Creating and assigning profiles

This guide shows you how to create and apply profiles to ensure consistent configuration across multiple nodes in Infrahub. Profiles help you maintain standardized configurations and reduce repetitive work when managing similar objects.

What you'll achieve

By following this guide, you'll:

• Create a profile that defines standard configuration for network interfaces
• Apply the profile to multiple interfaces to ensure consistency
• Learn how to override profile values for specific interfaces
• Understand how profile inheritance works in Infrahub

Prerequisites

• Infrahub instance running and accessible
• Schema loaded with nodes that support profiles
• Basic understanding of GraphQL mutations and queries

Load the schema

Schema creation

This step is only necessary if you don't already have a schema with profile-enabled nodes in your instance.

1. Create a schema.yml file in the schemas directory of your repository:

schema.yml

# yaml-language-server: $schema=https://schema.infrahub.app/infrahub/schema/latest.json
---
version: "1.0"
nodes:
  - name: Interface
    namespace: Infra
    description: "Network Interface"
    label: "Interface"
    generate_profile: true # Enable profile generation (default)
    include_in_menu: true
    icon: "mdi:ethernet"
    display_labels:
      - name__value
    order_by:
      - name__value
    attributes:
      - name: name
        kind: Text
        optional: false
        unique: true
      - name: description
        kind: Text
        optional: true
      - name: speed
        kind: Number
        optional: true
      - name: auto_negotiation
        kind: Boolean
        default_value: false
      - name: mtu
        label: MTU
        kind: Number
        default_value: 1500
      - name: enabled
        kind: Boolean
        default_value: false
      - name: mode
        kind: Dropdown
        default_value: access
        choices:
          - name: access
            label: Access
          - name: trunk
            label: Trunk
      - name: status
        kind: Dropdown
        optional: true
        choices:
          - name: active
            label: Active
            description: "Fully operational and currently in service"
            color: "#7fbf7f"
          - name: provisioning
            label: Provisioning
            description: "In the process of being set up and configured"
            color: "#ffff7f"
          - name: maintenance
            label: Maintenance
            description: "Undergoing routine maintenance or repairs"
            color: "#ffd27f"
          - name: drained
            label: Drained
            description: "Temporarily taken out of service"
            color: "#bfbfbf"
      - name: role
        kind: Dropdown
        optional: true
        choices:
          - name: uplink
            label: Uplink
            description: "Interface connected to other network device"
            color: "#9090de"
          - name: end_user
            label: End user
            description: "Interface to connect end-user devices"
            color: "#ffa07a"
          - name: server
            label: Server
            description: "Interfaces to connect to servers"
            color: "#98b2d1"

2. Load the schema with this command:

infrahubctl schema load schema.yml

success

You should see: schema 'schema.yml' loaded successfully

Step 1: Creating a profile

Create an interface profile

Let's create a profile that defines the standard configuration for end-user interfaces. This profile will set common attributes that should be applied consistently across multiple interfaces.

The profile will define these standard settings:

• Speed: 1000 Mbps
• Status: active (interface is operational)
• Enabled: true (interface is administratively up)
• Auto negotiation: enabled
• MTU: 1500 bytes
• Mode: access (not trunk)
• Role: end_user

Web interface

1. Open the Infrahub UI in your browser
2. Navigate to Object Management → Profiles
3. Click on Add Profile
4. Select InfraInterface as the profile type
5. Fill in the profile details as follows:
   • Profile Name: end-user-interface
   • Speed: 1000
   • Auto Negotiation: true
   • MTU: 1500
   • Enabled: true
   • Mode: access
   • Status: active
   • Role: end_user
6. Click Save to create the profile

GraphQL

note

Access the GraphQL sandbox by clicking your user icon in the bottom left corner and selecting GraphQL Sandbox.

mutation {
  ProfileInfraInterfaceCreate(
    data: {
      profile_name: {value: "end-user-interface"}
      status: {value: "active"}
      enabled: {value: true}
      speed: {value: 1000}
      auto_negotiation: {value: true}
      mtu: {value: 1500}
      mode: {value: "access"}
      role: {value: "end_user"}
    }
  ) {
    ok
    object {
      id
      profile_name {
        value
      }
    }
  }
}

Verify the profile was created

Query Infrahub to confirm the profile exists:

Web interface

1. Navigate to Object Management → Profiles
2. Locate the end-user-interface profile in the list and click on it

GraphQL

query {
  ProfileInfraInterface(profile_name__value: "end-user-interface") {
    edges {
      node {
        id
        profile_name {
          value
        }
        status {
          value
        }
        enabled {
          value
        }
        mtu {
          value
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

success

You should see the profile with all attributes set to your specified values.

