Model-driven Programmability

In 2015, one of the most exciting enhancements we introduced to Cisco IOS XR was a much improved programmability framework based on data models. While you have had access to a diverse number of management interfaces in the past, they did not always provide a cohesive framework to manage the device and treat it as a programmable platform. Quite often, the command line interface acted as the grand unifying interface. With the growing support for data models, a rich stack opens the door for new ways to manage and program devices making the most of software automation.

What are the benefits of model-driven programmability? Numerous and all pretty valuable:

• Model based, structured, computer friendly
• Multiple model types (native, OpenConfig, IETF, etc.)
• Models decoupled from transport, protocol end encoding
• Your choice of transport, protocol and encoding
• Model-driven APIs for abstraction and simplification
• Wide standard support while leveraging open source

In future posts, we will look at each of the components in that stack and elaborate further on its benefits. For now, you can get some details on the previous blog post Model-driven Programmability: The Rise of Network Automation