NetBox Cloud as Part of a Modern Network Automation Architecture with NetBox Labs

In this presentation, Rich Bibby, a technical advocate with NetBox Labs, introduces NetBox Cloud and discusses its importance in network automation architecture. NetBox Labs, founded in 2023 in New York, is the commercial steward of the open-source project NetBox and has developed NetBox Cloud, an enterprise-grade, software-as-a-service version of NetBox.

Rich explains that a network source of truth is a representation of the intended state of a network, including devices, configurations, connections, and services. This intended state is distinct from the actual operational state, which is reported by monitoring and assurance tools. NetBox serves as a structured and cohesive data model, which is essential for network automation at scale. It eliminates the need for spreadsheets and disparate data sources, providing a single source of truth and accelerating network automation through its REST API and GraphQL interface.

NetBox Cloud offers push-button lifecycle operations, automated backups, single sign-on, and simplified plugin management. It is designed to be secure and compliant, and it allows for easy upgrades and integration with other tools. Rich also briefly describes the customer journey from documenting networks to full automation and presents a modern network automation reference architecture with NetBox Cloud at its center. This architecture includes operations teams, automation tools, and observability tools that together maintain the feedback loop between intended and actual network states.

Throughout the presentation, Rich also demonstrates the NetBox UI, showing how users can view site details, rack elevations, device configurations, and connections. He clarifies that while NetBox does not actively poll devices for their state, it can integrate with plugins and tools like IP Fabric to reconcile intended and actual states. NetBox Cloud does not require direct connectivity to customer networks, as it primarily interacts with other management tools.

Rich concludes by addressing audience questions about compliance, data validation, integration with existing tools, and the process for updating the intended state in NetBox.