Subject: [Netconf] comments on draft-ietf-netconf-system-notifications-01.txt

From: Martin Bjorklund <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 08 Nov 2010 07:25:29 +0100 (CET)

Hi,

I have some minor comments on the text, otherwise I think the document
is in good shape.  Some comments are the same as I had for -00, but
haven't received any replies for.

2.1.1.

  s/Generated when the NETCONF session is/
    Generated when a NETCONF session is/g

2.1.1.

  s/sys-conformed-commit/sys-confirmed-commit

2.2

  The module is called "ietf-netconf-system-notifications", but the
  document is called "System Notifications".  This was discussed at
  the meeting, so I guess it will change.

2.2

  In the sys-config-change, I think the leaf target-database should be
  moved out from the list edit, so that one such notification reports
  changes on one datastore only.

2.2.

  In the sys-config-change, the text on 'operation' says:

          A server SHOULD set this object to the NETCONF edit
          operation performed on the target database.

  Why is this a SHOULD?

2.2

  The text about enum dropped says:

             "The session was terminated because
             the SSH session or TCP connection was
             unexpectedly closed."

  This should be transport-independent:

            "The session was terminated because
             the transport layer connection was
             unexpectedly closed."

  or similar.

2.2.

  The text about enum bad-hello says:

             "The client's <hello> message was
             bad or never arrived.";

  But if it never arrived, the "timeout" enum would be used, wouldn't
  it?

2.2.

   notification sys-confirmed-commit 

  Add a reference statement, refer to 4741bis, section 8.4

2.2.

  enum "cancel"

  OLD:

             "The confirm-commit procedure has been canceled,
             due to the session being terminated.";

  NEW:

             "The confirm-commit procedure has been canceled,
             due to the session being terminated, or an
             explicit <cancel-commit> operation.";

/martin

---

From: Martin Bjorklund <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:46:05 +0100 (CET)

>   the meeting, so I guess it will change.

A comment on this.  At the meeting, it was suggested that the
notifications etc will be renamed from sys-something to
netconf-something, if I got it right.  The reason was that the
notifications are related to the NETCONF  subsystem, rather than the
system as a whole.

But does this affect how sys-config-change is defined?  The config
data store can be modified by other means than over NETCONF.  I hope
that this notification, whatever is called, is generated also when the
config is modified outside of NETCONF.

/martin

---

From: Juergen Schoenwaelder <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2010 10:05:32 +0100

> config is modified outside of NETCONF.

Do you mean "at the time it is modified outside of NETCONF" or "at the
time NETCONF detects that it got modified". This might not be the same
time on some systems.

/js

-- 
Juergen Schoenwaelder           Jacobs University Bremen gGmbH
Phone: +49 421 200 3587         Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany
Fax:   +49 421 200 3103         <http://www.jacobs-university.de/>

---

From: Martin Bjorklund <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 08 Nov 2010 10:26:43 +0100 (CET)

> time NETCONF detects that it got modified". This might not be the same

I don't think the current text talks about timing at all.  And since
the notifs are asynchronous, I don't think we can say anything about
when this event is generated.

I want to be able to use this event to avoid polling.  So if I have a
session open where I subscribe to the 'NETCONF' stream, I know that if
I get this event, I need to check what just happened.  If I don't get
an event, I'm pretty sure nothing has happend (modulo timing issues).

/martin

---

From: Andy Bierman <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:11:43 -0800

On 11/08/2010 12:46 AM, Martin Bjorklund wrote:
> Martin Bjorklund<[email-masked]>  wrote:
>> 2.2
>>

Yes this changes sys-config-change.
The WG is saying that all these events are NETCONF events, not system events.
There is no support for anything outside a NETCONF-caused event if this
module is changed from system to NETCONF events.

Perhaps real system event support will be done in the future.

> /martin

Andy

---

From: Martin Bjorklund <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2010 09:25:52 +0100 (CET)

> The WG is saying that all these events are NETCONF events, not system events.

I don't think this WG has said that.  If if has, please send me a
pointer to the ML dicsussion.  AFAIK, this is the discussion, and
hopefully the WG will reach a conclusion *after* the issue has been
discussed.

> module is changed from system to NETCONF events.

If all this notification does is report when the config datastore is
changed over NETCONF, but NOT if it changed from CLI, WebUI,
SNMP... then it is not of much use.

> Perhaps real system event support will be done in the future.

I would rather standardize this single notification as a
system-config-change notif, and remove the rest, than the other way
around.

/martin

---

From: Andy Bierman <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:39:46 -0800

On 11/11/2010 12:25 AM, Martin Bjorklund wrote:
> Andy Bierman<[email-masked]>  wrote:

OK -- maybe you are right.
The netconf-config-change event just indicates that the NETCONF server
has detected that the config has changed.

Since it is a shared config, it doesn't matter who/what changed it.
If the server does not know which user changed the config, it can put 'server'.

I object to adding in details such as changed-by WEBui, CLI, SNMP, or whatever.
That info can be added with proprietary extensions if applicable.

Andy

---

From: Martin Bjorklund <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:01:17 +0100 (CET)

> If the server does not know which user changed the config, it can put 'server'.

Yes, this is fine.  And if it doesn't know which objects are changed,
no 'edit' entries are included.

> That info can be added with proprietary extensions if applicable.

Fine with me.

/martin