How to Install Netbox on Ubuntu

Install Netbox Docker

Installing Netbox is a very quick and easy process and you should be up and running in under 10 minutes! Whilst there are many ways to install Netbox for this tutorial I am going to show you how to install Netbox using Docker on an Ubuntu 22.04 server.

Netbox Installation prerequisites:

Docker, Docker Compose

How to install Netbox on Ubuntu Server

1. clone the Netbox GitHub Community Repo

git clone -b release https://github.com/netbox-community/netbox-docker.git

2. cd into netbox-docker directory

cd netbox-docker 

3. define the port for Netbox

Note: default port is 8000 if that is free leave the config as below

tee docker-compose.override.yml <<EOF
services:
  netbox:
    ports:
      - 8000:8080
EOF

On my server port 8000 was already in use so you have to change the left port number. The right port number is the container.

4. change port if needed

tee docker-compose.override.yml <<EOF
services:
  netbox:
    ports:
      - 8050:8080
EOF

5. pull the files with docker compose pull

This will pull all the relevant files needed

docker compose pull 

6. bring the server up with docker compose up

docker compose up 

7. netbox installed now connect to your netbox

Once the containers have booted up, you should now be able to access your Netbox community edition at http://<server-ip>:8000 (or your chosen port) if so you have installed netbox successfully!

8. create a superuser account

What is the default username and password for Netbox on Docker?

There is no default username and password for Netbox you start by creating a superuser account using the steps below:

1. At the command prompt of your server cd to NetBox-Docker
2. docker compose exec netbox /opt/netbox/netbox/manage.py createsuperuser
3. Enter your details
4. Login

I chose to ignore the 12 character password limit as this is just a lab server

If all has gone to plan you should be able to login and be looking at Netbox

Netbox community edition homepage

Netbox install documentation – Installation Guide

Things change, so if this process is not working for you, always check out the latest official documentation here:

https://github.com/netbox-community/netbox-docker/wiki/Getting-Started

Ubuntu Server Spec

For this Lab I am running most of my containers on a Dell T3610 with 64Gb ram and a 1Tb SSD drive. It’s an older machine but still very capable of running many workloads. I am also running Ubuntu Server (not desktop) 22.04

Installation Guide for Netbox

How to configure Netbox for Network Automation

Installing Netbox is the easy party, Netbox setup will take a lot longer!

Netbox Tutorials

How to add a device to Netbox via GUI
How to add a device to Netbox via API