YANG Suite updates and new features: A sneak peek

YANG Suite Introduction

an introduction to the YANG API Testing and Validation Environment, also known as YANG Suite. YANG Suite is a set of tooling which can be used to interact with Cisco operating systems and the YANG-based APIs (NETCONF, RESTCONF, gNMI, gRPC).

YANG Suite was initially released in January of 2021 (see Episode 9). Now, YANG Suite is getting ready for its second release, which includes plugins for RESTCONF and gNMI.

Tip: To get started with YANG Suite yourself, start at the main YANG Suite page, where you can find links to documentation and the Learning Lab. You can also clone the repo directly from GitHub, build the Docker container, and get started there. Additionally, the next release will support installation through pip.

YANG Suite RESTCONF plugin

YANG Suite RESTCONF. This plugin allows us to load that data model and interact with it using the Swagger UI, a point-and-click interface to REST. YANG Suite abstracts the YANG data models into a REST format that developers are familiar with, making it easier to work with the API.

Next, Jeremy gives us a brief demonstration of the RESTCONF plugin, walking through loading the Cisco-iOS-XE-native data model and working with the Loopback interface.

From the NETCONF plugin, YANG Suite can also generate Python scripts as well as Ansible YAML, which can be plugged into Ansible or to other CI/CD systems as needed. This functionality may also come soon to the RESTCONF plugin.

How YANG Suite is used

YANG Suite is primarily being used for management and testing—to understand the APIs, extract that data, and put it into other systems and toolings.

In the next release, gRPC Dial-Out with TLS Support will allow YANG Suite to serve as an active intermediary to receive telemetry data and push it out for integrations with other services such as Elasticsearch.

YANG Suite has been found for around five years , but it has been developing quickly since its public release.