DevNet Associate (DEVASC) v1.0Infrastructure and AutomationEasy
A network engineer is configuring a new Cisco router to allow programmatic access for configuration management. Which protocol is specifically designed to provide a programmatic and transaction-based configuration management interface over SSH or TLS, using XML-encoded data?
- ARESTCONF
- BNETCONF
- CgRPC
- DSNMP
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. NETCONF
NETCONF (Network Configuration Protocol) is an IETF standard protocol designed for programmatic configuration management of network devices. It uses XML for data encoding and operates over secure transport protocols like SSH or TLS, supporting transaction-based operations.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. RESTCONF is similar but uses RESTful principles and JSON/XML over HTTP/S.
- C. gRPC is a high-performance RPC framework, often used for telemetry and services, not primarily for transactional configuration of devices.
- D. SNMP is primarily for monitoring and basic management, not for robust, transaction-based configuration.
NETCONF
Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF) is an IETF standard for managing network device configurations programmatically. It uses XML data over secure transports like SSH.
- IETF standard for configuration management.
- Uses XML-encoded data.
- Operates over secure transport (SSH, TLS).
- Supports transaction-based operations.
Memory trick: NETCONF configures securely with XML transactions.