Cloud-based cross-domain system - virtual data diode

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a cloud-based cross-domain system – a virtual data diode. In some aspects, a network interface card (NIC) can receive messages intended for use with the disconnected network and sent using a first communication protocol at a first node of the NIC associated with the disconnected network. The NIC can use a second communication protocol, configured for unidirectional communication, to send the messages from the first node to a second node of the NIC. The NIC can receive the messages at the second node. The NIC can use a third communication protocol to send the messages from the second node to a destination node of the disconnected network. Many other aspects are described.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the PCT international application filed on November 16, 2022, with national application number 202280086190.6 and invention title "Cloud-based Cross-Domain System – Virtual Data Diode" which has entered the Chinese national phase.

[0002] Cross-references to related applications

[0003] This application claims priority to the following applications: U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 17 / 534,187, filed November 23, 2021, entitled “CLOUD BASEDCROSS DOMAIN SYSTEM – VIRTUAL DATA DIODE,” Attorney’s File No. 088325-1259513 (296100US), entitled “CLOUD BASEDCROSS DOMAIN SYSTEM – CDSaaS,” filed November 23, 2021, Attorney’s File No. 088325-1259518 (296110US), entitled “CLOUD BASED CROSSDOMAIN SYSTEM – CDS WITH DISAGGREGATED PARTS,” filed November 23, 2021. The disclosures of these applications, 17 / 534,196, Agent's File No. 088325-1260117 (296120US), are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes. Technical Field

[0004] This disclosure relates to network security. In particular, this disclosure relates to cross-domain solutions. Background Technology

[0005] There are technologies for hardware-based cross-domain solutions to control and inspect data entering private networks. However, such technologies are difficult to maintain and operate. Summary of the Invention

[0006] It provides technology for software-based cloud-based cross-domain systems that allow secure unidirectional traffic into private networks without the need for specialized hardware.

[0007] In embodiments, a system of one or more computers may be configured to perform specific operations or actions by installing software, firmware, hardware, or combinations thereof on the system, which, in operation, causes the system to perform actions. One or more computer programs may be configured to perform specific operations or actions by including instructions that, when executed by a data processing device, cause the device to perform actions. A general aspect includes a computer-implemented method. This computer-implemented method further includes receiving, at a first node of a network interface card (NIC) associated with a disconnected network, messages or data intended for use with the disconnected network and transmitted using a first communication protocol. The method further includes sending the messages or data from the first node to a second node of the NIC using a second communication protocol configured for unidirectional communication. The method further includes receiving the messages or data at the second node. The method further includes sending the messages or data from the second node to a destination node of the disconnected network using a third communication protocol. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding computer systems, apparatus, and computer programs recorded on one or more computer storage devices, each configured to perform the actions of the method.

[0008] In a general sense, the second communication protocol is the User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

[0009] In a general sense, network interface cards include intelligent network interface cards (intelligent NICs). An intelligent NIC can process messages or data arriving at one of its interfaces and forward them to another interface. This process can take the form of software and / or hardware that analyzes incoming messages and transforms them according to rules that can be configured on the intelligent NIC.

[0010] In a general sense, disconnected networks include virtual cloud networks.

[0011] In a general sense, the disconnected network is not connected to the Internet.

[0012] In a general sense, after leaving the second node, the message passes through a filter chain before reaching the destination node.

[0013] In a general sense, the connection between the first node and the second node is established using a networking link (such as an Ethernet cable).

[0014] In a general sense, connections established using network links enable bidirectional communication.

[0015] One general aspect includes a computer program product comprising instructions tangibly implemented on one or more non-transitory machine-readable media, the instructions being configured to cause one or more data processors to execute instructions including: receiving, at a first node of a network interface card (NIC) associated with a disconnected network, a message intended for use with the disconnected network and transmitted using a first communication protocol. The method further includes transmitting the message from the first node to a second node of the NIC using a second communication protocol configured for unidirectional communication. The method also includes receiving the message at the second node. The method further includes transmitting the message from the second node to a destination node of the disconnected network using a third communication protocol. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding computer systems, apparatuses, and computer programs recorded on one or more computer storage devices, each configured to perform the actions of the method.

[0016] One general aspect includes a network interface card (NIC) associated with a disconnected network, comprising: a first node, a second node, a memory storing computer-executable instructions, and one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to access the first node, the second node, and the memory, and are configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to at least: receive, at the first node, a message intended for use with the disconnected network and sent using a first communication protocol. The one or more processors are also configured to send the message from the first node to the second node using a second communication protocol configured for unidirectional communication. The one or more processors are also configured to receive the message at the second node. The one or more processors are further configured to send the message from the second node to a destination node of the disconnected network using a third communication protocol. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding computer systems, apparatuses, and computer programs recorded on one or more computer storage devices, each configured to perform actions of the method.

[0017] It provides technology for cloud-based cross-domain solutions for Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery that allows secure one-way traffic into a private network without the need for specialized hardware.

[0018] In embodiments, a computing device of the virtual cloud network may select one or more filters from a plurality of filters for use in a data pipeline. The plurality of filters includes at least one of the following: malware filter, content filter, signature filter, and content analyzer. Filters may be statically configured or dynamically updated using machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms. The computing device of the virtual cloud network may determine the order in which the one or more selected filters in the data pipeline are used. The computing device of the virtual cloud network may receive messages in the data pipeline from a network interface card (NIC). The network interface card may be configured as a one-way transfer device. Messages in the data pipeline can be filtered by passing messages through one or more selected filters in the determined order. The computing device of the virtual cloud network may provide a log of events occurring in the data pipeline via a logging network. Such event logs may contain references to data, such as sender and receiver, data type, name in a file instance or value of structured data, timestamps, and filtering decisions (such as pass, reject, warning). Other embodiments in this regard include corresponding computer systems, apparatus, and computer programs recorded on one or more computer storage devices, each configured to perform actions of a method.

[0019] In a general sense, the determined order is at least partially based on the source of the message.

[0020] In a general sense, one or more filters are selected based at least in part on the source of the message.

[0021] In a general sense, multiple filters from one or more are selected for the same source of a message.

[0022] In a general sense, network interface cards include software-based unidirectional transmission devices.

[0023] In one general aspect, the method further includes changing one or more selected filters in the data pipeline after messages have been processed by one or more selected filters in a determined order.

[0024] In a general sense, computing devices are virtual machines running in the cloud.

[0025] A general aspect includes a computer program product comprising instructions tangibly implemented on one or more non-transitory machine-readable media, the instructions being configured to cause one or more data processors to execute instructions comprising: selecting one or more filters from a plurality of filters for a data pipeline, the plurality of filters including at least one of a malware filter, a content filter, a signature filter, and a content analyzer.

[0026] Filters can be adaptively configured via machine learning and artificial intelligence. Models used for these filters can be dynamically updated as part of a feedback loop, which can be trained using test data sent and labeled by the system. Test data can contain data considered good and data considered bad. Algorithms can be adjusted based on the test data. In some cases, the data itself is not delivered to the end user but is used solely as test data to adjust the machine learning / AI model deployed by the filter logic. Test data can be continuously sent when new malware or threats are detected. Test data can be sent from an untrusted network side or injected from a trusted network. The trustworthiness of the test data source can be determined cryptographically. A trusted sender can sign a message containing test data using their private key. The machine learning system that processes the test data to update the machine learning model can be configured with a corresponding public key, and the system can verify the sender's authenticity. In some embodiments, AI model training can occur outside the filtering system of the cross-domain solution. The fully trained model can be uploaded to the filtering system of the cross-domain solution via a protected channel. This model can be used to filter content passing through the filtering system.

[0027] The order of one or more selected filters in the data pipeline is determined. Messages in the data pipeline are received from a network interface card (NIC), which is configured as a unidirectional transmission device. Messages in the data pipeline are filtered by passing them through the selected filters in the determined order, and a log of events occurring in the data pipeline is provided via a logging network. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding computer systems, apparatus, and computer programs stored on one or more computer storage devices, each configured to perform actions of the method.

[0028] A general aspect includes a data pipeline that includes a network interface card (NIC). The NIC is configured as a unidirectional transmission device. The data pipeline also includes multiple filters, which include at least one of the following: a malware filter, a content filter, a signature filter, and a content analyzer. The data pipeline also includes a virtual cloud network configured to include one or more of the multiple filters. Messages received by the virtual cloud network from the network interface controller pass through one or more filters of the data pipeline in a sequential order determined during configuration. The data pipeline may also include a logging network for providing a log of events occurring in the data pipeline. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding computer systems, apparatuses, and computer programs recorded on one or more computer storage devices, each configured to perform actions of a method.

[0029] It provides a technology for cross-domain solutions for disaggregated parts.

[0030] In one embodiment, a computing device on a disconnected network generates an application programming interface (API) configured to present a set of filter types. Selection of one or more filter types from this set of filter types is received via the API. An order for the selected filter types is received via the API. The computing device on the disconnected network generates a data pipeline with the selected filters in this order in response to a command received via the API. The computing device on the disconnected network analyzes messages received at a one-way transmission device by passing messages through the selected filters in this order. A logging network on the disconnected network receives a log of events occurring in the data pipeline. The log of events is presented via the API. The data pipeline is terminated upon receiving a termination command via the API. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding computer systems, apparatus, and computer programs stored on one or more computer storage devices, each configured to perform the actions of the method.

[0031] In a general sense, one or more filter types include one or more of malware filters, content filters, signature filters, and content analyzers.

[0032] In one general aspect, the method further includes sending a message from a disconnected network to a trusted storage via a one-way transmission device.

[0033] In a general sense, a one-way transmission device is a software-based one-way transmission device.

[0034] In a general sense, event logs include logs of events that occur at the operating system (OS) level, application level, and payload level.

[0035] In a general sense, disconnected networks include virtual cloud networks.

[0036] In a general sense, a one-way transmission device is a smart network interface card (smart NIC).

[0037] A general aspect includes a computer program product comprising instructions tangibly implemented on one or more non-transitory machine-readable media, the instructions being configured to cause one or more data processors to execute instructions including: generating an application programming interface (API) configured to present a set of filter types; receiving, via the API, a selection of one or more filter types from the set of filter types; receiving, via the API, an order of priority for the selected filter types; generating a data pipeline having filters selected in the order of priority in response to a command received via the API; analyzing messages received at a unidirectional transmission device by passing messages through the selected filters in the order of priority; receiving a log of events occurring in the data pipeline via a logging network of a disconnected network; presenting the log of events via the API; and terminating the data pipeline upon receiving a termination command via the API.