Step 2: Using the profile

Create interfaces using the profile

Now that we have a profile, let's create multiple interfaces that inherit configuration from it. When using profiles, you only need to specify the unique attributes (like name) and reference the profile for all standardized values.

Web interface

1. Navigate to Interface
2. Click on Add Interface
3. Fill in the interface details as follows:
   • Profile: end-user-interface
   • Interface Name: GigabitEthernet0/0/0

note

You should see interface field values automatically populated when selecting the profile.

4. Click Save to create the interface
5. Repeat the process for additional interfaces:
   • Profile: end-user-interface
   • Interface Name: GigabitEthernet0/0/1 and GigabitEthernet0/0/2

GraphQL

mutation {
  int0: InfraInterfaceCreate(
    data: {
      name: {value: "GigabitEthernet0/0/0"},
      profiles: [{hfid: ["end-user-interface"]}]
    }
  ) {
    ok
    object {
      id
    }
  }
  int1: InfraInterfaceCreate(
    data: {
      name: {value: "GigabitEthernet0/0/1"},
      profiles: [{hfid: ["end-user-interface"]}]
    }
  ) {
    ok
    object {
      id
    }
  }
  int2: InfraInterfaceCreate(
    data: {
      name: {value: "GigabitEthernet0/0/2"},
      profiles: [{hfid: ["end-user-interface"]}]
    }
  ) {
    ok
    object {
      id
    }
  }
}

success

The query should return the IDs of the created interfaces:

{
  "data": {
    "int0": {
      "ok": true,
      "object": {
        "id": "185cd024-5c9a-2afb-3583-c513b8097987"
      }
    },
    "int1": {
      "ok": true,
      "object": {
        "id": "185cd024-70f4-7fdf-3585-c51087cce195"
      }
    },
    "int2": {
      "ok": true,
      "object": {
        "id": "185cd024-777e-bcb1-358e-c5170daba901"
      }
    }
  }
}

Verify profile inheritance

Now let's verify that the interfaces have properly inherited values from the profile. Infrahub's metadata shows which values came from profiles, giving you complete transparency about data origin.

Web interface

1. Navigate to Interface
2. Click on GigabitEthernet0/0/0 to view the details
3. Click the "info" icon next to MTU to see the metadata

success

You should see that the MTU value is inherited from the profile.

GraphQL

query {
  InfraInterface(name__value: "GigabitEthernet0/0/0") {
    edges {
      node {
        name {
          value
          is_from_profile
        }
        mtu {
          value
          is_from_profile
          source {
            hfid
            display_label
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

success

You should see that the MTU value is inherited from the profile.

{
  "data": {
    "InfraInterface": {
      "edges": [
        {
          "node": {
            "name": {
              "value": "GigabitEthernet0/0/0",
              "is_from_profile": false
            },
            "mtu": {
              "value": 1500,
              "is_from_profile": true,
              "source": {
                "hfid": [
                  "end-user-interface"
                ],
                "display_label": "end-user-interface"
              }
            }
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Override profile values

While profiles ensure consistency, you sometimes need exceptions for specific devices or interfaces. Infrahub lets you override profile values when needed.

Create an interface with custom MTU

Create an interface with a custom MTU value that overrides the profile default:

Web interface

1. Navigate to Interface
2. Click on Add Interface
3. Fill in the interface details as follows:
   • Profile: end-user-interface
   • Interface Name: GigabitEthernet0/0/3
   • MTU: 9000 (this overrides the MTU value)
4. Click Save to create the interface

GraphQL

mutation {
  InfraInterfaceCreate(
    data: {
      name: {value: "GigabitEthernet0/0/3"},
      mtu: {value: 9000},  # Override profile MTU
      profiles: [{hfid: ["end-user-interface"]}]
    }
  ) {
    ok
    object {
      id
    }
  }
}

Verify the override

Confirm that the MTU was overridden while other values still come from the profile:

Web interface

1. Navigate to Interface
2. Click on GigabitEthernet0/0/3 to view the details
3. Click the "info" icon next to MTU to see the metadata

success

You should see that the MTU value is not inherited from the profile (source is empty).

GraphQL

query {
  InfraInterface(name__value: "GigabitEthernet0/0/3") {
    edges {
      node {
        mtu {
          value
          is_from_profile
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

success

You should see that the MTU value is not inherited from the profile.

{
  "data": {
    "InfraInterface": {
      "edges": [
        {
          "node": {
            "mtu": {
              "value": 9000,
              "is_from_profile": false
            }
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Step 4: Updating a profile

One of the key benefits of profiles is that when you update a profile, all nodes using it automatically inherit the changes. This provides a powerful way to update configurations across your infrastructure.

