Re: Where do we go from here?

[Margaret Wasserman <mrw@windriver.com>]

Hi Ran,

>If yes, on which list can those of us who were at the "XMLconf" (sic) BOF
>discuss the issue of moving config blobs (not necessarily XML)
>to/from equipment via the SSHv2 mechanism currently avalable in
>deployed equipment from some vendors ?

As I said in the my document and in the meeting, the xmlconf BOF
was a forum to discuss how _XML_ could be applied to meeting operator 
requirements for a standard method to configure networks and network 
devices.  It was not the purpose of the xmlconf BOF to form a WG,
although I think this effort may eventually lead to one or more
WGs (perhaps none of which will be called xmlconf).

I don't think I'm being crazy, though, when I say that xmlconf
is concerned with using _XML_ to configure devices.  If the data
isn't represented in XML, or the data isn't used for configuration,
then it isn't xmlconf.  It may be useful, but it needs a different
name.

Of course, XML is a fairly open term.  It doesn't necessarily imply a
standard shema, or any schema.  It would be perfectly possible to 
encapsulate a Cisco 'config dump' response in an XML wrapper and move 
it around as XML, and that very well might be a useful thing to do, 
since it would remove the need for screen scraping, etc.  This is one 
of the approaches that I hope we will discuss as an outcome of the 
xmlconf BOF.  Maybe it will even lead to a WG.  And, I think that this 
is a fine place to discuss it.

>If you can clarify which mailing list you think that topic belongs on,
>then maybe interested parties can move to that list from this one.
>Right now I'm hearing from you that such discussion is out of scope
>for this mailing list, which is OK if there is someplace more appropriate
>to take that conversation.  I am a bit confused about which other list
>is appropriate however.

The xmlconf mailing list isn't really anything special...  I don't
know how to set-up and maintain a public mailing lists myself, so 
I asked Randy to set up a list for the xmlconf BOF, and he did.

This isn't an official IETF list, and it doesn't have a formal charter,
so I don't think we want to be very restrictive about what is/isn't
in scope on this list.  If you start exchanging cookie recipes, I
may jump in, but as long as we're talking about how to build some
sort of configuration/management system that meets operator requirements,
I say its in scope.

One issue, at this point, is whether we really understand what the
operator requirements are in this area.  I'm actually becoming less
and less convinced that there is one set of operator requirements, but
maybe we can come up with a standard configuration approach that would
be useful to some large set of operators... Or, maybe we can't.

It might be useful to try to document the operator requirements, but
we also may want to delay on that until the IAB NW management workshop
report is available, since it may be a useful place to start.

Margaret





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