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Quickstart

This walkthrough takes you from an empty plugin to a fully modeled fiber cable entering a splice closure, with tubes assigned to trays and a splice plan ready for entries. It assumes NetBox FMS is already installed (see Installation).

The plugin is closure-centric: splice plans, cable entries, and tray assignments all hang off a dcim.Device acting as a splice closure. Patch panels are not modeled by the plugin at this time.

1. Create a Manufacturer

If your NetBox instance does not yet have a cable manufacturer defined, create one first:

  1. Navigate to Devices > Manufacturers.
  2. Click Add and enter the manufacturer name (e.g., "Corning").
  3. Save.

2. Define a Fiber Cable Type

A FiberCableType is the blueprint that describes how a cable is constructed.

  1. Navigate to FMS > Fiber Cable Types and click Add.
  2. Select the manufacturer created above.
  3. Enter a model name (e.g., "ALTOS 48F Loose Tube").
  4. Set the fiber type (e.g., SMF OS2) and total strand count (e.g., 48).
  5. Choose the construction style. For a loose tube cable, add BufferTubeTemplates -- for example, 4 tubes with 12 fibers each.
  6. Save the cable type.

3. Create a Splice Closure Device

A splice closure is a regular NetBox device. If you do not already have one:

  1. Navigate to Devices > Device Types and create a device type for the closure model (e.g., "FOSC 450"), with a matching device role (e.g., "Splice Closure").
  2. Navigate to Devices > Devices and create the closure device at its site (e.g., "Closure-A"). Repeat for the far end of the cable (another closure or any fiber-terminating device).

You do not need to pre-define front ports on the closure -- the plugin creates the per-strand ports when you link the cable topology (step 6).

4. Model the Closure's Splice Trays

Splice trays are NetBox Modules installed in the closure, and the plugin needs to know which module types are trays:

  1. Navigate to Devices > Module Types and create a module type for each tray product (e.g., "24F Splice Tray").
  2. Navigate to FMS > Tray Profiles and click Add. Select the module type, set the tray role to Splice Tray, and set max fibers to the tray's splice capacity. Use the Express Basket role for pass-through storage baskets -- tubes can only be assigned to splice trays.
  3. On the closure device, create Module Bays (e.g., "Bay 1", "Bay 2") and install a Module of the tray module type in each bay.

5. Create a Cable

  1. Navigate to Devices and select one of the closure devices.
  2. Create a dcim.Cable between the two devices with a fiber cable type (e.g., SMF OS2).
  3. Save the cable.

6. Create a Fiber Cable

This is where the plugin takes over.

  1. Navigate to FMS > Fiber Cables and click Add.
  2. Select the dcim.Cable created in the previous step.
  3. Select the FiberCableType defined earlier.
  4. Save.

On save, the plugin automatically instantiates the internal cable structure based on the type's templates:

  • BufferTubes are created matching each BufferTubeTemplate.
  • FiberStrands are created inside each tube, automatically assigned EIA-598 standard colors.

Navigate to the new FiberCable's detail page to inspect the generated tubes and strands.

Alternatively, use the Link Topology action on the closure's Fiber Overview tab. It performs the same FiberCable creation and additionally provisions the per-strand FrontPorts, per-tube RearPorts, and PortMappings on the closure, and sets the cable profile used by NetBox's trace engine. See Fiber Cables.

7. Register the Cable at the Closure

Each cable entering a closure is recorded with a ClosureCableEntry:

  1. Navigate to FMS > Closure Cable Entries and click Add (or use the inline gland editor on the closure's Fiber Overview tab).
  2. Select the closure device and the FiberCable, and give the entrance a label (e.g., "Gland A").
  3. Save. A fiber cable can be registered once per closure.

This step is required before tubes from that cable can be assigned to trays.

8. Assign Buffer Tubes to Trays

Tube assignments record which tray each buffer tube is routed to inside the closure:

  1. On the closure's Fiber Overview tab, use Assign next to an unassigned tube (or Auto-assign, which pairs same-position tubes from different cables onto the same tray while capacity allows). Assignments can also be managed under FMS > Tube Assignments.
  2. Only modules whose type has a Splice Tray profile are offered; express baskets and plain modules are rejected.

9. Create a Splice Plan

Splice plans capture the desired splice state of a single closure:

  1. Navigate to FMS > Splice Plans and click Add.
  2. Give the plan a name and select the closure device.
  3. Optionally associate it with a SpliceProject (create one under FMS > Splice Projects) to group related plans for a route or job.
  4. Save. The plan starts in draft status.

10. Add Splice Plan Entries

Splice plan entries define the fiber-to-fiber mappings inside the closure:

  1. Open the plan's Visual Editor tab and drag fiber endpoints together, or add SplicePlanEntries manually.
  2. Each entry pairs two FrontPorts on the closure (fiber A and fiber B) on a tray. Both ports must belong to the closure, and each fiber's FrontPort must be assigned to a tray module before it can be used in an entry.
  3. Entries can only be edited while the plan is in draft status.

Once complete, submit the plan for approval and apply it from the closure's Pending Work tab. See Splice Planning for the full lifecycle.

Next Steps

For a deeper explanation of the type/instance pattern, cable construction models, and splice planning concepts, see the Concepts guide.