[Nsi-wg] ietf NETCONF group

Eduard Grasa eduard.grasa at i2cat.net
Fri Jun 26 07:40:43 CDT 2009


Hi,

Yes, Netconf is an example. It is a generic protocol to configure 
devices (the trick is that it specifies very little).

Best regards,

Eduard

Guy Roberts escribió:
> Hi Guys,
>
> Thanks for all your info on NETCONF, this is helpful.
>
> I guess Jerry's question is interesting - i.e. has anyone attempted to create a non-vendor specific configuration protocol?
>
> Guy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Eduard Grasa [mailto:eduard.grasa at i2cat.net] 
> Sent: 26 June 2009 12:28
> To: Jerry Sobieski
> Cc: bartosz.belter at man.poznan.pl; 'NSI WG'; Guy Roberts
> Subject: Re: [Nsi-wg] ietf NETCONF group
>
> Hi all,
>
> The netconf specification is quite simple, and does not define what is 
> the device being configured. You can look at the RFC or at this nice 
> wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netconf), but basically 
> NETCONF defines an XML-RPC protocol with 7 messages: <get>, 
> <get-config>, <edit-config>, <copy-config>, <delete-config>, <lock>, 
> <unlock>, <close-session>, <kill-session>.
>
> The contens of each message (the configuration data in the wikipedia 
> picture) are not part of the standard, they are left to every 
> implementor, who defines the XML data that goes inside each message 
> (taht's why JunOS netconf looks juniper centric, Cisco one looks Cisco 
> centric, and so on). Therefore you can configure whatever you want as 
> long as you use the 7 messages above (which are pretty generic anyway).
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> Best regards,
>
> Eduard
>
>
> Jerry Sobieski escribió:
>   
>> Hi all-
>>
>> I'd like to make a couple comments about this...I am not by any means an 
>> expert, but I see some issues that I wonder if anyone has considered or 
>> knows about?...
>>
>>  From what I know of the JUNOS implementation, the NETCONF API seems 
>> completely Juniper centric.  And therefore JUNOS centric.   I.e. it 
>> really is focused on configuring IP routers and Juniper routers at that...
>>
>> I think the issue of configuring devices using automated network agents 
>> will be more useful if it can cover devices other than just routers.   
>> Certainly ethernet switches fall into this catagory (perhaps JUNOS is 
>> implemented on some of these as well), but also other network devices 
>> including SONET/SDH or DWDM devices (ala GMPLS "LSR" architecture).
>>
>> I also believe a generic NETCONF architecture could be useful for 
>> configuring and monitoring other devices as well such as firewalls and 
>> end-systems or even non-network devices such as instuments or 
>> sensors...  And it could be used to reconfigure larger service functions 
>> such as a DHCP elements or routing domains, or policy domains if it were 
>> designed to do so as part of the architectural background.
>>
>> So two questions: 
>>     a) Does anyone know of any NETCONF type of package that portends to 
>> doing this type of of architectural domain autoconfiguration?,
>>     and b) Should this effort to develop an automated configuration 
>> process for IP devices consider how to define a *generic* device 
>> configuration protocol that could be used to cover a broader set of 
>> cyber-devices?
>>
>> Thanks
>> Jerry
>>
>> Bartek Belter wrote:
>>   
>>     
>>> Hi Guy, all,
>>>
>>> The GN2 AMPS (Advance Multi-domain Provisioning System, a federated resource reservation system for Premium IP) also uses this API to configure Juniper routers. And indeed, as Joan Antoni pointed out, this API is used to configure a single network device, not the whole network.
>>>
>>> If you have valid GN2 credentials you may take a look at the page: http://wiki.geant2.net/bin/view/SA3/AmpsConfigurationService
>>> This gives a brief overview to the part of AMPS responsible for the configuration of network elements. I can try to dig a bit more, if some of you are interested to get more detailed description.
>>>
>>>
>>> Best regards,
>>> Bartek
>>>
>>>   
>>>     
>>>       
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>>
>>   
>>     
>
>
>   


-- 


Eduard Grasa Gras

Network Technologies Cluster (CTX)
Fundació i2Cat, Internet i Innovació Digital a Catalunya
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