NetBox Catalyst Center Plugin

A NetBox plugin that integrates Cisco Catalyst Center (formerly DNA Center) with NetBox, displaying network device details, wireless client information, compliance status, and security advisories.

Features

Network Device Integration

• Device Details Tab: Adds a "Catalyst Center" tab to Device detail pages
• Reachability Status: Shows device reachability and collection status
• Software Information: Displays software version, platform, and series
• Compliance Status: Shows PSIRT, IMAGE, CONFIG, and EOX compliance
• Security Advisories: Lists PSIRT advisories with links to Cisco security portal
• Sync to NetBox: Sync IP address, serial number, and SNMP location from Catalyst Center

Wireless Client Support

• Real-time IP Lookup: Shows current IP address for wireless clients
• Connection Status: Displays connected/disconnected state with health score
• AP Information: Shows connected access point, SSID, and location
• Signal Quality: Displays RSSI, SNR, and data rate for wireless clients

Device Import

• Search Catalyst Center: Search by hostname, IP address, or MAC address with wildcard support
• One-Way Import: Import devices from Catalyst Center into NetBox (one-way only)
• Auto-detect Device Role: Automatically maps Catalyst Center device family to NetBox roles
• Duplicate Detection: Shows which devices already exist in NetBox
• Interface Sync: Import all interfaces with type mapping, LAG membership, and IP addresses
• POE Sync: Sync POE mode and type (802.3af/at/bt) for switch interfaces

Virtual Chassis Support

• Stacked Switch Import: Import switch stacks as NetBox Virtual Chassis
• Member Devices: Creates one device per stack member (hostname.1, hostname.2, etc.)
• Interface Assignment: Physical interfaces assigned to correct member by slot number
• Configurable: Enable via enable_virtual_chassis setting (default: disabled)

General Features

• Configurable Device Mappings: Control which devices show the tab and lookup method
• Multi-strategy Lookup: IP address → hostname → fetch all with local filtering
• Caching: Caches API responses to reduce load on Catalyst Center

Screenshots

Device Tab - Network Device View

Device Tab - Wireless Client View

Import Devices from Catalyst Center

Settings Page

Dashboard Widget

Catalyst Center health widget showing device reachability and compliance summary.

Requirements

• NetBox 4.0 or higher (tested on NetBox 4.x only)
• Cisco Catalyst Center (DNA Center) 2.x or higher
• Python 3.10+

Note: This plugin is developed and tested exclusively on NetBox 4.x. It is not compatible with NetBox 3.x due to API and model changes.

Installation

From PyPI (recommended)

pip install netbox-catalyst-center

From Source

git clone https://github.com/sieteunoseis/netbox-catalyst-center.git
cd netbox-catalyst-center
pip install -e .

Docker Installation

Add to your NetBox Docker requirements file:

# requirements-extra.txt
netbox-catalyst-center

Or for development:

# In docker-compose.override.yml, mount the plugin:
volumes:
  - /path/to/netbox-catalyst-center:/opt/netbox/netbox/netbox_catalyst_center

Configuration

Add the plugin to your NetBox configuration:

# configuration.py or plugins.py

PLUGINS = [
    'netbox_catalyst_center',
]

PLUGINS_CONFIG = {
    'netbox_catalyst_center': {
        # Required: Catalyst Center URL
        'catalyst_center_url': 'https://dnac.example.com',

        # Required: API credentials
        'catalyst_center_username': 'api-user',
        'catalyst_center_password': 'your-password',

        # Optional settings
        'timeout': 30,           # API timeout in seconds (default: 30)
        'cache_timeout': 60,     # Cache duration in seconds (default: 60)
        'verify_ssl': False,     # Verify SSL certificates (default: False)

        # Virtual Chassis: Import stacked switches as virtual chassis (default: False)
        # When enabled, stacks create one device per member with interfaces assigned by slot
        'enable_virtual_chassis': False,

        # Device mappings (REQUIRED) - Controls which devices show the Catalyst Center tab
        # Each mapping specifies:
        #   - manufacturer: Regex pattern to match device manufacturer (slug or name)
        #   - device_type: Optional regex pattern to match device type (slug or model)
        #   - lookup: How to find the device in Catalyst Center:
        #       "network_device" - Uses IP → hostname → fetch all (for switches, routers, APs)
        #       "client" - Uses MAC address via Client API (for wireless clients)
        'device_mappings': [
            # All Cisco devices - lookup as network devices
            {'manufacturer': 'cisco', 'lookup': 'network_device'},

            # Vocera badges - lookup by MAC address as wireless clients
            {'manufacturer': 'vocera', 'lookup': 'client'},

            # Example: Specific device type only
            # {'manufacturer': 'cisco', 'device_type': 'catalyst-9300', 'lookup': 'network_device'},
        ],
    }
}

Note: The device_mappings configuration is required. Without it, the Catalyst Center tab will not appear on any devices.

Catalyst Center API User

Create an API user in Catalyst Center with these permissions:

• Network Services > Read - For client lookups
• System > Read - For device inventory

Usage

Once installed and configured:

1. Navigate to any Device in NetBox
2. Click the Catalyst Center tab
3. View real-time client details from Catalyst Center

Device Name as MAC Address

The plugin uses the device name as the MAC address for lookups. This works well for:

• Vocera badges (serial number = MAC address)
• Other wireless devices where name matches MAC

For devices where the name doesn't match the MAC, consider:

• Using a custom field for MAC address
• Naming devices with their MAC address

What's Displayed

Troubleshooting

Client not found

• Verify the device name in NetBox matches the client MAC address in Catalyst Center
• Check that the client has connected to the network recently
• MAC format should be xxxxxxxxxxxx (no colons) or xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx

Connection errors

• Verify catalyst_center_url is accessible from NetBox container
• Check that the API credentials are correct
• For self-signed certificates, set verify_ssl: False

Authentication errors

• Verify the API user has required permissions
• Check that the password hasn't expired

Development

Setup

git clone https://github.com/sieteunoseis/netbox-catalyst-center.git
cd netbox-catalyst-center
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Code Style

black netbox_catalyst_center/
flake8 netbox_catalyst_center/

Documentation

Full documentation is available in the GitHub Wiki.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for release history and breaking changes.

License

Apache License 2.0 - See LICENSE for details.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Submit a pull request

Support

If you find this plugin helpful, consider supporting development:

Related Projects

• netbox-graylog - Display Graylog logs in NetBox