Install and Configure NetBox IPAM on Ubuntu

This page was written by Manhal Mohamed, sdnog team, on 16 August 2024. 

 Ensure the following packages and dependencies are installed: 

 

 Python 3.8 or higher 

 PostgreSQL 12 or higher 

 Redis 

 Netbox 3.0 or higher 

 Nginx 

 Gunicorn 

 

 Create a non-root user with sudo access netboxuser 

 Install and configure PostgreSQL 

 Install PostgreSQL: 

 sudo apt install postgresql libpq-dev -y 

 Start the database server: 

 sudo systemctl start postgresql 

 Enable the database server to start automatically on reboot: 

 sudo systemctl enable postgresql 

 Change the default PostgreSQL password: 

 sudo passwd postgres 

 Switch to the postgres user: 

 su - postgres 

 Log in to PostgreSQL: 

 psql 

 Create the NetBox database: 

 CREATE DATABASE netbox; 

 Create the netbox user with a strong password (replace my_strong_password with a secure one): 

 CREATE USER netbox WITH ENCRYPTED PASSWORD 'my_strong_password'; 

 Grant privileges to the netbox user on the netbox database: 

 GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE netbox TO netbox; 

 Exit PostgreSQL: 

 \q 

 Return to your non-root sudo user account: 

 exit 

 2. Install Redis® 

 Redis® is an in-memory key-value store used by NetBox for caching and queuing. 

 Install Redis®: 

 sudo apt install -y redis-server 

 3. Install and configure NetBox 

 Install all required packages: 

 sudo apt install python3 python3-pip python3-venv python3-dev build-essential libxml2-dev libxslt1-dev libffi-dev libpq-dev libssl-dev zlib1g-dev git -y 

 Update pip to the latest version: 

 sudo pip3 install --upgrade pip 

 Create the installation directory and change to it: 

 sudo mkdir -p /opt/netbox/ && cd /opt/netbox/ 

 Clone NetBox from the official Git repository: 

 sudo git clone -b master https://github.com/netbox-community/netbox.git . 

 Create a system user named netbox: 

 sudo adduser --system --group netbox 

 Grant the netbox user ownership of the media directory: 

 sudo chown --recursive netbox /opt/netbox/netbox/media/ 

 Navigate to the configuration directory: 

 cd /opt/netbox/netbox/netbox/ 

 Copy the example configuration file: 

 sudo cp configuration_example.py configuration.py 

 Create a symbolic link for the Python binary: 

 sudo ln -s /usr/bin/python3 /usr/bin/python 

 Generate a random SECRET_KEY for the configuration: 

 sudo /opt/netbox/netbox/generate_secret_key.py 

 Copy the generated secret key and use it in the configuration file. 

 Edit the configuration file: 

 sudo nano /opt/netbox/netbox/netbox/configuration.py 

 Update the file with the following settings: 

 ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['*']

DATABASE = {

 'NAME': 'netbox',

 'USER': 'netbox',

 'PASSWORD': 'my_strong_password',

 'HOST': 'localhost',

 'PORT': '',

}

SECRET_KEY = '<generated_secret_key>'

 

 Run the upgrade script: 

 sudo /opt/netbox/upgrade.sh Enter the Python virtual environment: 

 source /opt/netbox/venv/bin/activate Navigate to the NetBox directory: 

 cd /opt/netbox/netbox Create a superuser account: 

 python3 manage.py createsuperuser Reboot the system: 

 sudo reboot 

 4. Configure Gunicorn 

 Copy the Gunicorn configuration file: 

 sudo cp /opt/netbox/contrib/gunicorn.py /opt/netbox/gunicorn.py 

 5. Configure Systemd 

 Copy the systemd service files: 

 sudo cp /opt/netbox/contrib/*.service /etc/systemd/system/ Reload the systemd daemon: 

 sudo systemctl daemon-reload Start the NetBox services: 

 sudo systemctl start netbox netbox-rq Enable the services to start at boot: 

 sudo systemctl enable netbox netbox-rq 

 6. Configure Nginx Web Server 

 Install the Nginx web server: 

 sudo apt install -y nginx Copy the Nginx configuration file: 

 sudo cp /opt/netbox/contrib/nginx.conf /etc/nginx/sites-available/netbox 

 Edit the configuration file: 

 sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/netbox 

 Replace the server name with your server's IP address: 

 server {

 listen 80;

 server_name 192.0.2.10; # Update this with your server's IP

 client_max_body_size 25m;

 location /static/ {

 alias /opt/netbox/netbox/static/;

 }

 location / {

 proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8001;

 proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $http_host;

 proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;

 proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;

 }

}

 

 Delete the default Nginx configuration: 

 sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default 

 Create a symbolic link for the NetBox configuration: 

 sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/netbox /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/netbox 

 Restart the Nginx service: 

 sudo systemctl restart nginx 

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