LabN Consulting, L.L.C.

chopps@chopps.org

LabN Consulting, LLC.

lberger@labn.net

Volta Networks

ivandean@gmail.com

This document provides for the association of tags with YANG modules. The expectation is for such tags to be used to help classify and organize modules. A method for defining, reading and writing a modules tags is provided. Tags may be registered and assigned during module definition; assigned by implementations; or dynamically defined and set by users. This document also provides guidance to future model writers; as such, this document updates RFC8407.

The use of tags for classification and organization is fairly ubiquitous not only within IETF protocols, but in the internet itself (e.g., #hashtags). One benefit of using tags for organization over a rigid structure is that it is more flexible and can more easily adapt over time as technologies evolve. Tags can be usefully registered, but they can also serve as a non-registered mechanism available for users to define themselves. This document provides a mechanism to define tags and associate them with YANG modules in a flexible manner. In particular, tags may be registered as well as assigned during module definition; assigned by implementations; or dynamically defined and set by users. This document defines a YANG module which provides a list of module entries to allow for adding or removing of tags as well as viewing the set of tags associated with a module. This document defines an extension statement to be used to indicate tags that SHOULD be added by the module implementation automatically (i.e., outside of configuration). This document also defines an IANA registry for tag prefixes as well as a set of globally assigned tags. provides guidelines for authors of YANG data models. This document updates . The YANG data model in this document conforms to the Network Management Datastore Architecture defined in .

During this documents's development there were requests for example uses of module tags. The following are a few example use cases for tags. This list is certainly not exhaustive. One example use of tags would be to help filter different discrete categories of YANG modules supported by a device. For example, if modules are suitably tagged, then an XPath query can be used to list all of the vendor modules supported by a device. Tags can also be used to help coordination when multiple semi-independent clients are interacting with the same devices. For example, one management client could mark that some modules should not be used because they have not been verified to behave correctly, so that other management clients avoid querying the data associated with those modules. Tag classification is useful for users searching module repositories (e.g., YANG catalog). A query restricted to the 'ietf:routing' module tag could be used to return only the IETF YANG modules associated with routing. Without tags, a user would need to know the name of all the IETF routing protocol YANG modules. Future management protocol extensions could allow for filtering queries of configuration or operational state on a server based on tags. For example, return all operational state related to system-management.

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.

All tags SHOULD begin with a prefix indicating who owns their definition. An IANA registry () is used to support registering tag prefixes. Currently 3 prefixes are defined. No further structure is imposed by this document on the value following the registered prefix, and the value can contain any YANG type 'string' characters except carriage-returns, newlines and tabs. Again, except for the conflict-avoiding prefix, this document is not specifying any structure on (i.e., restricting) the tag values on purpose. The intent is to avoid arbitrarily restricting the values that designers, implementers and users can use. As a result of this choice, designers, implementers, and users are free to add or not add any structure they may require to their own tag values.

An IETF tag is a tag that has the prefix "ietf:". All IETF tags are registered with IANA in a registry defined later in this document ().

A vendor tag is a tag that has the prefix "vendor:". These tags are defined by the vendor that implements the module, and are not registered; however, it is RECOMMENDED that the vendor include extra identification in the tag to avoid collisions such as using the enterpise or organization name following the "vendor:" prefix (e.g., vendor:example.com:vendor-defined-classifier).

A user tag is any tag that has the prefix "user:". These tags are defined by the user/administrator and are not meant to be registered. Users are not required to use the "user:" prefix; however, doing so is RECOMMENDED as it helps avoid collisions.

Any tag not starting with the prefix "ietf:", "vendor:" or "user:" is reserved for future use. These tag values are not invalid, but simply reserved in the context of specifications (e.g., RFCs).

Tags can become associated with a module in a number of ways. Tags may be defined and associated at module design time, at implementation time, or via user administrative control. As the main consumer of tags are users, users may also remove any tag, no matter how the tag became associated with a module.

A module definition MAY indicate a set of tags to be added by the module implementer. These design time tags are indicated using the module-tag extension statement. If the module is defined in an IETF standards track document, the tags MUST be IETF Tags. Thus, new modules can drive the addition of new IETF tags to the IANA registry defined in , and the IANA registry can serve as a check against duplication.

An implementation MAY include additional tags associated with a module. These tags SHOULD be IETF Tags (i.e., registered) or vendor specific tags.

Tags of any kind, with or without a prefix, can be assigned and removed by the user using normal configuration mechanisms. In order to remove a tag from the operational datastore the user adds a matching masked-tag entry for a given module.

