Note: This feature is currently in beta and is available only to early adopters.

All  Compliance Condition types support three match modes:

• Loose

• Sequential

• Strict

Match mode determines how the order and consecutiveness of input lines in the source affect condition evaluation.

Reference Source:

The examples throughout this article use the following device configuration:

hostname R1
 
interface Ethernet1
 description Uplink
 ip address 10.0.0.1/24
 
interface Ethernet2
 description LAN
 ip address 192.168.1.1/24
 
router ospf
 network 10.0.0.0/24 area 0

Note: The Compliance engine can validate MCP automation outputs in addition to device configurations. To validate an automation output, select Source → Mass Config Push Result. The same condition types and matching principles described in this article apply when evaluating automation output.

Suppose the Condition type is "Source contains"  and the Condition input is:

interface Ethernet1
 ip address 10.0.0.1/24

The table below shows the Condition evaluation status for each match mode using the example source and Condition input:

Loose Mode

Loose mode verifies that all input lines exist somewhere in the source. Their order is ignored, and any content may appear between matching lines in the source.

Example Input 1:

 description LAN
hostname R1

Result: Condition successful

Although the order of the input lines differs from the source, both lines are present.

Example Input 2:

hostname R1
 description WAN

Result: Condition failed

The line description WAN does not exist in the source.

Sequential Mode

Sequential mode requires all input lines to appear in the source in the same order as entered. Additional text/lines may appear between them.

Example Input 1:

interface Ethernet1
 ip address 10.0.0.1/24

Result: Condition successful

Both input lines appear in the source in the correct order. The "description Uplink" line between them is ignored.

Example Input 2:

 ip address 10.0.0.1/24
interface Ethernet1

Result: Condition failed

The input lines appear in the source in reverse order.

Strict Mode

Strict mode requires the input lines to appear consecutively. No additional text may exist between the matching lines in the source.

Example Input 1:

interface Ethernet1
 description Uplink
 ip address 10.0.0.1/24

Result: Condition successful

These three lines appear consecutively.

Example Input 2:

interface Ethernet1
 ip address 10.0.0.1/24

Result: Condition failed

The source contains the line "description Uplink" between the two input lines. Strict mode therefore fails.

Choosing the Right Match Mode