`config` Module#

Config module provides a flexible and performant way to configure SR Linux devices using a model-driven HTTP-based JSON-RPC interface.

The generic architecture of a module allows configuration changes across the entire SR Linux configuration datastore.

Example playbookResponse

- name: Set system information
  hosts: clab
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Set system information with values
      nokia.srlinux.config:
        update:
          - path: /system/information
            value:
              location: Some location
              contact: Some contact
      register: set_response

ok: [clab-ansible-srl] => {
    "set_response": {
        "changed": true,
        "diff": {
            "jsonrpc_req_id": "2023-04-28 18:50:19:695364",
            "jsonrpc_version": "2.0",
            "result": [
                "      system {\n          information {\n+             contact \"Some contact\"\n+             location \"Some location\"\n          }\n      }\n"
            ]
        },
        "failed": false,
        "jsonrpc_req_id": 3038,
        "saved": false
    }
}

path and value parameters take values based on SR Linux YANG models, enabling fully model-driven configuration operations.

Config operations#

The module provides an update, replace and delete operations against SR Linux devices. Moreover, a combination of these operations can be handled by the module enabling rich configuration transactions.

Idempotency#

Idempotency principles are fully honored by the module. When users execute a module with configuration operations, the module runs the diff operation to check if the intended configuration set leads to any changes.

The diff operation takes update, replace and delete values and applies them to the newly opened candidate configuration. First, the validate function ensures that the provided changeset passes internal validation and then diff function is called to identify if these changes produce any diff output.

The output of the diff operation is then returned to the config module. An empty return indicates that the configuration set does not lead to any changes; thus, the config module reports that task as unchanged.

A non-empty diff output would mean that the configuration set leads to changes, and therefore the configuration set will be sent¹ to the device to be applied.

Transactions and ordering#

The generic nature of the module and its ability to contain multiple configuration operations allows its user to create configuration transactions which include a number of update, delete and replace operations.

In the example below, the module is stuffed with multiple updates, replaces and deletes. It is important to understand how SR Linux processes such requests.

config with multiple operationsResponse

- name: Set multiple paths
  hosts: clab
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Set with multiple operations
      nokia.srlinux.config:
        update:
          - path: /system/information/location #(1)!
            value: Some location
        replace:
          - path: /system/gnmi-server/trace-options #(1)!
            value:
              - request
              - common
        delete:
          - path: /system/json-rpc-server/network-instance[name=mgmt]/https
      register: set_response

When a path points to a leaf, the value is provided as string or integer.
When a path points to a list (aka leaf-list in YANG), the value is provided as a list of scalar values.

{
    "set_response": {
        "changed": true,
        "diff": {
            "jsonrpc_req_id": "2023-05-01 08:37:10:798782",
            "jsonrpc_version": "2.0",
            "result": [
                "      system {\n          gnmi-server {\n-             trace-options [\n-                 response\n-             ]\n          }\n          json-rpc-server {\n              network-instance mgmt {\n-                 https {\n-                     admin-state enable\n-                     tls-profile clab-profile\n-                 }\n              }\n          }\n          information {\n+             location \"Some location\"\n          }\n      }\n"
            ]
        },
        "failed": false,
        "jsonrpc_req_id": "2023-05-01 08:37:11:009871",
        "saved": false
    }
}

Config module uses JSON-RPC interface of SR Linux, and in particular, its Set method. Upon receiving the Set method, SR Linux opens a private named candidate configuration and applies the operations in the following order:

updates
replaces
deletes

Note, that the operations that are part of the module's task are not committed independently, they are applied strictly together in the "all or nothing" fashion. When we say that the operations are applied in that order, we mean that changes get applied to the candidate configuration in that order. No commit happens just yet.

If no errors occur during changes of the candidate configuration, an implicit commit is invoked to apply all the changes in a single transaction. If the commit fails, the configuration is automatically reverted, and the error is returned to the caller.
Such functionality provides users with the means to reliably apply multiple changes in a single transaction, without worrying that the devices might be left in a partially configured state.

Check mode#

The module fully supports Ansible's check mode. When the module is executed in the check mode, the diff operation indicates whether the task leads to a change in the device's state.

Note

No changes are applied to the device when running with check mode. It is a safe way to understand if the intended configuration set leads to any changes.

As per Ansible's documentation, the check mode can be enabled on a per-playbook or per-task basis. The following example shows how to enable the check mode for the task and the result of the playbook execution.