The tree associated with the "ietf-module-tags" module follows. The meaning of the symbols can be found in .

file "ietf-module-tags@2020-02-29.yang" module ietf-module-tags { yang-version 1.1; namespace "urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:yang:ietf-module-tags"; prefix tags; import ietf-yang-types { prefix yang; } organization "IETF NetMod Working Group (NetMod)"; contact "WG Web: WG List: Author: Christian Hopps Author: Lou Berger Author: Dean Bogdanovic "; // RFC Ed.: replace XXXX with actual RFC number and // remove this note. description "This module describes a mechanism associating tags with YANG modules. Tags may be IANA assigned or privately defined. Copyright (c) 2019 IETF Trust and the persons identified as authors of the code. All rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, is permitted pursuant to, and subject to the license terms contained in, the Simplified BSD License set forth in Section 4.c of the IETF Trust's Legal Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info). This version of this YANG module is part of RFC XXXX (https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfcXXXX); see the RFC itself for full legal notices. The key words 'MUST', 'MUST NOT', 'REQUIRED', 'SHALL', 'SHALL NOT', 'SHOULD', 'SHOULD NOT', 'RECOMMENDED', 'NOT RECOMMENDED', 'MAY', and 'OPTIONAL' in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 (RFC 2119) (RFC 8174) when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here."; // RFC Ed.: update the date below with the date of RFC publication // and RFC number and remove this note. revision 2020-02-29 { description "Initial revision."; reference "RFC XXXX: YANG Module Tags"; } typedef tag { type string { length "1..max"; pattern '[\S ]+'; } description "A tag is a type 'string' value that does not include carriage return, newline or tab characters. It SHOULD begin with a registered prefix; however, tags without a registered prefix SHOULD NOT be treated as invalid."; } extension module-tag { argument tag; description "The argument 'tag' is of type 'tag'. This extension statement is used by module authors to indicate the tags that SHOULD be added automatically by the system. As such the origin of the value for the pre-defined tags should be set to 'system' [RFC8342]."; } container module-tags { description "Contains the list of modules and their associated tags"; list module { key "name"; description "A list of modules and their associated tags"; leaf name { type yang:yang-identifier; mandatory true; description "The YANG module name."; } leaf-list tag { type tag; description "Tags associated with the module. See the IANA 'YANG Module Tag Prefixes' registry for reserved prefixes and the IANA 'IETF YANG Module Tags' registry for IETF tags. The 'operational' state [RFC8342] view of this list is constructed using the following steps: 1) System tags (i.e., tags of 'system' origin) are added. 2) User configured tags (i.e., tags of 'intended' origin) are added. 3) Any tag that is equal to a masked-tag is removed."; } leaf-list masked-tag { type tag; description "The list of tags that should not be associated with this module. The user can remove (mask) tags from the operational state datastore [RFC8342] by adding them to this list. It is not an error to add tags to this list that are not associated with the module, but they have no operational effect."; } } } } ]]>

It is worth noting that a different YANG module classification document exists . That document only classifies modules in a logical manner and does not define tagging or any other mechanisms. It divides YANG modules into two categories (service or element) and then into one of three origins: standard, vendor or user. It does provide a good way to discuss and identify modules in general. This document defines IETF tags to support style classification.

This section updates .

A module MAY indicate, using module-tag extension statements, a set of tags that are to be automatically associated with it (i.e., not added through configuration).

The module writer can use existing standard tags, or use new tags defined in the model definition, as appropriate. For IETF standardized modules new tags MUST be assigned in the IANA registry defined below, see .

IANA is asked to create a new registry "YANG Module Tag Prefixes" grouped under a new "Protocol" category named "YANG Module Tags". This registry allocates tag prefixes. All YANG module tags SHOULD begin with one of the prefixes in this registry. Prefix entries in this registry should be short strings consisting of lowercase ASCII alpha-numeric characters and a final ":" character. The allocation policy for this registry is Specification Required . The Reference and Assignee values should be sufficient to identify and contact the organization that has been allocated the prefix. The initial values for this registry are as follows. PrefixDescriptionReferenceAssignee ietf:IETF Tags allocated in the IANA IETF YANG Module Tags registry.[This document]IETF vendor:Non-registered tags allocated by the module implementer.[This document]IETF user:Non-registered tags allocated by and for the user.[This document]IETF Other standards organizations (SDOs) wishing to allocate their own set of tags should allocate a prefix from this registry.

