Netconf Phase 2 Musing

1
Netconf Phase 2 Musing

• Sharon Chisholm
• schishol_at_nortel.com

2
Outline

• Netconf Development
• Thoughts on Configuration Management
• Phase 2 Proposed Charter from Mailing List
• Netconf Event Messages
• Framework for Netconf Datamodels
• Proof of Concept Netconf Content
• Next Steps

3
Netconf Development

• Phase 1 completed working group last call.
  Implementations currently being developed and
  deployed.
• Primary focus for protocol is on configuration,
  especially in standards development
• Should not preclude other management functions

4
Thoughts on Configuration Management
Apply Configuration Change

• Configuration Change
• Notification
• Security Audit
• Data Mirror

More than just changing the configuration File
5
Netconf Proposed Phase 2 Charter from Mailing List

• Requirements and Guidelines for defining Netconf
  data models to enable interoperable netconf
  implementations. Requirements will be defined
  around specification language, compliance,
  backwards compatibility, depicting relationships,
  event specification, and application error
  message specification.
• An initial set of application-level re-usable
  data types such as IP Addresses, MAC addresses,
  etc. This definition would be compliant to the
  above defined requirements and guidelines for
  Netconf content.
• A concrete data model (XML Schema) for reporting
  information about the Netconf system. This
  definition would be compliant to the above
  defined requirements and guidelines for Netconf
  content.
• A netconf protocol specification for asynchronous
  messaging to enable the sending of event
  messages. This must preserve the netconf layers.
• Framework for netconf access control. This access
  control mechanism should not preclude integration
  with existing deployed solutions.
• A method of delivering software loads over
  netconf.
• A method of supporting multi-channels.

Some of this will likely need to move to Phase 3
Draft Available
6
Netconf Events

• Technically in phase 1 charter?
• Requirements
• http//standards.nortelnetworks.com/netconf/docs/n
  etconfEvent/requirements.html
• Subscription mechanism
• Event Messages
• Application (transport) mappings

7
Framework for Netconf Data Model

• SMI for Netconf
• How to use XML Schema to ensure interoperable
  implementations
• Trying not to define new CLRs (Crummy Little
  Rules), but trying to ensure Netconf content is
  useable.
• Compliance/Conformance
• Naming
• Relationship
• Application Error codes
• Etc.

8
Proof of Concept Content

• Data Types
• Netconf Reporting (Could be made to be
  configuration)

9
Next Steps

• Propose that Netconf Event and Datamodel work get
  added to the netconf charter as phase 2
• Other work as there is interest and resources
  available