The device search filter (q) is too slow when handling thousands of devices with primary IPs assigned #550

New Issue

MrUnknownDE · 2026-04-05T16:42:58+02:00

MrUnknownDE commented

2026-04-05 16:42:58 +02:00

Originally created by @jeremystretch on 1/16/2026

NetBox Edition

NetBox Community

NetBox Version

v4.5.0

Python Version

3.12

Steps to Reproduce

Begin with a database having several thousand devices populated, each with a primary IPv4 and IPv6 address assigned.
Attempt to search for a device using the q filter, e.g. GET /api/dcim/devices/?q=foo

Expected Behavior

Matching results should be returned quickly.

Observed Behavior

Depending on the number of devices with primary IPs assigned, this can take an inordinate amount of time. (Real world results have shown delays in excess of 30 seconds.)

This is due to the inclusion of the primary_ip4 and primary_ip6 IPAddresses in the underlying filter query, to match the q value against the assigned IP addresses. While clearly valuable functionality, this incurs a heavy performance cost in very large databases.

3e2a26984f/netbox/dcim/filtersets.py (L1332-L1341)

*Originally created by @jeremystretch on 1/16/2026* ### NetBox Edition NetBox Community ### NetBox Version v4.5.0 ### Python Version 3.12 ### Steps to Reproduce 1. Begin with a database having several thousand devices populated, each with a primary IPv4 and IPv6 address assigned. 2. Attempt to search for a device using the `q` filter, e.g. `GET /api/dcim/devices/?q=foo` ### Expected Behavior Matching results should be returned quickly. ### Observed Behavior Depending on the number of devices with primary IPs assigned, this can take an inordinate amount of time. (Real world results have shown delays in excess of 30 seconds.) This is due to the inclusion of the `primary_ip4` and `primary_ip6` IPAddresses in the underlying filter query, to match the `q` value against the assigned IP addresses. While clearly valuable functionality, this incurs a heavy performance cost in very large databases. https://github.com/netbox-community/netbox/blob/3e2a26984fe07f394812664d89f82efd85f6d595/netbox/dcim/filtersets.py#L1332-L1341

MrUnknownDE closed this issue

2026-04-05 16:42:58 +02:00

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Branches Tags

main

21455-sql-indexes-audit

21357-register-model-actions

feature

20924-plugin-ui-components

21766-improve-test-coverage-for-sortable-table-columns

21157-export-template-public-models

21025-pre-render-config-contexts

21364-swagger

feature-ip-prefix-link

20911-dropdown-3

fix_module_substitution

21160-filterset

20911-dropdown-2

20044-elevation-stuck-lightmode

7604-filter-modifiers-v3

20660-script-load

19724-graphql

14884-script

19720-macaddress-interface-generic-relation

fix-19669-api-image-download

7604-filter-modifiers

19275-fixes-interface-bulk-edit

fix-17794-get_field_value_return_list

11507-show-aggregate-and-rir-on-api

9583-add_column_specific_search_field_to_tables

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Reference: github/netbox#550

The device search filter (q) is too slow when handling thousands of devices with primary IPs assigned #550