[0038] One general aspect includes a system comprising a memory configured to store multiple instructions and one or more processors configured to access the memory and execute the multiple instructions to at least: generate an application programming interface (API) configured to present a set of filter types; receive selections of one or more filter types from the set of filter types via the API; receive an order for the selected filter types; generate a data pipeline with filters selected in the order of preference in response to a command received via the API; analyze messages received at a unidirectional transmission device by passing messages through the selected filters in the order of preference; receive a log of events occurring in the data pipeline via a logging network of a disconnected network; present the log of events via the API and terminate the data pipeline upon receiving a termination command via the API. Attached Figure Description

[0039] Figure 1 A simplified diagram of a disconnected network implemented in hardware according to certain embodiments is shown.

[0040] Figure 2 The process for communicating with a hardware-implemented disconnected network is illustrated according to certain embodiments.

[0041] Figure 3 A simplified representation of a cloud-based cross-domain solution that can be used to control access between domains, according to certain embodiments, is shown.

[0042] Figure 4 The process of controlling access between domains using cloud-based domain services, according to certain embodiments, is illustrated.

[0043] Figure 5A simplified diagram of the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) according to certain embodiments is shown.

[0044] Figure 6 The process for communicating using the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) according to certain embodiments is illustrated.

[0045] Figure 7 A diagram illustrating a data pipeline for a cross-domain solution, including a software implementation, according to certain embodiments is shown.

[0046] Figure 8 A method for communicating using a data pipeline that includes a software-implemented cross-domain solution, according to certain embodiments, is illustrated.

[0047] Figure 9A A user interface (UI) for configuring a cloud network is shown according to an embodiment.

[0048] Figure 9B A user interface (UI) for configuring a cross-domain solution is shown according to an embodiment.

[0049] Figure 10 A method for cross-domain solutions for software implementation is illustrated according to certain embodiments.

[0050] Figure 11 A method for cross-domain solutions based on Software as a Service (SaaS) is illustrated according to certain embodiments.

[0051] Figure 12 A method for cross-domain solutions with decomposed parts, according to certain embodiments, is shown.

[0052] Figure 13 This is a high-level diagram of a distributed environment according to certain embodiments, illustrating a virtual or overlay cloud network hosted by a cloud service provider infrastructure.

[0053] Figure 14 A simplified architecture diagram of the physical components in the physical network within the CSPI according to certain embodiments is depicted.

[0054] Figure 15 An example arrangement within CSPI according to certain embodiments is shown, in which a host machine is connected to multiple network virtualization devices (NVDs).

[0055] Figure 16 The connectivity between the host machine and the NVD, according to certain embodiments, is described for providing I / O virtualization to support multi-tenancy.

[0056] Figure 17 A simplified block diagram of a physical network provided by CSPI according to certain embodiments is depicted.

[0057] Figure 18 This is a block diagram illustrating a pattern for implementing a cloud infrastructure-as-a-service system according to at least one embodiment.

[0058] Figure 19 This is a block diagram illustrating another pattern for implementing a cloud infrastructure-as-a-service system according to at least one embodiment.

[0059] Figure 20 This is a block diagram illustrating another pattern for implementing a cloud infrastructure-as-a-service system according to at least one embodiment.

[0060] Figure 21 This is a block diagram illustrating another pattern for implementing a cloud infrastructure-as-a-service system according to at least one embodiment.

[0061] Figure 22 This is a block diagram illustrating an example computer system according to at least one embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0062] In the following description, various embodiments will be described. Specific configurations and details are set forth for illustrative purposes in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will also understand that the embodiments can be practiced without specific details. Furthermore, well-known features may be omitted or simplified so as not to obscure the described embodiments.

[0063] Embodiments of this disclosure provide techniques for implementing cloud-based cross-domain solutions. In some examples, the cross-domain solution restricts access to or transmission of information between two or more security domains. The proposed system can be implemented using a network interface card (NIC) associated with a disconnected network.

[0064] The disconnected network can be a secure computer network isolated from communication with insecure networks. The disconnected network can be configured to allow inbound traffic while prohibiting outbound traffic. In one implementation, messages sent using a first communication protocol can be received at the first node of the NIC. The received messages can be forwarded to the second node of the network interface card using a second communication protocol. The second network communication protocol can be any protocol configured for unidirectional communication, such as User Datagram Protocol (UDP). Messages can be received from the first node at the second node, but the second protocol will not allow traffic in the other direction. Once traffic is received at the second node, the message is forwarded to the destination node in the disconnected network using a third communication protocol.

[0065] Cross-domain solutions can include disconnected networks that are separated from insecure networks (e.g., the internet or other public networks) by physical isolation (e.g., air gaps) or by hardware that enforces unidirectional communication (e.g., bump-in-the-wire / data diodes in cables). While such networks are secure, the systems are bulky and expensive to maintain, and because they involve specialized hardware, they are generally used in restricted environments (e.g., military or government networks, industrial control systems, or life-threatening systems). Furthermore, physical isolation or hardware-implemented unidirectional communication is not feasible for cloud networks.

[0066] Software-implemented cross-domain solutions can be used to create cloud-based disconnected networks without the inconvenience of physically moving data to the disconnected network (e.g., an air gap) or requiring hardware (e.g., data diodes) to physically enforce one-way communication. One-way protocols can be used to interrupt traffic entering the disconnected area of ​​the NIC and transmit that traffic within the NIC. These protocols enforce one-way traffic to ensure that information within the disconnected network is not easily compromised. In some cases, cross-domain solutions may include a separate one-way communication path from the disconnected network to a trusted source outside the network.

[0067] Before reaching its destination node within the disconnected network, a message sent from the second node passes through a series of filters. These filters analyze the message in an effort to protect the disconnected network from penetration. Filters can be configurable via an application programming interface (API), allowing clients to select an appropriate set of filters based on their security requirements. Clients can also select time periods for cloud-based domain systems. In some implementations, the order of filters or the individual filters used can be changed between messages to attempt to counteract network penetration attempts.

[0068] Traditional cross-domain solutions are implemented using custom hardware. This hardware can be costly to design and difficult to maintain. Adding or changing filters in a traditional cross-domain solution requires removing, modifying, and replacing the hardware containing the filters. Cloud-based cross-domain systems can be implemented entirely or partially in the cloud. For example, a cross-domain solution can use hardware-enforced one-way communication (such as data diodes) and cloud-implemented content filters. Alternatively, a cross-domain solution can include software-enforced one-way communication and hardware-implemented content filters. Cloud-based cross-domain solutions allow for flexible construction of cross-domain solutions.

[0069] Cloud-based cross-domain solution systems allow for flexibility and adaptability to different use cases. For example, different messaging configurations can be applied to traffic from different sources, while fewer filters can be applied to messages from trusted sources. The order of filters can be changed between messages or periodically, complicating attackers' attempts to design messages that can evade filters. In some cases, one-way communication can also enforce filters only on a subset of messages received at the cross-domain solution.

[0070] Data about messages received at cross-domain solutions can be used to train artificial intelligence and / or machine learning (AI / ML) content filter models. This data can include packet origins, characteristics of known viruses or malware, or traffic patterns. AI / ML content filters can determine whether packets from certain sources are suspicious or trustworthy based on information supplied by other content filters. For example, if traffic from a particular Internet Protocol (IP) address is consistently flagged as containing malware, an AI / ML filter can subject packets from that IP address or the same source to additional filtering. AI / ML filters can use information obtained from packets flagged as containing malware or viruses by content filters to identify known or unknown viruses, allowing cross-domain solutions to adapt to new threats. AI / ML filters can also use traffic patterns to identify threats. For example, a significant increase in traffic from a source can indicate a potential threat.

[0071] AI / ML models can be continuously trained using data labeled "test or learning data" sent from trusted sources. Test data can contain reference data that should be blocked or allowed. Therefore, when new malware or unauthorized content is detected, test data can contain malware signatures or other additional characteristics, such as origin and symptoms, so that the learning algorithm can block such data when it is sent as a legitimate payload to a trusted network. Test data can indicate malware patterns or define specific attributes in structured data, such as a range of MQTT data exceeding a certain limit.

[0072] In some situations, the source of the learning data must be trusted. Cryptographic methods can be used to establish the authenticity of the source (sender) of the test data. In one embodiment, the test data can be encrypted using the public key of the AI / ML algorithm and then signed with a private key known only to the sender. The AI / ML algorithm associated with the filter can be configured with the corresponding public key of the test data source, allowing verification of the training data's signature after the data itself has been decrypted using its private key. AI / ML learning can be extended to content filtering of payloads such as images to restrict resolution, metadata, or content to known patterns. AI / ML algorithms can also instruct filters to alter or re-encode images to remove hidden malware or otherwise unwanted content.

[0073] The advantage of cloud-based cross-domain solutions lies in their ability to be exposed as a service to clients. Cross-domain solutions allow clients (e.g., clients) to monitor or audit cloud domain services. Clients can configure cross-domain solutions to select filters and / or the order of filters, and can specify what traffic passes through the solution. For example, clients can whitelist certain sources to enable bidirectional communication between disconnected networks and whitelisted sources. Cloud-based cross-domain solutions allow for flexibility that is impossible in hardware-based solutions. Furthermore, cloud-based cross-domain solutions can be implemented without expensive and inflexible dedicated hardware.

[0074] In the illustrative example, an API for configuring a cloud-based cross-domain solution is presented to the customer, who then selects a time period and a series of filters for the cloud-based cross-domain solution. In this case, the customer selects a monthly time period and a malware filter for the cloud-based distributed network, followed by a content filter.

[0075] After configuration, a message is sent from the source node, intended for a destination node within the disconnected network. This message is sent using Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP) and is received at the first node of the NIC. To pass through the NIC, the message can be converted from TCP / IP to a protocol suitable for one-way communication. The communication protocol can be modified so that it is configured for one-way communication only. The NIC at the first node converts the message to a one-way communication protocol (in this case, User Datagram Protocol (UDP)) and forwards the message to the second node in the NIC.

[0076] In the case of sending messages via a streaming protocol (e.g., Real-time Messaging Protocol (RTMP)), the entire message is intercepted at the first node as if it were the destination node, and then forwarded to the second node. In the other case, the message is not streamed, and message packets are received, stored, and forwarded to the second node via a connectionless protocol (such as UDP) as the packets are received.

