1. An apparatus, comprising: a first network device that, during operation, is operatively coupled to a data plane of a switch fabric that includes (1) a first switch fabric portion having a second network device, and (2) a second switch fabric portion included within the first switch fabric portion and having the first network device, the second network device not included within the second switch fabric portion; the first network device configured to send a first data packet to the second network device at a first time based at least in part on: a first configuration of the first switch fabric portion, the first configuration represented by a first hierarchical configuration file; and a second configuration of the second switch fabric portion, the second configuration represented by a second hierarchical configuration file that includes configuration information absent from the first hierarchical configuration file; the first network device configured to receive an updated hierarchical configuration file that represents a change to the first configuration, the first network device configured to send a second data packet to the second network device, at a second time after the change to the first configuration, based at least in part on the updated hierarchical configuration file, and the first network device configured to update the second hierarchical configuration file based on the updated hierarchical configuration file.