MG-SOFT NETCONF Browser Professional Edition

Product history


This page provides information about the major new features introduced in the latest as well as in the past releases of MG-SOFT NETCONF Browser Professional Edition.

What's New in MG-SOFT NETCONF Browser, Version 12.x Release
New, highly efficient validation engine in NETCONF Content Editor.
NetConf Browser now incorporates a new content validation engine, designed and implemented from scratch. It supports validating any type of NETCONF and RESTCONF instance document. The validation is no longer RFC6110-based and hence does not involve resource-consuming generation of DSDL schema files from YANG modules. It instead uses a pure YANG-based implementation, where compiled YANG files represent the final schema form that is kept entirely in memory. The new engine is optimized for using big data models and validating large configurations while utilizing only a fraction of time and memory resources required before. Validating a configuration or a RPC request containing thousands of nodes is now a breeze - it completes almost instantly. Similarly, editing a large document either in XML or JSON format is now considerably smoother and quicker than before, especially when real-time validation is enabled. Furthermore, due to increased validation performance, it is now possible to validate much larger configurations than before. By extending the scope of validation with additional checks, the new engine produces even more precise and easy-to-understand error and warning messages. All in all, the new validation engine makes the application more powerful and efficient by letting you save valuable time while catching even more errors as before.
Extended content generator in NETCONF Content Editor.
The content generator feature has been extended and enhanced to cover all types of NETCONF and RESTCONF instance documents. The content generator functionality built into NETCONF Content Editor window lets you now select any type of NETCONF or RESTCONF operation or document (e.g., edit-config, custom rpc/action, rpc-reply, notification, entire datastore, etc.) and generate its content based on the YANG data model. You can choose whether to generate only configuration data or both - configuration and state data (where applicable). In addition to creating the content manually (e.g., writing XML or adding nodes from the context menu), one can now generate the content automatically at any stage, e.g., at the document root or at any container or list node to create a certain subtree of data. The generated data nodes have predominantly valid, yet dummy values that can be easily edited as desired before sending the content to server (e.g., as edit-config, get-config, custom rpc message, etc.) or before saving the content to file (e.g., entire datastore, notification, rpc-reply, etc.).
"sx:structure" and "rc:yang-data" based instance document validation.
NETCONF Content Editor now supports validating XML instance documents that utilize two standard YANG extensions - "sx:structure" (RFC 8791) and "rc:yang-data" (RFC 8040). These extensions are used to model arbitrary data that is not part of a YANG datastore.
Improved application performance and stability.
All known issues in previous versions have been fixed and the overall performance and stability of the software has been improved.
Enhanced documentation.
Significantly updated and enhanced user manual and product documentation with numerous hints and usage examples will help you get the most from MG-SOFT NetConf Browser Pro.
Besides the above listed features, a number of minor improvements have been implemented and all known problems occurring in older versions have been fixed for this release.