[0077] At the second node, the message is forwarded to the destination node within the protected network using the network protocol employed in the protected network. In this case, the protected network uses TCP / IP, but the network can use third-party protocols such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP), TCP / IP, User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Post Office Protocol (POP3), Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), and Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) for internal communication.

[0078] After leaving the second node, but before reaching its destination node, the message passes through a series of configurable filters. In this case, the message is scanned by a malware filter to ensure it does not contain any malware that could harm the network, and by a content filter to check if the message arriving on the network contains the appropriate type of content. After passing through all filters, the message is forwarded to its destination node.

[0079] Figure 1 A simplified diagram 100 illustrates a disconnected network implemented in hardware according to some embodiments. The disconnected network can be a computer network physically isolated from other networks by removing physical and wireless network connections. Data is moved between these air-gap isolated networks using physical storage media such as thumb drives. While these networks are secure, transferring data with thumb drives is cumbersome. Other disconnected networks use data diodes that allow unidirectional traffic into the disconnected network while preventing the broadcast of sensitive information from the disconnected network.

[0080] Simplified Figure 100 illustrates a computer device A connected to a router A 104 according to some embodiments. Computer device A 102 may be a personal computer, server computer, virtual machine, tablet device, mobile phone, or any other computer device. Computer device A 104 may be physically connected to router A 104, for example via a network cable, or computer device A 104 may be wirelessly connected to router A 104 (e.g., via WiFi). In some embodiments, computer device A 102 may be connected to the Internet or a private network via router A.

[0081] Computer A 102 can be connected to computer device B 106 via communication between router A 104 and router B 110. A network cable 112 containing data diode 108 can connect router A 104 and router B 110. The hardware data diode enforces unidirectional direction through physical means, such as an optical link consisting of an optical transmitter (often a laser or light-emitting diode (LED)) and a receiver (a photosensitive semiconductor, such as a phototransistor (e.g., data diode 108)). Other unidirectional systems can be used to achieve the functionality of the unidirectional transmission device. In a unidirectional transmission system, a message received at the first terminal 114 of data diode 108 can be passed to the second terminal 116 of the diode, but the message cannot be sent from the second terminal 116 to the first terminal 114.

[0082] In some implementations, the disconnected network exists behind the second terminal 116 of data diode 108. Messages can be sent across data diode 108 into the disconnected network. However, messages cannot leave the disconnected terminal via the data diode. In these implementations, router B 110 and computer device B 106 are isolated from the external network, but computer device B 106 can still connect to other devices within the disconnected network via router B 110. For example, computer B may be part of a network containing confidential information, where the ability to send information outside the network would pose a security threat.

[0083] In other embodiments, the disconnected network exists after the first terminal 114 of the data diode 108. In these embodiments, messages can be sent from the disconnected network to an external network via the data diode 108, but messages cannot be received by the disconnected network. Such a network can be used in electronic voting systems where the system should be able to provide results to the public while being unaffected by inbound attacks.

[0084] Figure 2 A process for communicating with a disconnected network implemented in hardware, according to certain embodiments, is illustrated. This process is shown as a logic flowchart, where each operation can be implemented using hardware, computer instructions, or a combination thereof. In the context of computer instructions, an operation can represent computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or more processors, perform the operation. Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform a particular function or implement a particular data type. The order in which the operations are described is not intended to be construed as limiting, and any number of the operations can be combined in any order and / or in parallel to implement the process.

[0085] In more detail, in the redirection process 200, at box 202, a message is generated by computer device A 102. This message can be sent from computer device A 102 to router A 104, which can forward the message to its destination. Computer device A 102 can be a personal computer, mobile device, tablet computer, or server computer. Router A 104 can be physically connected to computer device A 102 via a cable that allows message transmission (e.g., via Ethernet cable), or it can send the message from computer device A 102 to router A 104 via radio waves (e.g., WiFi).

[0086] At box 204, a message sent by computer device A 102 is transmitted to a second computer device B 106 after passing through data diode 108. This message can be forwarded from router A 104 to router B 110 via network cable 112 (e.g., Ethernet cable) containing data diode 108 (e.g., a block in a cable). Data diode 108 allows data including the message sent by router A 104 to be passed through to router B 110 because data diodes allow unidirectional data transmission. Router B 110 can forward messages received from router A 104 to computer device B 106.

[0087] At box 206, the response generated by computer device B 106 is blocked by data diode 108. Although messages from router A 104 to router B 110 can pass through data diode 108, messages from router B 110 to router A 104 are blocked due to the unidirectional transmission limitation from data diode 108. Therefore, computer device B 106 can be disconnected from other computer devices because outgoing messages from computer device B 106 can be prevented.

[0088] Figure 3 A simplified representation of a cloud-based cross-domain solution 300, which can be used to control access between domains according to certain embodiments, is shown. The cross-domain solution may include implementations that allow restricted bidirectional communication between networks, or implementations that include disconnected networks.

[0089] Figure 4A process for controlling access between domains using cloud-based domain services, according to certain embodiments, is illustrated. This process is shown as a logic flowchart, where each operation can be implemented using hardware, computer instructions, or a combination thereof. In the context of computer instructions, an operation can represent computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or more processors, perform the operation. Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform a particular function or implement a particular data type. The order in which the operations are described is not intended to be construed as limiting, and any number of the operations can be combined in any order and / or in parallel to implement the process.

[0090] In more detail, in the redirection process 400, at box 402, a message can be sent from domain A 302 to restrictive gateway 304 via network 306. This message can be generated within domain A 302 at customer premises 308. Restrictive gateway 304 can be a smart network interface card (smart NIC), and network 306 can be a private network or the Internet.

[0091] At box 404, the restrictive gateway can analyze the message to determine whether access to domain B 310 should be permitted from domain A 302. The restrictive gateway 304 can use a predefined access policy to determine whether access should be permitted.

[0092] The restrictive gateway 304 may also use filters to analyze messages before granting access to domain B 310. Filters may include malware filters to check for malware and viruses in the message. The restrictive gateway 304 may also include signature filters to determine if the message has a cryptographically verifiable signature proving its origin. Filters may also include content analyzers to determine the validity of the message. Content analyzers may, for example, check out out-of-band or in-band received checksums with clearly relevant payloads. Data in the message may contain checksums to prove the validity of the data. Checksums may be appended to the data itself. Checksums may also be transmitted as part of the data in a separate message. Filters may also include artificial intelligence or machine learning filters trained to determine whether message access to domain B 310 should be allowed.

[0093] At box 406, the restrictive gateway 304 may forward the message to domain B 310 after determining that access should be permitted. The second domain may be a virtual cloud network 312. In some implementations, the destination node of the message may be a workload 314 within the virtual cloud network 312. Workload 314 may include virtual machines, databases, containers, and applications.

[0094] Figure 5A simplified diagram 500 of the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) according to certain embodiments is shown. The communication protocol can allow one-way or two-way communication; however, disconnected networks can be forced to use hardware to enforce one-way communication. Figure 5 In the example, one-way communication can be enforced through protocols such as UDP.

[0095] Referring more specifically to Figure 500, sender 506 and receiver 502 can be computing devices capable of network communication. Sender 506 and receiver 502 can be personal computers, server computers, mobile devices, tablet devices, etc. Sender 506 and receiver 502 can include cross-domain solutions. Sender 506 can be a first domain in the cross-domain solution, and receiver 502 can be a second domain in the cross-domain solution. Receiver 502 can be part of a disconnected area 508. Disconnected area 508 can be a network isolated from other networks. Devices in disconnected area 508 can be configured to receive traffic from other networks but cannot send traffic from disconnected area 508 to other networks.

[0096] Sender 506 and receiver 502 can be connected via any communication link, including physical connections (e.g., via network cable or fiber optic cable). Sender 506 and receiver 502 can also be connected wirelessly (e.g., via WiFi). Messages 504a-c can be traffic sent between sender 506 and receiver 502. Traffic sent via UDP (including messages 508a-508c) can be sent without a handshake. Sender 506 can send messages 504a-c to receiver 502 without a request from receiver 502.

[0097] Figure 6 A process for communication using the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) according to certain embodiments is illustrated. This process is shown as a logic flowchart, where each operation can be implemented using hardware, computer instructions, or a combination thereof. In the context of computer instructions, an operation can represent computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or more processors, perform the operation. Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform a particular function or implement a particular data type. The order in which the operations are described is not intended to be construed as limiting, and any number of the operations can be combined in any order and / or in parallel to implement the process.

[0098] Referring more specifically to process 600, at block 602, sender 506 can initiate a UDP stream. This stream can consist of a series of packets sent from sender 506 to receiver 502. Sender 506 can initiate transmissions without accepting requests from receiver 502. Receiver 502 can be configured to receive packets sent by sender 506. Receiver 502 can be configured such that receiver 502 cannot send messages to sender 506. The UDP stream can be a stream of messages sent using any communication protocol that can be configured for unidirectional communication.

[0099] At box 604, receiver 502 receives messages 508a-508c sent by sender 506. Receiver 502 can receive messages 508a-508c without providing a response to sender 506. Messages 508a-508c can be packets with source port number, destination port number, and checksum for error checking and security. Sender 506 can send messages 508a-508c in a continuous stream, starting with response 1 508a, without any communication from receiver 502. Once sender 506 has sent a response, sender 506 can stop transmission without receiving acknowledgment from receiver 502. Sender 506 can be configured to not receive any messages.

[0100] Figure 7 Figure 700 illustrates a data pipeline including a software-implemented cross-domain solution according to certain embodiments.

[0101] Turning more closely to Figure 700, as part of the data pipeline, the Smart Network Interface Card (Smart NIC) 706 comprises two sets of nodes: first nodes 704a-704c and second nodes 708a-708c. Communication between the first nodes 704a and 704b can be performed using a communication protocol (e.g., UDP) configured for unidirectional traffic. Messages 702a-c received at the first nodes 704a-704c can be passed to the second nodes 708a-708c, but the first nodes 704a-704c can be configured to ignore messages sent from the second nodes 708a-708c.

[0102] In some implementations, the smart NIC 706 may include a secure path for communication from the smart NIC 706 to the trusted storage 722. A one-way communication protocol can be used to forward messages received from the host machine 718 at a secure first node 726 to a secure second node 728. Once a message is received at the secure second node 728, it can be forwarded to the trusted storage 722 using a one-way or two-way communication protocol.

