As quantum networks grow, organizations designing and deploying quantum devices face a critical challenge: managing large, sophisticated, interconnected systems efficiently. Classical networks benefit from mature and proven frameworks, such as NETCONF or RESTCONF and YANG. For quantum device management, integrating these well-established tools offers significant benefits, including automation, scalability, and ease of use.
YANG is a hierarchical data modeling language designed specifically for network management. It distinguishes between the configuration data that determines a device’s behavior, and the operational state such as metrics or alerts. YANG defines both the syntax and semantics of the data: it includes the relationships and constraints (e.g., a value’s format or interdependencies) as well as creating a structured model that can be validated. YANG’s ability to unify both data definitions and their semantics into a single model is its superpower, and it simplifies how rules and relationships are enforced.
YANG is part of an ecosystem: a framework designed for network device management. This ecosystem includes the Network Management Data Architecture (NMDA).
The NMDA organizes data into conceptual datastores that represent various states of a device. For example, the factory datastore (the default configuration from the manufacturer), the candidate datastore (essentially a sandbox for validating configurations before committing changes), and the operational datastore (containing real-time data reflecting the device's current state).
Multiple encodings currently exist within the YANG ecosystem: the Extensible Markup Language (XML), JavaScript object notation (JSON), and Concise Binary Object Representation (CBOR). Other encodings can be created as needed, but these are the encoding that are currently being used within the YANG ecosystem.
Protocols facilitate communication between clients within the YANG ecosystem. These protocols include:
- NETCONF, an established protocol for configuration and monitoring using XML.
- RESTCONF, a developer-friendly alternative using JSON over HTTP.
- gNMI and YANG Push Lite, protocols designed for high-performance telemetry streaming.
All protocols in the YANG ecosystem have mutual authentication to ensure encryption and trust between devices and clients.
Organizations managing quantum network devices gain a number of substantial benefits from using YANG and NETCONF/RESTCONF. Because there is a hierarchical description of the data model, it's possible for these systems and controllers to automatically render the user interface for configuring the devices or for monitoring the devices’ operational state, which accelerates the ability to bring new technologies into production. The use of YANG and NETCONF or RESTCONF can be used to automatically validate user input being sent to the devices. User interfaces allow clients to input configuration changes to push to devices, but is this input valid? The configuration request can be validated automatically against the YANG model so that prior to any configuration changes being sent to the devices, those configurations can validate the request and ensure it’s accurate. There is also a rollback on the error mechanism which means that while the configuration change is being made, should an error occur the device can rollback to the previously working configuration. In addition, using YANG and NETCONF/RESTCONF makes management more accessible to the network engineers already managing classical networks, and simplifies the integration of quantum networks with classical networks.
Using YANG and NETCONF/RESTCONF is a robust framework that combines data modeling, secure protocols, encoding formats, and built-in automation. In addition, using YANG and NETCONF/RESTCONF together provides a standardized way to configure, monitor, and manage sophisticated quantum networks with reliability and scalability.
For more about how YANG and NETCONF support device control and management, please watch our on-demand webinar, Standardized Protocols for Quantum Network Management: Harnessing YANG and NETCONF.
