fix(netconf_config.py): type conversion issue for confirm_timeout

[jclaerhout]

SUMMARY

This pull request fixes a type conversion issue in the netconf_config module of the ansible.netcommon collection.

When using the confirm parameter, Ansible throws an error due to a type mismatch:

Argument must be bytes or unicode, got 'int'

This occurs because confirm_timeout, which is expected to be an integer, is not properly converted before being passed to the NETCONF commit operation.

The fix ensures confirm_timeout is explicitly converted to a string using to_text() with errors='surrogate_or_strict' before passing it to the commit operation.

Fixes #551

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ISSUE TYPE

• Bugfix Pull Request

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COMPONENT NAME

ansible.netcommon.netconf_config

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The issue occurs when attempting to use confirm in ansible.netcommon.netconf_config, leading to a failure due to incorrect type handling.

Code Change (Line 669 of netconf_config.py):

- confirmed=confirmed_commit, timeout=confirm_timeout
+ confirmed=confirmed_commit, timeout=to_text(confirm_timeout, errors='surrogate_or_strict')

This fix ensures proper type handling and allows users to correctly perform confirmed commits with rollback timers.

References:

• Related issue: [ansible.netcommon#551](netconf_config false argument when using confirm_commit #551)
• Previous attempt to fix the issue: [ansible.netcommon#670](Bugfix: Fix commit timeout type failure issue #670)

Let me know if any further modifications are required! 🚀

[Dalle55]

Hi,
We've been testing it in a dedicated virtualenv on Cisco IOS XE devices, and would like to report a few important issues that surfaced — along with a working patch and reproduction steps.

Problems observed with the current PR implementation

1. to_text() called with unsupported keyword error

This line is problematic:

confirm = to_text(module.params["confirm"], error="surrogate_or_strict")

• to_text() from ansible.module_utils._text does not support the error keyword.
• It causes immediate runtime failure:

TypeError: to_text() got an unexpected keyword argument 'error'

Fix used in our local patch:

confirm = to_text(module.params["confirm"])

2. Confirm value not properly cast

If confirm is passed as an integer from the playbook (as in confirm: 10), Ansible will fail with:

Argument must be bytes or unicode, got 'int'

Fix applied:

We explicitly convert confirm to string before using it in any NETCONF RPC or XML operation:

confirm = str(to_text(module.params["confirm"]))

3. Confirmed commit not functioning properly on Cisco IOS XE

• Even after fixing type handling, the module logic assumes commit and confirm can be bundled into a single RPC.
• However, Cisco IOS XE does not support this behavior reliably.
• Sending <commit confirmed="true" timeout="10"/> does not work. Cisco expects a full <commit><confirmed/><confirm-timeout>10</confirm-timeout></commit> RPC sent separately.

Temporary workaround:

We split the commit logic into two steps using netconf_rpc manually after pushing config via netconf_config.

[Dalle55]

Correction regarding commit confirmed in Ansible's netconf_config module

RFC 6241, Section 8.4 (Confirmed Commit)

According to RFC 6241, section 8.4, the correct format for a confirmed commit operation in NETCONF is to use child elements, not attributes. Example:

<commit>
  <confirmed/>
  <confirm-timeout>10</confirm-timeout>
</commit>

However, the netconf_config module currently generates the following structure:

<commit confirmed="true" timeout="10"/>

This is not compliant with RFC 6241 and leads to errors on compliant NETCONF servers.

Real-World Observation

Cisco IOS XE correctly implements the confirmed commit functionality using the expected structure from the RFC. It rejects the attribute-based form because it is not valid NETCONF syntax.

This means:

• Cisco is acting correctly.
• The Ansible module is generating invalid XML and must be fixed.

Recommendation

Update the module to generate proper RFC-compliant commit RPCs using child elements for confirmed and confirm-timeout.