Chapter 3 · Labels and barcodes
Labels printed from the source of truth
The record in NetBox and the sticker on the hardware should never disagree. Every label here is generated from NetBox data: a barcode for the asset tag, and a QR code that opens the exact record. Try it: make a label, then scan the QR code with your phone camera.
How this works in production
- Receiving dock: new hardware is entered in NetBox (or imported from the order spreadsheet), and its asset labels print in one batch before it reaches the rack.
- Cabling: cable labels carry both ends, so a technician never traces a cable by hand to find where it goes.
- Audits: scanning the barcode or QR code during a walk-through proves the device is where NetBox says it is.
- Any printer: the same data prints on thermal label printers (Zebra, Brother, DYMO) or plain Avery sheets, through the free label maker at labels.aliensoft.us.
Wired into NetBox
Every device, rack and cable page in the live NetBox has a Labels button that opens this page with that record already chosen. An export template also produces a label sheet for any filtered list of devices, for example everything still tagged Needs Label.
Devices still needing a label ↗