with limited monitoring capabilities. Usual network configurations have their own specifications for session establishment and data exchange that resulted in the need for a standardized protocol. NETCONF sup- ports operations like installing, querying, editing, and deleting of configuration data on network devices. NETCONF is based on the agent-manager model and uses a remote procedure call (RPC) paradigm to facilitate communication. The agent(s) encodes an RPC in XML and sends it to a manager using a secure, connection-oriented session. The manager responds with a reply encoded in XML. The contents of both the request and the response are described using XML. NETCONF can be conceptualized as consisting of four layers. The layers are: 1. Content layer: This is the topmost layer and corresponds to configuration data being handled using NETCONF. 2. Operation layer: Has a set of methods for communication between agent and manager. Management Protocols Operation Tags Explanation <get-config> <edit-config> Used to manipulate configuration data <copy-config> <delete-config> <get-state> Retrieve the state of the managed object <kill-session> Terminates the NETCONF session <commit> Publishing a configuration data set to devices <discard-changes> Revert configuration to the last committed configuration data <lock> <unlock> Used to lock and unlock a configuration source 3. RPC layer: Used for encoding the remote procedure call. RPC Tags Explanation <rpc> Used by both agent and manager to send an rpc request <rpc-reply> Send by the agent in response to an <rpc> operation <rpc-error> Sent in <rpc-reply> went an error occurs during the processing of an <rpc> request 4. Transport layer: NETCONF supports transport over SSH, SSL, BEEP, and console. Advantages of NETCONF: Inherits all the advantages of an XML-based protocol Offers secure network management Leads to centralized configuration management Easy to implement and maintain Disadvantages of NETCONF: The performance issues of XML-based protocol are applicable to NETCONF al