[0103] Host machine 718 may contain one or more filters, including a malware filter 710, a content analyzer 714, a content filter 730, a content re-creation filter 732, a validator 734, an artificial intelligence / machine learning filter 716, and a signature filter 712. The filters can be arranged in a chain, with messages received from the second nodes 708a-708c passing through the filters sequentially. Host machine 718 may be a virtual computer device or a bare-metal computer device. In some cases, messages may pass through one or more filters before reaching the first node. One or more filters may be arranged between the first and second nodes. Messages traveling from the first node to the second node may pass through one or more filters.

[0104] Malware filter 710 can inspect messages passing through the data pipeline for malware or viruses. Messages containing malware or viruses can be rejected before they reach the disconnected network. Content filter 730 can inspect for prohibited words, prohibited byte sequences, fragments of files logically prohibited by the content filter, or other content. Content filter 730 can remove prohibited content from a message before forwarding it, or it can reject the message. Signature filter 712 can inspect a message to determine if it has a cryptographically verifiable signature proving its origin. Content analyzer 714 can analyze the message to determine its validity. For example, content analyzer 714 can check the checksum of related messages received out-of-band or in-band. Artificial intelligence / machine learning filter 716 can be a filter that uses a trained machine learning algorithm to determine whether a message should be allowed through the data pipeline.

[0105] In hardware-based cross-domain solutions, filters (such as those included in host machine 718) may be in a fixed order that is difficult to rearrange. In software-based cross-domain solutions, the order of filters can be changed based on the message type and message source. Messages from trusted sources can pass through fewer filters, while messages from less trusted sources can pass through more filters. In some cases, the filter order or the list of filters in a filter chain can be changed between messages.

[0106] The host machine 718 may also include a logging network 720 to provide information about events occurring in the data pipeline between the smart NIC 706 and the host machine 718. In the smart NIC 706, information can be provided to the logging network from a second node 708a-708c or a secure first node 726. In the host machine 718, information about events occurring in filters can be provided to the logging network.

[0107] A logging network can be a network bus used to transport logs from components to a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system, accepting logs of events occurring in the data pipeline at the operating system (OS) level, application level, and payload level. The SIEM system can use the logs to perform analytics, issue alerts about potential malware in the data stream, and take remedial actions, such as isolating questionable data.

[0108] The host machine 718 may also include a separate reverse pipeline that provides messages to the trusted store 722 via a smart NIC 706 through a secure first node 726 and a secure second node 728. Messages used in the reverse pipeline are provided from a filter to a secure hash algorithm (SHA) verification system 724 in the host machine 718. The secure hash algorithm verification system 724 can provide messages to the trusted store 722 via the smart NIC 706.

[0109] The independent reverse pipeline is separate from the data pipeline, and it can be used to help trusted systems using the Trusted Store 722 understand messages rejected by the filter. Information provided by the reverse pipeline can also be used to understand valid messages that were improperly excluded by the filter. Trusted systems can use this information about improperly excluded messages to improve throughput by fixing the problems causing the improper exclusion.

[0110] Figure 8 A process for communication using a data pipeline including a software-implemented cross-domain solution, according to certain embodiments, is illustrated. This process is shown as a logic flowchart, where each operation can be implemented using hardware, computer instructions, or a combination thereof. In the context of computer instructions, an operation can represent computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or more processors, perform the operation. Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform a particular function or implement a particular data type. The order in which the operations are described is not intended to be construed as limiting, and any number of the operations can be combined in any order and / or in parallel to implement the process.

[0111] Turning more specifically to method 800, at block 802, as part of a data pipeline, messages 702a-c may be received from a first domain at first nodes 704a-704c of a smart network interface card 706 (smart NIC). The smart NIC device may be a device comprising two logical and / or physical interfaces and a processing system consisting of hardware for processing data entering one interface and forwarding it to the other interface. Processing the data may mean analyzing, reformatting, aggregating, etc., the data. The hardware may include a microprocessor running software-based algorithms invoked by the data. Messages 702a-c may be sent using a first communication protocol, and in some embodiments, first nodes 704a-704c may be configured to receive messages sent using more than one communication protocol. In some embodiments, first nodes 704a-704c may be configured to receive all incoming traffic.

[0112] At box 804, a one-way communication protocol (e.g., UDP) can be used to send message 702a-c from first nodes 704a-704c to second nodes 708a-708c. The smart NIC 706 can be a cross-domain solution because message 702a-c can be received from the first domain at first nodes 704a-704c, and the message can be forwarded from second nodes 708a-708c to the second domain.

[0113] In some implementations, the one-way communication protocol may allow messages in the data pipeline to be sent from the first nodes 704a-704c to the second nodes 708a-708c, but prevent messages from being sent from the second nodes 708a-708c to the first nodes 704a-c. In some implementations, any messages sent from the second nodes 708a-708c to the first nodes 704a-704c will not be accepted. Messages 702a-c received at the second nodes 708a-708c as packets sent using the one-way communication protocol can be unpacked and reconstructed into a forwardable payload, which can then be sent to the destination node in the second domain.

[0114] Non-streaming messages received at the first nodes 704a-704c can be accepted, stored, and forwarded to the second nodes 708a-708c upon message reception. Streaming messages can be intercepted at the first nodes 704a-704c as if they were the destination nodes. Streaming messages can be repackaged into a format defined by the one-way communication protocol and forwarded to the second nodes 708a-708c. Streaming messages can be reconstructed and forwarded from the second nodes 708a-708c to the destination nodes as if the message originated from the second nodes 708a-708c.

[0115] At box 806, as part of the data pipeline, a message may pass through a series of filters before reaching the second domain. These filters may include a malware filter 710 to check for malware and viruses in the message; a signature filter 712 to determine if the message has a cryptographically verifiable signature proving its origin; a content analyzer 714 to determine the validity of the message; and an artificial intelligence / machine learning filter 716 trained to determine whether the message should be allowed access to the second domain. Content filters 710-716 may be hosted on a host machine 718, which may be a virtual machine or a bare-metal server. Filters may be modules that can accept message payloads, reject message payloads, or transform message payloads into different formats.

[0116] In some implementations, an application programming interface (API) can be provided to the client, allowing the client to generate a data pipeline. The data pipeline can include a sequence of content filters that can be used to analyze messages. The client can select the sequence of content filters via the API. As part of generating the data pipeline, the client can define properties of a cross-domain solution (CDS) via the API. The data pipeline can be constructed at least in part based on the defined properties. In additional implementations, the client can use the API to select the order of the content filter sequences. The order of the content filters can be variable and can change between messages. The client can also select multiple sequences of content filters, where the sequence of filters for a given message can change based on a metric of the message's credibility. For example, a message from a known Internet Protocol (IP) address can be analyzed by fewer content filters.

[0117] In some implementations, events generated by content filters 710-716 may be provided to the logging network 720 as part of the data pipeline. Events received at the logging network 720 may be provided by the host machine 718 as logs of events occurring in the data pipeline. The logs of events may be accepted at a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system, and the logs, or information about the logs, may be provided to clients via an API.

[0118] At box 808, messages in the data pipeline can be forwarded to the destination node in the second domain. In some implementations, the client can terminate the data pipeline using an API after receiving a message. In some implementations, the client can create and terminate data pipelines for individual messages.

[0119] In some implementations, information about the message can be provided to the trusted store 722 using a secure pipeline. In one embodiment, information about the message (in this case, information from the secure hash algorithm verification system 724) can be provided to a secure first node 726 in the secure pipeline. The secure first node 726 can be configured like first nodes 704a-704c, and messages can be sent from the secure first node 726 to a secure second node 728 using a one-way communication protocol. Messages can be received at the secure second node 728, and the secure second node 728 can be configured like second nodes 708a-708c. Messages received at the secure second node 728 can be forwarded to the trusted store 722.

[0120] Figure 9A A user interface (UI) 900 for configuring a cloud network according to an embodiment is shown. A user can configure the cloud network by accessing the UI using a computing device. The cloud network can be configured to include a cross-domain solution gateway. A user can select the cross-domain solution gateway menu by selecting the cross-domain solution gateway button 902.

[0121] Figure 9B A user interface (UI) 901 for configuring a cross-domain solution according to an embodiment is shown. The cross-domain solution may be a virtual cross-domain solution. A virtual cross-domain solution may be a device created via an application programming interface (API). A user can create a cross-domain solution gateway by selecting a "Create Cross-Domain Solution Gateway" button 904. The user can configure the gateway using the user interface 901. For example, the user can select the direction for the cross-domain solution. The user can also select which networks or subnetworks are connected by the cross-domain solution. The user can also select one or more filters via the UI that can scan messages received at the cross-domain system. The user can provide a sequence of filters via the UI.

[0122] Figure 10 A method for implementing cross-domain solutions in software, according to certain embodiments, is illustrated. In some implementations, Figure 10 One or more process blocks can be executed by the network interface card. In some implementations, the network interface card may be a smart network interface card (e.g., a smart NIC). In some implementations, Figure 10 One or more process frames can be executed by another device or a group of devices that are separate from or include the network interface card.

[0123] Moving further to process 1000, at block 1010, a message intended for use with the disconnected network and sent using a first communication protocol is received at the first node of the network interface card (NIC) associated with the disconnected network. The first node may be similar to... Figure 4 The first node in the system is configured as 404a-c, and the message can be received from either a private network or a public network (such as the Internet). The first node can be configured to prevent it from receiving messages sent by the second node.

[0124] At box 1020, a second communication protocol is used to send a message from the first node to the second node of the network interface card. The second communication protocol can be configured for unidirectional (e.g., one-way) communication. In some implementations, the second communication protocol can be User Datagram Protocol (UDP). The second communication protocol can be any communication protocol that can be configured to allow only unidirectional communication. The second node can be similar to the one described above. Figure 7 The second node, 708a-708c, is described.

[0125] The first and second nodes can be connected by a network cable (such as an Ethernet cable or a fiber optic cable). In some embodiments, the network cable connecting the first and second nodes does not include a diode. In some embodiments, the second communication protocol can be the same as the first communication protocol. In some embodiments, the first and second nodes are connected wirelessly. The first and second nodes can be located on separate devices.

[0126] At box 1030, the message is received at the second node. In some embodiments, the second node is configured such that messages cannot be sent from the second node to the first node. In some embodiments, the first and second nodes may reside on different devices. The first and second nodes may communicate wirelessly.

