Enable custom interface naturalization functions #904

New Issue

MrUnknownDE · 2026-04-05T18:41:27+02:00

MrUnknownDE commented

2026-04-05 18:41:27 +02:00

Originally created by @PieterL75 on 11/7/2025

NetBox version

v4.3.7

Feature type

New functionality

Proposed functionality

Interfaces are sorted according a specific interface naturalization function

cf0ef92268/netbox/utilities/ordering.py (L51)
This function suits very well for Cisco branded devices, but does not always work for other vendors.

There has been few proposals (can only find this one https://github.com/netbox-community/netbox/issues/9368 ) to address this, but for now non has been accepted. FR #20335 proposed several options, and the discussion thread ended with this proposal:

provide different sorting mechanisms, which can be applied per Platform type
also allow plugins to extend these sorting mechanisms

Proposed sorting algoritms

Default: (current one) Similar in nature to naturalize(), but takes into account a particular naming format adapted from the old InterfaceManager
Alphanumeric: Take an alphanumeric string and prepend all integers to integer_places places to ensure the strings are ordered naturally. (Arista)
Numeric: Take an alphanumeric string and prepend all integers to integer_places places to ensure the strings are ordered naturally, while ignoring the alpa part. (NetApp, JunOS, Arista)

Add new functions with a plugin or in configuration.py

 FIELD_CHOICES = {
     'dcim.Platform.interfacesorting+': (
         ('naturalsort' , 'Natural Interface Sorting', netbox_plugin.ordering.naturalsort),
     )
}

Other sorting option that could be implemented

Numeric, but with mgmt_only interfaces first

A PoC can be found here, but that needs further coding before it can become a PR
https://github.com/PieterL75/netbox/tree/customize-naturlization

As a side effect, an extra option was implemented to the ChoiceSetMeta, adding the possibility to prevent a ChoiceSet to be replaced or extended. This probably need to go to a separate FR.

Use case

A recent poll in #netbox shows that there is a need for this: https://netdev-community.slack.com/archives/C01P0FRSXRV/p1757313471550629?thread_ts=1757065483.482359&cid=C01P0FRSXRV

Platform OS	Current	Desired
Arista EOS	Ethernet48/1	Ethernet1
	Ethernet48/2	Ethernet2
	Ethernet49/1	Ethernet48/1
	Ethernet49/2	Ethernet48/2
	Ethernet1	Ethernet49/1
	Ethernet2	Ethernet49/2
Juniper JUNOS	ge-0/0/0	ge-0/0/0
	ge-0/0/3	xe-0/0/1
	xe-0/0/1	xe-0/0/2
	xe-0/0/2	ge-0/0/3
Netapp	10a	e9a
	10b	e9e
	e9a	10a
	e9e	10b
	e11a	e11
	e11e	e11

Database changes

Extra field on 'Platform'

            model_name='platform',
            name='interface_sorting',
            field=models.CharField(default='default', max_length=100)

External dependencies

No response

*Originally created by @PieterL75 on 11/7/2025* ### NetBox version v4.3.7 ### Feature type New functionality ### Proposed functionality Interfaces are sorted according a specific interface naturalization function https://github.com/netbox-community/netbox/blob/cf0ef9226866223be6b54e791ea157ef849a340f/netbox/utilities/ordering.py#L51 This function suits very well for Cisco branded devices, but does not always work for other vendors. There has been few proposals (can only find this one https://github.com/netbox-community/netbox/issues/9368 ) to address this, but for now non has been accepted. FR #20335 proposed several options, and the discussion thread ended with this proposal: * provide different sorting mechanisms, which can be applied per Platform type * also allow plugins to extend these sorting mechanisms Proposed sorting algoritms - Default: (current one) Similar in nature to naturalize(), but takes into account a particular naming format adapted from the old InterfaceManager - Alphanumeric: Take an alphanumeric string and prepend all integers to `integer_places` places to ensure the strings are ordered naturally. (Arista) - Numeric: Take an alphanumeric string and prepend all integers to `integer_places` places to ensure the strings are ordered naturally, while ignoring the alpa part. (NetApp, JunOS, Arista) Add new functions with a plugin or in configuration.py ```python FIELD_CHOICES = { 'dcim.Platform.interfacesorting+': ( ('naturalsort' , 'Natural Interface Sorting', netbox_plugin.ordering.naturalsort), ) } ``` Other sorting option that could be implemented - Numeric, but with mgmt_only interfaces first A PoC can be found here, but that needs further coding before it can become a PR https://github.com/PieterL75/netbox/tree/customize-naturlization As a side effect, an extra option was implemented to the ChoiceSetMeta, adding the possibility to prevent a ChoiceSet to be replaced or extended. This probably need to go to a separate FR. ### Use case A recent poll in #netbox shows that there is a need for this: https://netdev-community.slack.com/archives/C01P0FRSXRV/p1757313471550629?thread_ts=1757065483.482359&cid=C01P0FRSXRV | Platform OS | Current | Desired | | ------------- | ------------ | ------------ | | Arista EOS | Ethernet48/1 | Ethernet1 | | | Ethernet48/2 | Ethernet2 | | | Ethernet49/1 | Ethernet48/1 | | | Ethernet49/2 | Ethernet48/2 | | | Ethernet1 | Ethernet49/1 | | | Ethernet2 | Ethernet49/2 | | Juniper JUNOS | ge-0/0/0 | ge-0/0/0 | | | ge-0/0/3 | xe-0/0/1 | | | xe-0/0/1 | xe-0/0/2 | | | xe-0/0/2 | ge-0/0/3 | | Netapp | 10a | e9a | | | 10b | e9e | | | e9a | 10a | | | e9e | 10b | | | e11a | e11 | | | e11e | e11 | ### Database changes Extra field on 'Platform' ``` model_name='platform', name='interface_sorting', field=models.CharField(default='default', max_length=100) ``` ### External dependencies _No response_

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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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Due Date

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Dependencies

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Reference: github/netbox#904