NETCONF Configuration Protocol
RFC 4741

Network Working Group                                       R. Enns, Ed.
Request for Comments: 4741                              Juniper Networks
Category: Standards Track                                  December 2006

                     NETCONF Configuration Protocol

Status of This Memo

   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2006).

Abstract

   The Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF) defined in this document
   provides mechanisms to install, manipulate, and delete the
   configuration of network devices.  It uses an Extensible Markup
   Language (XML)-based data encoding for the configuration data as well
   as the protocol messages.  The NETCONF protocol operations are
   realized on top of a simple Remote Procedure Call (RPC) layer.

Enns                        Standards Track                     [Page 1]
RFC 4741                    NETCONF Protocol               December 2006

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ....................................................5
      1.1. Protocol Overview ..........................................6
      1.2. Capabilities ...............................................7
      1.3. Separation of Configuration and State Data .................7
   2. Transport Protocol Requirements .................................8
      2.1. Connection-Oriented Operation ..............................9
      2.2. Authentication, Integrity, and Confidentiality .............9
      2.3. Authentication .............................................9
      2.4. Mandatory Transport Protocol ..............................10
   3. XML Considerations .............................................10
      3.1. Namespace .................................................10
      3.2. No Document Type Declarations .............................10
   4. RPC Model ......................................................10
      4.1. <rpc> Element .............................................10
      4.2. <rpc-reply> Element .......................................12
      4.3. <rpc-error> Element .......................................12
      4.4. <ok> Element ..............................................16
      4.5. Pipelining ................................................16
   5. Configuration Model ............................................16
      5.1. Configuration Datastores ..................................16
      5.2. Data Modeling .............................................17
   6. Subtree Filtering ..............................................17
      6.1. Overview ..................................................17
      6.2. Subtree Filter Components .................................18
           6.2.1. Namespace Selection ................................18
           6.2.2. Attribute Match Expressions ........................19
           6.2.3. Containment Nodes ..................................19
           6.2.4. Selection Nodes ....................................20
           6.2.5. Content Match Nodes ................................20
      6.3. Subtree Filter Processing .................................22
      6.4. Subtree Filtering Examples ................................22
           6.4.1. No Filter ..........................................22
           6.4.2. Empty Filter .......................................23
           6.4.3. Select the Entire <users> Subtree ..................23
           6.4.4. Select All <name> Elements within the
                  <users> Subtree ....................................25
           6.4.5. One Specific <user> Entry ..........................26
           6.4.6. Specific Elements from a Specific <user> Entry .....27
           6.4.7. Multiple Subtrees ..................................28
           6.4.8. Elements with Attribute Naming .....................29
   7. Protocol Operations ............................................31
      7.1. <get-config> ..............................................31
      7.2. <edit-config> .............................................34
      7.3. <copy-config> .............................................39
      7.4. <delete-config> ...........................................41
      7.5. <lock> ....................................................42

Enns                        Standards Track                     [Page 2]
RFC 4741                    NETCONF Protocol               December 2006