ip-netconf
Manage network configuration
TLDR
Show network configuration for all interfaces
Show network configuration for a specific interface
Show only IPv4 network configuration
Show only IPv6 network configuration
SYNOPSIS
ip [-4|-6] netconf { show [NETNSID] | monitor [NETNSID-LIST] | get [dev DEV] [module MODULE] | set [dev DEV] [module MODULE] { on|off } }
PARAMETERS
show [NETNSID]
List all enabled NETCONF modules for devices in the current or specified network namespace
monitor [NETNSID-LIST]
Monitor NETCONF configuration changes; 'all' for all namespaces
get [dev DEV] [module MODULE]
Print available (not-yet-enabled) NETCONF modules; filter by device or module
set [dev DEV] [module MODULE] {on|off}
Enable or disable a NETCONF module on a specific device
-4
Restrict to IPv4 address family
-6
Restrict to IPv6 address family
dev DEV
Network device name (e.g., eth0)
module MODULE
YANG module name (e.g., iana-if-type)
DESCRIPTION
ip netconf is part of the iproute2 suite and controls the NETCONF (Network Configuration Protocol) subsystem in the Linux kernel. NETCONF enables programmatic management of network devices using XML-based data encoding and RPCs, often with YANG data models.
This command allows listing enabled NETCONF modules on devices, monitoring configuration changes, retrieving available YANG modules, and enabling/disabling modules on specific network interfaces. It supports network namespaces via NETNSID and operates separately for IPv4 (-4) and IPv6 (-6) address families.
Primarily used in network automation, SDN, and NFV environments for dynamic configuration without manual intervention. Requires kernel support (CONFIG_NETCONF) and CAP_NET_ADMIN privileges. It interacts with the kernel via netlink, providing a CLI interface to kernel NETCONF capabilities introduced in recent Linux kernels.
CAVEATS
Requires CAP_NET_ADMIN capability and kernel CONFIG_NETCONF=y. Not all modules are available without additional kernel modules. IPv4/IPv6 selectors apply only to get/set.
EXAMPLES
ip netconf show - list enabled modules
ip netconf get dev eth0 - available modules on eth0
ip netconf set dev lo module iana-hardware on - enable module
KERNEL REQUIREMENTS
Load modules like netconf, yang-netconf; check with lsmod | grep netconf
HISTORY
Introduced in Linux kernel 4.17 (2018) with iproute2 4.18; matured in kernel 4.19+ and iproute2 5.4+. Developed for kernel-based NETCONF server to support programmable networks.
