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YANG Really Takes Off in the Industry

  • Benoît ClaiseOperations and Management Area Director

27 Nov 2014

Just after the IETF 90 meeting last July, I posted this “YANG Takes Off in the Industry” blog.

One IETF meeting 91 later (just 2 weeks ago), the trend is confirmed: a big wave of YANG models is coming!

This big wave was confirmed by Dave Ward, in his “Open Standards, Open Source, Open Loop” talk to the IETF community.

New YANG models are not only seen in the OPS area, but also in the RTG, INT, TSV, and SEC areas. In total, about 20 working groups, 65 YANG model Internet-Drafts currently active, and 43 of these are at version 00. Granted, there are some redundant drafts, while the community organizes itself, but this shows a willingness to build data models with the YANG language [RFC 6020]. There are two types of models. First, the protocol-specific YANG models: For example QoS, ISIS, OSPF, MPLS, Traffic Engineering, 6Tisch, Multicast … to name a few. However, the end goal is for the operators to create services out of these building blocks, and some services YANG models start to appear at IETF, such as L2VPN or L3VPN. Some (services) YANG models were discussed in the different BoFs: In Abstraction and Control of Transport Networks (ACTN), in I2NSF (Interface to Network Security Functions, and also in the SUPA (Shared Unified Policy Automation) bar BoF

The second YANG Advice and Editing Session, was again a success with 15 YANG models reviewed by the YANG doctors. I was extremely pleased to see one operator, with a “newcomer” badge, present at this session to get feedback on his YANG model. Note that, in preparation for the review of all these YANG models, the YANG doctors team recently expanded.

Finally, a new working group, LIME, has been created just before the IETF meeting, focusing on YANG data model(s) for generic layer-independent and technology-independent configuration, reporting and presentation for Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) mechanisms.

It’s great to see some YANG traction within the IETF, and in the industry. My prediction is that more YANG models will follow. Many more, and not only from the IETF but from different Standard Development Organizations and consortia. Now it’s time to organize the coordination of all these YANG model so that the big wave doesn’t turn into a tsunami.


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