What's New in MG-SOFT NETCONF Browser, Version 11.x Release
The new Command Quicklist panel increases productivity.
After sending any NETCONF or RESTCONF message from NetConf Browser, you can save the message to the Command Quicklist panel for later use. You can name the message/command arbitrarily to quickly find and re-use it at any time later (also after a program restart). The Command Quicklist panel is accessible in the main window and contains a list of saved messages and a search tool that lets you quickly find the relevant messages and edit or re-send them. This way, you can create a list of important or frequently used commands/messages for ease of access and greater productivity.
Monitoring YANG Push datastore updates in graphical form.
YANG Push mechanism enables streaming of subscribed datastore contents from server to client by means of push notifications. NetConf Browser can receive such server-sent notifications and maintain a corresponding image of reported datastore contents on the client side, without polling. NetConf Browser lets you take any active periodic or on-change push subscription and start monitoring the reported datastore contents in graphical manner. Datastore content is depicted in form of a data tree, containing nodes with respective icons (e.g., container, list, leaf, etc.), node names and node values. Updates included in the received push-update or push-change-update notifications are visible in the tree immediately, allowing you to keep track of the subscribed datastore contents at all times.
General support for new notification subscriptions and YANG Push (RFC 8639 - RFC 8641).
In addition to the legacy NETCONF notification subscription model and event reporting mechanism defined in RFC 5277, which pre-dated the YANG data modeling language and was defined in an XML schema, NetConf Browser now supports also a modern alternative to it, defined in a set of RFC documents (RFC 8639 - RFC 8641) collectively referred to as "YANG Push". The new "establish-subscription" operation defined in RFC 8639 supports all options of subscribing to an event stream introduced by the original "create-subscription" operation (RFC 5277) it replaces. Besides, it adds some new options, like the ability to use pre-configured filters, set QoS prioritization and weighting etc. Furthermore, the "establish-subscription" operation is extensible and NMDA-compatible. The RFC 8641 extends the establish-subscription operation with additional options used for datastore content streaming, i.e., it allows clients to subscribe to datastore updates from a server. The updates can be either periodic or on-change (i.e., whenever a modification in the subscribed content in the datastore occurs). This is so-called YANG-Push mechanism that enables streaming of configuration and state data from server to client by means of "push-update" or "push-change-update" notifications defined in "ietf-yang-push" module. This mechanism eliminates the need for periodic polling of YANG datastores by a client. NetConf Browser now offers effective notification subscription management as well as monitoring of event notifications and datastore push notifications.
Support for dynamic and configured notification subscriptions (RFC 8639, RFC 8641) in the Notifications window.
The Notifications window has been enhanced to visualize all notification subscriptions in all notification sessions since the program start. One can now view the type (dynamic, configured, or RFC5277) and state (active, suspended, terminated) of every subscription, as well as the ID and all other details of a subscription (e.g., filter, replay parameters, stop-time, etc.). The extended context menu allows you to easily end an active subscription or edit its parameters to modify subscription according to your preferences. For on-change push subscriptions, you can also quickly trigger full data resynchronization from the context menu. NetConf Browser supports establishing dynamic subscriptions and receiving of notifications via both NETCONF and RESTCONF protocol, as specified in RFC 8640 and RFC 8650, respectively. All in all, the new functionality enables complete notification monitoring, filtering and managing of subscriptions in the Notifications window.
Support for dynamic notification subscriptions in NETCONF Content Editor.
The built-in NETCONF Content Editor has been extended with dedicated targets for composing and executing "establish-subscription" and "modify-subscription" RPC requests in NETCONF and RESTCONF mode. The existing "rpc" target can be utilized for composing and sending the "delete-subscription" and "kill-subscription" requests. The DSDL schemas used for code completion and validation have also been extended to allow composing and validating the requests for managing dynamic notification subscriptions (creation, modification, deletion). In RESTCONF mode, both XML and JSON content editing is supported.
Improved application performance and stability.
All known issues in previous versions have been fixed and the overall performance and stability of the software has been improved.
Enhanced documentation.
Significantly updated and enhanced user manual and product documentation with numerous hints and usage examples will help you get the most from MG-SOFT NetConf Browser Pro.
Besides the above listed features, a number of minor improvements have been implemented and all known problems occurring in older versions have been fixed for this release.


What's New in MG-SOFT NETCONF Browser, Version 10.x Release
Notification filtering.
Over time, the number of event notifications received from NETCONF and RESTCONF devices can be quite high, which makes finding the notifications of interest increasingly difficult. To address this problem, NetConf Browser now incorporates effective and easy-to-use notification filtering functionality. The new filter feature in the Notifications window provides a convenient interface for finding and displaying only those notifications that match the user-specified criteria. One can filter notifications by virtually any text phrase included in the notification message or any node name/value pair or a combination thereof. A filter can be applied either as full text search on the entire content of notification messages, or as an advanced XPath-based search. In any case, the filtering feature lets you easily find and focus on notifications of interest.
Displaying notifications in a separate (undocked) window.
For a better overview and easier manipulation of received notifications, the software now lets you undock the Notifications panel from the main window and monitor notifications in a separate window that can be positioned and resized independently of the main window.
Known modules cache optimized for a large number of modules.
The caching of data related to scanned YANG modules has been significantly redesigned and optimized to efficiently handle cases of having tens of thousands of known modules. It now only takes a fraction of time required before to index and organize the known modules cache and to load YANG modules from the Known Modules window.
Support for Apple silicon and ARM-based Java for macOS.
The application launcher and other parts of NetConf Browser native code are compiled as universal binaries on macOS, natively supporting both Intel (x86_64) and Apple silicon (ARM64) architectures. NetConf Browser now successfully runs on x64 build of Java, as well as on ARM-based build of Java on Mac computers featuring Apple silicon chip.
Improved application performance and stability.
All known issues in previous versions have been fixed and the overall performance and stability of the software has been improved.
Enhanced documentation.
Significantly updated and enhanced user manual and product documentation with numerous hints and usage examples will help you get the most from MG-SOFT NetConf Browser Pro.
Besides the above listed features, a number of minor improvements have been implemented and all known problems occurring in older versions have been fixed for this release.


