Netbox Get Nornir Inventory Task

task api name: get_nornir_inventory

This task designed to provide Nornir workers with inventory data sourced from Netbox.

How it works

Netbox NorFab workers able to talk with Netbox GraphQL and REST API. Nornir workers can be configured to request Nornir inventory from Netbox workers on startup. Netbox workers in response to such a request will be fetching devices data from Netbox and constructing Nornir inventory returning it to Nornir worker.

1. On startup Nornir worker sends get_nornir_inventory request to Netbox NorFab Workers

2. Netbox worker fetches devices data from netbox - hostnames, interfaces, ip addresses, circuits, connections, configuration contexts etc.

3. Netbox worker constructs Nornir inventory and sends it back to Nornir worker

Get Nornir Inventory Sample Usage

NORFAB Netbox Get Nornir Inventory Command Shell Reference

NorFab shell supports these command options for Netbox get_nornir_inventory task:

Python API Reference

Method to query Netbox devices data and construct Nornir inventory.

Parameters:

Name	Type	Description	Default
filters	list	List of filters to apply when querying devices.	None
devices	list	List of specific devices to query.	None
instance	str	Netbox instance name to query.	None
interfaces	Union[dict, bool]	Whether to include interfaces data. If a dict is provided, it will be used as arguments for the query.	False
connections	Union[dict, bool]	Whether to include connections data. If a dict is provided, it will be used as arguments for the query.	False
circuits	Union[dict, bool]	Whether to include circuits data. If a dict is provided, it will be used as arguments for the query.	False
nbdata	bool	Whether to include Netbox devices data in the host's data	True
primary_ip	str	Primary IP version to use for the hostname.	'ip4'

Returns:

Type	Description
dict	Nornir Inventory compatible dictionary

Source code in norfab\workers\netbox_worker.py

def get_nornir_inventory(
    self,
    filters: list = None,
    devices: list = None,
    instance: str = None,
    interfaces: Union[dict, bool] = False,
    connections: Union[dict, bool] = False,
    circuits: Union[dict, bool] = False,
    nbdata: bool = True,
    primary_ip: str = "ip4",
) -> dict:
    """
    Method to query Netbox devices data and construct Nornir inventory.

    :param filters: List of filters to apply when querying devices.
    :param devices: List of specific devices to query.
    :param instance: Netbox instance name to query.
    :param interfaces: Whether to include interfaces data. If a dict is provided,
        it will be used as arguments for the query.
    :param connections: Whether to include connections data. If a dict is provided,
        it will be used as arguments for the query.
    :param circuits: Whether to include circuits data. If a dict is provided,
        it will be used as arguments for the query.
    :param nbdata: Whether to include Netbox devices data in the host's data
    :param primary_ip: Primary IP version to use for the hostname.
    :returns: Nornir Inventory compatible dictionary
    """
    hosts = {}
    inventory = {"hosts": hosts}
    ret = Result(task=f"{self.name}:get_nornir_inventory", result=inventory)

    # check Netbox status
    netbox_status = self.get_netbox_status(instance=instance)
    if netbox_status.result[instance or self.default_instance]["status"] is False:
        return ret

    # retrieve devices data
    nb_devices = self.get_devices(
        filters=filters, devices=devices, instance=instance
    )

    # form Nornir hosts inventory
    for device_name, device in nb_devices.result.items():
        host = device["config_context"].pop("nornir", {})
        host.setdefault("data", {})
        name = host.pop("name", device_name)
        hosts[name] = host
        # add platform if not provided in device config context
        if not host.get("platform"):
            if device["platform"]:
                host["platform"] = device["platform"]["name"]
            else:
                log.warning(f"{self.name} - no platform found for '{name}' device")
        # add hostname if not provided in config context
        if not host.get("hostname"):
            if device["primary_ip4"] and primary_ip in ["ip4", "ipv4"]:
                host["hostname"] = device["primary_ip4"]["address"].split("/")[0]
            elif device["primary_ip6"] and primary_ip in ["ip6", "ipv6"]:
                host["hostname"] = device["primary_ip6"]["address"].split("/")[0]
            else:
                host["hostname"] = name
        # add netbox data to host's data
        if nbdata is True:
            host["data"].update(device)

    # return if no hosts found for provided parameters
    if not hosts:
        log.warning(f"{self.name} - no viable hosts returned by Netbox")
        return ret

    # add interfaces data
    if interfaces:
        # decide on get_interfaces arguments
        kwargs = interfaces if isinstance(interfaces, dict) else {}
        # add 'interfaces' key to all hosts' data
        for host in hosts.values():
            host["data"].setdefault("interfaces", {})
        # query interfaces data from netbox
        nb_interfaces = self.get_interfaces(
            devices=list(hosts), instance=instance, **kwargs
        )
        # save interfaces data to hosts' inventory
        while nb_interfaces.result:
            device, device_interfaces = nb_interfaces.result.popitem()
            hosts[device]["data"]["interfaces"] = device_interfaces

    # add connections data
    if connections:
        # decide on get_interfaces arguments
        kwargs = connections if isinstance(connections, dict) else {}
        # add 'connections' key to all hosts' data
        for host in hosts.values():
            host["data"].setdefault("connections", {})
        # query connections data from netbox
        nb_connections = self.get_connections(
            devices=list(hosts), instance=instance, **kwargs
        )
        # save connections data to hosts' inventory
        while nb_connections.result:
            device, device_connections = nb_connections.result.popitem()
            hosts[device]["data"]["connections"] = device_connections

    # add circuits data
    if circuits:
        # decide on get_interfaces arguments
        kwargs = circuits if isinstance(circuits, dict) else {}
        # add 'circuits' key to all hosts' data
        for host in hosts.values():
            host["data"].setdefault("circuits", {})
        # query circuits data from netbox
        nb_circuits = self.get_circuits(
            devices=list(hosts), instance=instance, **kwargs
        )
        # save circuits data to hosts' inventory
        while nb_circuits.result:
            device, device_circuits = nb_circuits.result.popitem()
            hosts[device]["data"]["circuits"] = device_circuits

    return ret