NetBox ACI Plugin

The NetBox plugin for Cisco ACI allows NetBox to document ACI‑specific objects like Tenants (TN), Application Profiles (AP), Endpoint Groups (EPG), Endpoint Security Groups (ESG), Bridge Domains (BD), and VRFs (Contexts).

Status: Alpha – Interfaces and data models may change.

Documentation: https://pheus.github.io/netbox-aci-plugin/

Table of Contents

• Features
• Compatibility
• Installation
  • Via PyPI
  • Docker
• Quickstart
• Configuration
• Status
• Release notes
• Licensing
• Credits
• Contributing
• Security

Features

• Represent core ACI constructs in NetBox:
  • Tenants
  • Application Profiles
  • Endpoint Groups (including uSeg EPGs)
  • Endpoint Security Groups
  • Bridge Domains
  • VRFs (Contexts)
  • Contracts, Contract Subjects, and Contract Filters
• Consistent UI patterns with NetBox core (tables, filtersets, detail views)
• Ready for automation via NetBox’s REST API
• Designed to coexist with your existing NetBox data model

Compatibility

The following table details the tested plugin versions for each NetBox version:

NetBox Version	Plugin Version
4.4	0.1.0
4.3	0.1.0

Installation

Via PyPI

Activate your NetBox virtual environment and install:

source /opt/netbox/venv/bin/activate
pip install netbox-aci-plugin

Important: When using NetBox’s upgrade.sh, the virtual environment is deleted and recreated. To ensure that the ACI plugin is reinstalled during an upgrade, add it to your local_requirements.txt (for local installations) or plugin_requirements.txt (for container-based installations).

netbox-aci-plugin

Docker

If you deploy NetBox with Docker and use plugin_requirements.txt, add:

netbox-aci-plugin

Rebuild/restart your NetBox container(s) so the plugin is installed and discovered. For more on Docker usage, see the netbox-docker plugin documentation.

Quickstart

1. Install the plugin (see Installation).
2. Start NetBox and verify Plugins → NetBox ACI appears in the UI.
3. Create a Tenant, then an Application Profile and EPGs.
4. Add Contracts, Subjects, and Filters; associate them with EPGs.
5. Define Bridge Domains and VRFs to complete the model.

Tip: Use NetBox’s API to populate objects at scale once your model is set.

Configuration

Enable the plugin by editing the NetBox configuration file. For local installations, update /opt/netbox/netbox/netbox/configuration.py; for Docker setups, modify /configuration/plugins.py:

PLUGINS = [
    "netbox_aci_plugin",
]

PLUGINS_CONFIG = {
    "netbox_aci_plugin": {
        # Create default ACI Tenants "common", "infra", "mgmt" during migration
        "create_default_aci_tenants": True,
        # Create default ACI Filters "arp", "icmp", "ip" during migration
        "create_default_aci_contract_filters": True,
    },
}

Apply database migrations and restart NetBox:

source /opt/netbox/venv/bin/activate
cd /opt/netbox
python3 netbox/manage.py migrate
# restart your NetBox services (e.g., systemd or container restart)

Status

This project is in alpha. While core functionality is usable, bugs and missing features may remain. Use in testing or non‑critical environments; exercise caution in production.

Release notes

See the changelog.

Licensing

GNU General Public License v3.0 or later.

See LICENSE for the full text.

Credits

• Built for the NetBox ecosystem – thanks to the NetBox community.
• Not affiliated with or endorsed by Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Based on the NetBox plugin tutorial:
  • demo repository
  • tutorial

This package was created with Cookiecutter and the netbox-community/cookiecutter-netbox-plugin template.

Contributing

We follow an issue‑first workflow:

1. Open an issue (bug or feature request).
2. A maintainer triages and accepts it; a contributor is assigned.
3. Open a PR that links the accepted, assigned issue.

See CONTRIBUTING.md and our PR/issue templates for details.

Security

Please do not file public issues for vulnerabilities. See SECURITY.md.