Speaker 1: Welcome to the deep dive. Looks like someone is ready
Speaker 1: to tackle network programmability head on.
Speaker 2: You could see that.
Speaker 1: We've got excerpts from a book on yang, a few
Speaker 1: white papers, even some RFCs. Someone's been doing their homework.
Speaker 2: It seems like managing the network is becoming a bit
Speaker 2: of a struggle, like hurting cats. Maybe more like.
Speaker 1: Hurting cats with a spoon from the sound of it. Okay,
Speaker 1: but hey, maybe we can help with that, expert speaker,
Speaker 1: what do you think?
Speaker 2: Absolutely, I think it's safe to say the old ways
Speaker 2: of managing networks, well, they just aren't cutting it anymore.
Speaker 1: You're definitely not alone there.
Speaker 2: I think a lot of folks are feeling that pain.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that makes sense. I've heard whispers that the command
Speaker 1: line interface, the CLI, is kind of reaching its limits.
Speaker 2: You know. It's like it's like trying to write a
Speaker 2: novel on a typewriter.
Speaker 1: It got the job done back then, it did, Yeah.
Speaker 2: But these days you need something, I don't know, a
Speaker 2: little more powerful.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you need a word processor or something like that.
Speaker 1: But what's so limiting about the CLI these days, especially
Speaker 1: with networks becoming so complex.
Speaker 2: Well, for one, modern networks are just massive it's gotten
Speaker 2: way beyond what humans can reasonably manage, right I think
Speaker 2: about it. Businesses need to be able to like deploy
Speaker 2: new services instantly in seconds, not months, and that kind
Speaker 2: of agility is just impossible with like manual CLI commands.
Speaker 1: It's yeah, like you're stuck typing in commands one by one.
Speaker 2: By one, hoping you don't, you know, make a typo
Speaker 2: and crash the whole system.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it's slow, it's prone to errors. It's not
Speaker 1: built for automation.
Speaker 2: Definitely not.
Speaker 1: And then imagine being afraid to even upgrade your devices
Speaker 1: because you think, oh, my custom scripts are going to break, right,
Speaker 1: you know that's the reality for a lot of people.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a scary thought.
Speaker 1: They're clinging to CLI based management. Clies just weren't built
Speaker 1: to talk to machines. And if we want automation, we
Speaker 1: need standards, we need programmable interfaces.
Speaker 2: Okay, I'm sensing a butt coming.
Speaker 1: Oh that's where Yang comes in. Yang Young. I knew it. Okay.
Speaker 1: So everyone's saying Yang is like the magic solution to
Speaker 1: all our CLI woes, but like, what is it really
Speaker 1: and how does it actually solve these problems?
Speaker 2: So Yang stands for yet another next generation. It's kind
Speaker 2: of a funny name, yeah, but basically it's a language
Speaker 2: for describing network devices and services like a blueprint.
Speaker 1: You know, so instead of having a jumble of different
Speaker 1: commands for every vendor, yeah, exactly, Like we're giving all
Speaker 1: our devices one language they can understand exactly.
Speaker 2: Yang models are like contracts between your devices and applications.
Speaker 2: Make sure everyone's on the same page.
Speaker 1: Okay, that's pretty neat. But if YANG is so great,
Speaker 1: how come everyone isn't already using it? Any downsides? Or
Speaker 1: is it just you know, too good to be true.
Speaker 2: Well, like anything new, there is a learning curve. Yang
Speaker 2: is a pretty you know, ro best language.
Speaker 1: So it's like learning a new programming language. You need
Speaker 1: to put in the time, but then you can do
Speaker 1: all sorts of amazing things exactly. Okay, So let's say
Speaker 1: I'm sold on this YANG thing. Where do I even begin?
Speaker 1: How does this work in practice?
Speaker 2: Okay? So let's use this book soon an example from
Speaker 2: the book you sent. Imagine like a network connecting bookstores
Speaker 2: and publishers and customers. Okay, you can use Yang to
Speaker 2: model everything, inventory, orders, delivery routes, all of it.
