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How It Works

For each Device Type you create a DeviceView object (at Plugins → Device Views → Add) with either a YAML layout or a legacy CSS layout.

When you visit a device of that type, the plugin:

  1. Looks up the DeviceView for the device's type
  2. Collects all interfaces, front ports, rear ports, console ports, and console-server ports from the device, including the ports of installed modules. For a virtual chassis member, it collects only the interfaces, console ports and console-server ports. It uses only the objects that you can view (see Object permissions)
  3. Derives a stylename for each port (see below)
  4. Renders the layout using the configured render mode (CSS Grid or SVG)
  5. Applies port status colours based on connection state

Port / Interface name → stylename

Each interface and port is mapped to a stylename used as the CSS grid-area name (and SVG data-stylename attribute). The derivation rules are:

Interface name Stylename
GigabitEthernet0/0/1 gigabitethernet0-1
TenGigabitEthernet1/1/4 tengigabitethernet1-4
GigabitEthernet0/1 gigabitethernet-1
Management0 management-0
eth0 eth-0
1 (numeric only) p1

Rules:

  • Names are lowercased
  • For the 3-part Cisco format Type{dev}/{module}/{port}, stylename is type{module}-{port}
  • For the 2-part format Type{dev}/{port}, stylename is type-{port}
  • All other names: non-alphanumeric/dot characters replaced with -
  • Front, rear, console and console-server ports always use the replacement rule for other names: ttyS1 becomes ttys1, and Async0/1/0 becomes async0-1-0
  • Purely numeric stylenames are prefixed with p
  • Virtual and LAG interfaces are skipped

Render modes

A DeviceView has a Render Mode field:

Mode Description
css (default) CSS Grid renderer — works with both YAML and legacy CSS layouts
svg SVG renderer — requires a YAML layout; produces a scalable <svg> element

See SVG Renderer for full details on SVG mode.

Object permissions

The Device View tab and the device page panel show only the objects that you can view. NetBox object permissions and their constraints apply to each object:

  • The Device View tab of a device that you cannot view is not found (404).
  • A virtual chassis member that you cannot view has no panel. The panel title shows the virtual chassis name only when you can view the virtual chassis.
  • A DeviceView that you cannot view counts as missing. The device page then has no Device View tab.
  • A port that you cannot view is not in the panel. A peer that you cannot view is not in the port's popover.
  • A cable that you cannot view gives no cable colour.
  • A module that you cannot view does not select a module variant.

The tab needs the view permission on Device View. The rendered-layout API uses the same rule.