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Cfgmgmt

SR Linux employs a transaction-based configuration management system. That allows for a number of changes to be made to the configuration with an explicit commit required to apply the changes as a single transaction.

Configuration file#

The default location for the configuration file is /etc/opt/srlinux/config.json.

If there is no configuration file present, a basic configuration file is auto-generated with the following defaults:

  • Creation of a management network instance
  • Management interface is added to the mgmt network instance
  • DHCP v4/v6 is enabled on mgmt interface
  • A set of default of logs are created
  • SSH server is enabled
  • Some default IPv4/v6 CPM filters

Configuration modes#

Configuration modes define how the system is running when transactions are performed. Supported modes are the following:

  • Running: the default mode when logging in and displays displays the currently running or active configuration.
  • State: the running configuration plus the addition of any dynamically added data. Some examples of state specific data are operational state of various elements, counters and statistics, BGP auto-discovered peer, LLDP peer information, etc.
  • Candidate: this mode is used to modify configuration. Modifications are not applied until the commit is performed. When committed, the changes are copied to the running configuration and become active. The candidate configuration configuration can itself be edited in the following modes:
    • Shared: this is the default mode when entering the candidate mode with enter candidate command. This allows multiple users to modify the candidate configuration concurrently. When the configuration is committed, the changes from all of the users are applied.
    • Exclusive Candidate: When entering candidate mode with enter candidate exclusive, it locks out other users from making changes to the candidate configuration.
      You can enter candidate exclusive mode only under the following conditions:
      • The current shared candidate configuration has not been modified.
      • There are no other users in candidate shared mode.
      • No other users have entered candidate exclusive mode.
    • Private: A private candidate allows multiple users to modify a configuration; however when a user commits their changes, only the changes from that user are committed.
      When a private candidate is created, private datastores are created and a snapshot is taken from the running database to create a baseline. When starting a private candidate, a default candidate is defined per user with the name private-<username> unless a unique name is defined.

Note

gNMI & JSON-RPC both use an exclusive candidate and an implicit commit when making a configuration change on the device.

Setting the configuration mode#

After logging in to the CLI, you are initially placed in running mode. The following table provides commands to enter in a specific mode:

Candidate mode Command to enter
Candidate shared enter candidate
Candidate mode for named shared candidate enter candidate name <name>
Candidate private enter candidate private
Candidate mode for named private candidate enter candidate private name <name>
Candidate exclusive enter candidate exclusive
Exclusive mode for named candidate enter candidate exclusive name <name>
Running enter running
State enter state
Show enter show

Committing configuration#

Changes made during a configuration modification session do not take effect until a commit command is issued. Several options are available for commit command, below are the most notable ones:

Option Action
commit now Apply the changes, exit candidate mode, and enter running mode
commit stay Apply the changes and then remain in candidate mode
commit save Apply the changes and automatically save the commit to the startup configuration
commit confirmed Apply the changes, but requires an explicit confirmation to become permanent. If the explicit confirmation is not issued within a specified time period, all changes are automatically reverted

Deleting configuration#

Use the delete command to delete configurations while in candidate mode.

The following example displays the system banner configuration, deletes the configured banner, then displays the resulting system banner configuration: 

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--{ candidate shared default}--[ ]--
A:leaf1# info system banner
    system {
        banner {
            login-banner "Welcome to SRLinux!"
        }
    }

--{ candidate shared default}--[ ]--
A:leaf1# delete system banner

--{ candidate shared default}--[ ]--
A:leaf1# info system banner
    system {
        banner {
        }
    }

Discarding configuration#

You can discard previously applied configurations with the discard command.

  • To discard the changes and remain in candidate mode with a new candidate session, enter discard stay.
  • To discard the changes, exit candidate mode, and enter running mode, enter discard now.

Displaying configuration diff#

Use the diff command to get a comparison of configuration changes. Optional arguments can be used to indicate the source and destination datastore.

The following use rules apply: * If no arguments are specified, the diff is performed from the candidate to the baseline of the candidate. * If a single argument is specified, the diff is performed from the current candidate to the specified candidate. * If two arguments are specified, the first is treated as the source, and the second as the destination.

Global arguments include: baseline, candidate, checkpoint, factory, file, from, rescue, running, and startup.

The diff command can be used outside of candidate mode, but only if used with arguments.

The following shows a basic diff command without arguments. In this example, the description and admin state of an interface are changed and the differences shown: 

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--{ candidate shared default }--[ ]--
# interface ethernet-1/1 admin-state disable

--{ * candidate shared default }--[ ]--
# interface ethernet-1/2 description "updated"

--{ * candidate shared default }--[ ]--
# diff
    interface ethernet-1/1 {
+       admin-state disable
    }
+   interface ethernet-1/2 {
+       description updated
+   }

Displaying configuration details#

Use the info command to display the configuration. Entering the info command from the root context displays the entire configuration, or the configuration for a specified context. Entering the command from within a context limits the display to the configuration under that context.

To display the entire configuration, enter info from the root context: 

--{ candidate shared default}--[ ]--
# info
<all the configuration is displayed>
--{ candidate }--[ ]--

To display the configuration for a specific context, enter info and specify the context: 

--{ candidate shared default}--[ ]--
# info system lldp
    system {
        lldp {
            admin-state enable
            hello-timer 600
            management-address mgmt0.0 {
                type [
                    IPv4
                ]
            }
            interface mgmt0 {
                admin-state disable
            }
        }
    }

The following info command options are rather useful:

  • as-json - to display JSON-formatted output
  • detail - to display values for all parameters, including those not specifically configured
  • flat - to display the output as a series of set statements, omitting indentation for any sub-contexts