What's New in MG-SOFT NETCONF Browser, Version 9.x Release

Full support for NMDA datastores (RFC 8342).
The original concept of startup, running and candidate datastores has evolved over time into a more complex concept to better reflect the systems that support more advanced processing chains of converting configuration to operational state. This concept is called Network Management Datastore Architecture (NMDA) and is defined in RFC 8342. NetConf Browser supports all datastores specified in NMDA: operational, conventional (startup, running, candidate, intended), and dynamic datastores. The software can also automatically discover datastores supported by the server, download the YANG modules belonging to each datastore, and visualize the supported datastores in separate tabs in the YANG Tree panel, e.g., conventional, operational, etc. You can click the tabs in the YANG Tree panel to switch between different datastores, expand the YANG tree in each datastore separately and select relevant NETCONF operations from the context menu (get-data, edit-data, etc.) (screen shot).
Full support for NMDA-specific NETCONF operations (RFC 8526).
NetConf Browser supports the new <get-data> and <edit-data> operations, as well as augments to <lock>, <unlock> and <validate> operations, as specified in RFC 8526. One can execute the <get-data> operation without parameters directly on a selected data node and datastore (for example, get-data->intended) or can open the NETCONF Content Editor and edit the <get-data> parameters, like "config-filter", "origin-filter", "max-depth", "with-origin", etc. and then send the customized <get-data> request to the server. To perform the <edit-data> operation, you can use the "edit-data (compose)" command to open the NETCONF Content Editor and edit the configuration manually before sending it to the server, or allow the tool to generate the configuration itself. In both cases, you have full control over all elements of the <edit-data> request and can modify it in any manner you wish before applying the specified configuration to a writable datastore (e.g., running or dynamic, etc.). The built-in NETCONF Content Editor has been updated to support editing and validating the contents of NMDA operations by means of DSDL schemas generated from the loaded YANG modules.
Full support for YANG Library 1.1 (RFC 8525).
NetConf Browser lets you connect to an NMDA-capable server that implements the YANG Library 1.1 (ietf-yang-library@2019-01-04 module) and discover the datastores supported by the server, their schemas and YANG modules in each datastore. NetConf Browser can also automatically download the YANG modules belonging to each datastore, and visualize the supported datastores in the YANG Tree panel, where datastores can have different YANG schemas (i.e., sets of YANG modules and submodules). NetConf Browser caches the retrieved YANG library contents (incl. downloaded modules) in device profiles and and will re-fetch the YANG library contents only if it changes on a device.
Compare configurations side-by-side (Diff View).
The software lets you easily compare configurations of two different NETCONF or RESTCONF devices or two different configuration datastores on one device. The retrieved (parts of) configurations are displayed side- by-side in the Diff View window (screen shot). Both, graphical comparison (tree view) and textual configuration comparison (XML view) are supported. The Diff View window lets you easily find all mismatching nodes and allows you to filter the comparison view, e.g., to show only the matching nodes, only orphaned nodes, or only mismatching nodes in both configurations. In addition, the Diff View window can either present the node instances of the compared configurations in the same order as returned by the queried NETCONF server(s), or it can re-order the XML elements to find the best matches and display them side-by-side. Furthermore, you can switch between the graphical (tree view) and textual (XML) comparison mode at any time (screen shot).
Embedded NETCONF scripting with full support for NMDA.
The built-in MG-SOFT NETCONF Script API has been updated to provide full support for NMDA (RFC 8342). New classes and methods allow you to programmatically use the NMDA-specific <get-data> and <edit-data> operations and interact with NMDA datastores, as specified in RFC 8526. In addition, the existing methods for creating <lock> and <unlock> operations have been updated to support interaction with any writable datastore in NMDA. Updated API methods enable your scripts to programmatically obtain information about all NMDA datastores supported by the server (incl. intended, operational and dynamic configuration datastores), as well as features and YANG modules in each datastore. This is achieved by using mechanisms specified in YANG Library 1.1 (RFC 8525). New sample scripts that come with the software illustrate how to utilize the new API methods to perform NMDA-specific NETCONF operations against remote servers. All in all, the software lets you use the popular Python scripting language to perform automated tasks like testing, configuring and monitoring of NMDA-compliant NETCONF devices, as well as non-NMDA devices.
NMDA support in RESTCONF (RFC 8527).
The built-in support for the RESTCONF protocol has been updated to support RESTCONF extensions for NMDA, as specified in RFC 8527. Upon establishing a RESTCONF session, NetConf Browser can discover which datastores are supported by the RESTCONF server, and determine which modules are supported in each datastore by retrieving this information from the YANG Library 1.1 implemented in the server. NetConf Browser can also automatically download the YANG modules belonging to each datastore, and visualize the supported datastores in the YANG Tree panel. The software allows you to interact with all the NMDA datastores by supporting the new datastore resources ({+restconf}/ds/). The datastore resources supported by the server are automatically available for use in the RESTCONF toolbar in the main window and supported datastores can be chosen as targets in context menu commands (e.g., get->intended). Finally, NetConf Browser also supports adding the new "with-origin" query parameter to the GET operation.
Dark theme.
The application graphical user interface now features also dark visual theme that employs darker color tones. Dark theme offers a modern look and feel and may reduce eyestrain. One can switch between the dark and classic (light) mode at any time in the program preferences.
Export session history and notifications to text files.
The software lets you select desired entries in the Session History tab in the main window that contains all NETCONF or RESTCONF messages sent and received by NetConf Browser and lists them in chronological order, and export selected entries to a plain text file. Similarly, you can select multiple (or all) received NETCONF or RESTCONF notifications and export them to a text file for external analysis or archival purposes.
Improved application performance and stability.
All known issues in previous versions have been fixed and the overall performance and stability of the software has been improved.
Enhanced documentation.
Significantly updated and enhanced user manual and product documentation with numerous hints and usage examples will help you get the most from MG-SOFT NetConf Browser Pro.
Besides the above listed features, a number of minor improvements have been implemented and all known problems occurring in older versions have been fixed for this release.


