ConfD Powerful On-Device Management Software for Networking Equipment
ConfD Overview ConfD is a software solution for building on-device management systems for all kinds of networking equipment. Development teams use ConfD to radically reduce their time-to-delivery while providing state-ofthe-art implementations of CLI, NETCONF, Web UI, SNMP and RESTful interfaces to meet their customer s expectations. Product Managers leverage ConfD s modular architecture to pick and choose management features and interfaces depending on the specific needs of their target markets. ConfD can be used to extend existing management systems or to provide a complete management solution for new products and platforms. ConfD is built using a data model-driven architecture. All management interfaces are automatically rendered from a single data model, significantly reducing the amount of coding. ConfD also provides a complete set of features for on-device network management solutions supporting the northbound interfaces including: capabilities ConfD Core Engine and Datastore The ConfD Core Engine consists of an integrated datastore (CDB) and a transaction manager connecting the northbound management interfaces to the managed objects residing on the system. The transaction manager ensures that operations arriving through the northbound management interfaces are consistently executed across the system and that any dependencies and ordering requirements among managed objects are resolved properly. CDB provides high-performance tree-structured storage for configuration and operational data with a subscription interface for managed objects. Version management features for in-service upgrades and downgrades are automatically implemented by CDB. CDB is designed to scale across network elements and provides 1:N hot-standby failover for high availability environments. Command Line Interface Engine Network engineers use the command line interface (CLI) to perform expert configuration and to monitor and troubleshoot network elements. ConfD provides a feature-rich CLI engine supporting Cisco and Juniper-style CLIs. Both transaction and line-by-line modes of operation are generated from the same data model. The CLI engine is easily extended, for example with template-based show commands and action commands like ping and traceroute. All the common usability idioms are supported including full tab-completion, command history and line editing. SNMP Agent Network operators expect equipment providers to support full-featured SNMP agent implementations for fault and performance management purposes. ConfD s SNMP agent provides full support for SNMP v1, v2c and v3 including SNMP v3 USM and VACM through the integrated access control framework. NETCONF Server With the increasing need for programmability and automation, operators are turning to standards
OSS/BSS NCS Third Party EMS/NMS NETCONF RESTful API SNMP CLI Web UI Other Agent Management Agent API ConfD ConfD Core Engine - Role-based Access Control - Authentication - Transaction Management - Audit Trailing - Rollback Management - High Availability - Session Management - Configuration Validation Replicated Data Store Data Provider API Managed Object API Other Database Operational Data - Counters - Alarms - Statistics
like the IETF NETCONF protocol to allow developers to write scalable configuration management and automation systems. ConfD includes an industry leading NETCONF server with support for standard and emerging capabilities defined in the IETF. By leveraging the features of the Core Engine, the NETCONF server supports all advanced features including locking and confirmed commits for multielement transactions, XPath for sophisticated filtering, and NETCONF Notifications with full replay capabilities for advanced monitoring purposes. Web User Interface Network engineers expect web interfaces to provide them with an application-like environment based on modern user interface technologies like AJAX and modern JavaScript frameworks. ConfD s integrated Web UI environment provides a rich set of features and libraries allowing developers the choice to either work with the auto-generated UI and extend it to meet expectations on look and feel, or to develop their on management application using the Javascript APIs. RESTful API As network element management becomes an integral part of application development, such as in cloud contexts, having a RESTful API to the network elements becomes a requirement. ConfD provides a RESTful API and automatically generates the resource objects from the common data model using the integrated web server. State data are exposed as resources that accept the GET method and resources representing configuration data also accept the DELETE, PATCH, POST, and PUT methods. Examples of Devices Using ConfD Access Equipment Cable Modem Termination Carrier Ethernet Femtocells Firewalls IMS Gateways IPTV Applications L2/L3 Routers Media Gateways Mobile Backhaul LTE Base Stations Optical Line Termination Optical Core Routers Optical Transmission Radio Network Controllers Satellite Termination Systems Smart Grid SS7 Gateways SSL VPN Storage Switching WiMax Base Stations WLAN Access Controllers Supported Platforms Linux NetBSD QNX Solaris
Faster and More Affordable Development Development teams using ConfD radically reduce the time and resources needed to develop a complete set of on-device configuration management features. All management interfaces are automatically rendered from a single data model and share a single set of common instrumentation functions, thereby avoiding the tedious recoding efforts required by legacy stovepipe architectures. State-of-the-Art Features ConfD implements all the features required by enterprise and carrier operators including forward looking features like transactions and interfaces like a NETCONF server and a RESTful API for programmatic approaches to network management. This allows development teams to stay ahead of product management s expectations while meeting cost and time-to-market imperatives. Reduced Risk ConfD has a significant installed base of satisfied users many with products in large-scale production on systems delivering business critical services worldwide. Compared to internally developed systems, ConfD is highly mature and has gone through many more cycles of carrier-oriented quality control and testing. Tail-f offers pre-integrated code libraries to reduce the cost and risk of integration with third party protocols, middleware, and operating systems. Tail-f s ConfD software is deployed in our customers production networks today and I couldn t be happier with its functionality and reliability. Terry Graf Director of Platform Development BigBand Networks We are using Tail-f Systems software technology to both accelerate development schedules and to differentiate our products. Renri Nakano Deputy General Manager Fujitsu Tail-f Systems software enables us to quickly build a state-of-the-art management system. Max Arbo Senior Product Manager Ultra Electronics DNE Technologies We selected Tail-f Systems ConfD after a careful analysis of the alternatives, because their technology for developing network management systems significantly reduces development time and risk. Mark Matteson Project Engineer ViaSat Inc. We selected ConfD because it was best in its class and being continuously improved with exciting new capabilities. Phil Levy, P. Eng. Manager, Software Engineering RuggedCom Inc.
Tail-f Systems is the leading provider of configuration management and network automation software. Seven of the ten largest global networking equipment providers are Tail-f Systems customers. Network Equipment Providers use Tail-f s software to build on-device management systems and EMS/NMS platforms in less time and with differentiated capabilities. Service Providers use Tail-f s software to quickly build scalable, agile management systems and benefit by bringing network services to market faster and more reliably. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Tail-f Systems is a Red Herring Top 100 company and one of Stratecast s Global OSS/ BSS 10 to Watch companies. European Headquarters Korgmakargränd 2 SE-111 22 Stockholm Sweden +46 8 21 37 40 North American Headquarters 18300 Turnberry Drive Round Hill, VA 20141 USA +1 540 338 9754 info@tail-f.com www.tail-f.com