Software Lifecycle¶

The Software Lifecycle portion of the app helps in managing the lifecycle of the software running on the devices and inventory items.

To help in achieving this goal the app provides three types of objects: Software, Software Image and Validated Software.

Software objects can be used on their own and are used to record detailed information about a software release. These objects can then be associated with devices and inventory items to track the versions used by the infrastructure hardware.

Software Image objects are used to record detailed information about software images linked to given Software version. They can be assigned to specific device types, inventory items and object tags.

Validated Software objects are used to specify which versions of the Software are currently valid/approved within the organization, and for which subset of the devices/inventory items. Validated Software requires Software object to be defined before it can be created.

Software objects¶

Software objects represent software releases that can be assigned to devices and inventory items. When creating the Software object, the following fields are available (fields in bold are mandatory).

Field	Description
Device Platform	Device platform (software family) matching this software release
Version	Version of the software as specified by the vendor
Alias	Arbitrary name that can help distinguish this software inside of the organization
Release Date	Date when the software was released
End of Software Support	Date when the support for this software version ends
Documentation URL	URL pointing to the documentation for this software version
Long Term Support	Toggle to specify whether this software is designated as a long term support release
Pre-Release	Toggle to specify whether this is a beta/pre-release version of the software
Running on Devices	List of devices having this software assigned
Running on Inventory Items	List of inventory items having this software assigned
Tags	Arbitrary tags that can be applied to this software

Example of a Software object with most fields filled in:

Software Image objects¶

When creating the Software Image object, the following fields are available. Fields in bold are mandatory.

Field	Description
Image File Name	Name of the image file
Software	Software object this Software Image object is tied to
Download URL	Either internal or external link to the image for this software
Image File Checksum	MD5 or SHA checksum of the image file
Default Image	Marks this Software Image as the default image for the linked Software version
Device Types -> Device types	Devices having these device types use this software image
Inventory Items -> Inventory items	Inventory items whose software use this software image
Object Tags -> Object tags	Devices and Inventory items with these tags use this software image

Example of a Software object with most fields filled in:

Software Image assignment rules¶

Validated Image object can be assigned to:

device types
inventory items
object tags applied to devices and inventory items

Software Image constraints¶

The following constrains apply to the Software Image objects:

Software Image file name must be unique across images linked to one Software version.
Only one default Software Image per Software version is allowed.
If Software Image is marked as the default, it cannot be assigned to specific objects. That it is, Software Image is either the default OR it applies to selected device types/inventory items/object tags.
No more than one Software Image, for given Software version, can be assigned to given device types/inventory items/object tags.
If Software Image is not marked as default or assigned to any objects, it won't be taken into account when computing software images for end objects (devices, inventory items).

Software Image - matching to devices and inventory items¶

When using List view search form, or API, it's possible to pass device name, device id or inventory id as a filter. App will then attempt to find a Software Image object that applies to devices and inventory items.

To find a software image assigned to an object, that object must have Software assigned, and that Software must have at least Software Image linked to it.

Order of preference:

One of the Object Tags assigned to Software Image matches tag on Device/Inventory Item
One of the Device Types assigned to Software Image matches the device type assigned to the Device
One of the Inventory Items assigned to Software Image matches the inventory item
Software Image marked as the default image

REST API example¶

Query:

GET {{NAUTOBOT_URL}}/api/plugins/nautobot-device-lifecycle-mgmt/software-image/?device_name=ams-leaf-02

Response:

{
    "count": 1,
    "next": null,
    "previous": null,
    "results": [
        {
            "id": "a4ca2d1b-77d4-48a1-a7f4-caa67d0677fa",
            "url": "http://172.29.183.193:8080/api/plugins/nautobot-device-lifecycle-mgmt/software-image/a4ca2d1b-77d4-48a1-a7f4-caa67d0677fa/",
            "image_file_name": "4.24.8tag.img",
            "software": {
                "id": "271ea021-69fd-4d8d-8cff-d367fa30ef08",
                "url": "http://172.29.183.193:8080/api/plugins/nautobot-device-lifecycle-mgmt/software/271ea021-69fd-4d8d-8cff-d367fa30ef08/",
                "device_platform": "835e363f-c922-4540-b0c0-aaeac2a1be15",
                "version": "4.24.8M",
                "end_of_support": "2023-04-05",
                "display": "Arista EOS - 4.24.8M"
            },
            "device_types": [],
            "inventory_items": [],
            "object_tags": [
                "2b7bc5dc-a640-4686-b887-8986f1a2a5e2",
                "e0df521c-b772-4581-a0a3-d6cd7c1c2b2b"
            ],
            "download_url": "",
            "image_file_checksum": "",
            "default_image": false,
            "custom_fields": {},
            "tags": [],
            "display": "4.24.8tag.img"
        }
    ]
}

GraphQL API example¶

Query:

query {
  software_images(device_name: "ams-leaf-02") {
    software {
      version
    }
    image_file_name
    image_file_checksum
    download_url
  }
}

Response:

{
  "data": {
    "software_images": [
      {
        "software": {
          "version": "4.24.8M"
        },
        "image_file_name": "EOS-4.24.8M.swi",
        "image_file_checksum": "EOS-4.24.8M.swi",
        "download_url": "ftp://images.internal/eos/EOS-4.24.8M.swi"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Validated Software objects¶

Validated Software objects are used to check if the software assigned to devices and inventory items is valid/approved.

