DevNet Associate (DEVASC) v1.0Cisco Platforms and DevelopmentMedium

A network automation engineer is building a custom dashboard to visualize real-time network performance metrics (e.g., interface utilization, CPU load) from Cisco IOS XE routers. The dashboard requires a continuous stream of data rather than periodic polling to ensure the highest fidelity. Which mechanism on IOS XE provides a subscription-based, push model for streaming telemetry data?

  1. ASYSLOG
  2. BModel-Driven Telemetry (MDT)
  3. CCLI Scraping
  4. DSNMP Traps
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B. Model-Driven Telemetry (MDT)

Model-Driven Telemetry (MDT) on Cisco IOS XE provides a subscription-based, push model for streaming granular operational data (telemetry) in real-time, using structured data models (YANG) and efficient encoding, making it ideal for high-fidelity dashboards.

Why the other options are wrong

  • A. SYSLOG is for logging events and messages, not for structured, continuous streaming of performance metrics.
  • C. CLI Scraping is polling-based, inefficient, and prone to errors due to text parsing, not a push model for real-time streaming.
  • D. SNMP Traps are event-driven and not suitable for continuous streaming of performance metrics.

Cisco IOS XE Model-Driven Telemetry (MDT)

Cisco IOS XE Model-Driven Telemetry (MDT) is a mechanism for streaming operational data from network devices using a subscription-based, push model. It leverages YANG data models and efficient encoding (e.g., GPB, JSON) for high-frequency, structured data collection.

  • Uses YANG models to define data structures.
  • Push-based model (publisher-subscriber).
  • More efficient and granular than SNMP polling.
  • Supports various transport protocols (e.g., gRPC, TCP).

Memory trick: IOS XE offers different ways to 'listen' to its pulse.

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