Speaker 1: So I can actually define like this is a bookstore,
Speaker 1: it has these capabilities, and like it needs to connect
Speaker 1: to the publisher's network this way.
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly, you're not just defining data, you're defining relationships
Speaker 2: between all the parts of your network.
Speaker 1: Okay, that's pretty cool. But Yang itself is just a language, right,
Speaker 1: It's not actually like sending commands to my routers and switches.
Speaker 1: How does that part work?
Speaker 2: Right? Yang sets the rules, but we need something to
Speaker 2: make it happen. That's where these protocols come in, like
Speaker 2: net cof and rest com.
Speaker 1: Okay, so Yang is like the blueprint, and then netcof
Speaker 1: and restcom are like the construction workers who actually build
Speaker 1: the thing. They handle the communication with the devices.
Speaker 2: That's a great way to put it, and each one
Speaker 2: has its own strengths and weaknesses. You know. Net con
Speaker 2: it's very robust, great for big changes where you absolutely
Speaker 2: cannot afford an error.
Speaker 1: That sounds like a lifesaver when you're dealing with a
Speaker 1: complex network. One small mistake could cause chaos.
Speaker 2: Exactly. And then you've got rest con. Okay, rest coon
Speaker 2: if is more web friendly, good for integrating with modern
Speaker 2: web services, so I.
Speaker 1: Could manage network devices from a web browser, or even
Speaker 1: tie them into my company's existing web application.
Speaker 2: Exactly opens up a lot of possibilities.
Speaker 1: The sources also mentioned something called GNMI.
Speaker 2: What's that about, Oh, GNMI that stands for GRPFE Network
Speaker 2: Management Interface. It's newer known for its speed and efficiency. Okay,
Speaker 2: particularly good for things like telemetry.
Speaker 1: Telemetry. Right, Yeah, that's about getting real time insights from
Speaker 1: the network, isn't it. Instead of constantly asking devices for updates,
Speaker 1: it's like a live stream of.
Speaker 2: Data precisely, no more waiting around. You just get those
Speaker 2: insights instantly.
Speaker 1: This makes a lot of sense. But how does all
Speaker 1: of this tie back into YANG? How do these protocols
Speaker 1: actually work work together?
Speaker 2: That is a fantastic question and one that we will
Speaker 2: definitely be unpacking in the next part of our deep dive.
Speaker 1: Sounds good, but.
Speaker 2: For now, I want to leave you with this thought.
Speaker 1: Okay, YANG isn't just about automating network management. It's about
Speaker 1: laying the foundation for intelligent networks, networks that can adapt
Speaker 1: and give you real time insights.
Speaker 2: That's pretty mind blowing. We've gone from the limitations of
Speaker 2: the CLI to this whole new world of what is
Speaker 2: it network programmability, all powered by Yang in these different
Speaker 2: protocols exactly. But before we get lost in all the
Speaker 2: technical details, I want to take a step back. Why
Speaker 2: should all of this matter to our listeners? What's the
Speaker 2: big takeaway here? Welcome back? So are you ready to
Speaker 2: see how all this Yang stuff actually works in practice?
Speaker 2: I am.
Speaker 1: Let's get down to the nitty gritty. How does Yang
Speaker 1: actually help me, you know, manage my network? And particularly
Speaker 1: thinking about things like setting up a secure VPN connection
Speaker 1: between like multiple sites. That always feels like a major headache.
Speaker 2: Oh, I can definitely see that being a pain point.
Speaker 2: In the old CLI centric world. That would mean logging
Speaker 2: into every single device, typing in commands, hoping you don't
Speaker 2: make a typo. It's a recipe for late night's troubleshooting.
Speaker 1: Tell me about it, and then if you need to
Speaker 1: make a change, you got to go through that whole
Speaker 1: process again on every single device exactly.
Speaker 2: And that's where YANG can make a world of difference.
Speaker 2: Instead of manually configuring everything, you define a YANG model
Speaker 2: that captures your VPN service, IP addresses, encryption, authentication methods,
Speaker 2: all the important stuff.
Speaker 1: So it's like a blueprint for my VPN, but in
Speaker 1: code exactly.