These objects represent rules defined in an organization during the software approval/qualification process.

Multiple Validated Software objects can be created for the same software. This allows specifying different validity periods and preference settings for different subsets of devices and inventory items.

When creating the validated software the following fields are available. Fields in bold are mandatory.

Field	Description
Software	Software object this Validated Software object is tied to
Valid Since	Start date when the rules defined by this object start applying
Valid Until	End date when the rules defined by this object stop applying
Preferred Version	Whether the Software specified by this Validated Software should be considered a preferred version
Devices -> Devices	Devices whose software will be validated by this Validated Software
Devices -> Device types	Devices having these device types will have software validated by this Validated Software
Devices -> Device roles	Devices having these device roles will have software validated by this Validated Software
Inventory Items -> Inventory items	Inventory items whose software will be validated by this Validated Software
Object Tags -> Object tags	Devices and Inventory items with these tags will be validated by this Validated Software

Example of a Validated Software object with most fields filled in:

Validated Software assignment rules¶

Validated Software object can be assigned to:

devices
device types
device roles
inventory items
object tags applied to devices and inventory items

One Validated Software object can be assigned to multiple other objects.

Validated Software matching logic¶

When a device or inventory item has Software assigned app will attempt to find a Validated Software object that is linked to the Software and matches the device/inventory item through assignment resolution.

If at least one Validated Software object, which is currently valid, matching Software and device/inventory item is found, then the Software is marked as valid. Otherwise, it is marked as invalid.

When resolving whether Validated Software is taken into account when validating software on a given device, the following logic applies.

For device, Validated Software will be used if one, or more, of the following, applies:

Device is explicitly listed in the Validated Software devices attribute.
Device's device type AND device role match device_types AND device_roles in Validated Software. This applies only if BOTH are set. See the Special cases subsection that follows.
Device's device type is listed in the Validated Software device_types attribute.
Device's role is listed in the Validated Software device_roles attribute.
Device's tags are listed in the Validated Software object_tags attribute.

For inventory items, Validated Software will be used if one, or more, of the following, applies:

Inventory item is explicitly listed in the Validated Software devices attribute.
Inventory item's tags are listed in the Validated Software object_tags attribute.

Special cases - device type and device role defined together¶

When a Validated Software object is assigned to both device type and device role then these are used in conjunction (logical AND). That is, such an object will apply to devices that are assigned both, specified device type AND device role.

This logic is used to allow to specify a subset of the devices of a given type by adding additional constraint in the form of device role.

For example, in the below case Validated Software 4.21M will apply to Device 1 only since Device 2 has a match for device type only.

Device 1
- device type: 7150-S64
- device role: leaf
- software: 4.21M
Device 2
- device type: 7150-S64
- device role: edge
- software: 4.21M
Validated Software - 4.21M:
device types: 7150-S64
device roles: leaf
software: 4.21M

Behavior when using API to retrieve Validated Software list for devices and inventory items¶

By default when retrieving a list of Validated Software objects it is possible to filter results by assignments used when the object was created.

To get a list of Validated Software objects that match given device/inventory item matching using the logic described in the previous section, one must specify one of the below parameters:

For devices: device_name or device_id
For inventory items: inventory_item_id

API Examples for getting Validated Software matching specific objects¶

Return Validated Software objects taken into account when validating software assigned to device ams-leaf-01.

GraphQL

query {
validated_softwares(device_name: "ams-leaf-01") {
    preferred
    software {
    version
    }
}

{
    "data": {
        "validated_softwares": [
            {
                "software": {
                    "version": "4.25.6M"
                },
                "preferred": true
            },
            {
                "software": {
                    "version": "4.23.10M"
                },
                "preferred": false
            }
        ]
    }
}

REST API

{{NAUTOBOT_URL}}/api/plugins/nautobot-device-lifecycle-mgmt/validated-software/?device_name=ams-edge-01