[0127] At box 1040, a third communication protocol is used to send a message from the second node to the destination node of the disconnected network. In some embodiments, the disconnected network may be isolated from a public network (e.g., the Internet). In some embodiments, the disconnected network is configured to only receive messages and not send messages to a destination node outside the disconnected network. In some embodiments, the disconnected network includes a virtual cloud network. In some embodiments, after leaving the second node, the message passes through a filter chain before reaching the destination node. The filter chain may include one or more of malware filters, content filters, signature filters, and content analyzers. The filters mentioned above may use artificial intelligence and / or machine learning (AI / ML) to adapt to new malware or attacks. In some embodiments, training or testing data is sent inline from a trusted source. In other embodiments, a pre-trained AI / ML model generated elsewhere is uploaded from a trusted source to perform filtering. In some embodiments, the third communication protocol may be the same protocol as the first or second communication protocol.

[0128] Process 1000 may include additional implementations, such as those described below and / or any single implementation or any combination of implementations described in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0129] Although Figure 10 An example block diagram of process 1000 is shown, but in some implementations, process 1000 may include more than Figure 10 The boxes shown may be more boxes, fewer boxes, different boxes, or boxes arranged differently. Additionally or alternatively, two or more boxes of process 1000 may be executed in parallel.

[0130] Figure 11 A method for cross-domain solutions based on Software as a Service (SaaS) is illustrated according to certain embodiments. In some implementations, Figure 11 One or more process frames can be executed by computer devices within a virtual cloud network. In some implementations, Figure 11 One or more process frames can be executed by another device or a group of devices that are separate from or include the network interface card.

[0131] At box 1110, a computer device of the virtual cloud network selects one or more filters from a plurality of filters for a data pipeline. These filters include at least one of the following: malware filter; content filter; signature filter; content analyzer; AI / ML; and the ability to expose updated filters to clients via an API. Clients can send tagged training (test) data through the system. In another embodiment, other sources (such as cloud service providers, owners of disconnected networks, security analysts, or other trusted sources) can send learning and training data to the AI / ML system. Clients can select sources and define criteria such as frequency, applicable filters, and / or review periods. Clients (e.g., clients or users) can select multiple filters for the data pipeline. In some other embodiments, clients can pre-train AI / ML models and send the trained model instead of training data. In some implementations, the virtual cloud network is a virtual machine. In some implementations, one or more selected filters are selected at least in part based on the source of the message. In some implementations, multiple filters are selected for the same source of the message.

[0132] At box 1120, the order of one or more selected filters in the data pipeline is determined. The client (e.g., a client or user) can determine this order. In some implementations, the determined order is determined at least partially based on the source of the message. Filters may include artificial intelligence and / or machine learning (AI / ML) filters. AI / ML filters may use pre-trained artificial intelligence or machine learning models. AI / ML filters may also use artificial intelligence or machine learning models trained on training data obtained from a disconnected network. Training data may include packet origins, characteristics of known viruses or malware, or traffic patterns of traffic received at the disconnected network. AI / ML filters may be trained on training data including packets labeled by content filters. Labeled packets may be packets identified as containing malware or viruses. AI / ML filters may be trained to use labeled packets to identify packets containing malware or viruses.

[0133] At box 1130, messages are received from the data pipeline of a network interface card (NIC), which is configured as a unidirectional transmission device. In some implementations, the NIC includes a software-based unidirectional transmission device. The NIC can be a single device or one or more devices.

[0134] At box 1140, messages in the data pipeline are filtered by passing them through one or more selected filters in a defined order. This order can vary based on the message source. In some cases, the number of filters can depend on the message. The order of the filters can also vary between messages. The number of filters can also vary depending on the message.

[0135] At box 1150, a log of events occurring in the data pipeline is provided via a logging network. The logs may be provided to a set of trusted repositories, and in some implementations, information from the logs may be provided to clients via an application programming interface (API).

[0136] Process 1100 may include additional implementations, such as those described below and / or any single implementation or any combination of implementations described in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0137] In some implementations, process 1100 includes removing one or more selected filters from the data pipeline after messages have been processed by one or more selected filters in a determined order.

[0138] Although Figure 11An example block diagram of process 1100 is shown, but in some implementations, process 1100 may include more than Figure 11 The boxes shown may be more boxes, fewer boxes, different boxes, or boxes arranged differently. Additionally or alternatively, two or more boxes of process 1100 may be executed in parallel.

[0139] Figure 12 A process 1200 for a cross-domain solution with decomposed parts, according to certain embodiments, is illustrated. In some embodiments, Figure 12 One or more process frames can be executed by a computing device disconnected from the network. In some implementations, Figure 12 One or more process frames can be executed by another device or a group of devices that are separate from or include the network interface card.

[0140] At box 1210, an application programming interface (API) is generated by the computing device of the disconnected network and configured to present a set of filter types. In some implementations, the API may be a user interface (e.g., a console), such as the user interface described above with respect to Figure 9. Filter types may include one or more of malware filters, content filters, signature filters, content analyzers, machine learning filters, or artificial intelligence filters. The API may be part of providing cross-domain solutions as a service. Filters may include one or more artificial intelligence and / or machine learning (AI / ML) filters. AI / ML filters may use pre-trained artificial intelligence and / or machine learning models. AI / ML filters may also use artificial intelligence and / or machine learning models trained on training data obtained from the disconnected network. Training data may include packet origins, characteristics of known viruses or malware, or traffic patterns of traffic received at the disconnected network. AI / ML filters may be trained on training data including packets labeled by the content filter. Labeled packets may be packets identified as containing malware or viruses. Labeled packets can be used to train AI / ML filters to identify packets containing malware or viruses.

[0141] At box 1220, a selection of one or more filter types from the set of filter types is received via an application programming interface (API). The selection of one or more filter types may be provided by a client (e.g., a client or user). One or more filter types may be selected as part of configuring a cross-domain solution. The cross-domain solution may be configured via an API. The API may be provided to users through a web service (e.g., Cross-Domain Solution as a Service (CDSaaS)). The API may be used to construct, generate, or modify one or more cross-domain solution instances. In some implementations, the selection of filter types may change between messages. In some implementations, the selection of filter types may be based in part on the source of the message.

[0142] At box 1230, the order of the selected filter types is received via an application programming interface. The order of one or more filter types can be provided by a client (e.g., a client or user). The order of one or more filter types can be selected as part of configuring a cross-domain solution. The cross-domain solution can be provided as a cross-domain solution-as-a-service. In some implementations, the order of filter types can change between messages. In some implementations, the order of filter types can be based in part on the source of the message.

[0143] At box 1240, the computing device on the disconnected network generates a data pipeline with filter selections in the stated order in response to a command received via an application programming interface. In some implementations, the disconnected network may be a virtual cloud network. Clients (e.g., clients or users) may configure the virtual cloud network as part of providing a cross-domain solution-as-a-service.

[0144] At box 1250, the computing device of the disconnected network analyzes the messages received at the one-way transmission device by passing the messages through a selected filter in the order described. The one-way transmission device can be a software-based one-way transmission device. In some embodiments, the one-way transmission device can be a smart network interface card (smart NIC).

[0145] At box 1260, the log of events occurring in the network receive data pipeline is recorded by the disconnected network log. The event log can include events occurring at the operating system (OS) level, application level, and payload level.

[0146] At box 1270, the event log is presented via the application programming interface.

[0147] At box 1280, the data pipeline is terminated after receiving a termination command via the application programming interface.

[0148] Process 1200 may include additional implementations, such as those described below and / or any single implementation or any combination of implementations described in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0149] In some implementations, process 1200 includes sending a message from a disconnected network to a trusted storage via a one-way transmission device.

[0150] Although Figure 12 An example block diagram of process 1200 is shown, but in some implementations, process 1200 may include more than Figure 12 The boxes shown may be more boxes, fewer boxes, different boxes, or boxes arranged differently. Additionally or alternatively, two or more boxes of process 1200 may be executed in parallel.

[0151] The term cloud service generally refers to services provided by a cloud service provider (CSP) to users or customers on demand (e.g., via a subscription model) using systems and infrastructure (cloud infrastructure) provided by the CSP. Typically, the servers and systems that make up the CSP's infrastructure are separate from the customer's own on-premise servers and systems. Therefore, customers can utilize cloud services provided by the CSP without having to purchase separate hardware and software resources for the service. Cloud services are designed to provide subscribers with simple, scalable access to applications and computing resources without requiring customers to invest in the infrastructure used to provide the service.

[0152] Several cloud service providers offer various types of cloud services. There are various types or models of cloud services, including Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), etc.

[0153] Customers can subscribe to one or more cloud services provided by a CSP. Customers can be any entity, such as individuals, organizations, or businesses. When a customer subscribes to or registers for a service provided by a CSP, a lease or account is created for that customer. The customer can then access one or more cloud resources associated with that account through their subscription.

[0154] As mentioned above, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a specific type of cloud computing service. In the IaaS model, a CSP provides infrastructure (known as Cloud Service Provider Infrastructure or CSPI) that customers can use to build their own customizable networks and deploy customer resources. Therefore, the customer's resources and network are hosted in a distributed environment by the infrastructure provided by the CSP. This differs from traditional computing, where the customer's resources and network are hosted by the infrastructure provided by the customer.

[0155] CSPI can include interconnected high-performance computing resources forming a physical network, including various host machines, memory resources, and network resources. This physical network is also known as the substrate network or underlying network. Resources in the CSPI can be distributed across one or more data centers, which may be geographically distributed across one or more geographic regions. Virtualization software can be executed by these physical resources to provide a virtualized distributed environment. Virtualization creates an overlay network (also known as a software-based network, software-defined network, or virtual network) on the physical network. The CSPI physical network provides the underlying foundation for creating one or more overlay or virtual networks on top of the physical network. Virtual or overlay networks can include one or more Virtual Cloud Networks (VCNs). A virtual network is a layer of network abstraction that can run on top of a physical network, implemented using software virtualization technologies (e.g., hypervisors, functions performed by network virtualization devices (NVDs) (e.g., intelligent NICs), top-of-rack (TOR) switches, intelligent TORs that implement one or more functions performed by NVDs, and other mechanisms). Virtual networks can take many forms, including peer-to-peer networks, IP networks, etc. Virtual networks are typically either Layer 3 IP networks or Layer 2 VLANs. This method of virtual or overlay networking is often referred to as virtual or overlay layer 3 networking. Examples of protocols developed for virtual networks include IP-in-IP (or Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE)), Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN — IETF RFC 7348), Virtual Private Network (VPN) (e.g., MPLS layer 3 Virtual Private Network (RFC 4364)), VMware's NSX, GENEVE (Generic Network Virtualization Encapsulation), etc.

