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Getting Started with the App

This document provides a step-by-step tutorial on how to get started with the Nautobot IGP Models app and begin modeling your IGP routing configurations.

Install the App

To install the app, please follow the instructions detailed in the Installation Guide.

Quick Start with Demo Data

The fastest way to explore the app is to load the included demo data, which creates a realistic four-router network topology with ISIS and OSPF configurations.

Load Demo Data

From your Nautobot environment, run:

nautobot-server load_igp_demo_data

This command creates:

  • 4 routers (DC-CORE-01, DC-CORE-02, DC-EDGE-01, DC-EDGE-02)
  • ISIS routing on core routers with auto-generated NETs
  • OSPF routing on all routers in area 0.0.0.0
  • Complete interface configurations

Explore the Demo Data

  1. Navigate to Routing → IGP - Link-State → IGP Routing Instances in the Nautobot UI
  2. You'll see 6 routing instances (2 ISIS, 4 OSPF)
  3. Click on any instance to view its detailed configuration
  4. Explore related ISIS or OSPF configurations and interface settings

Creating Your First IGP Configuration

Let's walk through creating a complete ISIS configuration for a router.

Step 1: Ensure Prerequisites

Before creating IGP configurations, ensure you have:

  • A device in Nautobot
  • At least one interface on that device
  • An IP address assigned to an interface (for router ID)
  • An "Active" status (or other appropriate status)

Step 2: Create an IGP Routing Instance

  1. Navigate to Routing → IGP - Link-State → IGP Routing Instances
  2. Click the + Add button
  3. Fill in the form:
  4. Name: Descriptive name (e.g., "ISIS-CORE-ROUTER-01")
  5. Device: Select your device
  6. Protocol: Choose "ISIS"
  7. Router ID: Select an IP address from the device
  8. VRF: Select a VRF (or leave blank for global)
  9. ISIS Area: Enter area ID (e.g., "49.0001")
  10. Status: Select "Active"
  11. Click Create

Step 3: Create ISIS Configuration

  1. Navigate to Routing → IGP - Link-State → ISIS Configurations
  2. Click the + Add button
  3. Fill in the form:
  4. Name: Configuration name (e.g., "ISIS-Config-Core-01")
  5. Instance: Select the IGP Routing Instance you just created
  6. System ID: Leave blank for auto-generation or enter manually
  7. Status: Select "Active"
  8. Click Create

Automatic NET Generation

If you leave the System ID field blank, the app will automatically generate a valid ISIS NET based on the router ID and ISIS area from the routing instance. For example, router ID 10.0.0.1 in area 49.0001 generates NET: 49.0001.0010.0000.0001.00

Step 4: Configure ISIS on Interfaces

  1. Navigate to Routing → IGP - Link-State → ISIS Interface Configurations
  2. Click the + Add button
  3. Fill in the form:
  4. Name: Interface config name (e.g., "ISIS-GE0/0/1")
  5. ISIS Config: Select the ISIS configuration
  6. Device: Select your device
  7. Interface: Select the interface to configure
  8. Circuit Type: Choose Level 1, Level 2, or Level 1-2
  9. Metric: Enter the ISIS metric (e.g., 10)
  10. Status: Select "Active"
  11. Click Create
  12. Repeat for additional interfaces

Creating an OSPF Configuration

The process for OSPF is similar:

Step 1: Create OSPF Routing Instance

  1. Navigate to Routing → IGP - Link-State → IGP Routing Instances
  2. Click + Add
  3. Fill in:
  4. Protocol: Choose "OSPF"
  5. ISIS Area: Leave blank (not used for OSPF)
  6. (Other fields same as ISIS)
  7. Click Create

Step 2: Create OSPF Configuration

  1. Navigate to Routing → IGP - Link-State → OSPF Configurations
  2. Click + Add
  3. Fill in:
  4. Name: Configuration name
  5. Instance: Select the OSPF routing instance
  6. Process ID: Enter process ID (defaults to 1)
  7. Status: Select "Active"
  8. Click Create