Speaker 2: And then remember those protocols we talked about metconf and
Speaker 2: rest CONC. They take that YANG model and translate it
Speaker 2: into device specific configurations.
Speaker 1: So instead of me typing in commands on each device,
Speaker 1: net con anofhores CONC does it for me.
Speaker 2: Exactly, And you can use that same YANG model for
Speaker 2: all sorts of different devices, regardless of the vendor.
Speaker 1: So I don't need to learn a different set of
Speaker 1: commands for each brand of router or sweat.
Speaker 2: Nope. That's the beauty of YANG. It eliminates the need
Speaker 2: for vendor specific expertise.
Speaker 1: That's a huge time saver for sure. Okay, but what
Speaker 1: about monitoring. Once my VPN is set up, how do
Speaker 1: I know it's actually working?
Speaker 2: Well, remember telemetry. You can define YANG models for that too.
Speaker 2: You can get real time insights into the performance of
Speaker 2: your VPN.
Speaker 1: So instead of waiting for things to break, I can
Speaker 1: actually see how things are performing and fix problems before
Speaker 1: they even happen exactly.
Speaker 2: You can see bottlenecks, security issues, anything that might be
Speaker 2: affecting your VPN. It's all about being proactive.
Speaker 1: Okay. So that's for managing individual services like my VPN,
Speaker 1: But what about more complex things like, I don't know,
Speaker 1: managing a bunch of different network services across multiple clouds.
Speaker 1: Can Yang handle that?
Speaker 2: That's where Yang really shines. It allows you to go
Speaker 2: beyond managing individual devices and actually orchestrate entire network services.
Speaker 1: So it's like, I don't know, like a conductor leading
Speaker 1: an orchestra, but instead of instruments, it's all these different
Speaker 1: network services exactly.
Speaker 2: You define the relationships between those services, their dependencies, and
Speaker 2: Yang takes care of the rest. It's really about creating
Speaker 2: a symphony of network services.
Speaker 1: But you mentioned earlier that Yang is a pretty complex language.
Speaker 1: How do I even get started with this? Is this
Speaker 1: like years of training.
Speaker 2: You don't need to become a Yang expert overnight. Start
Speaker 2: with the basics. Containers, lists, leafs. Those are the building
Speaker 2: blocks of Yang.
Speaker 1: Okay, so those are the basics. But I'm guessing there's
Speaker 1: a lot more to it than just that, right.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, there's a lot more things like augmentations and deviations.
Speaker 1: Augmentations and deviations, what are those?
Speaker 2: Think of augmentations Like adding an extension to your house,
Speaker 2: You're expanding its capabilities without changing the core structure. With Yang,
Speaker 2: augmentations let you add new stuff to existing models without
Speaker 2: changing the original and deviations let you tweak a YANG
Speaker 2: model for like specific.
Speaker 1: Devices, So it's like I can customize YANG to fit
Speaker 1: my needs.
Speaker 2: Exactly, and that's really important for building you know, flexible
Speaker 2: and scalable solutions, and you don't have to figure all
Speaker 2: of this out on your own. There are tools out
Speaker 2: there to help you, like paying libbyaning wide DK.
Speaker 1: So these tools they're like my power tools for building
Speaker 1: and managing my network precisely.
Speaker 2: They take all the complexity of YANG and make it
Speaker 2: actually usable.
Speaker 1: Okay, but with so many tools out there, it's easy
Speaker 1: to get overwhelmed. Where do I even begin?
Speaker 2: Start with what you need and build your toolkit as
Speaker 2: you go. The good news is that the YANG community
Speaker 2: is super helpful. Tons of resources online. People are always
Speaker 2: willing to lend a hand.
Speaker 1: That's reassuring. It's less scary when you know there's a
Speaker 1: community to support you. But before we go too deep
Speaker 1: into the weeds, I want to bring it back to
Speaker 1: the big picture. All this talk about YANG is great,
Speaker 1: but why should businesses care? What's the real world impact?
Speaker 2: Well, at its core, network programmability is all about making
Speaker 2: businesses more agile, more efficient, more innovative.