[0156] For IaaS, the infrastructure provided by a CSP (Center for Service Providers) can be configured to offer virtualized computing resources over a public network (e.g., the Internet). In the IaaS model, cloud service providers can host infrastructure components (e.g., servers, storage devices, network nodes (e.g., hardware), deployment software, platform virtualization (e.g., hypervisor layer), etc.). In some cases, IaaS providers can also provision various services to accompany those infrastructure components (e.g., billing, monitoring, logging, security, load balancing, and clustering, etc.). Therefore, since these services can be policy-driven, IaaS users can implement policies to drive load balancing to maintain application availability and performance. CSPI provides a collection of infrastructure and complementary cloud services that enable customers to build and run a wide range of applications and services in a highly available, hosted, distributed environment. CSPI provides high-performance computing resources and capabilities, as well as storage capacity, in a flexible virtual network securely accessible from various networked locations, such as the customer's on-premises network. When a customer subscribes to or enrolls in an IaaS service provided by a CSP, the lease created for that customer is a secure and isolated partition within the CSP, where the customer can create, organize, and manage their cloud resources.

[0157] Customers can build their own virtual networks using the compute, storage, and networking resources provided by CSPI. One or more customer resources or workloads, such as compute instances, can be deployed on these virtual networks. For example, a customer can use resources provided by CSPI to build one or more customizable and private virtual networks, called Virtual Cloud Networks (VCNs). A customer can deploy one or more customer resources, such as compute instances, on a customer VCN. Compute instances can take the form of virtual machines, bare metal instances, etc. Therefore, CSPI provides a collection of infrastructure and complementary cloud services that enable customers to build and run a wide range of applications and services in a highly available, virtually managed environment. Customers do not manage or control the underlying physical resources provided by CSPI, but they can control the operating system, storage devices, and deployed applications; and may have limited control over selected networking components (e.g., firewalls).

[0158] The CSP can provide a console that enables customers and network administrators to configure, access, and manage resources deployed in the cloud using CSPI resources. In some embodiments, the console provides a web-based user interface that can be used to access and manage the CSPI. In other implementations, the console is a web-based application provided by the CSP.

[0159] CSPI can support single-tenant or multi-tenant architectures. In a single-tenant architecture, software (e.g., applications, databases) or hardware components (e.g., host machines or servers) serve a single customer or tenant. In a multi-tenant architecture, the software or hardware components serve multiple customers or tenants. Therefore, in a multi-tenant architecture, CSPI resources are shared among multiple customers or tenants. In a multi-tenant scenario, precautions and safeguards are implemented within CSPI to ensure that each tenant's data is isolated and remains invisible to other tenants.

[0160] In a physical network, a network endpoint (“endpoint”) is a computing device or system that connects to and communicates with the physical network. Network endpoints in a physical network can connect to a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), or other types of physical networks. Examples of traditional endpoints in a physical network include modems, hubs, bridges, switches, routers and other networking devices, physical computers (or host machines), etc. Each physical device in a physical network has a fixed network address that can be used to communicate with the device. This fixed network address can be a Layer 2 address (e.g., a MAC address), a fixed Layer 3 address (e.g., an IP address), etc. In a virtualized environment or virtual network, endpoints can include various virtual endpoints, such as virtual machines hosted by components of the physical network (e.g., hosted by physical host machines). These endpoints in a virtual network are addressed by overlay addresses, such as overlay Layer 2 addresses (e.g., overlay MAC addresses) and overlay Layer 3 addresses (e.g., overlay IP addresses). Network overlays enable flexibility by allowing network administrators to move around the overlay addresses associated with network endpoints using software management (e.g., via software implementing a control plane for virtual networks). Therefore, unlike in a physical network, in a virtual network, network management software can be used to move overlay addresses (e.g., overlay IP addresses) from one endpoint to another. Since a virtual network is built on top of a physical network, communication between components in a virtual network involves both the virtual network and the underlying physical network. To facilitate this communication, CSPI components are configured to learn and store mappings that map overlay addresses in the virtual network to actual physical addresses in the base network, and vice versa. These mappings are then used to facilitate communication. Client traffic is encapsulated to facilitate routing within the virtual network.

[0161] Therefore, physical addresses (e.g., physical IP addresses) are associated with components in a physical network, and overlay addresses (e.g., overlay IP addresses) are associated with entities in a virtual network. Both physical IP addresses and overlay IP addresses are types of real IP addresses. These are separate from virtual IP addresses, which map to multiple real IP addresses. Virtual IP addresses provide a one-to-many mapping between virtual IP addresses and multiple real IP addresses.

[0162] Cloud infrastructure, or CSPI, is physically hosted in one or more data centers in one or more regions of the world. CSPI can include components in a physical or underlying network and virtualized components (e.g., virtual networks, compute instances, virtual machines, etc.) in a virtual network built on top of the physical network components. In some embodiments, CSPI is organized and hosted in domains, regions, and availability domains. A region is typically a localized geographical area containing one or more data centers. Regions are generally independent of each other and can be geographically distant, for example, spanning countries or even continents. For example, one region might be in Australia, another in Japan, yet another in India, and so on. CSPI resources are partitioned between regions, such that each region has its own independent subset of CSPI resources. Each region can provide a set of core infrastructure services and resources, such as compute resources (e.g., bare metal servers, virtual machines, containers, and related infrastructure); storage resources (e.g., block volume storage devices, file storage devices, object storage devices, archive storage devices); networking resources (e.g., virtual cloud networks (VCNs), load balancing resources, connectivity to on-premises networks), database resources; edge networking resources (e.g., DNS); and access management and monitoring resources, etc. Each region typically has multiple paths that connect it to other regions within the domain.

[0163] Generally, applications are deployed in the areas where they are used most frequently (i.e., on the infrastructure associated with that area) because using nearby resources is faster than using resources far away. Applications may also be deployed in different areas for various reasons, such as for redundancy to mitigate the risk of events (such as large weather systems or earthquakes) within a region, or to meet different requirements of legal jurisdictions, tax domains, and other business or social standards.

[0164] Data centers within a region can be further organized and subdivided into Availability Domains (ADs). An Availability Domain can correspond to one or more data centers located within the region. A region can consist of one or more Availability Domains. In this distributed environment, CSPI resources are either region-specific, such as Virtual Cloud Networks (VCNs), or Availability Domain-specific, such as compute instances.

[0165] Availability Zones (ADs) within a region are isolated from each other, fault-tolerant, and configured to make simultaneous failures highly unlikely. This is achieved by ensuring that ADs do not share critical infrastructure resources (such as networking, physical cabling, cable paths, cable entry points, etc.), making a failure at one AD within a region unlikely to affect the availability of other ADs in the same region. ADs within the same region can be interconnected via low-latency, high-bandwidth networks, enabling high-availability connectivity to other networks (e.g., the internet, customer on-premises networks, etc.) and allowing replication systems to be built across multiple ADs for both high availability and disaster recovery. Cloud services use multiple ADs to ensure high availability and prevent resource failures. As the infrastructure provided by an IaaS provider grows, more regions and ADs, along with additional capacity, can be added. Traffic between availability domains is typically encrypted.

[0166] In some embodiments, regions are grouped into domains. A domain is a logical collection of regions. Domains are isolated from each other and do not share any data. Regions within the same domain can communicate with each other, but regions in different domains cannot. A customer's lease or account with the CSP resides in a single domain and can be distributed across one or more regions belonging to that domain. Typically, when a customer subscribes to an IaaS service, a lease or account is created for that customer in a region within the domain that the customer designates (referred to as the "home" region). A customer can extend their lease to one or more other regions within the domain. A customer cannot access regions that are not within the domain where their lease resides.

[0167] IaaS providers can offer multiple domains, each catering to a specific set of customers or users. For example, a business domain can be offered for business customers. As another example, a domain can be offered for customers within a specific country. As yet another example, a government domain can be offered for governments, etc. For instance, a government domain can cater to a specific government and may have a higher level of security than the business domain. For example, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) currently offers domains for its business region and two domains (e.g., FedRAMP licensed and IL5 licensed) for its government cloud region.

[0168] In some embodiments, an Active Directory (AD) can be subdivided into one or more fault domains. A fault domain is a grouping of infrastructure resources within an AD to provide anti-affinity. Fault domains allow for the distribution of compute instances such that these instances do not reside on the same physical hardware within a single AD. This is known as anti-affinity. A fault domain refers to a collection of hardware components (computers, switches, etc.) that share a single point of failure. Compute pools are logically divided into fault domains. Therefore, a hardware failure or compute hardware maintenance event affecting one fault domain does not affect instances in other fault domains. Depending on the embodiment, the number of fault domains for each AD can vary. For example, in some embodiments, each AD contains three fault domains. Fault domains act as logical data centers within the AD.

[0169] When a customer subscribes to IaaS services, resources from CSPI are provisioned to the customer and associated with the customer's lease. Customers can use these provisioned resources to build private networks and deploy resources on those networks. Customer networks hosted in the cloud by CSPI are called Virtual Cloud Networks (VCNs). Customers can use the CSPI resources allocated to them to set up one or more VCNs. A VCN is a virtual or software-defined private network. Customer resources deployed in a customer's VCN can include compute instances (e.g., virtual machines, bare metal instances) and other resources. These compute instances can represent various customer workloads, such as applications, load balancers, databases, etc. Compute instances deployed on a VCN can communicate with publicly accessible endpoints (“public endpoints”) via public networks such as the Internet, with other instances in the same VCN or other VCNs (e.g., other VCNs belonging to the customer or VCNs not belonging to the customer), with the customer's on-premises data center or network, and with service endpoints and other types of endpoints.

[0170] CSPs can use CSPIs to provide various services. In some cases, CSPI clients can act as service providers themselves and use CSPI resources to provide services. Service providers can expose service endpoints that are characterized by identifying information such as IP addresses, DNS names, and ports. Client resources (e.g., compute instances) can consume a specific service by accessing the service endpoints exposed by the service for that specific service. These service endpoints are generally publicly accessible to users via public communication networks such as the Internet using the public IP addresses associated with the endpoints. Publicly accessible network endpoints are sometimes also called public endpoints.

[0171] In some embodiments, a service provider may expose the service via an endpoint used for the service (sometimes referred to as a service endpoint). Clients of the service can then use this service endpoint to access the service. In some implementations, the service endpoint provided for the service can be accessed by multiple clients intending to consume the service. In other implementations, a dedicated service endpoint can be provided to a client, so that only that client can use that dedicated service endpoint to access the service.