Step 3: Configure OSPF on Interfaces

  1. Navigate to Routing → IGP - Link-State → OSPF Interface Configurations
  2. Click + Add
  3. Fill in:
  4. Name: Interface config name
  5. OSPF Config: Select the OSPF configuration
  6. Interface: Select the interface
  7. Area: Enter OSPF area (e.g., "0.0.0.0" or "1")
  8. Cost: Enter interface cost (e.g., 1)
  9. Status: Select "Active"
  10. Click Create

Using Filters

The app provides powerful filtering capabilities:

  1. On any list view, use the Filters panel on the right
  2. Filter by:
  3. Device
  4. Protocol type (ISIS/OSPF)
  5. Status
  6. Area (for OSPF)
  7. Circuit type (for ISIS)
  8. And more...

Bulk Operations

Bulk Edit

  1. Select multiple objects using checkboxes
  2. Choose Edit Selected from the dropdown
  3. Modify fields that should apply to all selected objects
  4. Click Apply

CSV Import

  1. Click Import on any list view
  2. Download the CSV template
  3. Fill in your data
  4. Upload and import

API Access

All IGP models are accessible via the Nautobot REST API:

List IGP Routing Instances

curl -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_TOKEN" \
  http://nautobot/api/plugins/nautobot-igp-models/igp-routing-instances/

Create ISIS Configuration

curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "ISIS-Config-API",
    "instance": "UUID_OF_INSTANCE",
    "status": "UUID_OF_STATUS"
  }' \
  http://nautobot/api/plugins/nautobot-igp-models/isis-configurations/

Filter by Device

curl -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "http://nautobot/api/plugins/nautobot-igp-models/igp-routing-instances/?device=router1"

For complete API documentation, visit /api/docs/ in your Nautobot instance.

Using with PyNautobot

The app works seamlessly with PyNautobot:

from pynautobot import api

# Connect to Nautobot
nautobot = api(url="http://nautobot", token="YOUR_TOKEN")

# Get all ISIS configurations
isis_configs = nautobot.plugins.nautobot-igp-models.isis-configurations.all()

# Create a new OSPF interface configuration
ospf_int = nautobot.plugins.nautobot-igp-models.ospf-interface-configurations.create(
    name="OSPF-API-Test",
    ospf_config="uuid-of-ospf-config",
    interface="uuid-of-interface",
    area="0.0.0.0",
    cost=10,
    status="uuid-of-active-status"
)

What's Next?

Now that you've created your first IGP configurations, you can:

  • Explore Use Cases: Check out the Use Cases guide for common scenarios
  • API Integration: Integrate with your automation tools (Ansible, Nornir, custom scripts)
  • Configuration Generation: Use the data to generate router configurations
  • Validation: Build workflows to validate routing design consistency
  • Migration Planning: Model both current and target state for protocol migrations

Getting Help

Tips and Best Practices

Naming Conventions

Use consistent naming for easier filtering and automation:

  • IGP Instances: {PROTOCOL}-{DEVICE-NAME} (e.g., "ISIS-CORE-01")
  • Configurations: {PROTOCOL}-Config-{DEVICE-NAME} (e.g., "OSPF-Config-Edge-01")
  • Interface Configs: {PROTOCOL}-{DEVICE}-{INTERFACE} (e.g., "ISIS-CORE-01-GE1")

Status Workflow

Use statuses to track configuration lifecycle:

  • Planned: Configuration designed but not yet deployed
  • Active: Currently deployed and operational
  • Decommissioned: Removed from network but kept for historical reference

Validation

Regularly validate your data:

  • Ensure all routing instances have valid router IDs
  • Verify ISIS areas are consistent across devices in same domain
  • Check OSPF area boundaries align with design
  • Confirm interface configurations match deployed state