Allow non-unique site names

[jakosp]

NetBox version

v.4.1.6

Feature type

Change to existing functionality

Triage priority

N/A

Proposed functionality

Remove the uniqueness constraint on Site and Location names, so that multiple objects can be created with the same name.

Use case

When managing numerous branches (within Netbox), it is common for these branches to lack distinct names and are often identified solely by their location. The naming convention typically follows a pattern such as "Main Road 1," which is not akin to traditional and unique branch identifiers like "Branch A" or "Branch B."

The primary issue - in this case -arises from the high likelihood of branches sharing identical names. Here, branches are only distinguishable by the city (i.e., their region) they are located in. For instance:

• Country A (Region)

  • City A (Region)

    • Branch Main Road 1 (Site)
    • Branch Plaza 3 (Site)

  • City B (Region)

    • Branch Main Road 1 (Site)

This naming limitation seems unnescessary as sites can be uniquely identified based on their hierarchical structure, or their Facility ID, if present.
It would completely suffice if the site would need to have a unique name within the scope of its parent.

This problem is somewhat related to issue #2669.

Database changes

It should suffice to remove the unique=True field in the site data model.

External dependencies

None

[tyler-8]

On the flip side, in many environments it is critical that site names are unique. If this feature were to be accepted, I would hope to see some kind of scoping added along side it, or maybe just a global configuration setting, similar to the setting that exists for globally unique IP objects.

[jakosp]

While enforcing unique site names is a useful safeguard, applying this rule across the board can result in restrictions.
Instead, making site names unique within their specific hierarchy would allow NetBox to support such cases.

Ultimately, the decision should be left to the user to determine what works best for their specific situation. NetBox's structure should be flexible enough to represent their network without unnecessary restrictions. Safeguards are important, but there should be an option to disable them when needed and not technically required.

I believe that a tool like NetBox should enable its users and not unnecessarily restrict them. But please correct me here if I misunderstood something.

I support the idea of making this behavior configurable. This would prevent issues in environments where this restriction wasn't originally considered, while still allowing it to be enabled for those who need it.

Even with this change, sites would still have unique paths, such as:
/Country_A/City_A/Branch_Office and /Country_A/City_B/Branch_Office
This ensures that sites remain uniquely identifiable.

Trying to create another site with the same name and the same path should still be prevented, since this would only lead to problems.

Again, please correct me if I misunderstood something 😅

[arthanson]

This would also break bulk import with natural keys unless it is changed to support the hierarchy as well.