ENAUTO 300-435 key terms

An approach where network devices expose structured YANG models and communicate via protocols such as NETCONF, RESTCONF, or gNMI, replacing screen-scraped CLI with machine-readable, schema-validated configuration and state retrieval.

A data modeling language standardized by IETF that defines the hierarchy, types, and constraints of configuration and operational data for a device, enabling consistent programmatic access across vendors and platforms.

A vendor-neutral collection of YANG models maintained by network operators that describes common device features, allowing the same automation code to work across different hardware platforms.

A property of an operation where applying it repeatedly produces the same end state as applying it once, which is essential for safe re-runs of automation playbooks and configuration templates.

A style where the operator describes the desired end state rather than the step-by-step commands to reach it, letting the tool compute the necessary changes and converge the device to that state.

The gradual divergence between a device's actual running configuration and its intended or version-controlled baseline, often caused by manual changes, which automation detects and remediates.

The authoritative repository, often a version-controlled system such as Git or NetBox, that holds the intended network state and from which automation renders device configuration.

Managing network and compute resources through machine-readable definition files stored in version control, so changes are reviewed, tested, and reproducible rather than performed manually.

An automated sequence that builds, validates, and deploys changes, typically running linting, syntax checks, and tests against network configurations before they reach production devices.

An HTTP-based interface where resources are addressed by URIs and manipulated with standard methods such as GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE, typically exchanging JSON or XML payloads.

A three-digit number in an API response indicating outcome, such as 200 for success, 201 for creation, 400 for a bad request, 401 for missing authentication, and 404 for a missing resource.

An authentication scheme where a client first exchanges credentials for a time-limited token, then sends that token in an HTTP header on subsequent requests instead of repeating credentials.

An authorization framework that lets a client obtain limited access tokens from an authorization server without handling the user's password directly, commonly used for API integrations.

An IETF protocol that runs over SSH and uses XML-encoded remote procedure calls to retrieve, edit, and validate configuration against YANG models, supporting candidate datastores and confirmed commits.

A staging configuration area in NETCONF where edits are assembled and validated before being committed to the running datastore, optionally with a rollback timer.

A NETCONF operation that applies candidate changes but automatically reverts them unless a follow-up confirming commit arrives within a specified timeout, protecting against lockout.

An HTTP-based protocol that maps YANG-modeled data to REST resources, using standard methods and JSON or XML encoding, and is simpler to consume than NETCONF for web-oriented tooling.

A gRPC-based protocol for streaming telemetry and managing configuration on network devices, using paths derived from YANG models and supporting subscribe, get, set, and capabilities operations.

A push model where devices continuously send operational metrics to a collector on a subscription basis, giving near-real-time visibility instead of periodic polling.

A long-standing UDP-based protocol for polling device counters and receiving traps, still widely used for monitoring but limited in structure and scale compared with model-driven telemetry.

A lightweight text data format built from objects, arrays, strings, numbers, and booleans, commonly used as the payload for REST APIs and automation tooling.

A tag-based markup format used by NETCONF and by some RESTCONF and SOAP interfaces to encode structured configuration and operational data.

A popular Python module that simplifies sending HTTP requests, handling headers, authentication, query parameters, and response parsing for REST API automation.

A GUI client for building and testing API requests, organizing them into collections, managing environments and variables, and generating code snippets for reuse.

An agentless automation tool that pushes modules to devices over SSH or API connections, using YAML playbooks and inventories to enforce desired configuration state.

A Python-based templating engine used in automation to render device configurations from variables and logic, separating data from the configuration text itself.

A reusable text pattern with placeholders that is filled with device-specific variables to generate consistent configuration, reducing manual errors and duplication.

A Linux container environment on supported Cisco devices that allows running Python scripts and automation tooling directly on the device for local tasks.

An on-device automation facility that triggers actions such as CLI commands or applets in response to syslog patterns, counters, timers, or interface events.

A controller-based management platform for enterprise networks that provides intent-based workflows, assurance, and centralized automation through a documented REST API.

The northbound REST interface of DNA Center whose resources are organized by intent, such as sites, devices, templates, and assurance, used to drive automation from external tools.

A logical grouping of network devices in a software-defined access fabric that shares a common control plane and policy domain, used as a target for provisioning operations.

Cisco's intent-based campus fabric architecture that separates control, data, and policy planes using LISP, VXLAN, and Cisco TrustSec to deliver consistent segmentation.

The centralized management component of Cisco SD-WAN, formerly vManage, offering a REST API to manage devices, templates, policies, and alarms across the overlay.

A reusable SD-WAN configuration block that defines settings for a specific function, such as VPN, routing, or security, and is combined into device templates.

An SD-WAN template that binds feature templates to a device model and role, producing the full configuration pushed to a WAN edge router during onboarding.

The SD-WAN control plane protocol that distributes routing, policy, and key information among WAN edge devices through the controllers to build the overlay topology.

A software-defined WAN architecture with centralized controllers that manage secure overlay connectivity, policy, and application-aware routing across distributed branch sites.