Related Documentation
Understanding the Request Procedure in a NETCONF Session
You can use the NETCONF XML management protocol and Junos XML API to request information about the status and the current configuration of a routing, switching, or security platform running Junos OS.
The tag elements for operational requests are defined in the Junos XML API and correspond to Junos OS command-line interface (CLI) operational commands, which are described in the Junos OS command references. There is a request tag element for many commands in the CLI show family of commands.
The tag element for configuration requests is the NETCONF <get-config> tag element. It corresponds to the CLI configuration mode show command. The Junos XML tag elements that make up the content of both the client application’s requests and the NETCONF server’s responses correspond to CLI configuration statements, which are described in the Junos OS configuration guides.
In addition to information about the current configuration, client applications can request other configuration-related information, including an XML schema representation of the configuration hierarchy, information about previously committed (rollback) configurations, or information about the rescue configuration.
To request information from the NETCONF server, a client application performs the procedures described in the indicated sections:
- Establishes a connection to the NETCONF server on the routing, switching, or security platform, as described in Connecting to the NETCONF Server.
- Opens a NETCONF session, as described in Starting the NETCONF Session.
- If making configuration requests, optionally locks the candidate configuration, as described in Locking and Unlocking the Candidate Configuration Using NETCONF.
- Makes any number of requests one at a time, freely intermingling operational and configuration requests. See Requesting Operational Information Using NETCONF and Requesting Configuration Information Using NETCONF. The application can also intermix requests with configuration changes.
- Accepts the tag stream emitted by the NETCONF server in response to each request and extracts its content, as described in Parsing the NETCONF Server Response.
- Unlocks the candidate configuration if it is locked, as described in Locking and Unlocking the Candidate Configuration Using NETCONF. Other users and applications cannot change the configuration while it remains locked.
- Ends the NETCONF session and closes the connection to the device, as described in Ending a NETCONF Session and Closing the Connection.
