Managing a modern business network requires more than just keeping the lights on; it demands automation and programmability. This is where network management protocols like NetCONF and RESTCONF come into play. Both offer powerful ways to configure, monitor, and manage network devices, but they approach the task from different angles. In this article, we'll compare the two protocols to help you understand which is the right fit for your organization's infrastructure and goals.
What is NetCONF?
Think of NetCONF (Network Configuration Protocol) as a highly structured and secure language for communicating with your network hardware. Developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), it was built specifically to install, manipulate, and delete the configuration of network devices. The protocol operates using a Remote Procedure Call (RPC) model and encodes all its data in XML, providing a clear, machine-readable format for both commands and responses. This was a significant improvement over the manual command-line interface (CLI) scripting that network engineers traditionally relied on.
What makes NetCONF particularly effective for modern networks is its use of the YANG data modeling language. YANG defines a standardized, hierarchical structure for all configuration and operational data on a device, ensuring predictable interactions regardless of the hardware vendor. This standardization is critical for automation.
Furthermore, NetCONF supports transactional integrity. It allows you to group a series of configuration changes into a single unit. If any part of the change fails, the entire transaction is automatically rolled back, leaving the device in its original, stable state. This all-or-nothing approach prevents the partial, potentially disruptive configurations that can cause network outages.
What is RESTCONF?
On the other hand, RESTCONF (REST-like Configuration Protocol) offers a more modern, web-centric approach to the same problem. Developed by the IETF as a companion to NetCONF, it provides a REST-like API for accessing network device data that is defined in YANG. This means it uses the familiar mechanics of the web—specifically, HTTP/S—to manage network configurations. Instead of a specialized RPC mechanism, it employs standard HTTP methods that developers are already comfortable with, like GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE, to read, create, update, and remove configuration data.
This design makes network programmability more accessible to a wider range of developers and tools, not just network specialists. While RESTCONF can use XML for data encoding, it also fully supports JSON, which is lightweight and commonly used in web applications. By building on established web standards, RESTCONF simplifies integration with existing automation platforms and custom software, offering a more direct path for organizations looking to incorporate network management into their broader DevOps and IT workflows.
Key Differences Between NetCONF and RESTCONF
While both protocols use YANG to model data, their underlying mechanics are quite different. Understanding these distinctions is key to choosing the right tool for your automation strategy. Here’s a breakdown of the main points of contrast:
- Transport Protocol: At its core, NetCONF operates over a Secure Shell (SSH) connection. This provides a persistent, secure channel that network engineering teams are very comfortable with. In contrast, RESTCONF uses HTTP/S, the same protocol that powers the web. This makes it much simpler to integrate with existing web-based applications and pass through firewalls.
- Operational Style: NetCONF is based on a Remote Procedure Call (RPC) model, where you send specific, predefined commands like
<edit-config>or<get-config>. RESTCONF, however, is resource-oriented. It treats network configurations as resources that you manage with standard HTTP methods like GET, POST, and DELETE, a pattern that is second nature to most software developers. - Session Management: A significant operational difference is that NetCONF maintains a stateful session. This allows for critical functions like locking a device's configuration to prevent other users from making conflicting changes simultaneously. RESTCONF is designed to be stateless, meaning each request is independent. This simplifies client logic but requires different methods for managing concurrent operations.
- Data Encoding: Although both can handle XML, NetCONF is exclusively XML-based. RESTCONF is more flexible, offering native support for both XML and JSON. For teams accustomed to modern web development, JSON is often preferred because it is lightweight and easier to parse.
Advantages of Using NetCONF
One of NetCONF's primary strengths lies in its robust design for network stability. Because it supports transactions, engineers can apply a batch of changes with confidence. If any single change fails, the entire set is rolled back, which helps prevent misconfigurations that could lead to downtime. This feature is particularly valuable in complex environments where a small error can have big consequences.