PlaybookResponse

The below playbook tests if the intended update operation leads to any changes in the device's state. The device doesn't have the location and contact set, so the diff output indicates that the task leads to a change.

- name: Set leaves with check mode
  hosts: clab
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Test check mode
      nokia.srlinux.config:
        update:
          - path: /system/information
            value:
              location: Some location
              contact: Some contact
      check_mode: true
      register: set_response

The response object contains the diff output that indicates that the task leads to a change and therefore changed is set to true. Remember that the check mode doesn't apply any changes to the device.

{
    "set_response": {
        "changed": true,
        "diff": {
            "prepared": "      system {\n          information {\n+             contact \"Some contact\"\n+             location \"Some location\"\n          }\n      }\n"
        },
        "failed": false,
        "failed_when_result": false,
        "saved": false
    }
}

Diff mode#

The module supports the diff mode that allows users to display the diff output. This mode can be used both with the check mode and without it. When used with check mode the diff output is displayed but no changes are applied to the device. When used without check mode, the diff output is displayed and the changes are applied to the device.

The diff is calculated by the SR Linux device and thus is an accurate representation of the changes that will be applied to the device².

PlaybookOutputResponse

In this playbook the diff and check modes are both enabled. The task should output the diff of the operation and indicate that the task leads to a change.

- name: Test check mode with diff
  nokia.srlinux.config:
    update:
      - path: /system/information
        value:
          location: Some location
          contact: Some contact
  check_mode: true
  diff: true
  register: set_response

As a result, the output contains the diff of the operation and indicates that the task leads to a change.

TASK [Test check mode with diff] ***********************************************
      system {
          information {
+             contact "Some contact"
+             location "Some location"
          }
      }
changed: [clab-ansible-srl]

The response object contains the diff output that indicates that the task leads to a change and therefore changed is set to true. Remember that the check mode doesn't allow the intended changes to be applied.

"set_response": {
  "changed": true,
  "diff": {
      "prepared": "      system {\n          information {\n+             contact \"Some contact\"\n+             location \"Some location\"\n          }\n      }\n"
  },
  "failed": false,
  "failed_when_result": false,
  "saved": false
}

Name alias#

The nokia.srlinux.config module has a name alias to align with the historical naming scheme for config modules: nokia.srlinux.srl_config. Users can use any of the names.

Parameters#

update#

The update parameter is a list of update operations that are applied to the candidate configuration in the order they are provided. Each update operation is a dictionary with the path and value keys.

path#

required · type: string

The path parameter is a string that represents a path to the configuration element that needs to be updated. The path is provided in the XPATH-like notation and is relative to the root of the candidate datastore.

SR Linux users are encouraged to use YANG Browser to explore the YANG model and identify the paths to the data they want to retrieve.

value#

type: any

The value parameter is a value that needs to be user for the provided operations. The value type is determined by the type of the configuration element that is being targeted by the path.

Path YANG type	Value type
leaf	string/integer/bool
leaf-list	list
list	dictionary

Check the examples below to see how the value is provided for each of the types.

replace#

The replace parameter is a list of replace operations that are applied to the candidate configuration in the order they are provided. Each replace operation is a dictionary with the path and value keys.

Path and value parameters are the same as for the update parameter with the only difference that the value parameter is required for the replace operation.

delete#

The delete parameter is a list of delete operations that are applied to the candidate configuration in the order they are provided. Each delete operation is a dictionary with the path key and no value.

path#

required · type: string

The path parameter is a string that represents a path to the configuration element that needs to be deleted. The path is provided in the XPATH-like notation and is relative to the root of the candidate datastore. No value is provided, since delete operation does not require any.

confirm_timeout#

added in: v0.3.0 · min. SR Linux version: v23.3.2

Prior to SR Linux version 23.3.2 users could have set the global commit confirm timeout by setting the value of the commit-confirmed-timeout leaf under json-rpc-server stanza:

--{ + running }--[  ]--
A:srl# enter candidate  

--{ + candidate shared default }--[  ]--
A:srl# /system json-rpc-server commit-confirmed-timeout 10

This setting would have applied to all configuration changes made through JSON-RPC interface and would require a commit confirmation to be issued before the timer expires.

Starting from SR Linux version 23.3.2 and nokia/srlinux collection v0.3.0, users can set the commit confirm timeout on a per-task basis by setting the confirm_timeout parameter. The confirm_timeout parameter is an integer that represents the number of seconds the commit confirm operation should wait for the user to confirm the commit.