[0172] In some embodiments, when a VCN is created, it is associated with a Private Overlay Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) address space, which refers to a set of private overlay IP addresses (e.g., 10.0 / 16) assigned to the VCN. A VCN includes associated subnets, routing tables, and gateways. A VCN resides within a single area but can span one or more of the availability domains within that area. A gateway is a virtual interface configured for the VCN and enables communication of traffic to and from one or more endpoints outside the VCN. One or more different types of gateways can be configured for a VCN to enable communication to and from different types of endpoints.

[0173] A VCN can be subdivided into one or more subnets, such as one or more subnets. Therefore, a subnet is a configurable unit or subdivision that can be created within a VCN. A VCN can have one or more subnets. Each subnet within a VCN is associated with a contiguous range of overlay IP addresses (e.g., 10.0.0.0 / 24 and 10.0.1.0 / 24) that do not overlap with other subnets within that VCN and represent a subset of the VCN's address space.

[0174] Each compute instance is associated with a Virtual Network Interface Card (VNIC), which enables the compute instance to participate in subnets within a VCN. A VNIC is the logical representation of a physical network interface card (NIC). Generally, a VNIC is the interface between an entity (e.g., a compute instance, a service) and a virtual network. A VNIC exists within a subnet and has one or more associated IP addresses and associated security rules or policies. A VNIC is equivalent to a Layer 2 port on a switch. A VNIC is attached to both the compute instance and the subnet within the VCN. The VNIC associated with a compute instance enables the compute instance to be part of a VCN's subnet and allows the compute instance to communicate (e.g., send and receive packets) with endpoints on the same subnet as the compute instance, with endpoints in different subnets within the VCN, or with endpoints outside the VCN. Therefore, the VNIC associated with a compute instance determines how the compute instance connects to endpoints inside and outside the VCN. When a compute instance is created and added to a subnet within a VCN, a VNIC for the compute instance is created and associated with that compute instance. For a subnet that includes a set of compute instances, the subnet contains a VNIC corresponding to that set of compute instances, with each VNIC attached to a compute instance within that set of compute instances.

[0175] Each compute instance is assigned a private overlay IP address via a VNIC associated with it. This private overlay network IP address is assigned to the VNIC associated with the compute instance when the compute instance is created and is used to route traffic to and from the compute instance. All VNICs within a given subnet use the same routing table, security list, and DHCP options. As described above, each subnet within a VCN is associated with a contiguous range of overlay IP addresses (e.g., 10.0.0.0 / 24 and 10.0.1.0 / 24) that do not overlap with other subnets within that VCN and represent a subset of the address space within the VCN's address space. For a VNIC on a specific subnet of a VCN, the private overlay IP address assigned to that VNIC is an address derived from the contiguous range of overlay IP addresses allocated to the subnet.

[0176] In some embodiments, in addition to a private overlay IP address, a compute instance may optionally be assigned additional overlay IP addresses, such as one or more public IP addresses, for example, if in a public subnet. These multiple addresses may be assigned either on the same VNIC or on multiple VNICs associated with the compute instance. However, each instance has a primary VNIC, which is created during instance startup and associated with the overlay private IP address assigned to that instance—this primary VNIC cannot be removed. Additional VNICs, referred to as secondary VNICs, can be added to an existing instance in the same availability domain as the primary VNIC. All VNICs are in the same availability domain as the instance. Secondary VNICs may reside in a subnet within the same VCN as the primary VNIC, or in a different subnet within the same VCN or different VCNs.

[0177] If a compute instance is in a public subnet, it can optionally be assigned a public IP address. When creating a subnet, it can be specified as either a public or private subnet. A private subnet means that resources within the subnet (such as compute instances) and associated VNICs cannot have public overriding IP addresses. A public subnet means that resources within the subnet and associated VNICs can have public IP addresses. Customers can specify that a subnet exists within a single availability domain or across multiple availability domains in regions or domains.

[0178] As described above, a VCN can be subdivided into one or more subnets. In some embodiments, a virtual router (VR) configured for the VCN (referred to as a VCN VR or simply VR) enables communication between the subnets of the VCN. For a subnet within the VCN, the VR represents a logical gateway for that subnet, enabling that subnet (i.e., compute instances on that subnet) to communicate with endpoints on other subnets within the VCN as well as with other endpoints outside the VCN. The VCN VR is a logical entity configured to route traffic between the VNIC within the VCN and the virtual gateway (“gateway”) associated with the VCN. The following section discusses… Figure 1Further description of the gateway. VCNVR is a Layer 3 / IP layer concept. In one embodiment, there exists a VCN VR for a VCN, where the VCN VR potentially has an unlimited number of IP-addressable ports, one port for each subnet of the VCN. In this way, the VCNVR has a different IP address for each subnet within the VCN to which the VCN VR is attached. The VR also connects to various gateways configured for the VCN. In some embodiments, a specific overlay IP address within the overlay IP address range for a subnet is reserved for the port of the VCN VR for that subnet. For example, consider a VCN with two subnets, associated with address ranges 10.0 / 16 and 10.1 / 16. For the first subnet within the VCN with an address range of 10.0 / 16, addresses from this range are reserved for the port of the VCN VR for that subnet. In some cases, the first IP address in the range can be reserved for the VCN VR. For example, for a subnet with an overlay IP address range of 10.0 / 16, the IP address 10.0.0.1 could be reserved for the port of the VCN VR for that subnet. For a second subnet within the same VCN with an address range of 10.1 / 16, the VCN VR can have a port with the IP address 10.1.0.1 for that second subnet. The VCN VR has a different IP address for each subnet within the VCN.

[0179] In some other embodiments, each subnet within a VCN may have its own associated VR, which can be addressed by the subnet using a reserved or default IP address associated with that VR. For example, the reserved or default IP address may be the first IP address in the range of IP addresses associated with that subnet. The VNIC in the subnet can use this default or reserved IP address to communicate with the VR associated with the subnet (e.g., send and receive packets). In this embodiment, the VR is the ingress / egress point for that subnet. The VR associated with a subnet within the VCN can communicate with other VRs associated with other subnets within the VCN. The VR can also communicate with the gateway associated with the VCN. The VR functionality of the subnet runs on or is performed by one or more NVDs that perform VNIC functionality for the VNICs in the subnet.

[0180] You can configure routing tables, security rules, and DHCP options for a VCN. A routing table is a virtual routing table used by the VCN and contains rules that route traffic from subnets within the VCN to destinations outside the VCN via gateways or specially configured instances. You can customize the VCN's routing table to control how packets are forwarded / routed to and from the VCN. DHCP options refer to configuration information automatically provided to the instance when it starts up.

[0181] Security rules configured for a VCN represent overlay firewall rules used by the VCN. Security rules can include ingress and egress rules and specify the types of traffic allowed to enter and exit instances within the VCN (e.g., based on protocol and port). Clients can choose whether a given rule is stateful or stateless. For example, a client can allow incoming SSH traffic from anywhere to a set of instances by setting a stateful ingress rule with source CIDR 0.0.0.0 / 0 and destination TCP port 22. Security rules can be implemented using network security groups or security lists. A network security group consists of a set of security rules that apply only to resources within that group. A security list, on the other hand, includes rules applicable to all resources in any subnet using that security list. A default security list with default security rules can be provided to the VCN. DHCP options configured for the VCN provide configuration information that is automatically provided to instances within the VCN when the instance starts.

[0182] In some embodiments, configuration information for a VCN is determined and stored by the VCN control plane. For example, the configuration information for a VCN may include information about: the address range associated with the VCN, subnets and associated information within the VCN, one or more VRs associated with the VCN, compute instances and associated VNICs within the VCN, NVDs performing various virtualized network functions associated with the VCN (e.g., VNICs, VRs, gateways), state information for the VCN, and other VCN-related information. In some embodiments, the VCN distribution service publishes the configuration information or a portion thereof stored by the VCN control plane to the NVD. The distributed information may be used to update information stored by the NVD and used to forward packets to and from compute instances within the VCN (e.g., forwarding tables, routing tables, etc.).

[0183] In some embodiments, the creation of VCNs and subnets is handled by the VCN control plane (CP), and the initiation of compute instances is handled by the compute control plane. The compute control plane is responsible for allocating physical resources to the compute instances and then invoking the VCN control plane to create VNICs and attach them to the compute instances. The VCN CP also maps VCN data to the VCN data plane, which is configured to perform packet forwarding and routing functions. In some embodiments, the VCN CP provides a distribution service responsible for providing updates to the VCN data plane. Examples of VCN control planes are also available in... Figure 18 , Figure 19 , Figure 20 and Figure 21 The figures are depicted (see reference numerals 1816, 1916, 2016 and 2116) and described below.

[0184] Customers can create one or more VCNs using resources hosted by CSPI. Compute instances deployed on a customer's VCN can communicate with different endpoints. These endpoints can include endpoints hosted by CSPI and endpoints external to CSPI.

[0185] Various architectures are used to implement cloud-based services using CSPI. Figure 13 , Figure 14 , Figure 15 , Figure 16 , Figure 17 , Figure 18 , Figure 19 , Figure 20 and Figure 22 It is described in the text and further described below. Figure 13 This is a high-level diagram of a distributed environment 1300 according to certain embodiments, illustrating an overlay or client VCN hosted by CSPI. Figure 13 The distributed environment described includes multiple components in the overlay network. Figure 13 The distributed environment 1300 depicted herein is merely an example and is not intended to unduly limit the scope of the claimed embodiments. Many variations, substitutions, and modifications are possible. For example, in some implementations, Figure 13 The distributed environment described in the text can have more than Figure 1 The more or fewer systems or components shown can be combined into two or more systems, or can have different system configurations or arrangements.

[0186] like Figure 13 As illustrated in the example, the distributed environment 1300 includes a CSPI 1301 that provides services and resources that customers can subscribe to and use to build their Virtual Cloud Network (VCN). In some embodiments, the CSPI 1301 provides IaaS services to subscribing customers. Data centers within the CSPI 1301 can be organized into one or more regions. Figure 13 The example shown is a region "Region US" 1302. The customer has already configured customer VCN 1304 for region 1302. The customer can deploy various compute instances on VCN 1304, which can include virtual machines or bare metal instances. Examples of instances include applications, databases, load balancers, etc.

