Support multiple Owners per object #11937

New Issue

adam · 2025-12-29T21:51:43+01:00

adam commented

2025-12-29 21:51:43 +01:00

Originally created by @loubladi on GitHub (Dec 18, 2025).

NetBox version

v4.5.0-beta1

Feature type

Data model extension

Proposed functionality

NetBox v4.5.0 allows assigning only a single Owner to an object via the owner field.

This proposal extends the Ownership model to allow multiple Owners to be associated with a single object, enabling a many-to-many relationship between Owners and objects.

Use case

In our NetBox deployment, permissions are enforced at the department level. Each department must be prevented from modifying servers owned or maintained by other departments, as several automation workflows depend on this separation and unintended changes could cause service disruption.

At the same time, there are valid scenarios where a single server is owned and/or maintained by multiple departments. Examples include shared infrastructure, handover periods, or split operational responsibilities.

Currently, we model this using department-specific tags, which are then referenced in permission rules. While this approach allows assigning permissions to multiple departments, it is a workaround rather than a proper ownership model.

Native support for multiple Owners per object would eliminate the need to overload tags for access control, while still allowing permissions to be granted to any number of departments in a consistent and structured way.

Database changes

No response

External dependencies

No response

Originally created by @loubladi on GitHub (Dec 18, 2025). ### NetBox version v4.5.0-beta1 ### Feature type Data model extension ### Proposed functionality NetBox v4.5.0 allows assigning only a single Owner to an object via the owner field. This proposal extends the Ownership model to allow multiple Owners to be associated with a single object, enabling a many-to-many relationship between Owners and objects. ### Use case In our NetBox deployment, permissions are enforced at the department level. Each department must be prevented from modifying servers owned or maintained by other departments, as several automation workflows depend on this separation and unintended changes could cause service disruption. At the same time, there are valid scenarios where a single server is owned and/or maintained by multiple departments. Examples include shared infrastructure, handover periods, or split operational responsibilities. Currently, we model this using department-specific tags, which are then referenced in permission rules. While this approach allows assigning permissions to multiple departments, it is a workaround rather than a proper ownership model. Native support for multiple Owners per object would eliminate the need to overload tags for access control, while still allowing permissions to be granted to any number of departments in a consistent and structured way. ### Database changes _No response_ ### External dependencies _No response_

adam added the type: feature netbox labels 2025-12-29 21:51:43 +01:00

adam closed this issue

2025-12-29 21:51:43 +01:00

adam commented

2025-12-29 21:51:43 +01:00

@jeremystretch commented on GitHub (Dec 18, 2025):

This approach was initially considered under FR #20304 and rejected in the interest of simplifying owner assignment and ensuring performant queries. Any object can be associated with any number of users and/or groups by assigning them to the object's owner.

In a scenario where multiple entities purport to own an object (which seems inevitably problematic), you can create a new Owner instance and assign users from all these entities, and assign it as the object's owner.

Bear in mind that the purpose of this feature is to convey ownership, not access: Access is controlled via permissions, and can be granted to any user/group regardless of owner assignment.

@jeremystretch commented on GitHub (Dec 18, 2025): This approach was initially considered under FR #20304 and rejected in the interest of simplifying owner assignment and ensuring performant queries. Any object can be associated with any number of users and/or groups by assigning them to the object's owner. In a scenario where multiple entities purport to own an object (which seems inevitably problematic), you can create a new Owner instance and assign users from all these entities, and assign it as the object's owner. Bear in mind that the purpose of this feature is to convey ownership, not access: Access is controlled via permissions, and can be granted to any user/group regardless of owner assignment.

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Reference: starred/netbox#11937