What's New in MG-SOFT NETCONF Browser, Version 8.x Release

Embedded NETCONF scripting.
MG-SOFT NetConf Browser now incorporates full-featured Python scripting capabilities. The new Scripting Console window lets you open, edit, and run any number of Python scripts (.py), as well as view/process their output (screen shot). The software comes with a set of example Python scripts that illustrate how to utilize the built-in MG‑SOFT NETCONF Script API (mgncstack) in order to connect to remote NETCONF devices and perform arbitrary NETCONF operations against them in an automated manner. The Scripting Console supports performing all standard and proprietary NETCONF RPC operations from Python code (get, get-config, edit-config, lock, unlock, commit, confirmed-commit, get-schema, create-subscription, receive notifications, etc.). Furthermore, the Scripting Console includes the multi-tabbed text editor with Python syntax coloring. It lets you open and edit multiple scripts, each in its own tab. The multi- tabbed Output Console panel displays the output of executed scripts and the current status of scripts (running, finished, paused, ...). In addition, NetConf Browser lets you configure various settings for executing each script, like automatic repetition (loop), redirection of output to file, prompting user for input parameters, etc. All in all, the software now enables performing fully automated tasks, like automated testing, automated configuring, and automated monitoring of NETCONF devices by using the popular Python language.
Enhanced YANG tree navigation enables exploring data model cross-references.
The software offers convenient functions that enable quick navigation between cross-referenced nodes in the YANG tree. For example, you can select a node that has been added by an augment statement and choose the "Locate Augmentation Source" command on it, to quickly jump to the originating augment node in the YANG tree (e.g., in a different YANG module). Also, the software lets you select an augment node and choose the "Locate Target Node" command on it to quickly find the node in the YANG tree, under which one or more nodes are inserted by the given augment statement. In a similar way, you can select a node originating from a used grouping statement and quickly find the originating grouping node. Similar functionalities are available for all nodes that reference other nodes in the YANG tree, for example one can easily locate the destination of 'leafref' nodes, deviation nodes, etc., or find the relevant typedef, identity, extension,... node that is used by the given node.
Extended and improved YANG Node Properties window with hyperlinks.
The YANG Node Properties window has been extended to include also information about the node origin (e.g., if it originates from an augment or from use of a grouping statement), and node modifications (e.g., through a deviation or refine statement). When such cross-references exist, the hyperlinks in the YANG Node Properties window lets you quickly navigate to and view the properties of the respective referenced nodes in the YANG tree
Updated graphical elements for perfect HiDPI experience.
All application icons, buttons and other GUI components have been revised to properly support high pixel density (HiDPI) displays. This means that when using NetConf Browser with Java 9 and later that supports HiDPI, the program windows, graphics, and text are scaled automatically according to the system settings, which enables NETCONF Browser user interface to look perfect also on modern HiDPI displays (e.g., 4K/UHD).
Enhanced and memory-optimized handling of large responses.
The processing of large RPC reply messages, as well as the process of maintaining the session history list has been redesigned and optimized to allow handling of big responses while consuming much less memory than before.
Loading YANG modules by using Drag&Drop.
NetConf Browser further simplifies the loading of YANG modules by means of the Drag-and-Drop technique on all supported operating systems (Windows, Linux, macOS).
Improved application performance and stability.
All known issues in previous versions have been fixed and the overall performance and stability of the software has been improved.
Enhanced documentation.
Significantly updated and enhanced user manual and product documentation with numerous hints and usage examples will help you get the most from MG-SOFT NetConf Browser Pro.
Besides the above listed features, a number of minor improvements have been implemented and all known problems occurring in older versions have been fixed for this release.


