CCNP ENCOR reference
RESTCONF & NETCONF Configuration Quick Reference
Constructing configuration requests (Configure-level) — tested in ENCOR objectives 6.7–6.8. See also the Network Assurance reference for Describe-level GET/get-config basics.
RESTCONF HTTP methods carry real semantics
POST: create a new resource. PUT: replace an entire existing resource wholesale — any field omitted from the body is treated as absent/default, potentially wiping unrelated configuration. PATCH: modify only the specified fields, leaving the rest untouched. DELETE: remove a resource.
Choosing PUT when PATCH was intended is a genuinely destructive, common mistake. Verify success with a follow-up GET, not just the status code alone.
NETCONF's candidate/commit model
edit-config against the candidate datastore stages a change with NO effect on the live running configuration until an explicit <commit/> is issued. This allows staging multiple related changes and applying them atomically, or discarding the whole batch with discard-changes — a genuine transactional advantage over RESTCONF's typically-immediate per-request model.
A successful edit-config response confirms staging succeeded, not that the change is live — forgetting the commit step is a common mistake.
RESTCONF method semantics
| Method | Effect |
|---|---|
| POST | Create new resource |
| PUT | Replace entire resource wholesale |
| PATCH | Modify specified fields only |
| DELETE | Remove resource |