v1.6.0-rc.1 - 2023-08-02 #4198

jathanism · 2023-08-02T20:12:46Z

jathanism
Aug 2, 2023

Nautobot v1.6

This document describes all new features and changes in Nautobot 1.6.

Release Overview

Added

Custom Field "Markdown" Type (#4006)

A new Custom Field type, "Markdown", has been added. Custom fields of this type can store Markdown-formatted text which will be rendered in the web UI.

Caching of Dynamic Groups and Content Types (#4092)

APIs have been added to allow for caching of the results of looking up an object's content-type or Dynamic Group memberships, as well as for looking up the members of a Dynamic Group itself. These caches are disabled by default but can be enabled by configuring the DYNAMIC_GROUPS_MEMBER_CACHE_TIMEOUT and CONTENT_TYPE_CACHE_TIMEOUT settings respectively. Apps (plugins) that make use of dynamic groups should review the documentation for the APIs to determine how and when to make use of the cache for improved performance.

Installation Metrics (#4047)

A new setting, INSTALLATION_METRICS_ENABLED, has been added to allow Nautobot to send anonymous installation metrics to the Nautobot maintainers. This setting is True by default but can be changed in nautobot_config.py or the NAUTOBOT_INSTALLATION_METRICS_ENABLED environment variable.

If the INSTALLATION_METRICS_ENABLED setting is True, running the post_upgrade or send_installation_metrics management commands will send a list of all installed plugins and their versions, as well as the currently installed Nautobot and Python versions, to the Nautobot maintainers. A randomized UUID will be generated and saved in the DEPLOYMENT_ID setting to anonymously and uniquely identify each installation. The plugin names will be one-way hashed with SHA256 to further anonymize the data sent. This enables tracking the installation metrics of publicly released plugins without disclosing the names of any private plugins.

The following is an example of the data that is sent:

{
    "deployment_id": "1de3dacf-f046-4a98-8d4a-17419080db79",
    "nautobot_version": "1.6.0b1",
    "python_version": "3.10.12",
    "installed_apps": {
        # "example_plugin" hashed by sha256
        "3ffee4622af3aad6f78257e3ae12da99ca21d71d099f67f4a2e19e464453bee7": "1.0.0"
    },
    "debug": true
}

`Platform.network_driver` and related fields (4136)

The Platform model has been enhanced to include a network_driver database field and a network_driver_mappings derived property based on the netutils library. For example, if you set a Platform to have a network_driver value of "cisco_ios", the platform.network_driver_mappings property will return a dictionary containing ansible, hier_config, napalm, netmiko, ntc_templates, pyats, pyntc, and scrapli keys corresponding to this entry. These properties can be referenced via the REST API and GraphQL to assist in developing and maintaining Apps, Jobs, or third-party code that interact with devices by using any of these libraries.

If the default derivations provided by netutils are not suitable for your purposes, you can extend or override them by configuring the NETWORK_DRIVERS system setting.

Python 3.11 Support (#3561)

Nautobot 1.6.0 formally adds support for installation and operation under Python 3.11.

Changed

Additional HIDE_RESTRICTED_UI Effects for Unauthenticated Users (#3646)

When HIDE_RESTRICTED_UI is enabled, unauthenticated users are no longer able to view the OpenAPI (Swagger) UI, the GraphiQL UI, or any configured top/bottom banners. Additionally, the page footer on the login page will not display the Nautobot server hostname in this case.

Increased `Device.asset_tag` maximum length (#3693)

The maximum length of the Device.asset_tag field has been increased from 50 to 100 characters.

Removed

Removed Python 3.7 Support (#3561)

As Python 3.7 has reached end-of-life, Nautobot 1.6 and later do not support installation or operation under Python 3.7.