What's New in MG-SOFT NETCONF Browser, Version 7.x Release

Find facility built into the Raw Output and Log window panels.
The software now incorporates the built-in Find tool that lets you quickly search for any sequence of characters in the Raw Output panel in the main window, containing the retrieved data in XML or JSON format. The tool can highlight results in a different color and lets you quickly navigate back and forth between the matches. Furthermore, besides the normal text search mode, the tool supports also regular expressions that can be used to find complex text patterns. The same Find tool is now available also in the Log tab in the main window and lets you search the application log, e.g., to determine if there were any error or warning messages generated, etc. This feature lets you quickly find and view the data you are interested in, without having to scroll through and examine the entire (potentially large) output.
Perform NETCONF and RESTCONF operations on entire module.
NetConf Browser now lets you select a "module" node in the YANG tree and choose an operation on it (e.g., Get, Get- Config, Edit-Config etc.) in order to retrieve or modify data of the entire YANG module. The filter for the selected NETCONF RPC is automatically generated from YANG, based on the module top-level data nodes (if available). The generated filter can be either standard subtree filter or XPath filter (configurable in program preferences). This feature represents another improvement in usability and productivity of the software, as it now lets you perform a single operation to achieve the goal that previously required two or more actions.
Improved overview of server capabilities.
The Capabilities tab in the main window has been improved to provide a clearer overview of server capabilities and make individual entries easier to find. The capabilities list is now color coded to make a clear distinction between the standard protocol capabilities, IETF and IANA module capabilities and proprietary capabilities advertised by the server. Furthermore, the Capabilities tab now incorporates also the quick filter feature that lets you find and display only those capabilities that contain the user-specified filter phrase.
Complete support for RESTCONF protocol.
MG-SOFT NetConf Browser now implements full support for the RESTCONF protocol (RFC 8040) with both, XML and JSON data encoding. The application user interface, data validation procedures and message payload composition feature have all been extended to transparently support also RESTCONF in addition to the NETCONF protocol. NetConf Browser lets you use all standard RESTCONF HTTP methods, like GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, etc., invoke proprietary operations and actions, and enable receiving event notifications via RESTCONF. The software incorporates YANG-based auto-complete mechanism for composing the RESTCONF URIs, as well as fully fledged auto-completion feature when creating RESTCONF message payloads in XML and JSON format.
Support for RESTCONF and RESTCONF Call Home connections over HTTPS.
The NetConf Browser connecting capabilities have been extended to enable connecting to RESTCONF devices via the HTTP over TLS (HTTPS), using the TLS public key infrastructure (X.509 certificates) for authenticating both server and client. In addition to TLS authentication, the HTTP client authentication is also available, featuring the basic and digest authentication methods. Besides the regular RESTCONF connections, RESTCONF Call Home connections that are initiated by servers are also supported. All device connection details (inc. user credentials) and data model can be saved to user- configured device profiles for later use and effortless management of RESTCONF (and NETCONF) devices. After establishing a RESTCONF session with a server, NetConf Browser automatically discovers the server RESTCONF root resource, server capabilities, data-model-specific RPC operations, event streams, and yang-library data. The software can automatically download YANG files from the RESTCONF server and load them so one can immediately start managing the given device.
Extended NETCONF Content Editor supporting RESTCONF.
The -based DSDL schema generation and validation in the NETCONF Content Editor has been extended by MG-SOFT to support also RESTCONF protocol. It now allows you to easily compose any type of NETCONF XML or RESTCONF XML or JSON document and validate it using the DSDL schemas, which are automatically generated from the selected YANG modules. The integrated RESTCONF toolbar provides an easy way to select the desired method (GET, POST, PATCH, etc.) and to create a target resource URI using the resource auto-completion feature. All this lets you create an arbitrary RESTCONF message and send it to the server to manipulate or retrieve the desired resource in no time.
Generating configuration from YANG model (NETCONF and RESTCONF).
MG-SOFT NetConf Browser now lets you select, e.g., a subtree node in the YANG tree and generate a NETCONF XML instance document or RESTCONF XML or JSON document for an <edit-config> or PUT/PATCH request, respectively. The generated configuration content contains at least one instance of all config=true data nodes (leaf, leaf-list, list, container, anyxml, etc.) from the given subtree. The generated leaf and leaf-list elements have valid, yet dummy values that can be easily edited before sending the content to the server. This powerful feature allows you to quickly and easily create a (part of) configuration that does not exist on the server yet.
Generating content for custom RPC/actions to invoke proprietary operations.
The software lets you select an arbitrary "rpc" or "action" type of node in the YANG tree and generate the corresponding NETCONF RPC or RESTCONF POST request containing all required input elements as defined in YANG. After reviewing or editing the auto-generated RPC or action content, you can send it to a server to invoke the respective operation or action.
Support for Java version 9-13 and HiDPI.
NetConf Browser has been tested to successfully run on Oracle Java version 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 on all supported platforms: Windows, Linux and Mac. Starting with Java version 11, both Oracle JDK (commercial version) and OpenJDK (open source build) are preliminary supported. Using Java 9 or later also adds proper support for HiDPI displays (e.g., UHD/4K). The latter means that the application windows, graphics, and text are scaled automatically according to the system settings, which makes NetConf Browser perfectly usable also with modern high pixel density displays.
Enhanced documentation.
Significantly updated and enhanced user manual and product documentation with numerous hints and usage examples will help you get the most from MG-SOFT NetConf Browser Pro.
Besides the above listed features, a number of minor improvements have been implemented and all known problems occurring in older versions have been fixed for this release.