Speaker 1: So it's not just about automating tasks, it's about changing
Speaker 1: how businesses operate exactly.
Speaker 2: Businesses can save money, they can deploy news services faster,
Speaker 2: they can improve network really ability. It's really a game changer.
Speaker 1: Those are some pretty compelling benefits. So network programmability is
Speaker 1: kind of like essential for digital transformation.
Speaker 2: It is businesses that don't adapt are going to fall behind.
Speaker 1: Okay, I'm convinced YANG sounds like a must have for
Speaker 1: any business that relies on its network. But let's be real,
Speaker 1: it can't all be smooth sailing, right, Yeah. What are
Speaker 1: some of the challenges businesses might face along the way.
Speaker 2: Of course, implementing any new technology has its challenges.
Speaker 1: Like what what should businesses be prepared for?
Speaker 2: One common challenge is finding skilled people. Yang experts are
Speaker 2: in high demand, so finding and keeping them can be tough.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I can see that it's such a specialized field.
Speaker 1: Investing in training is probably crucial, right, absolutely.
Speaker 2: And then there's the human element, getting people to change
Speaker 2: their ways to embrace this new way of doing things.
Speaker 2: That can be tough.
Speaker 1: People are creatures of habit. It's understandable that some might
Speaker 1: be resistant to change of.
Speaker 2: Course, but it's all about communication, explaining the benefits, addressing
Speaker 2: those concerns.
Speaker 1: So those are the people challenges. What about technical challenges.
Speaker 2: Well, one thing is ensuring that everything works together different vendors,
Speaker 2: different platforms. Even though YANG is a standard, there can
Speaker 2: be variations in how it's implemented.
Speaker 1: So it's not always just plug and play.
Speaker 2: You got to do your testing, make sure your YANG
Speaker 2: models work across your entire network.
Speaker 1: Makes sense.
Speaker 2: Anything else security, As we automate more things, we need
Speaker 2: to be extra careful about security.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that makes sense, especially when we're talking about automating
Speaker 1: critical network functions.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, authentication, authorization, encryption, those are all crucial.
Speaker 1: This has been really insightful. I'm starting to grasp the
Speaker 1: potential of YANG, but also the complexity.
Speaker 2: You've got it. It's powerful, but it's not magic. You
Speaker 2: need planning, you need the right expertise.
Speaker 1: Okay, before we wrap up this part of our deep dive,
Speaker 1: one more question. We've talked about the theory, the challenges,
Speaker 1: but I'm really curious about real world examples how our
Speaker 1: businesses actually using YANG to solve real problems.
Speaker 2: That's a great question, Yeah, and one that we will
Speaker 2: into in the final part of our deep dive.
Speaker 1: This is getting exciting. I can't wait to see how
Speaker 1: YANG is being used out in the wild. But for now,
Speaker 1: let's take a short break and come back refreshed and
Speaker 1: ready to finish our deep dive into the world of
Speaker 1: network programmability. Welcome back for the final part of our
Speaker 1: deep dive. It's been quite the journey exploring this whole
Speaker 1: world of network programmability.
Speaker 2: It really has. We've covered a lot of ground we have.
Speaker 1: From the good old CLI all the way to YANG
Speaker 1: and these new protocol. I'm excited to hear about those
Speaker 1: real world examples. You promised you know how our business
Speaker 1: is actually using YANG to solve real problems and you know,
Speaker 1: make their networks run better.
Speaker 2: Let's start with a big one service providers, telecom companies.
Speaker 2: They're using YANG to automate all those services we use
Speaker 2: every day, broadband, mobile, data, voi, IP, you name it.
Speaker 1: So they're not like manually configuring routers and switches for
Speaker 1: every new customer anymore.
Speaker 2: Exactly. Yang models define what each service needs and then
Speaker 2: orchestration system take care of the configuration automatically.
Speaker 1: I bet that not only saves time, but also cuts
Speaker 1: down on those human errors.
Speaker 2: You got it. And it's not just about the initial setup.
Speaker 2: YANG also helps with monitoring performance, finding problems, and even
Speaker 2: optimizing traffic in real time.