Check out the following example for a workflow demonstrating the use of the confirm_timeout parameter.

datastore#

type: string

The datastore parameter is a string that represents the name of the datastore that needs to be used for the configuration operations. The default value is candidate.

The only other datastore value available is tools, which allows users to invoke operational commands via the tools datastore. See the following example for more details.

save_when#

choice: always, never, changed

The save_when parameter allows users to choose when the candidate configuration should be saved to the startup configuration (aka persisted) upon successful commit. The default value is never.

By setting the save_when to always, users can ensure that the candidate configuration is always saved to the startup configuration upon successful commit. And by setting the save_when to changed, users can ensure that the candidate configuration is saved to the startup configuration only when the candidate configuration is changed upon successful commit.

The save_when has no effect when the check mode is enabled.

yang_models#

choice: srl, oc

The yang_models parameter allows users to choose which YANG models should be used for the configuration operations. The default value is srl. See Get module docs for more details.

Return values#

The module returns the results in a structured format which contains both standard Ansible fields and SR Linux specific fields.

{
    "set_response": {
        "changed": true,
        "diff": {
            "jsonrpc_req_id": "2023-04-29 13:02:42:777835",
            "jsonrpc_version": "2.0",
            "result": [
                "      system {\n          gnmi-server {\n-             trace-options [\n-                 response\n-             ]\n          }\n          json-rpc-server {\n              network-instance mgmt {\n-                 https {\n-                     admin-state enable\n-                     tls-profile clab-profile\n-                 }\n              }\n          }\n          information {\n+             location \"Some location\"\n          }\n      }\n"
            ]
        },
        "failed": false,
        "jsonrpc_req_id": "2023-04-29 13:02:42:985777",
        "saved": false
    }
}

changed#

type: boolean

The changed value indicates if the module has made any changes to the state of a device.

When the module is executed without the check mode, the changed value is true if the module has made any changes to the state of a device. Otherwise, the changed value is false.

When the module is executed with the check mode, the changed parameter can also become true or false, but in any case, the changes will not be committed to the device.

failed#

type: boolean

The failed value indicates if any errors occurred during the execution of the module. The failed value is false when the module completes successfully and true otherwise. See the Error handling section for more details.

jsonrpc_req_id#

type: string

See Get module.

jsonrpc_version#

type: string

See Get module.

diff#

type: dictionary

The diff value contains the response of a diff operation that was executed against the device.

As explained in the idempotency section, the diff operation is always called to identify if the change is required. The result of that diff RPC is saved in the diff response parameter and contains the full response body object.

saved#

type: boolean

The saved value indicates if the candidate configuration was saved to the startup configuration upon successful commit. The saved value is true when the candidate configuration was saved to the startup configuration and false otherwise.

Error handling#

The config module sets the failed return value to true when errors occur during the module execution. The error message is returned in the msg field of the return value.

Consider the following output when a wrong path is value is used in the update operation:

playbookresponse

- name: Set wrong value
  hosts: clab
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Set system information with wrong value
      nokia.srlinux.config:
        update:
          - path: /system/information
            value:
              wrong: Some location
      register: set_response

The response will have failed=true and the msg will contain the error message as reported by SR Linux:

fatal: [clab-ansible-srl]: FAILED! => {"changed": false, "id": "2023-05-01 08:42:59:116073", "method": "diff", "msg": "Schema '/system/information' has no local leaf with the name 'wrong'. Options are [contact, location, protobuf-metadata]: Parse error on line 1: {\"wrong\": \"Some location\"}\nInput:\n'{\"wrong\": \"Some location\"}'"}

Examples#

adding an interface#

Let's see step by step how to use the config module to add the ethernet-1/1 interface to a device.

First, we need to identify the path to the interface configuration and the values that can be set on that path. One way to do that is to leverage YANG Browser's Tree viewer and visually inspect the YANG model. The following screenshot shows the YANG Browser's Tree viewer for SR Linux 23.3.1 release with interfaces model opened:

As we can see, the interfaces are nested under the /interface[name=*] list. This answers the first question: the path to the interface configuration is /interface[name=ethernet-1/1].

