Stateful YANG-to-CLI Conversion for Conflict-Free Network Configuration

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing network device configuration management systems face inefficiencies and inaccuracies due to the lack of stateful conversion from YANG data structures to CLI commands, leading to potential configuration overwrites and conflicts, which undermine network reliability and security.

Innovation Solution

A stateful conversion process that determines CLI commands based on the current configuration state of the network device, using conversion participants to analyze database transactions without committing changes, ensuring accurate CLI representations and preventing unintended overwrites.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If traditional CLI configuration methods are used, then network administrators can configure devices using familiar command-line interfaces, but configuration overwrites and conflicts may occur leading to reduced network reliability

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenetwork reliabilityVSAvoidconfiguration management

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a stateful conversion process as an intermediary between YANG data structures and CLI commands. This conversion process examines the current device configuration state before generating CLI commands, preventing unintended overwrites and conflicts while maintaining compatibility with traditional CLI workflows that administrators already use

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary analysis of the current configuration state before executing configuration changes. By evaluating the device's current state upfront, the system can predict potential conflicts and adjust the generated CLI commands to avoid overwrites, ensuring reliable configuration management before operations are applied

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Manufacturing precision

If stateful conversion process is implemented, then configuration accuracy and reliability are improved, but computational overhead and processing time increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconfiguration accuracyVSAvoidprocessing time

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The stateful conversion process performs partial analysis by focusing only on the specific configuration elements that are about to be modified, rather than analyzing the entire configuration state. This selective approach maintains high configuration accuracy while reducing unnecessary computational overhead and processing time

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Device complexity

If YANG data structures are used for configuration management, then structured and hierarchical configuration representation is achieved, but compatibility with traditional CLI interfaces is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconfiguration structureVSAvoidCLI compatibility

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses stateful conversion as an intermediary layer between YANG data structures and traditional CLI interfaces. This conversion process translates structured YANG configurations into familiar CLI commands while preserving the advantages of structured configuration management, maintaining both configuration integrity and administrator familiarity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of requiring administrators to learn new YANG-based interfaces, the system inverts the approach by converting YANG structures into traditional CLI commands. This allows the benefits of structured YANG configuration to be realized while maintaining compatibility with established CLI workflows that administrators already know

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Data Source

PatentUS12587440B2Stateful management of network device configurations

Publication Date: 2026.03.24 CISCO TECHNOLOGY INC

AI summary

An example method may include receiving first configuration data associated with a network device, the first configuration data comprising a Yet Another Next Generation (YANG) payload; determining a first subset of the YANG payload that is associated with a first network configuration database; determining a first database transaction, wherein the first database transaction represents one or more database updates to the first network configuration database that is determined based on a first state of the network device and one or more configuration requirements represented by the first subset; discarding the first database transaction; determining second configuration data based on the first database transaction, the second configuration data comprising a command line representation (CLI) of the YANG payload; and providing the second configuration data to a system, the system configured to display the command line representation to a user.