Speaker 1: So it's like having a self driving network. That's pretty amazing.
Speaker 2: It is pretty amazing. And service providers need this kind
Speaker 2: of automation to keep up with the demand for bandwidth
Speaker 2: and need to scale quickly, and YANG helps them do that.
Speaker 1: Okay, so Yang's great for service providers, but what about
Speaker 1: other industries? Are regular companies using this too? Oh?
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, enterprises are using YANG for all sorts of things,
Speaker 2: data centers, office networks, even the Internet of Things.
Speaker 1: Wow, so YANG isn't just for telecoms. It's going mainstream.
Speaker 1: Can you give me an example, like, how are companies
Speaker 1: using it in their data centers?
Speaker 2: Well, for example, they're using to automate the setup of
Speaker 2: virtual machines, storage networks, load balancers, all those crucial data
Speaker 2: center components so they.
Speaker 1: Can like scale their IT infrastructure on demand, right, responding
Speaker 1: quickly to changes in their business exactly.
Speaker 2: That's essential these days. And YANG also plays a big
Speaker 2: role in technologies like SDN and NFB, software defined networking
Speaker 2: and network functions virtualization.
Speaker 1: So it sounds like YANG is a key part of
Speaker 1: this whole software defined future of networking.
Speaker 2: It is, and as networks get more complex, more spread out,
Speaker 2: yang's importance is only going to grow.
Speaker 1: That makes a lot of sense. But like any new technology,
Speaker 1: I'm sure there are challenges and new things popping up
Speaker 1: all the time. What are some of those things shaping
Speaker 1: the future of Yang?
Speaker 2: One big trend is open source YANG models. Organizations like
Speaker 2: open config are creating standardized models that anyone can use.
Speaker 1: That sounds like a good way to make sure everything
Speaker 1: works together, right it is.
Speaker 2: And another cool trend is using AI and machine learning
Speaker 2: with YANG.
Speaker 1: Oh that's interesting. How does that work?
Speaker 2: Well? Yang gives those AI and mL algorithms the structured
Speaker 2: data they need to analyze what's happening in the network.
Speaker 2: They can find patterns, make predictions, all sorts of things.
Speaker 1: So we're not just automating tasks, but actually moving towards
Speaker 1: networks that can learn and adapt on their own.
Speaker 2: Exactly, self optimizing, self healing networks.
Speaker 1: That's a pretty incredible vision of the future. But what
Speaker 1: about the challenges? You know, there's always something.
Speaker 2: Right, of course, one thing is the need for better tools.
Speaker 2: We have some good ones, but there's always room for improvement,
Speaker 2: making them easier to use, more powerful, that kind of thing.
Speaker 1: It's making YANG more user friendly is important absolutely.
Speaker 2: And then there's security. As we automate more, security becomes
Speaker 2: even more critical. We need to make sure everything is
Speaker 2: locked down tight well.
Speaker 1: Security is always a top priority, especially when we're talking
Speaker 1: about automating important network functions.
Speaker 2: You got it.
Speaker 1: This has been a truly eye opening deep dive. We've
Speaker 1: gone from CLIs to YANG, explored the details, looked at
Speaker 1: real world uses, and even talked about the future. It's
Speaker 1: clear that YANG is changing networking in a big way.
Speaker 2: I completely agree. It's giving businesses what they need to
Speaker 2: build those modern and agile, intelligent networks that are ready
Speaker 2: for the future.
Speaker 1: And to our listener, I hope this deep dive has
Speaker 1: given you a solid understanding of this whole YANG thing.
Speaker 1: You came to us with a ton of questions and materials,
Speaker 1: and hopefully we've been able to break.
Speaker 2: It all down. We've only scratched the surface, but hopefully
Speaker 2: we spark your interest and you'll want to keep exploring.
Speaker 1: The world of network Programmability is a vast and ever
Speaker 1: changing landscape. It is, so keep learning, keep experimenting, and
Speaker 1: who knows, maybe you'll be the one building the next
Speaker 1: amazing Yang powered network solution, Happy networking