API-driven operations: RESTCONF, NETCONF, gNMI

NETCONF: Network Configuration Protocol

NETCONF (RFC 6241) is an IETF protocol for installing, manipulating, and deleting network device configurations. It uses XML-encoded data over SSH transport with a clear separation between configuration (running, candidate, startup datastores) and operational state. NETCONF operations include get-config, edit-config, copy-config, and lock/unlock for transactional configuration changes. YANG data models (RFC 7950) define the structure and constraints of configuration data, enabling model-driven management. NETCONF supports candidate configurations and commit/rollback, making it ideal for…