feature type

New functionality

Proposed functionality

I would like to see a new feature (lets call it portprofile) that defines an interface configuration, and that is applied to an Interface.
Any change to the port profile would reflect to the configuration of the interface it is linked to.

Fields that (at the minimum) should be part of the profile

• MTU
• Status
• Management Only
• PoE mode
• PoE type
• 801.Q Mode
• VLAN Group
• Untagged VLAN
• Tagged VLANs
• Custom Fields that exists on the interfaces

I never used the VRF/Wireless part, so someone needs to see if those fields could be added to.

Fields that indicate the physical state of an interface are to be reviewed if it makes sense to add them. I don't think the Label/Type/Speed/Duplex/Description/Tags/MAC/WWN are eligible

When a profile is applied to an interface, the fields that are defined in the template should

• become readonly in the edit field
• (marked with an * in the list/model view) not sure if this is really needed

Use case

On our switches, we use 'port profiles' to create a single configuration view for multiple interfaces.
This ensures that all interfaces have the same settings.

The ability to define port-profiles in NetBox would also enable us to

• keep interface configurations in sync
• use these profiles for automation and create device configurations

Database changes

A new model PortProfile is needed
It needs to contain a relation to the dcim.interfaces it is applied to
It needs to contain all fields that are eligible for the portprofile, with the same restrictions/rules as the interface field has
Depending on the fleshout of this FR, the fields could change

External dependencies

No response

[chris240189]

I have written custom scripts that reset or prefill (copy from another interface) interface attributes of some sort.

Basically all you need is a custom script, that takes (a list of) interfaces as an argument and a drop down box to select your profile which then sets the attributes to your liking.

Thinking about how port profiles work on some network devices, they give you a base profile from which you can still deviate from (interface profile override). It can be messy though.

[arthanson]

This is an interesting idea, it should be made more generic as it could be used in other areas in NetBox, it is somewhat similar to DeviceTypes. This could potentially be made into a Plugin, but more research would be needed. Will keep it open but more research is needed.

[PieterL75]

The biggest difference with device types, is that changes made to the profile must reflect to all items linked to it.
A device type is only used to set the base to create a model.

[alehaa]

I support this feature request because it would enhance configuration consistency. Currently, our instance manages approximately 16,000 interfaces, and depending on the specific requirements of our users, we need to configure several parameters. By utilizing port profiles, we can simplify the configuration process. Users would simply select a template for common types of interfaces, such as clients or printers, instead of manually configuring each interface (and potentially forgetting one).

I believe this can be implemented quite easily because there’s already an abstract Model in NetBox that covers many interface fields: BaseInterface. I propose reusing this model and the same logic as for RackType to clone fields as needed, thereby replicating changes into interfaces using this template.

I volunteer to draft a PR for review.