IANA is asked to create a new registry "IETF YANG Module Tags" grouped under a new "Protocol" category "IETF YANG Module Tags". This registry should be included below "YANG Module Tag Prefixes" when listed on the same page. This registry allocates tags that have the registered prefix "ietf:". New values should be well considered and not achievable through a combination of already existing IETF tags. IANA assigned tags must conform to Net-Unicode as defined in and they shall not need normalization. The allocation policy for this registry is IETF Review . The initial values for this registry are as follows. TagDescriptionReference ietf:network-element-class network element. ietf:network-service-class network service. ietf:sdo-defined-classModule is defined by a standards organization. ietf:vendor-defined-classModule is defined by a vendor. ietf:user-defined-classModule is defined by the user. ietf:hardwareRelates to hardware (e.g., inventory).[This document] ietf:softwareRelates to software (e.g., installed OS).[This document] ietf:protocolRepresents a protocol (often combined with another tag to refine).[This document] ietf:qosRelates to quality of service.[This document] ietf:network-service-appRelates to a network service application (e.g., an NTP server, DNS server, DHCP server, etc).[This document] ietf:system-managementRelates to system management (e.g., a system management protocol such as syslog, TACAC+, SNMP, netconf, ...).[This document] ietf:oamRelates to Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (e.g., BFD).[This document] ietf:routingRelates to routing.[This document] ietf:securityRelated to security.[This document] ietf:signalingRelates to control plane signaling.[This document] ietf:link-managementRelates to link management.[This document]

This document registers a URI in the "IETF XML Registry" . Following the format in , the following registrations have been made: urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:yang:ietf-module-tags The IESG. N/A; the requested URI is an XML namespace. urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:yang:ietf-module-tags-state The IESG. N/A; the requested URI is an XML namespace.

This document registers two YANG modules in the "YANG Module Names" registry . Following the format in , the following registration have been made: ietf-module-tags urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:yang:ietf-module-tags tags RFC XXXX (RFC Ed.: replace XXX with actual RFC number and remove this note.) ietf-module-tags-state urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:yang:ietf-module-tags-state tags RFC XXXX (RFC Ed.: replace XXX with actual RFC number and remove this note.)

The YANG module defined in this memo is designed to be accessed via the NETCONF protocol . The lowest NETCONF layer is the secure transport layer and the mandatory-to-implement secure transport is SSH . This document adds the ability to associate tag meta-data with YANG modules. This document does not define any actions based on these associations, and none are yet defined, and therefore it does not by itself introduce any new security considerations directly. Users of the tag-meta data may define various actions to be taken based on the tag meta-data. These actions and their definitions are outside the scope of this document. Users will need to consider the security implications of any actions they choose to define, including the potential for a tag to get 'masked' by another user.

In many standards track documents several words are used to signify the requirements in the specification. These words are often capitalized. This document defines these words as they should be interpreted in IETF documents. This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. YANG is a data modeling language used to model configuration data, state data, Remote Procedure Calls, and notifications for network management protocols. This document describes the syntax and semantics of version 1.1 of the YANG language. YANG version 1.1 is a maintenance release of the YANG language, addressing ambiguities and defects in the original specification. There are a small number of backward incompatibilities from YANG version 1. This document also specifies the YANG mappings to the Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF). Many protocols make use of points of extensibility that use constants to identify various protocol parameters. To ensure that the values in these fields do not have conflicting uses and to promote interoperability, their allocations are often coordinated by a central record keeper. For IETF protocols, that role is filled by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).To make assignments in a given registry prudently, guidance describing the conditions under which new values should be assigned, as well as when and how modifications to existing values can be made, is needed. This document defines a framework for the documentation of these guidelines by specification authors, in order to assure that the provided guidance for the IANA Considerations is clear and addresses the various issues that are likely in the operation of a registry.This is the third edition of this document; it obsoletes RFC 5226. RFC 2119 specifies common key words that may be used in protocol specifications. This document aims to reduce the ambiguity by clarifying that only UPPERCASE usage of the key words have the defined special meanings. Datastores are a fundamental concept binding the data models written in the YANG data modeling language to network management protocols such as the Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF) and RESTCONF. This document defines an architectural framework for datastores based on the experience gained with the initial simpler model, addressing requirements that were not well supported in the initial model. This document updates RFC 7950. The YANG data modeling language is currently being considered for a wide variety of applications throughout the networking industry at large. Many standards development organizations (SDOs), open-source software projects, vendors, and users are using YANG to develop and publish YANG modules for a wide variety of applications. At the same time, there is currently no well-known terminology to categorize various types of YANG modules.A consistent terminology would help with the categorization of YANG modules, assist in the analysis of the YANG data modeling efforts in the IETF and other organizations, and bring clarity to the YANG- related discussions between the different groups.This document describes a set of concepts and associated terms to support consistent classification of YANG modules. This memo provides guidelines for authors and reviewers of specifications containing YANG modules. Recommendations and procedures are defined, which are intended to increase interoperability and usability of Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF) and RESTCONF protocol implementations that utilize YANG modules. This document obsoletes RFC 6087. This document describes an IANA maintained registry for IETF standards which use Extensible Markup Language (XML) related items such as Namespaces, Document Type Declarations (DTDs), Schemas, and Resource Description Framework (RDF) Schemas. The Internet today is in need of a standardized form for the transmission of internationalized "text" information, paralleling the specifications for the use of ASCII that date from the early days of the ARPANET. This document specifies that format, using UTF-8 with normalization and specific line-ending sequences. [STANDARDS-TRACK] YANG is a data modeling language used to model configuration and state data manipulated by the Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF), NETCONF remote procedure calls, and NETCONF notifications. [STANDARDS-TRACK] The Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF) defined in this document provides mechanisms to install, manipulate, and delete the configuration of network devices. It uses an Extensible Markup Language (XML)-based data encoding for the configuration data as well as the protocol messages. The NETCONF protocol operations are realized as remote procedure calls (RPCs). This document obsoletes RFC 4741. [STANDARDS-TRACK] This document describes a method for invoking and running the Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF) within a Secure Shell (SSH) session as an SSH subsystem. This document obsoletes RFC 4742. [STANDARDS-TRACK] This document captures the current syntax used in YANG module tree diagrams. The purpose of this document is to provide a single location for this definition. This syntax may be updated from time to time based on the evolution of the YANG language.

