HTTP Server Setup
This documentation provides example configurations for both nginx and Apache, though any HTTP server which supports WSGI should be compatible.
Info
For the sake of brevity, only Ubuntu 20.04 instructions are provided here. These tasks are not unique to NetBox and should carry over to other distributions with minimal changes. Please consult your distribution's documentation for assistance if needed.
Obtain an SSL Certificate
To enable HTTPS access to NetBox, you'll need a valid SSL certificate. You can purchase one from a trusted commercial provider, obtain one for free from Let's Encrypt, or generate your own (although self-signed certificates are generally untrusted). Both the public certificate and private key files need to be installed on your NetBox server in a location that is readable by the netbox user.
The command below can be used to generate a self-signed certificate for testing purposes, however it is strongly recommended to use a certificate from a trusted authority in production. Two files will be created: the public certificate (netbox.crt) and the private key (netbox.key). The certificate is published to the world, whereas the private key must be kept secret at all times.
sudo openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 \
-keyout /etc/ssl/private/netbox.key \
-out /etc/ssl/certs/netbox.crt
The above command will prompt you for additional details of the certificate; all of these are optional.
HTTP Server Installation
Option A: nginx
Begin by installing nginx:
sudo apt install -y nginx
Once nginx is installed, copy the nginx configuration file provided by NetBox to /etc/nginx/sites-available/netbox. Be sure to replace netbox.example.com with the domain name or IP address of your installation. (This should match the value configured for ALLOWED_HOSTS in configuration.py.)
sudo cp /opt/netbox/contrib/nginx.conf /etc/nginx/sites-available/netbox
Then, delete /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default and create a symlink in the sites-enabled directory to the configuration file you just created.
sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/netbox /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/netbox
Finally, restart the nginx service to use the new configuration.
sudo systemctl restart nginx
Option B: Apache
Begin by installing Apache:
sudo apt install -y apache2
Next, copy the default configuration file to /etc/apache2/sites-available/. Be sure to modify the ServerName parameter appropriately.
sudo cp /opt/netbox/contrib/apache.conf /etc/apache2/sites-available/netbox.conf
Finally, ensure that the required Apache modules are enabled, enable the netbox site, and reload Apache:
sudo a2enmod ssl proxy proxy_http headers rewrite
sudo a2ensite netbox
sudo systemctl restart apache2
Confirm Connectivity
At this point, you should be able to connect to the HTTPS service at the server name or IP address you provided.
Info
Please keep in mind that the configurations provided here are bare minimums required to get NetBox up and running. You may want to make adjustments to better suit your production environment.
Warning
Certain components of NetBox (such as the display of rack elevation diagrams) rely on the use of embedded objects. Ensure that your HTTP server configuration does not override the X-Frame-Options response header set by NetBox.
Troubleshooting
If you are unable to connect to the HTTP server, check that:
- Nginx/Apache is running and configured to listen on the correct port.
- Access is not being blocked by a firewall somewhere along the path. (Try connecting locally from the server itself.)
If you are able to connect but receive a 502 (bad gateway) error, check the following:
- The WSGI worker processes (gunicorn) are running (
systemctl status netboxshould show a status of "active (running)") - Nginx/Apache is configured to connect to the port on which gunicorn is listening (default is 8001).
- SELinux is not preventing the reverse proxy connection. You may need to allow HTTP network connections with the command
setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect 1