Configuration Logic (CL) is a formal language that allows a network engineer to express constraints in terms of the actual parameters found in the configuration of network devices. There exists an efficient algorithm that can automatically check a pool of devices for conformance to a set of CL constraints; moreover, this algorithm can point to the part of the configuration responsible for the error when a constraint is violated. A CL validation engine has been integrated into a network management tool called ValidMaker. We show on a simple use case scenario based on Virtual Local Area Networks how representative formal constraints can be expressed with CL and efficiently validated with ValidMaker.
The management of the configuration of network devices is a complex process, due to both the number of devices and parameters to take into consideration, and most importantly to the widely varying ways in which such parameters can be queried and modified on each device. Each equipment vendor provides its own command-line interface or management protocol where parameters are structured in a different way, and even multiple equipments from the same vendor may need to be interacted with differently. In this paper, we present a generic data model for configuration information of network devices that takes into account vendor and version heterogeneity. Ultimately, a configuration query engine will allow a user to pinpoint a specific, abstract configuration parameter, and be given the proper sequence of commands to query that parameter on a device of given vendor and operating system version.
Configuration Logic (CL) is a formal language that allows a network engineer to express constraints in terms of the actual parameters found in the configuration of network devices. We present an efficient algorithm that can automatically check a pool of devices for conformance to a set of CL constraints; moreover, this algorithm can point to the part of the configuration responsible for the error when a constraint is violated. Contrary to other validation approaches that require dumping the configuration of the whole network to a central location in order to be verified, we also present an algorithm that analyzes the correct formulas and greatly helps reduce the amount of data that need to be transferred to that central location, pushing as much of the evaluation of the formula locally on each device. The procedure is also backwards-compatible, in such a way that a device that does not (or only partially) supports a local evaluation may simply return a subset or all of its configuration. These capabilities have been integrated into a network management tool called ValidMaker.
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