NETCONF is a standardized IETF configuration management protocol specified in RFC 6241, Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF). It is secure, connection-oriented, and runs on top of the SSHv2 transport protocol as specified in RFC 6242, Using the NETCONF Configuration Protocol over Secure Shell (SSH). NETCONF is an XML-based protocol that can be used as an alternative to CLI or SNMP for managing an SR OS router.
NETCONF uses RPC messaging for communication between a NETCONF client and the NETCONF server running on SR OS. An RPC message and configuration or state data is encapsulated within an XML document. These XML documents are exchanged between a NETCONF client and a NETCONF server in a request/response type of interaction. The SR OS NETCONF interface supports configuration, state and various router operations (for example, reboot). Figure: NETCONF RPC request shows a NETCONF RPC request.
NETCONF can be conceptually partitioned into four layers as described in RFC 6241. Figure: NETCONF layers (RFC 6241) shows the NETCONF layers.