What's New in MG-SOFT NETCONF Browser, Version 6.x

Greatly enhanced and memory optimized handling of large data models.
MG-SOFT NetConf Browser data model loading and validating procedures have been redesigned and optimized to enable working with large data models significantly faster, while consuming up to 60% less memory than before.
NETCONF Content Editor optimization.
The -based DSDL schema generation and validation in the NETCONF Content Editor has been optimized for speed and improved usability and now allows editing NETCONF instance documents with XML syntax coloring and code-completion even before the schema generation is completed.
Support for NETCONF Call Home over SSH and TLS.
MG-SOFT NetConf Browser now supports NETCONF Call Home over SSH and TLS (RFC 8071), where a NETCONF server is the peer that initiates a secure connection to a NETCONF client (i.e., NetConf Browser). The NETCONF Call Home method is useful in many scenarios, for example, when NETCONF servers are deployed behind a firewall and/or NAT that does not allow management access to the internal network, when NETCONF devices are powered on for the first time and automatically connect and register themselves with the management system, etc.
Complete YANG 1.1 Support.
In addition to the original YANG data modeling language version 1 (RFC 6020), MG-SOFT NetConf Browser now fully supports also the new YANG version 1.1 (RFC 7950). The software's GUI has been extended and the built-in YANG validation engine has been rewritten to fully support all YANG 1.1 syntax and semantics, including the new statements ('action', 'anydata'), new 'XPath' functions, modified rules for 'notifications', changed lexical rules and the new submodule scoping rules, to name some of the more important changes in YANG 1.1. The software now lets you load any set of valid YANG 1.1 and YANG 1 modules (as well as YIN 1.1. and YIN 1 modules).
Device profiles enable straightforward management of different NETCONF devices.
The software now lets you configure and use profiles for managing different NETCONF-enabled devices (servers). A device profile contains parameters that describe a particular NETCONF device, i.e., the device address, description, device data model (e.g., supported YANG modules) and NETCONF connection details, optionally including user credentials. This principle lets you configure device settings only once for each device and then re-use these settings by simply switching to the relevant device profile when you wish to manage a particular device. By default, when you switch to a device profile in NetConf Browser, the software automatically connects to the respective device and loads the relevant YANG modules, so you can quickly start managing that device using the data model, capabilities and features it supports.
Support for YANG Library mechanism (RFC 7895).
MG-SOFT NetConf Browser now supports the standard YANG library mechanism that lets it identify and retrieve all YANG modules implemented by a NETCONF server supporting this capability. The software can automatically download YANG modules and submodules from a NETCONF server by using the NETCONF <get-schema> operation or by downloading the modules from specified URLs. Retrieved modules are automatically loaded and cached as a part of the device profile used for managing a particular NETCONF device. NetConf Browser compares the local cache with the YANG library data on the device and lets you retrieve a newer set of YANG modules when available.
Extended NETCONF Content Editor with complete support for YANG 1.1.
The built-in DSDL schema generator and the NETCONF validation engine have been extended and re-written to provide full support for YANG 1.1 (in addition to YANG 1). NETCONF Content Editor and Validator lets you easily compose or load any type of NETCONF XML instance document (e.g., edit-config, get-config, rpc, rpc-reply, etc.) and validate it using the DSDL schemas, which are automatically generated from selected YANG 1.1 and YANG 1 modules. This enables you to validate if the actual content (payload) of NETCONF requests, responses and notifications comply with definitions in the selected YANG modules.
Session keep-alive and auto-reconnect after connection loss.
NetConf Browser can send periodic queries (which have minimal impact on server performance) to the server when a NETCONF session is idle. This feature aims to keep a session persistently 'alive' and detect if a connection gets broken for whatever reason. In the latter case, NetConf Browser can automatically attempt to re-establish a broken connection. Both options are configurable on a per-connection basis.
GUI enhancements and improvements and initial HiDPI support.
A number of GUI enhancements and improvements have been implemented in order to make the application even more intuitive and user-friendly. Furthermore, the entire GUI has been revised to properly support large font sizes in order to make the application text easily readable also on modern high pixel density displays (e.g., 4K/UHD). The application text scales properly with the system scaling setting on Windows and one can further tweak the appearance of the text and tables by using several startup parameters.
Enhanced documentation.
Updated and enhanced user manual and help files with numerous hints and usage examples will help you get the most from MG-SOFT's NETCONF Browser Pro.
Besides the above listed features, a number of minor improvements have been implemented and all known problems occurring in older versions have been fixed for this release.


