During last years, novel protocols and data models are arising to control and monitor optical network equipment. These protocols enable network programmability and automation by ful lling the vision introduced by Software De ned Networking (SDN). This paper o ers an overview and hands-on experience on programming the necessary tools to control and monitor the network equipment. These tools introduce the necessary network programmability that will enable its automation, following current Zero-Touch service control and management. Data modelling languages are rstly explored. Later, protocols for control and monitoring are presented. Moreover, common standards data models are discussed. Finally, an evaluation of the di erent presented protocols and data models is provided, which includes recommendations for their selection and deployment.