The following is a fictional NETCONF example result from a query of the module tags list. For the sake of brevity only a few module results are imagined.

ietf-bfd ietf:network-element-class ietf:oam ietf:protocol ietf:sdo-defined-class ietf-isis ietf:network-element-class ietf:protocol ietf:sdo-defined-class ietf:routing ietf-ssh-server ietf:network-element-class ietf:protocol ietf:sdo-defined-class ietf:system-management ]]>

Special thanks to Robert Wilton for his help improving the introduction and providing the example use cases, as well as generating the non-NMDA module.

As per the following is a non-NMDA module to support viewing the operational state for non-NMDA compliant servers.

file "ietf-module-tags-state@2020-02-29.yang" module ietf-module-tags-state { yang-version 1.1; namespace "urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:yang:ietf-module-tags-state"; prefix tags-s; import ietf-yang-types { prefix yang; } import ietf-module-tags { prefix tags; } organization "IETF NetMod Working Group (NetMod)"; contact "WG Web: WG List: Author: Christian Hopps Author: Lou Berger Author: Dean Bogdanovic "; // RFC Ed.: replace XXXX with actual RFC number and // remove this note. description "This module describes a mechanism associating tags with YANG modules. Tags may be IANA assigned or privately defined. This is a temporary non-NMDA module that is for use by implementations that don't yet support NMDA. Copyright (c) 2019 IETF Trust and the persons identified as authors of the code. All rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, is permitted pursuant to, and subject to the license terms contained in, the Simplified BSD License set forth in Section 4.c of the IETF Trust's Legal Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info). This version of this YANG module is part of RFC XXXX (https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfcXXXX); see the RFC itself for full legal notices. The key words 'MUST', 'MUST NOT', 'REQUIRED', 'SHALL', 'SHALL NOT', 'SHOULD', 'SHOULD NOT', 'RECOMMENDED', 'NOT RECOMMENDED', 'MAY', and 'OPTIONAL' in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 (RFC 2119) (RFC 8174) when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here."; // RFC Ed.: update the date below with the date of RFC publication // and RFC number and remove this note. revision 2020-02-29 { description "Initial revision."; reference "RFC XXXX: YANG Module Tags"; } container module-tags-state { config false; status deprecated; description "Contains the list of modules and their associated tags"; list module { key "name"; status deprecated; description "A list of modules and their associated tags"; leaf name { type yang:yang-identifier; mandatory true; status deprecated; description "The YANG module name."; } leaf-list tag { type tags:tag; status deprecated; description "Tags associated with the module. See the IANA 'YANG Module Tag Prefixes' registry for reserved prefixes and the IANA 'IETF YANG Module Tags' registry for IETF tags. The contents of this list is constructed using the following steps: 1) System tags (i.e., tags of added by the system) are added. 2) User configured tags (i.e., tags added by configuration) are added. 3) Any tag that is equal to a masked-tag present in the corresponding ietf-module-tags:module-tags:module-tag leaf list for this module is removed."; } } } } ]]>