What's New in MG-SOFT NETCONF Browser, Version 5

Special handling of malformed Reply messages.
NetConf Browser now incorporates a special processing of malformed rpc-reply messages sent by NetConf servers under development. By default, NetConf Browser no longer terminates the session when receiving a malformed Reply from the server, but parses the malformed message manually, attempting to recognize and display as much information as possible even from non-XML messages. For any received malformed message, an error is logged and the message content is displayed in the Session History View. This feature facilitates the troubleshooting and debugging of NETCONF servers under development by providing you as much information as possible to understand and solve the erroneous server behavior.
Complete XPath Validation.
MG-SOFT NetConf Browser goes beyond the 'standard' YANG validation offered by other products on the market and performs full validation of XPath expression syntax and semantics in YANG 'must' and 'when' statements. It constructs accessible trees for XPath expressions as described in RFC 6020 (in absence of instance data), which allows their partial evaluation, therefore enabling: following of location paths to ensure they reference existing nodes, detecting expressions that always evaluate to the same value, ensuring correctness of function usage, checking compliance with XPath recommendations in RFC 6087, and more. Due to the nature of XPath expressions in YANG, all detected semantic inconsistencies are reported as warnings.
Optimized YANG tree presentation and lower memory consumption.
YANG tree construction and graphical presentation has been significantly improved and optimized. As a consequence, NetConf Browser now consumes about 30% less memory when loading large YANG models.
Improved module loading process.
The YANG and YIN module loading process has been enhanced and simplified. It will now automatically select the explicitly specified or the newest revision of a module if there are incompatible modules in the load list (for example, two revisions of the same module, which augments another module, are incompatible). Furthermore, it is now possible to quickly load the entire module by loading any of its submodules. The output in the Log tab in the main window has also been enhanced and now shows exactly how module dependencies are found and resolved.
Session History View.
The Session History view contains a chronologically sorted list of all NETCONF sessions and RPC messages exchanged within these sessions. This feature allows you to quickly navigate though messages that were sent and received by NetConf Browser. NETCONF RPC messages are presented as formatted XML documents with syntax coloring. Depending on its type, a message may be reused, edited or copied to clipboard. You are now able to resend RPC messages or edit/check them in NETCONF Content Editor by simply choosing the corresponding command from the context menu.
Enhanced documentation.
Updated and enhanced user manual and help files with numerous hints and usage examples will help you get the most from MG-SOFT's NETCONF Browser Pro.
Besides the above listed features, a number of minor improvements have been implemented and all known problems occurring in older versions have been fixed for this release.


What's New in MG-SOFT NETCONF Browser, Version 4

Support for NETCONF protocol over TLS.
MG-SOFT NetConf Browser supports NETCONF protocol over TLS (Transport Layer Security) protocol version 1.2 (RFC 5539). NetConf Browser incorporates the Certificate Manager tool that enables straightforward management of digital certificates used for NETCONF over TLS communication. It allows you to view X.509 certificate information, generate new public and private key pairs wrapped in X.509 certificates, import key pairs from PKCS#12 keystore files, generate Certificate Signing Requests, etc.

As TLS 1.2 support was introduced in Java 1.7, using this feature requires Java 1.7 or newer.

