I have been exploring the netconf/restconf apis along with the myriad of different yang models. From a configuration management perspective, it seems like a great solution to be better automate common configuration tasks (vlan changes, speed and Poe changes, etc). However, I can’t seem showbox to figure out how I can use it to replace our workflow of one-time changes.
Once in a while we find a bug or a random configuration setting that needs to be updated on all or a subset of our switches. Currently we rely on expect and, for as ugly as it is, it gets the job done quickly and efficiently enough. Thinking about this use case with restconf, I would have to dig through all of the yspeed test ang models to try to find which model supports that configuration parameter, build the query, then apply it.
the nxos api suite offers a cli-api which is an excellent replacement for expect, in the sense that I can post a list of commands and it will execute them.
Ultimately my goal is to manage a network as efficiently as possible, digging through the dozens of yang models to learn them just in case I may need it one day is not a great use of my time. I haven’t found an easy way to browse the yang models nor have I found an cli-api equivalent in IOS XE.
I’m curious how others are doing this and if I’m missing a piece.
