NetBox Enterprise Overview

Overview

NetBox Enterprise is a self-hosted NetBox distribution built by NetBox Labs for organizations deploying NetBox in their own infrastructure. It provides enterprise-grade features, professional support, and two deployment methods to match your operational model.

Key Benefits:

• Enterprise Features: SSO authentication, LDAP/SAML integration, plugin management, backup/restore, and Diode data ingestion
• Professional Support: Access to NetBox Labs engineering team for technical assistance
• Flexible Architecture: Use bundled components or integrate with external PostgreSQL, Redis, and S3-compatible storage
• Production Ready: Battle-tested deployment architecture used by enterprise customers

Deployment

Deploy NetBox Enterprise on bare-metal servers or VMs with a self-contained installer that sets up a Kubernetes cluster (k0s) and all required components automatically.

• Best for: Teams without existing Kubernetes infrastructure, or preferring a simplified deployment
• Control: Web-based Admin Console (KOTS) on port 30000 for configuration and upgrades
• Components: Embedded k0s cluster, CrunchyData PostgreSQL, Redis with Sentinel, OpenEBS storage
• Requirements: Supported Linux distribution (RHEL or Ubuntu), 4+ vCPU, 16+ GB RAM

Get started with Embedded Cluster

Architecture

K0S[k0s Cluster] K0S --> KOTS[Admin Console :30000] KOTS --> NB2[NetBox + Workers] KOTS --> D2[Diode] KOTS --> PG2[PostgreSQL via CrunchyData] KOTS --> RD2[Redis + Sentinel] end

subgraph Helm["Helm Path"] direction LR HELM[Helm Chart] --> OP[nbe-operator] OP --> CRD[NetBoxEnterprise CRD] CRD --> NB1[NetBox + Workers] CRD --> D1[Diode] CRD --> PG1[PostgreSQL via PGO 6.0] CRD --> RD1[Redis] end

-->

### Component Versions (2.0.0)

| Component | Version |
|-----------|---------|
| **NetBox** | 4.4.10 |
| **nbe-operator Chart** | 2.0.0 |
| **PostgreSQL Operator (PGO)** | 6.0.0 |
| **PostgreSQL** | 18.x (Operator), 16.x (Embedded) |
| **Redis** | 7.x |
| **Diode Pro** | 1.12.4 |

### Component Options

NetBox Enterprise provides flexibility in choosing between bundled and external components:

| Component | Bundled Option | External Option | When to Use External |
|-----------|---------------|-----------------|----------------------|
| **PostgreSQL** | CrunchyData | AWS RDS, Cloud SQL, managed PostgreSQL | Existing managed databases (requires 3 databases: netbox, diode, hydra) |
| **Redis** | Redis with Sentinel | AWS ElastiCache, managed Redis | Existing managed caching infrastructure |
| **Object Storage** | Local persistent volume | AWS S3, MinIO, DigitalOcean Spaces | Required for multi-node deployments |
| **Kubernetes** | Embedded k0s | N/A | Automatically provisioned |

<!-- HELM_HIDDEN: Restore "(EC) or PGO-managed (Helm)", "(EC) or Operator-managed (Helm)", "(EC) or BYO (Helm)" qualifiers when Helm is public -->

## Diode Data Ingestion

Diode is the data ingestion service bundled with NetBox Enterprise. It accepts data from external sources via gRPC, reconciles it against the current NetBox state, and creates changesets for review or automatic application. When using an external PostgreSQL instance, Diode requires two additional databases (diode and hydra) beyond the main NetBox database.

<!-- HELM_HIDDEN: For configuration details, see [Diode Configuration](helm/configuration/diode.md). -->

## Scaling and License Tiers

NetBox Enterprise supports horizontal scaling of application and worker replicas. The maximum number of replicas depends on your license tier:

| License Tier | NetBox Replicas | Worker Replicas |
|-------------|-----------------|-----------------|
| **Starter** | 1 | 1 |
| **Professional** | 1-4 | 1-4 |
| **Premium** | 1-8 | 1-8 |

For resource presets, see the [installation guide](embedded-cluster/nbe-ec-installation.md#configure-netbox-enterprise).

<!-- HELM_HIDDEN: For Helm deployments, resource limits are configured in `values.yaml` — see the [Helm Values Reference](helm/configuration/helm-values.md). -->

## Getting Started

### Embedded Cluster Path

1. **Review Requirements**: Check [system requirements](embedded-cluster/nbe-ec-requirements.md) for your distribution
   - [Ubuntu requirements](embedded-cluster/nbe-ec-requirements-ubuntu.md)
   - [RHEL requirements](embedded-cluster/nbe-ec-requirements-rhel.md)
   - [Linux system changes](embedded-cluster/nbe-ec-linux-changes.md)

2. **Prepare Your Host**: Configure firewall, disable swap, load kernel modules

3. **Install NetBox Enterprise**: Follow the [installation guide](embedded-cluster/nbe-ec-installation.md)

4. **Configure NetBox**: Use Admin Console to configure superuser, replicas, database, and authentication

5. **Deploy and Verify**: Deploy NetBox and verify access on ports 80/443

6. **Migrate Data** (Optional): Import existing NetBox data using the [migration guide](embedded-cluster/nbe-migrating.md)

<!-- HELM_HIDDEN: Restore "### Helm Path" getting started section when Helm is public. Original:

### Helm Path

1. **Review Prerequisites**: Check [prerequisites](helm/installation/prerequisites.md) for Kubernetes version, tools, and registry access
2. **Quick Start or Standard Install**: Follow the [quickstart](helm/installation/quickstart.md) for a minimal deployment, or the [standard installation](helm/installation/standard-install.md) for production
3. **Configure**: Customize [Helm values](helm/configuration/helm-values.md), [TLS/Ingress](helm/configuration/ingress-tls.md), and [monitoring](helm/configuration/monitoring.md)
4. **Review Architecture**: Understand the [component topology](helm/guides/architecture.md) and [security model](helm/guides/security.md)
-->

### Common Configuration

- **Plugins**: Enable [built-in plugins](nbe-ec-built-in-plugins.md) or install [custom plugins](nbe-ec-custom-plugins.md)
- **Authentication**: Configure [SAML SSO](nbe-saml.md), [Entra ID SSO](nbe-azure-sso.md), [OIDC](nbe-oidc-sso.md), or [LDAP](nbe-ldap.md)
- **Backups**: Configure [database backups](nbe-backups.md)
<!-- HELM_HIDDEN: or [Velero backups](helm/guides/backups.md) (Helm) -->

## Support and Documentation

- **Troubleshooting**: [Troubleshooting](nbe-troubleshooting.md)
<!-- HELM_HIDDEN: | [Helm troubleshooting](helm/guides/troubleshooting.md) -->
- **Technical Support**: Contact your NetBox Enterprise support representative
- **Release Information**: Review [release notes](nbe-release-notes.md) before upgrading