Understanding the Client Application’s Role in a NETCONF Session

To create a NETCONF session and communicate with the NETCONF server, a client application performs the following procedures, which are described in the indicated sections:

1. Satisfies the prerequisites for the given connection protocol, as described in:

   • Establish an SSH Connection for a NETCONF Session

   • NETCONF Sessions over Transport Layer Security (TLS)

   • NETCONF and Shell Sessions over Enhanced Outbound HTTPS

2. Establishes a connection to the NETCONF server.

   • For NETCONF sessions over SSH, see Connect to the NETCONF Server Using SSH.

   • For NETCONF sessions over TLS, see How to Establish a NETCONF Session over TLS.

   • For NETCONF sessions over outbound HTTPS, see How to Establish NETCONF and Shell Sessions over Enhanced Outbound HTTPS.

3. Opens a NETCONF session, as described in Start a NETCONF Session.

4. Optionally locks the candidate configuration or opens an instance of the ephemeral configuration database.

   Locking the configuration prevents other users or applications from changing it at the same time. For more information, see Lock and Unlock the Candidate Configuration Using NETCONF.

   For information about the ephemeral configuration database, see Understanding the Ephemeral Configuration Database and Enable and Configure Instances of the Ephemeral Configuration Database.

5. Requests operational or configuration information, or changes configuration information, as described in Request Operational Information Using NETCONF, Request Configuration Data Using NETCONF, and Edit the Configuration Using NETCONF.

6. (Optional) Verifies the syntactic correctness of the candidate configuration before attempting to commit it, as described in Verify the Candidate Configuration Syntax Using NETCONF.

7. Commits changes made to the candidate configuration, as described in Commit the Candidate Configuration Using NETCONF and Commit the Candidate Configuration Only After Confirmation Using NETCONF, or commits changes made to an open instance of the ephemeral configuration database, as described in Commit and Synchronize Ephemeral Configuration Data Using the NETCONF or Junos XML Protocol.

8. Unlocks the candidate configuration if it is locked or closes an open instance of the ephemeral configuration database.

   Other users and applications cannot change the candidate configuration while it remains locked. For more information, see Lock and Unlock the Candidate Configuration Using NETCONF.

9. Ends the NETCONF session and closes the connection to the device, as described in End a NETCONF Session and Close the Connection.