Additionally, its foundation on the RPC model provides a high degree of control. Operations are explicit and well-defined, leaving little room for ambiguity when managing critical network functions. This structured approach, combined with its use of the secure and familiar SSH protocol, gives network teams a reliable framework for automation, especially in multi-vendor environments where consistency is key.
Advantages of Using RESTCONF
The primary appeal of RESTCONF is how easily it fits into existing development workflows. Because it uses standard web protocols, your software teams don't need specialized network training to get started. They can apply their existing skills with HTTP and JSON directly to network automation, which significantly shortens the learning curve and broadens your available talent pool. This makes getting automation projects up and running a much quicker process.
Furthermore, this web-friendly design allows you to connect with a huge ecosystem of existing software tools. Any library, testing framework, or application that can speak HTTP can communicate with your network devices. This avoids the need for specialized software and makes it much more straightforward to build network management functions into your broader IT and business applications, saving both time and money.
Use Cases for NetCONF and RESTCONF
When to Use NetCONF
NetCONF is the go-to choice for environments where network stability is the top priority. Think of large service provider networks or enterprise data centers with equipment from multiple vendors. In these settings, its ability to handle transactions is a huge asset. It lets network engineering teams push complex updates across many devices at once, knowing that if any part of the update fails, the entire change is safely undone. This prevents the kind of partial updates that can cause serious outages. It’s the right tool for dedicated network teams performing precise, large-scale automation on core infrastructure.
When to Use RESTCONF
On the other hand, RESTCONF shines when you need to integrate network management into broader software development and IT automation efforts. If your goal is to build a custom portal for your operations team or to allow your CI/CD pipeline to automatically provision network resources for new applications, RESTCONF is a natural fit. Because it uses common web technologies, your software developers can work with it immediately without needing deep networking knowledge. It’s perfect for organizations that want to treat their network as just another programmable part of their overall IT stack.
Final Thoughts on Choosing Between NetCONF and RESTCONF
Ultimately, the choice between NetCONF and RESTCONF isn't about picking a superior technology, but about aligning with your team's skills and operational goals. If your organization has a dedicated network engineering team focused on maintaining high stability across complex, multi-vendor hardware, NetCONF’s structured and transactional nature is a strong fit.
Conversely, if your strategy involves integrating network tasks into your broader IT automation and software development pipelines, RESTCONF is the more direct path. It allows your developers to use familiar web-based tools, making the network just another programmable resource. The right decision comes down to who is building the automation and what their existing toolkit looks like.
Need Help Managing Your Network? Lightyear Can Help
While protocols like NetCONF and RESTCONF are great for device-level automation, managing the entire telecom lifecycle presents a different set of challenges. Lightyear automates network service procurement, inventory management, and bill consolidation. The hundreds of enterprises who trust Lightyear achieve 70%+ time savings and 20%+ cost savings on their network services. Sign up for a free account to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions about NetCONF vs RESTCONF
Can you use NetCONF and RESTCONF at the same time?
Yes, absolutely. Since both protocols operate on the same YANG data models, they can coexist on a single network device. This allows network teams to use NetCONF for core tasks while development teams use RESTCONF for application integration, offering flexibility for different teams.
Is one protocol more secure than the other?
Both are designed with security in mind. NetCONF runs over SSH, a trusted protocol for secure connections, while RESTCONF uses HTTPS, the standard for securing web traffic. Your choice should align with your organization's existing security infrastructure rather than a perceived advantage of one over the other.
Is RESTCONF meant to replace NetCONF?
Not at all. RESTCONF was developed to complement NetCONF by providing a web-friendly alternative for accessing YANG-defined data. It makes network automation more accessible to developers, but many organizations find value in using both protocols for different purposes within their automation strategy.
Do I need to learn YANG to use these protocols?
Yes, a basic understanding of YANG is fundamental to both. YANG defines the structure of the data you are configuring or monitoring. While you may not write models from scratch, you'll need to read them to know what data is available and how to interact with it.