Updating the profile

We will change the end-user-interface profile to set a new default MTU of 9000 instead of 1500.

Web interface

1. Open the Infrahub UI in your browser
2. Navigate to Object Management → Profiles
3. Locate the end-user-interface profile in the list and click on it
4. Click Edit Profile Interface
5. Change the MTU value to 9000
6. Click Save to apply the changes

GraphQL

mutation {
  ProfileInfraInterfaceUpdate(
    data: {
      hfid: ["end-user-interface"]
      mtu: {value: 9000} # Change the profile's MTU
    }
  ) {
    ok
  }
}

Verify the update in interfaces

Web interface

1. Navigate to Interface

GraphQL

query {
  InfraInterface {
    edges {
      node {
        display_label
        mtu {
          value
          is_from_profile
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

success

You should see that the MTU value is now 9000 for all the interfaces.

Conclusion

You've successfully set up profiles for your interfaces in Infrahub. Here's what you've accomplished:

• Created a standardized profile for end-user interfaces
• Applied the profile to multiple interfaces to ensure consistent configuration
• Verified how values are inherited from profiles using metadata
• Overridden specific profile values for individual interfaces when needed
• Updated a profile and observed changes propagate automatically
• Worked with multiple profiles and understood inheritance priority

Advanced usage

Using multiple profiles

Infrahub lets you assign multiple profiles to a single node, giving you powerful composition capabilities. When multiple profiles define the same attribute, the profile_priority value controls which takes precedence (lower number = higher priority).

Learn more about profile priorities in the Understanding profiles in Infrahub topic.

Step 1: Creating another profile

Web interface

1. Navigate to Object Management → Profiles
2. Click on Add Profile
3. Select InfraInterface as the profile type
4. Fill in the profile details as follows:
   • Profile Name: high-speed-interface
   • MTU: 9000
   • Speed: 10000
5. Click Save to create the profile

GraphQL

mutation {
  ProfileInfraInterfaceCreate(
    data: {
      profile_name: {value: "high-speed-interface"}
      profile_priority: {value: 500} # Lower number = higher priority
      speed: {value: 10000}
      mtu: {value: 9000}
    }
  ) {
    ok
  }
}

Step 2: Assigning multiple profiles to an interface

Web interface

1. Navigate to Interface
2. Click on Add Interface
3. Fill in the interface details as follows:
   • Profile: end-user-interface and high-speed-interface
   • Interface Name: GigabitEthernet0/0/4

note

You should see interface field values automatically populated when selecting the profiles.

4. Click Save to create the interface

GraphQL

mutation {
  InfraInterfaceCreate(
    data: {
      name: {value: "GigabitEthernet0/0/4"},
      profiles: [{hfid: ["end-user-interface"]}, {hfid: ["high-speed-interface"]}]
    }
  ) {
    ok
    object {
      id
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Validating profile inheritance with multiple profiles

Let's check which profile values are being applied when multiple profiles define the same attribute:

Web interface

1. Navigate to Interface
2. Click on GigabitEthernet0/0/4 to view the details
3. Click the "info" icon next to Speed to see the metadata
4. Click the "info" icon next to Status to see the metadata

GraphQL

query {
  InfraInterface(name__value: "GigabitEthernet0/0/4") {
    edges {
      node {
        name {
          value
        }
        status {
          value
          is_from_profile
          source {
            hfid
            display_label
          }
        }
        speed {
          value
          is_from_profile
          source {
            hfid
            display_label
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

success

{
  "data": {
    "InfraInterface": {
      "edges": [
        {
          "node": {
            "name": {
              "value": "GigabitEthernet0/0/4"
            },
            "status": {
              "value": "active",
              "is_from_profile": true,
              "source": {
                "hfid": [
                  "end-user-interface"
                ],
                "display_label": "end-user-interface"
              }
            },
            "speed": {
              "value": 10000,
              "is_from_profile": true,
              "source": {
                "hfid": [
                  "high-speed-interface"
                ],
                "display_label": "high-speed-interface"
              }
            }
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

success

You should see that:

• The Speed value (10000) is inherited from the high-speed-interface profile
• The Status value (active) is inherited from the end-user-interface profile

Related resources

• Understanding profiles in Infrahub - Detailed explanation of profile concepts, inheritance rules, and design decisions
• Metadata - Learn how Infrahub tracks data lineage and attribute sources
• Creating a schema - Learn to create schemas that generate profile support
• Node schema reference - Complete reference for node configuration including the generate_profile option
• Schema validation - Validate your schemas before loading
• GraphQL API - Overview of Infrahub's GraphQL API
• Python SDK documentation - Full SDK reference for programmatic profile operations