Support for NETCONF protocol over SSH2 with Public Key Authentication.
NetConf Browser now supports the public key authentication mechanism with SSH2 transport protocol. The private key required for such authentication can be imported form of an external file in PEM format or generated in the built-in Certificate Manager tool. The latter options means that you can use the same digital certificate for both, NETCONF over SSH2 with public key authentication and NETCONF over TLS.
Significantly Enhanced NETCONF Content Editor.
In addition to the built-in full-fledged XML Editor, NETCONF Content Editor now supports also visual editing of XML documents. Simply right-click a node in the tree view and add/remove elements and set their values by choosing commands from the context menu. This feature is DSDL schema aware and will allow adding only constructs that are defined in enabled YANG modules.

Furthermore, the new quick options panel for <edit-config> now lets you specify the most common options (target configuration, default operations, test options, error options) by simply choosing the desired entries from drop-down menus and checkboxes.

The new NETCONF message history log contains RPC messages sent from the Editor and responses received from the connected device. This makes interaction with a NETCONF device much simpler and easier, as you obtain immediate feedback on how device responded to the sent payload.

Input modules and features in the NETCONF Content Editor now automatically adapt to the capabilities of the connected NETCONF server. Simply connect to a NETCONF device and load YANG modules supported by the device and the matching DSDL schemas for producing valid NETCONF content for this device will be generated automatically.

Enhanced documentation.
Updated and enhanced user manuals and help files with numerous hints and usage examples will help you get the most from MG-SOFT's NETCONF Browser Pro.
Besides the above listed features, a number of minor improvements have been implemented and all known problems occurring in older versions have been fixed for this release.


What's New in MG-SOFT NETCONF Browser, Version 3

-compliant NETCONF Content Editor and Validator.
The new XML document editor with syntax coloring and autocomplete feature lets you easily compose any type of NETCONF XML document and validate it using the DSDL schemas, which are automatically generated from the selected YANG modules. The tool contains templates for composing typical NETCONF document types, such as RPC requests (<get>, <get-config>, <edit-config>,...), entire configuration datastores, RPC replies, etc. By default, the XML documents you are editing are being automatically validated in real-time. The NETCONF Content Editor window displays easy-to-understand error and warning messages if any inconsistencies are detected in the validated document. This way, one can quickly fix all syntax and semantic inconsistencies and send valid XML document to the connected NETCONF server, e.g., to apply a new configuration or perform any other NETCONF operation.
Support for receiving NETCONF Notifications.
The software receives and logs NETCONF notifications (RFC 5277) after the user manually sends a valid create-subscription request to the NETCONF server. Received notifications may be reviewed in the Log panel of the main window.
Support for receiving proprietary rpc-reply responses.
NetConf Browser accepts responses to manually sent proprietary RPC operations, which makes it suitable also for managing configurations of proprietary or non-standard NETCONF devices.
Enhanced documentation.
Updated and enhanced user manuals and help files with numerous hints and usage examples will help you get the most from MG-SOFT's NETCONF Browser Pro.
Besides the above listed features, a number of minor improvements have been implemented and all known problems occurring in older versions have been fixed for this release.

What's New in MG-SOFT NETCONF Browser, Version 2

YANG Validation.
NetConf Browser checks the validity of all YANG and YIN modules it loads. In addition to the syntax checking, the new functionality checks also the semantics of YANG and YIN modules.
Support for <commit> and <discard-changes> operations.
Users can quickly perform the NETCONF <commit> and <discard-changes> operations by clicking the respective buttons in the application's toolbar.
Support for <confirmed-commit> and <cancel-commit> operations.
The software lets you easily perform the NETCONF <confirmed-commit> and <cancel-commit> operations by using the dedicate dialog boxes. The application allows you to quickly start a new <confirmed-commit> operation and prolong or commit an existing one.
Resolve YANG module dependencies.
NetConf Browser automatically scans all new YANG and YIN modules for dependencies (imported and included modules) and lets you scan user-specified locations for the matching modules. The entire information about the "registered" modules and submodules is stored in a single place and can be viewed in the Known Modules window. The latter also enables loading modules that have many dependencies with a single click of a button, as well as keeping and loading different revisions of the same modules.
Browse NETCONF datastores based on YANG modules.
The software lets you send the NETCONF <get> and <get-config> requests based on the selection in the YANG schema tree. This principle allows retrieving the value of leaf, leaf-list, list and container statements or entire subtrees by simply selecting the desired node in the YANG tree and selecting the corresponding <get> and <get-config> command from the menu.
Enhanced documentation.
Updated and enhanced user manuals and help files with numerous hints and usage examples will help you get the most from MG-SOFT's NETCONF Browser Pro.
Besides the above listed features, a number of minor improvements have been implemented and all known problems occurring in older versions have been fixed for this release.