How to Add Module Component to Modules and Represent Daughter Cards

[tariqwaseem]

How in NetBox we can add module component to modules and represent daughter cards just like installing child devices in devices bays of parent devices as I could not find any way to do so; however, there is workaround to define such module as child device which then can accept installation of daughter card/module but we have redundant devices added to the device count which are actually modules to accommodate installation modules within modules.

[candlerb]

Child devices and device bays are never meant to be used for items which extend a device (e.g. line cards). They are for independent devices like blade servers, or for physical partitioning of some rack space to take smaller-sized devices. See the warning notes here and here.

Modules are what you should use for things like line cards. Module "components" means ports which the module provides to the device (e.g. interfaces, console ports, console server ports etc)

Modules aren't hierarchical, but you can also attach "inventory items" to individual ports; these can be used to record things like SFPs.

If you can be more specific about the actual product/vendor device that you are trying to model, and what its options and modules are, we might be able to suggest the best way to model it in Netbox.

[yousefii]

Thanks for your support @candlerb
I make three modules bays:
Slot 1 ---> LPUF-120
Slot 1/0 ---> Daughter board#1
Slot 1/1 ---> Daughter board#2
and add 6 Interfaces on each daughter board with a specific slot number, for example :
for Daughter board#1 : GigabitEthernet1/0/[0-5]
for Daughter board#2 : GigabitEthernet1/1/[0-5]
it seems a good solution but I have to make interfaces manually for every daughter board in each device.

[candlerb]

it seems a good solution but I have to make interfaces manually for every daughter board in each device.

That shouldn't be necessary. You can create components (i.e. interfaces) on the "Module Type" for the daughter board, and then every time you create an instance of that module, it will copy the components from the module type.

View the Module Type, and then use the Add Components menu there.

However, if you've already created the Modules, then adding interfaces to Module Type will not back-fill them to the Module instances. You'd need to script that. (I have one for copying Device components from Device Type, but not Module components from Module Type)

[candlerb]

Ah sorry, maybe the problem is to do with correctly naming the interfaces. If so then you're probably stuck, although I think you should be able to do bulk rename of interfaces after creating a module instance (I've not tried this scenario exactly, but bulk renaming of "normal" interfaces does work)

[yousefii]

@candlerb
finally, I made it!
I use this script for adding interfaces to daughter boards:
GigabitEthernet{module}/[0-5]
Now depending on inserting the daughter board into the slot, the bay number will be replaced with {module}
thank you very much for your support

[aquirogamon]

Hello, can you please send an example?