WG Review: Network Configuration (netconf)

The Network Configuration (netconf) WG in the Operations and Management Area
of the IETF is undergoing rechartering. The IESG has not made any
determination yet. The following draft charter was submitted, and is provided
for informational purposes only. Please send your comments to the IESG
mailing list (iesg@ietf.org) by 2026-09-27.

Network Configuration (netconf)
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Current status: Active WG

Chairs:
  Kent Watsen <kent+ietf@watsen.net>
  Per Andersson <per.ietf@ionio.se>

Secretaries:
  Fan Zhang <fanzhang.ietf@gmail.com>

Assigned Area Director:
  Mahesh Jethanandani <mjethanandani@gmail.com>

Operations and Management Area Directors:
  Mahesh Jethanandani <mjethanandani@gmail.com>
  Mohamed Boucadair <mohamed.boucadair@orange.com>

Mailing list:
  Address: netconf@ietf.org
  To subscribe: https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/netconf
  Archive: https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/netconf/

Group page: https://datatracker.ietf.org/group/netconf/

Charter: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/charter-ietf-netconf/

The NETwork CONFiguration (NETCONF) Working Group, is responsible for the
development and maintenance of protocols such as NETCONF and RESTCONF for
YANG data model-driven management (for the purposes of, for example,
configuration, monitoring, telemetry, and zero-touch), their transport
mappings and encodings, defining data models necessary to support the
protocols, and defining mechanisms supporting the operational deployment of
systems using the protocols.

YANG (RFC 7950) is the recommended NETCONF and RESTCONF data modeling
language, which introduces advanced language features for configuration
management. The NETCONF and RESTCONF protocols transport YANG-modeled data
over the wire.

The NETCONF working group should ensure that relevant updates to the NETCONF
and RESTCONF protocols are evaluated for consistency and compatibility
between the two.

The NETCONF WG is currently responsible for the following standards:

a) The network management protocol NETCONF (RFC 6241). This effort entails
periodically updating the NETCONF-related specifications to address new
requirements as they arise.

b) The network management protocol RESTCONF (RFC 8040). This effort entails
periodically updating the RESTCONF-related specifications to address new
requirements as they arise.

c) The transport mappings and encodings used by the data model-driven
protocols.

d) The data models and mechanisms related to network management protocols.
Specifically, data models enabling the configuration and/or monitoring of the
protocols themselves.

e) The data models for subscriptions to data, and protocol bindings for
pushing subscribed data to clients, for the purpose of monitoring and
telemetry.

f) The mechanisms enabling devices' zero-touch provisioning and the related
call home functions.

The NETCONF working group consults with the NETMOD working group to ensure
that new requirements are understood and can be met by the YANG data modeling
language (RFC 7950) developed within that working group.

Milestones:

  Dec 2026 - Submit to IESG for publication: drafts regarding List Pagination
  as Proposed Standard

  Dec 2026 - Submit to IESG for publication: drafts enhancing YANG-Push as
  Proposed Standard