{
    "count": 2,
    "next": null,
    "previous": null,
    "results": [
        {
            "id": "94aabc58-7654-40b0-9d6a-2a71f6b2449c",
            "url": "https://demo.nautobot.com/api/plugins/nautobot-device-lifecycle-mgmt/validated-software/94aabc58-7654-40b0-9d6a-2a71f6b2449c/",
            "software": {
                "id": "96dba607-19b2-4875-8d02-a8b4667afd69",
                "url": "https://demo.nautobot.com/api/plugins/nautobot-device-lifecycle-mgmt/software/96dba607-19b2-4875-8d02-a8b4667afd69/",
                "device_platform": "835e363f-c922-4540-b0c0-aaeac2a1be15",
                "version": "4.25.6M",
                "end_of_support": null,
                "display": "Arista EOS - 4.25.6M"
            },
            "devices": [],
            "device_types": [
                "b77ff7f2-c9ac-49f1-a74e-9dc32545ce1e"
            ],
            "device_roles": [],
            "inventory_items": [],
            "object_tags": [
                "dcde1fc2-8f55-44f7-bc17-155e5e7d944d"
            ],
            "start": "2021-06-15",
            "end": "2023-11-23",
            "preferred": true,
            "valid": true,
            "custom_fields": {},
            "tags": [],
            "display": "Arista EOS - 4.25.6M - Valid since: 2021-06-15"
        },
        {
            "id": "d59231fe-24aa-45ec-b21b-3cdeac6f88a1",
            "url": "https://demo.nautobot.com/api/plugins/nautobot-device-lifecycle-mgmt/validated-software/d59231fe-24aa-45ec-b21b-3cdeac6f88a1/",
            "software": {
                "id": "1fec053e-8c47-4616-ba8e-76ed5f1ff852",
                "url": "https://demo.nautobot.com/api/plugins/nautobot-device-lifecycle-mgmt/software/1fec053e-8c47-4616-ba8e-76ed5f1ff852/",
                "device_platform": "835e363f-c922-4540-b0c0-aaeac2a1be15",
                "version": "4.23.10M",
                "end_of_support": null,
                "display": "Arista EOS - 4.23.10M"
            },
            "devices": [],
            "device_types": [
                "d84c1995-f70a-4658-b53e-14ee4dad8423"
            ],
            "device_roles": [
                "033cf40f-f739-4864-b65f-4e612530d59a"
            ],
            "inventory_items": [],
            "object_tags": [],
            "start": "2020-09-15",
            "end": "2022-03-09",
            "preferred": false,
            "valid": true,
            "custom_fields": {},
            "tags": [],
            "display": "Arista EOS - 4.23.10M - Valid since: 2020-09-15"
        }
    ]
}

Return Validated Software objects taken into account when validating software assigned to inventory item with id ams-leaf-01.

GraphQL

query {
    validated_softwares(inventory_item_id: "33b0c49e-0ee9-409c-b136-f008a3cdf033") {
        software {
            version
        }
        preferred
    }
}

{
"data": {
    "validated_softwares": [
    {
        "software": {
        "version": "4.25.6M"
        },
        "preferred": true
    }
    ]
}
}

REST API

{{NAUTOBOT_URL}}/api/plugins/nautobot-device-lifecycle-mgmt/validated-software/?inventory_item_id=33b0c49e-0ee9-409c-b136-f008a3cdf033

{
    "count": 1,
    "next": null,
    "previous": null,
    "results": [
        {
            "id": "94aabc58-7654-40b0-9d6a-2a71f6b2449c",
            "url": "https://demo.nautobot.com/api/plugins/nautobot-device-lifecycle-mgmt/validated-software/94aabc58-7654-40b0-9d6a-2a71f6b2449c/",
            "software": {
                "id": "96dba607-19b2-4875-8d02-a8b4667afd69",
                "url": "https://demo.nautobot.com/api/plugins/nautobot-device-lifecycle-mgmt/software/96dba607-19b2-4875-8d02-a8b4667afd69/",
                "device_platform": "835e363f-c922-4540-b0c0-aaeac2a1be15",
                "version": "4.25.6M",
                "end_of_support": null,
                "display": "Arista EOS - 4.25.6M"
            },
            "devices": [],
            "device_types": [
                "b77ff7f2-c9ac-49f1-a74e-9dc32545ce1e"
            ],
            "device_roles": [],
            "inventory_items": [],
            "object_tags": [
                "dcde1fc2-8f55-44f7-bc17-155e5e7d944d"
            ],
            "start": "2021-06-15",
            "end": "2023-11-23",
            "preferred": true,
            "valid": true,
            "custom_fields": {},
            "tags": [],
            "display": "Arista EOS - 4.25.6M - Valid since: 2021-06-15"
        }
    ]
}

Ordering of the Validated Software objects in a list¶

A given device/inventory item can be matched by multiple Validated Software objects.

If there is more than one Validated Software object matching software assigned to the device/inventory item then the list of Validated Software objects ordered according to the following rules.

Ordering for devices¶

Device is listed in the devices attribute, preferred flag set to True
Device's device type AND device role are listed in the device_types and device_roles attributes, preferred flag set to True
Device's device type is listed in the device_types attribute, preferred flag set to True
Device's device role is listed in the device_roles attribute, preferred flag set to True
Device's tag is listed in the object_tags attribute, preferred flag set to True
Device is listed in the devices attribute, preferred flag set to False
Device's device type AND device role are listed in the device_types and device_roles attributes, preferred flag set to False
Device's device type is listed in the device_types attribute, preferred flag set to False
Device's device role is listed in the device_roles attribute, preferred flag set to False
Device's tag is listed in the object_tags attribute, preferred flag set to False

Ordering for inventory items¶

Inventory item is listed in the inventory_items attribute, preferred flag set to True
Inventory item's tag is listed in the object_tags attribute, preferred flag set to True
Inventory item is listed in the inventory_items attribute, preferred flag set to False
Inventory item's tag is listed in the object_tags attribute, preferred flag set to False

These rules allow preferred and more specific Validated Software objects to be returned first.