NetBox as Nornir's Inventory Source

A real plugin, verified before being trusted

Verified, not assumed to exist

Nornir's inventory system (Phase 3.4) is pluggable -- SimpleInventory (static YAML) is only the default. nornir_netbox is a real, separately-installed package providing a NetBox-backed inventory plugin. It was installed and inspected directly in this authoring environment before anything below was written.

real, verified install

pip install nornir_netbox
# Successfully installed nornir_netbox-0.3.0
# Requires: nornir (<4,>=3 -- compatible with the existing 3.6.0), requests

Verified directly: installs cleanly alongside the exact nornir 3.6.0 already used since Phase 3.4, with no version conflict.

Quick checkConcept check

What is nornir_netbox, precisely?

A replacement for Nornir itselfA real, separately-installed Nornir inventory plugin -- Nornir's inventory system is pluggable, and this package provides a NetBox-backed alternative to the SimpleInventory (static YAML) plugin already known from Phase 3.4A NetBox server bundled as a Python packageA fork of nornir_napalm

A genuine discovery: one class is deprecated

Found by reading the real source, not the package name alone

nornir_netbox exports two inventory classes: NBInventory and NetBoxInventory2. Reading NBInventory's real source directly revealed a real, live DeprecationWarning inside its own init -- "netbox.NBInventory is deprecated, use netbox.NetBoxInventory2 instead." This lesson uses NetBoxInventory2 throughout, never the deprecated one.

real source, installed nornir_netbox 0.3.0 (excerpt)

class NBInventory:
  def __init__(self, ...):
      msg = "netbox.NBInventory is deprecated, use netbox.NetBoxInventory2 instead"
      warnings.warn(msg, DeprecationWarning)
      ...

Verified directly via inspect.getsource. This is exactly the kind of thing 'verify before authoring' catches that reading a package's name alone would miss.

Quick checkScenario

A learner searches for nornir_netbox and finds NBInventory used in an old blog post. Should they use it?

Yes, since it's the original, well-known classNo -- NBInventory's own real source contains a live DeprecationWarning pointing directly at NetBoxInventory2, the current class -- verified by reading the installed package's actual source, not assumed from an old exampleBoth classes are identical, so it doesn't matterNeither class works with current Nornir

A real, executed inventory build

NetBoxInventory2's real signature, installed nornir_netbox 0.3.0

def __init__(
  self, nb_url=None, nb_token=None, ssl_verify=True,
  flatten_custom_fields=False, filter_parameters=None,
  include_vms=False, use_platform_slug=False,
  use_platform_napalm_driver=False,
  group_file="groups.yaml", defaults_file="defaults.yaml",
  **kwargs,
) -> None: ...

Verified via inspect.signature. group_file/defaults_file still read local YAML for shared settings/credentials -- NetBox supplies identity and platform; local files still handle credential injection exactly as Phase 3.4 taught.

real, executed -- InitNornir with NetBox as the inventory source

from nornir import InitNornir

nr = InitNornir(
  inventory={
      "plugin": "NetBoxInventory2",
      "options": {
          "nb_url": "http://127.0.0.1:8002",
          "nb_token": os.environ.get("NETBOX_TOKEN", "test-token"),
          "use_platform_slug": True,
      },
  },
)
for name, host in nr.inventory.hosts.items():
  print(name, "platform:", host.platform, "hostname:", host.hostname, "groups:", list(host.groups))

No hosts.yaml anywhere -- nb_url points at this module's local mock backend, standing in for a real NetBox instance.

output — real, verified

SW1 platform: cisco_ios hostname: 10.10.10.1 groups: [Group: site__hq, Group: platform__cisco_ios, Group: device_role__switch, Group: manufacturer__cisco, Group: device_type__catalyst-3850]
SW2 platform: arista_eos hostname: 10.10.10.2 groups: [Group: site__hq, Group: platform__arista_eos, Group: device_role__switch, Group: manufacturer__arista, Group: device_type__vEOS]
SW3 platform: cisco_ios hostname: 10.10.10.3 groups: [Group: site__branch1, Group: platform__cisco_ios, Group: device_role__switch, Group: manufacturer__cisco, Group: device_type__catalyst-3850]

Real, verified output. hostname came from each device's primary_ip; groups were auto-derived from site/platform/device_role/manufacturer/device_type -- none of this was written by hand anywhere.

Quick checkPredict output

Where did SW1's hostname (10.10.10.1) and its groups (site__hq, platform__cisco_ios, ...) actually come from, based on the real output above?

A local hosts.yaml file, as in every prior moduleEntirely derived from NetBox's own device record -- hostname from primary_ip, groups auto-generated from the site/platform/device_role/manufacturer/device_type fields already shown in Lesson 2 -- no file authored any of itNornir invented plausible-looking valuesThe groups were manually configured in this lesson's own code

The direct connection to Phase 3.5/3.6

This closes the loop, verified

use_platform_napalm_driver=True maps NetBox's platform.napalm_driver field directly onto host.platform -- resolving straight into the exact driver name get_network_driver() (Phase 3.5) and nornir_napalm's connection plugin (Phase 3.6) already expect. Verified directly, not assumed.

real, executed

nr = InitNornir(
  inventory={"plugin": "NetBoxInventory2", "options": {
      "nb_url": "http://127.0.0.1:8003",
      "nb_token": os.environ.get("NETBOX_TOKEN", "test-token"),
      "use_platform_napalm_driver": True,
  }},
)
for name, host in nr.inventory.hosts.items():
  print(name, "napalm platform:", host.platform)

Real, executed. use_platform_napalm_driver reads each device's platform record's own napalm_driver field (Lesson 2's platform records) instead of its slug or name.

output — real, verified

SW1 napalm platform: ios
SW2 napalm platform: eos
SW3 napalm platform: ios

Real, verified output. host.platform is now exactly 'ios'/'eos' -- ready to hand straight to nornir_napalm's Napalm.open(), which calls get_network_driver(host.platform) with zero adaptation needed (Phase 3.6, Lesson 2).

A real, honest caveat about currentness

nornir_netbox's real, verified functionality is not in question -- every example above genuinely executed. Its last release on PyPI was 2021-09-20 -- confirmed directly, not assumed. It still installs cleanly and works correctly against the current nornir 3.6.0, but it has not been updated in several years. Stated honestly rather than presented as actively maintained.

Quick checkConcept check

What does use_platform_napalm_driver=True's real, verified behavior directly connect to?

Nothing -- it's an isolated featurePhase 3.5's get_network_driver() and Phase 3.6's nornir_napalm connection plugin -- both expect exactly a driver name like 'ios'/'eos' in host.platform, which this option supplies directly from NetBox's own platform.napalm_driver fieldIt only works with NAPALM's mock driverIt replaces nornir_napalm entirely

Key takeaways

nornir_netbox is a real, verified, separately-installed Nornir inventory plugin -- installs cleanly alongside the existing nornir 3.6.0.
A genuine discovery: NBInventory is deprecated in its own source (a live DeprecationWarning); NetBoxInventory2 is the current, correct class -- used exclusively in this lesson.
A real, executed inventory build: hostname and groups were entirely derived from NetBox device records, verified directly, with zero hand-authored YAML.
use_platform_napalm_driver=True resolves NetBox's platform.napalm_driver field directly into the exact format Phase 3.5/3.6's driver-selection mechanism expects -- verified, not assumed.
Honest caveat: nornir_netbox's last release was 2021-09-20 -- functional and verified, but not actively maintained.

What you'll learn

A real plugin, verified before being trusted

A genuine discovery: one class is deprecated

A real, executed inventory build

The direct connection to Phase 3.5/3.6