RESTCONF basics (not on blueprint)

Constructing RESTCONF URIs

https:// <ADDRESS> / <ROOT> / <DATA STORE> / <[YANG MODULE:]CONTAINER> / <LEAF>[?<OPTIONS>]

• <ADDRESS> = …of the RESTCONF agent
• <ROOT> = The main entry point for RESTCONF requests
• <DATA STORE> = The data store being queried
• <[YANG MODULE:]CONTAINER> = The base model container being used. Providing the module name is optional.
• <LEAF> = An individual element from within the container
• [?<OPTIONS>] = Optional parameters that impact returned data

Main RESTCONF datastores:

• Configuration: /restconf/data/
• Operations: /restconf/operations/

HTTP headers

General information on “RESTCONF HTTP headers”:

• Two headers need to be specified when using RESTCONF:
  • Accept: Specifies the type of data being requested by the client from the device
  • Content-Type: Specifies the type of data being sent from the client to the device
• Two valid RESTCONF MIME types available:
  • application/yang-data+json: Data is sent/received as valid JSON
  • application/yang-data+xml: Data is sent/received as valid XML
• The MIME type can be specified for each way and can be different

Sample code for “RESTCONF HTTP headers”:

headers = {
  'Accept': 'application/yang-data+json',
  'Content-Type': 'application/yang-data+json'
}

Data serialization

General information on “RESTCONF Data serialization”:

• Serialization = Converting a data structure into a valid JSON object
• When assigning a JSON data construct to a variable in Python, it needs to be serialized before it is sent to the device
• Data serialization requires two things:
  • The JSON module must be imported
  • The variable/data construct must be converted

Sample code for “RESTCONF Data serialization”:

import json

payload_raw = {
    "ietf-interfaces:interface": {
        "name": "Loopback1337",
        "description": "Configured by RESTCONF",
        "type": "iana-if-type:softwareLoopback",
        "enabled": True,
        "ietf-ip:ipv4": {
            "address": [
                {
                    "ip": "1.3.3.8",
                    "netmask": "255.255.255.255"
                }
            ]
        }
    }
}

payload_json = json.dumps(payload_raw, indent=4)