Inventory Format Overview

The inventory is a versioned datastore that holds every piece of hardware cani knows about. Each hardware category is stored as a separate map keyed by UUID.

Top-Level Structure

In Go the inventory is the Inventory struct:

type Inventory struct {
    SchemaVersion string
    Provider      string

    Locations  map[uuid.UUID]*CaniLocationType
    Racks      map[uuid.UUID]*CaniRackType
    Devices    map[uuid.UUID]*CaniDeviceType
    Modules    map[uuid.UUID]*CaniModuleType
    Cables     map[uuid.UUID]*CaniCableType
    Frus       map[uuid.UUID]*CaniFruType
    Interfaces map[uuid.UUID]*CaniInterface

    Metadata   *InventoryMetadata // catalog of roles, statuses, tags
}

The current schema version is v1alpha2.

Hardware Types

Type	Go Type	Description
Location	CaniLocationType	Physical site, building, floor, or room
Rack	CaniRackType	Equipment rack with U-slot tracking
Device	CaniDeviceType	Server, switch, PDU, chassis, or blade
Module	CaniModuleType	Component installed in a device (GPU, NIC, PSU)
Cable	CaniCableType	Physical cable between two endpoints
FRU	CaniFruType	Field-replaceable unit (spare or replacement part)
Interface	CaniInterface	Network or console port on a device or module

Relationships

Items reference each other by UUID:

• A Location has Children (child locations) and Racks.
• A Rack has a Location FK and a Devices list.
• A Device has Parent, Children, Rack, Location, and Frus references.
• A Module has a ParentDevice FK.
• A Cable has TerminationA and TerminationB endpoint UUIDs.
• A FRU has a Device or Parent FK.

Example: Device

{
  "f7448392-1e1c-45d0-9c59-be7dfc44c15c": {
    "id": "f7448392-1e1c-45d0-9c59-be7dfc44c15c",
    "name": "nid000001",
    "type": "Device",
    "manufacturer": "HPE",
    "model": "EX420 Compute Blade",
    "status": "active",
    "role": "Compute",
    "parent": "7e3de0fa-e3d6-421b-9d25-c0192d2a5966",
    "rack": "a1b2c3d4-0000-0000-0000-000000000001",
    "rackPosition": 3,
    "children": [
      "00050177-a309-4fde-bf85-70452b228e24",
      "004ecb7f-50bb-4975-9973-b6c617d6cc82"
    ],
    "providerMetadata": {
      "csm": {
        "xname": "x3000c0s3b0n0",
        "class": "Mountain",
        "role": "Compute",
        "nid": 1
      }
    },
    "externalIDs": {
      "nautobot": "9a8b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-000000000001"
    }
  }
}

Example: Rack

{
  "a1b2c3d4-0000-0000-0000-000000000001": {
    "id": "a1b2c3d4-0000-0000-0000-000000000001",
    "name": "x3000",
    "uHeight": 42,
    "location": "b2c3d4e5-0000-0000-0000-000000000001",
    "status": "active",
    "devices": [
      "f7448392-1e1c-45d0-9c59-be7dfc44c15c"
    ]
  }
}

Common Fields

All types embed ObjectMeta, providing a uniform set of metadata fields:

• id — unique UUID identifier
• name — human-readable name
• status — lifecycle state (staged, active, planned, etc.)
• role — functional role (e.g. Compute, Spine Switch)
• tags — arbitrary string labels
• tenant — tenant or ownership group
• customFields — free-form key/value map
• externalIDs — maps a provider name to that provider's remote UUID
• providerMetadata — provider-specific data (see Metadata)