Using the same UI we can see which values can be set on the interface. The following screenshot shows the interface model with subinterface list expanded:

screenshot

Now we know that the description leaf can be set on the interface, and we configure IPv4/6 addresses with subinterfaces. With that info, we can construct the following playbook:

- name: Add interface
  hosts: clab
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Add interface
      nokia.srlinux.config:
        update:
          - path: /interface[name=ethernet-1/1]
            value:
              admin-state: enable
              description: "interface description set with Ansible"
              subinterface:
                - index: 0
                  admin-state: enable
                  description: "subinterface description set with Ansible"
                  ipv4:
                    admin-state: enable
                    address:
                      - ip-prefix: 192.168.0.100/24

      register: set_response

    - debug:
        var: set_response

When constructing the payload we follow a simple rule:

a list in the YANG model is represented as a list in the payload
a container in the YANG model is represented as a dictionary in the payload

For example, the subinterface list is represented as a list in the payload, and the ipv4 container is represented as a dictionary in the payload.

multiple configuration operations#

The following example shows how to use the config module to perform multiple configuration operations in a single task. Note, that you can have multiple update, replace, and delete operations in a single task:

PlaybookResponse

- name: Set multiple paths
  hosts: clab
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Set with multiple operations
      nokia.srlinux.config:
        update:
          - path: /system/information/location
            value: Some location
        replace:
          - path: /system/gnmi-server/trace-options
            value:
              - request
              - common
        delete:
          - path: /system/json-rpc-server/network-instance[name=mgmt]/https
      register: set_response

{
    "set_response": {
        "changed": true,
        "diff": {
            "jsonrpc_req_id": "2023-05-01 08:46:38:419093",
            "jsonrpc_version": "2.0",
            "result": [
                "      system {\n          gnmi-server {\n-             trace-options [\n-                 response\n-             ]\n          }\n          json-rpc-server {\n              network-instance mgmt {\n-                 https {\n-                     admin-state enable\n-                     tls-profile clab-profile\n-                 }\n              }\n          }\n          information {\n+             location \"Some location\"\n          }\n      }\n"
            ]
        },
        "failed": false,
        "jsonrpc_req_id": "2023-05-01 08:46:38:617927",
        "saved": false
    }
}

operational commands via `tools` datastore#

SR Linux models operational commands as configuration elements in the tools datastore. This allows users to invoke operational commands via the nokia.srlinux.config module. For example, the following task clears the interface statistics:

- name: Clear interface statistics
  nokia.srlinux.config:
    datastore: tools
    update:
      - path: /interface[name=mgmt0]/statistics/clear

openconfig#

The config module supports OpenConfig models. As with get module, the yang_models parameter must be set to oc. Note, that for the config module, the yang_models parameter is set on a per-task basis.

- name: Set OC leaf
  hosts: clab
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Set openconfig leaf
      nokia.srlinux.config:
        update:
          - path: /system/config
            value:
              motd-banner: "hey ansible"
        yang_models: oc
      register: set_response

    - debug:
        var: set_response

Commit confirmation#

The config module supports per-task commit confirmation. The following example shows how to set the commit confirmation timeout and confirm the changes in the allowed time:

- name: Confirm timeout
  hosts: clab
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Add interface description with confirm timeout
      nokia.srlinux.config:
        update:
          - path: /interface[name=mgmt0]/description
            value: "this description would be gone without commit confirm"
        # after 4 seconds commit is reverted if not confirmed
        confirm_timeout: 4

    - name: Confirm the commit
      nokia.srlinux.config:
        datastore: tools
        update:
          - path: /system/configuration/confirmed-accept

    - ansible.builtin.pause:
        prompt: "Waiting 4 seconds to ensure commit is successfully confirmed"
        seconds: 4

    - name: Ensure leaf has been set
      nokia.srlinux.get:
        paths:
          - path: /interface[name=mgmt0]/description
            datastore: state
      failed_when: get_response.result[0] != "this description would be gone without commit confirm"

Source code#

Config module is implemented in the config.py file.

Effectively, the configuration is sent twice to the device. First, to check if a diff is non-empty, and if not, second time to apply the configuration set. In this case, the diff happens on SR Linux box and is not calculated locally. ↩
The diff returned is the same as the one returned by the diff CLI command. ↩

config Module#

Config operations#

Idempotency#

Transactions and ordering#

Check mode#

Diff mode#

Name alias#

Parameters#

update#

path#

value#

replace#

delete#

path#

confirm_timeout#

datastore#

save_when#

yang_models#

Return values#

changed#

failed#

jsonrpc_req_id#

jsonrpc_version#

diff#

saved#

Error handling#

Examples#

adding an interface#

multiple configuration operations#

operational commands via tools datastore#

openconfig#

Commit confirmation#

Source code#

Comments

`config` Module#

operational commands via `tools` datastore#