What type of data format does NETCONF primarily use?

NETCONF primarily uses XML as its data format. This choice is significant because XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is designed to be both human-readable and machine-readable, making it a suitable choice for representing complex data structures in network configurations and state information. NETCONF uses XML for its messages, which allows for the expressiveness needed to convey detailed configurations of network devices, including supporting nested data structures and defining various schema formats.

While other formats like JSON are increasingly common in many APIs, NETCONF's design and implementation heavily rely on XML's structured capabilities. Similar to how other options mentioned, such as YANG, are used alongside NETCONF, YANG itself defines the data models and is not a data format in the same sense as XML or JSON. ASCII does not provide the structured capabilities needed for complex hierarchical data, making it less appropriate for NETCONF use cases. Therefore, XML is recognized as the correct and primary format for NETCONF, ensuring effective communication of structured data between network devices and management applications.