Cable profiles and connector/position mapping #887

New Issue

MrUnknownDE · 2026-04-05T18:32:28+02:00

MrUnknownDE commented

2026-04-05 18:32:28 +02:00

Originally created by @jeremystretch on 11/11/2025

NetBox version

v4.4.6

Feature type

Data model extension

Proposed functionality

This FR supersedes #20562 and expands upon the core idea it proposes. In conjunction with FR #20564, its goal is to support modeling complex cabling in NetBox. There are two components in play here: cable profiles and connector/position tracking for cable terminations.

Cable termination connector & position

A cable termination represents the association of one end of a cable (A or B) with a particular object (e.g. an interface or console port). This FR would add two new pieces of data to the CableTermination model, to better represent real-world connections:

Connector grouping: A numeric ID grouping cable terminations delivered via a common connector. For example, a 12-strand MPO fiber connector typically delivers up to six discrete connections (one fiber pair per connection).
Connector position: The position of a termination within a connector relative to its peers. Continuing the MPO example above, available positions would be 1 through 6. This enables us to correlate a particular "lane" on the cable between two ends.

Cable profile

A cable profile holds the connector/position mapping between A- and B-side terminations. For example, a profile representing a 4x10GE breakout cable would look like this:

A connector	A position	B connector	B position
1	1	1	1
1	2	2	1
1	3	3	1
1	4	4	1

(Note that this concept of mapping positions is intentionally very similar to the approach proposed in FR #20564.)

A profile would be assigned to a cable via a ChoiceField on the Cable model. The current intent is for profiles to be declared statically and live in-memory, rather than being customizable: It is expected that a limited number of such real-world profiles exist. However, that may be reconsidered if additional flexibility is needed.

Use case

While NetBox is capable of modeling complex cabling (cables which provide more than two endpoints) to a limited degree, it does not possess sufficient context to accurately trace these connections end-to-end. By associating explicit connector & positioning details with each termination, as well as a mapping profile with the cable itself, NetBox will be able to trace end-to-end paths across complex cables with precision.

Database changes

On the dcim.Cable model, introduce a new optional CharField to associate the cable profile. Cables without a profile assigned will not support complex tracing.

class Cable(...):
    profile = models.CharField(
        choices=CableProfileChoices,
        blank=True,
        null=True,
    )
)

One the dcim.CableTermination model, add two integer fields to track connector and position:

class CableTermination(...):
    connector = models.PositiveSmallIntegerField()
    position = models.PositiveSmallIntegerField()

(We'll either make these fields nullable or default to 1; whichever is found to work best once the implementation is fleshed out.)

External dependencies

N/A

*Originally created by @jeremystretch on 11/11/2025* ### NetBox version v4.4.6 ### Feature type Data model extension ### Proposed functionality This FR supersedes #20562 and expands upon the core idea it proposes. In conjunction with FR #20564, its goal is to support modeling complex cabling in NetBox. There are two components in play here: cable profiles and connector/position tracking for cable terminations. #### Cable termination connector & position A cable termination represents the association of one end of a cable (A or B) with a particular object (e.g. an interface or console port). This FR would add two new pieces of data to the CableTermination model, to better represent real-world connections: * Connector grouping: A numeric ID grouping cable terminations delivered via a common connector. For example, a 12-strand MPO fiber connector typically delivers up to six discrete connections (one fiber pair per connection). * Connector position: The position of a termination within a connector relative to its peers. Continuing the MPO example above, available positions would be 1 through 6. This enables us to correlate a particular "lane" on the cable between two ends. #### Cable profile A cable profile holds the connector/position mapping between A- and B-side terminations. For example, a profile representing a 4x10GE breakout cable would look like this: | A connector | A position | B connector | B position | |-------------|------------|-------------|------------| | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | (Note that this concept of mapping positions is intentionally very similar to the approach proposed in FR #20564.) A profile would be assigned to a cable via a ChoiceField on the Cable model. The current intent is for profiles to be declared statically and live in-memory, rather than being customizable: It is expected that a limited number of such real-world profiles exist. However, that may be reconsidered if additional flexibility is needed. ### Use case While NetBox is capable of modeling complex cabling (cables which provide more than two endpoints) to a limited degree, it does not possess sufficient context to accurately trace these connections end-to-end. By associating explicit connector & positioning details with each termination, as well as a mapping profile with the cable itself, NetBox will be able to trace end-to-end paths across complex cables with precision. ### Database changes On the `dcim.Cable` model, introduce a new optional CharField to associate the cable profile. Cables without a profile assigned will not support complex tracing. ```python class Cable(...): profile = models.CharField( choices=CableProfileChoices, blank=True, null=True, ) ) ``` One the `dcim.CableTermination` model, add two integer fields to track connector and position: ```python class CableTermination(...): connector = models.PositiveSmallIntegerField() position = models.PositiveSmallIntegerField() ``` (We'll either make these fields nullable or default to `1`; whichever is found to work best once the implementation is fleshed out.) ### External dependencies N/A

MrUnknownDE closed this issue

2026-04-05 18:32:29 +02:00

Sign in to join this conversation.

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

No Label complexity: high complexity: high complexity: high complexity: high complexity: high complexity: high complexity: high complexity: high complexity: high complexity: high complexity: high complexity: high complexity: high netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox netbox status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted status: accepted type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature type: feature

1 Participants

Notifications

Due Date

No due date set.

Dependencies

No dependencies set.

Reference: github/netbox#887