NETCONF Rollback Agnostic Provisioning via Selective RPC Reversal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Network administrators face challenges in provisioning device configurations as network size increases, especially with varied devices, and existing protocols like NETCONF have limitations such as an all-or-nothing rollback approach and resource wastage, which do not effectively manage partial configuration updates.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the generation of NETCONF provisioning and reverse provisioning RPCs by a network device to configure other devices, allowing for selective rollback of unsuccessful configurations while preserving successful ones, and storing success indications to manage configuration states efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional NETCONF rollback approach is used, then configuration reliability is improved, but resource wastage increases and partial configuration updates cannot be managed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the monolithic rollback mechanism into granular, per-pseudowire level rollbacks. Instead of rolling back all configurations when any single configuration fails, the system now performs selective rollbacks only for the specific pseudowire that failed provisioning. This is achieved through tracking individual RPC successes and failures, and executing reverse provisioning RPCs only for failed pseudowires, thereby preserving successful configurations and avoiding resource wastage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by implementing selective rollback rather than complete rollback. When configuration provisioning fails for certain pseudowires, the system performs rollback only for those specific pseudowires while leaving other successfully provisioned pseudowires unchanged. This partial approach prevents the excessive resource consumption associated with traditional all-or-nothing rollback mechanisms.
2Stability of the object's composition
If traditional all-or-nothing rollback is used, then configuration consistency is improved, but productivity decreases due to re-provisioning successful configurations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the configuration management into independent, trackable units at the pseudowire level. Each pseudowire's provisioning status is individually tracked, allowing the system to identify which specific pseudowires failed and which succeeded. This segmentation enables selective rollback operations that maintain consistency for failed configurations while preserving successful ones, eliminating the need to re-provision working configurations and thereby improving productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a selective discard and recover mechanism where only failed pseudowire configurations are discarded (rolled back) while successful configurations are recovered and preserved. This is achieved through tracking RPC success/failure status and executing reverse provisioning only for failed cases, thus maintaining necessary consistency while avoiding unnecessary re-provisioning operations that would reduce productivity.
3Quantity of substance
If network size increases, then network capacity is improved, but configuration management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service through automated tracking and selective rollback mechanisms. The system automatically monitors RPC provisioning results for each pseudowire, identifies failures, and executes appropriate reverse provisioning operations without requiring manual intervention. This automation scales efficiently with network size, managing increased configuration complexity through systematic, rule-based operations rather than manual processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters from monolithic rollback to granular, per-pseudowire rollback. By tracking and managing configurations at the individual pseudowire level rather than as a bulk operation, the system can efficiently handle larger networks with more devices and configurations. This parameter change enables scalable configuration management where the complexity increases linearly rather than exponentially with network size.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes receiving configuration data for configuring network devices; generating remote procedure calls (RPCs) for configuring the network devices, which include provisioning and reverse provisioning RPCs, where each reverse provisioning RPC reverse provisions a particular pseudowire; providing to the network devices the provisioning RPCs; determining a success with respect to each of the provisioning RPCs, where the success indicates that all endpoints of a pseudowire have been successfully configured; providing the reverse provisioning RPCs to the network devices, when it is determined that the success has not been achieved; and storing an indication of success when it is determined that the success has been achieved with respect to the provisioning RPCs.