[0187] exist Figure 13 In the embodiment depicted, customer VCN 1304 includes two subnets, namely "Subnet-1" and "Subnet-2", each with its own CIDR IP address range. Figure 13In this configuration, subnet-1 covers the IP address range of 16.0 / 16, and subnet-2 covers the address range of 16.1 / 16. The VCN virtual router 1305 represents the logical gateway for the VCN, enabling communication between subnets within VCN 1304 and with other endpoints outside the VCN. The VCN VR 1305 is configured to route traffic between the VNICs within VCN 1304 and the gateway associated with VCN 1304. The VCN VR 1305 provides a port for each subnet of VCN 1304. For example, VR 1305 could provide a port with IP address 10.0.0.1 for subnet-1 and a port with IP address 10.1.0.1 for subnet-2.

[0188] Multiple compute instances can be deployed on each subnet, where compute instances can be virtual machine instances and / or bare metal instances. Compute instances within a subnet can be hosted by one or more host machines within a CSPI 6 1301. Compute instances participate in the subnet via a VNIC associated with the compute instance. For example, as... Figure 13 As shown, compute instance C1 becomes part of subnet-1 via the VNIC associated with it. Similarly, compute instance C2 becomes part of subnet-1 via the VNIC associated with it. In a similar manner, multiple compute instances (which can be virtual machine instances or bare metal instances) can be part of subnet-1. Each compute instance is assigned a private overlay IP address and MAC address via its associated VNIC. For example, in... Figure 13 In this subnet, compute instance C1 has an overlay IP address of 10.0.0.2 and a MAC address of M1, while compute instance C2 has a private overlay IP address of 10.0.0.3 and a MAC address of M2. Each compute instance in subnet-1 (including compute instances C1 and C2) has a default route to VCN VR 6 1305 using IP address 10.0.0.1, which is the IP address of the port of VCN VR 6 1305 in subnet-1.

[0189] Subnet-2 can have multiple compute instances deployed on it, including virtual machine instances and / or bare metal instances. For example, as Figure 13 As shown, compute instances D1 and D2 become part of subnet-2 via the VNIC associated with the respective compute instance. Figure 13In the illustrated embodiment, compute instance D1 has an overlay IP address of .1.0.2 and a MAC address of MM1, while compute instance D2 has a private overlay IP address of 10.1.0.3 and a MAC address of MM2. Each compute instance in subnet-2 (including compute instances D1 and D2) has a default route to VCN VR 6 1305 using IP address 10.1.0.1, which is the IP address of the port of VCN VR 1305 in subnet-2.

[0190] VCN A 1304 may also include one or more load balancers. For example, a load balancer can be provided for a subnet, and the load balancer can be configured to load balance traffic across multiple compute instances on the subnet. A load balancer can also be provided to load balance traffic across subnets within a VCN.

[0191] A specific compute instance deployed on VCN 1304 can communicate with a variety of different endpoints. These endpoints can include endpoints hosted by CSPI 1600 and endpoints outside of CSPI 1600. Endpoints hosted by CSPI 1301 can include: endpoints on the same subnet as the specific compute instance (e.g., communication between two compute instances in subnet-1); endpoints on different subnets but within the same VCN (e.g., communication between a compute instance in subnet-1 and a compute instance in subnet-2); endpoints in different VCNs within the same region (e.g., communication between a compute instance in subnet-1 and endpoints in VCN 1306 or 1310 within the same region, or communication between a compute instance in subnet-1 and an endpoint in service network 1310 within the same region); or endpoints in VCNs in different regions (e.g., communication between a compute instance in subnet-1 and an endpoint in VCN 1308 within a different region). Compute instances in a subnet hosted by CSPI 1301 can also communicate with endpoints not hosted by CSPI 1301 (i.e., outside of CSPI 1301). These external endpoints include endpoints in the customer’s on-premises network 1316, endpoints in other remote cloud-hosted networks 1318, public endpoints 1314 accessible via public networks such as the Internet, and other endpoints.

[0192] VNICs associated with source and destination compute instances facilitate communication between compute instances on the same subnet. For example, compute instance C1 in subnet-1 might want to send packets to compute instance C2 in subnet-1. For packets originating from the source compute instance and destined for another compute instance in the same subnet, the packet is first processed by the VNIC associated with the source compute instance. The processing performed by the VNIC associated with the source compute instance may include determining the packet's destination information from the packet header, identifying any policies (e.g., security lists) configured for the VNIC associated with the source compute instance, determining the next hop for the packet, performing any packet encapsulation / decapsulation functions as needed, and then forwarding / routing the packet to the next hop to facilitate communication to its intended destination. When the destination compute instance is in the same subnet as the source compute instance, the VNIC associated with the source compute instance is configured to identify the VNIC associated with the destination compute instance and forward the packet to that VNIC for processing. The VNIC associated with the destination compute instance then performs the processing and forwards the packet to the destination compute instance.

[0193] For packets to be transferred from compute instances in a subnet to endpoints in different subnets within the same VCN, communication is facilitated by the VNIC associated with the source and destination compute instances, as well as the VCN VR. For example, if Figure 13 If compute instance C1 in subnet-1 wants to send a packet to compute instance D1 in subnet-2, the packet is first processed by the VNIC associated with compute instance C1. The VNIC associated with compute instance C1 is configured to route the packet to VCN VR 1305 using the default route or port 10.0.0.1 of the VCN VR. VCN VR 1305 is configured to route the packet to subnet-2 using port 10.1.0.1. Then, the VNIC associated with D1 receives and processes the packet and forwards it to compute instance D1.

[0194] For packets to be transferred from a compute instance in VCN 1304 to an endpoint outside VCN 1304, communication is facilitated by the VNIC associated with the source compute instance, the VCN VR 1305, and the gateway associated with VCN 1304. One or more types of gateways can be associated with VCN 1304. A gateway is an interface between a VCN and another endpoint located outside the VCN. A gateway is a Layer 3 / IP concept and enables a VCN to communicate with endpoints outside the VCN. Therefore, a gateway facilitates traffic flow between a VCN and other VCNs or networks. Various different types of gateways can be configured for a VCN to facilitate different types of communication with different types of endpoints. Depending on the gateway, communication can occur over a public network (e.g., the Internet) or over a private network. Various communication protocols can be used for these communications.

[0195] For example, compute instance C1 might want to communicate with an endpoint outside of VCN 1304. The packet can first be processed by the VNIC associated with the source compute instance C1. The VNIC processing determines that the packet's destination is outside C1's subnet-1. The VNIC associated with C1 can then forward the packet to VCN VR 1305 for VCN 1304. VCN VR 1305 then processes the packet and, as part of the processing, determines a specific gateway associated with VCN 1304 as the next hop for the packet based on its destination. VCN VR 1305 can then forward the packet to the specific identified gateway. For example, if the destination is an endpoint within a customer's on-premises network, the packet can be forwarded by VCN VR 1305 to the Dynamic Routing Gateway (DRG) gateway 1322 configured for VCN 1304. The packet can then be forwarded from the gateway to the next hop to facilitate delivery to its final intended destination.

[0196] Various types of gateways can be configured for a VCN. Examples of gateways that can be configured for a VCN are available in [link to example]. Figure 13 It is depicted in [the text] and described below. Examples of gateways associated with VCNs are also [described in the text]. Figure 18 , Figure 19 , Figure 20 and Figure 21 Gateways are depicted in the figures (e.g., referenced by reference numerals 1834, 1836, 1838, 1934, 1936, 1938, 2034, 2036, 2038, 2134, 2136, and 2138) and described below. Figure 13As depicted in the embodiments, a Dynamic Routing Gateway (DRG) 1322 can be added to or associated with a customer VCN 1304 and provides a path for private network traffic communication between the customer VCN 1304 and another endpoint, which can be the customer's on-premises network 1316, a VCN 1308 in a different region of CSPI 1301, or another remote cloud network 1318 not hosted by CSPI 1301. The customer's on-premises network 1316 can be a customer network or customer data center built using the customer's resources. Access to the customer's on-premises network 1316 is generally very restricted. For customers who have both an on-premises network 1316 and one or more VCNs 1304 deployed or hosted in the cloud by CSPI 1301, the customer may want their on-premises network 1316 and their cloud-based VCN 1304 to be able to communicate with each other. This enables customers to build extended hybrid environments that include the customer's VCN 1304 hosted by CSPI 1301 and their on-premises network 1316. DRG 1322 enables this communication. To enable such communication, a communication channel 1324 is set up, with one endpoint of the channel located in the customer's on-premises network 1316 and the other endpoint located in CSPI 1301 and connected to the customer's VCN 1304. The communication channel 1324 can be over a public communication network (such as the Internet) or a private communication network. Various different communication protocols can be used, such as IPsec VPN technology over public communication networks (such as the Internet), Oracle's FastConnect technology using a private network instead of a public network, etc. The device or equipment that forms one endpoint of the communication channel 1324 in the customer's on-premises network 1316 is called a Customer Field Equipment (CPE), such as... Figure 13 The CPE 1326 is depicted in the diagram. On the CSPI 1301 side, the endpoint can be a host machine executing DRG 1322.

[0197] In some embodiments, a remote peering connection (RPC) can be added to the DRG, which allows a customer to peer one VCN to another VCN in a different region. Using such an RPC, customer VCN 1304 can use DRG 1322 to connect to VCN 1308 in another region. DRG 1322 can also be used to communicate with other remote cloud networks 1318 not hosted by CSPI 1301, such as Microsoft Azure cloud, Amazon AWS cloud, etc.

[0198] like Figure 13As shown, an Internet Gateway (IGW) 1320 can be configured for customer VCN 1304, enabling compute instances on VCN 1304 to communicate with a public endpoint 1314 accessible via a public network, such as the Internet. IGW 1320 is a gateway connecting the VCN to a public network such as the Internet. IGW 1320 enables public subnets within the VCN (such as VCN 1304), where resources within the public subnet have publicly overriding IP addresses, to directly access a public endpoint 1312 on the public network 1314 (such as the Internet). Using IGW 1320, connections can be initiated from subnets within VCN 1304 or from the Internet.

[0199] A Network Address Translation (NAT) gateway 1328 can be configured for a customer's VCN 1304, enabling cloud resources within the customer's VCN that do not have dedicated public overlay IP addresses to access the internet, without exposing those resources to direct inbound internet connections (e.g., L4-L7 connections). This allows private subnets within the VCN (such as private subnet-1 in VCN 1304) to privately access public endpoints on the internet. With a NAT gateway, connections can only originate from private subnets to the public internet, not from the internet to private subnets.

[0200] In some embodiments, a Service Gateway (SGW) 1326 can be configured for customer VCN 1304 to provide a path for private network traffic between VCN 1304 and service endpoints supported in service network 1310. In some embodiments, service network 1310 may be provided by a CSP and may offer a variety of services. An example of such a service network is Oracle's service network, which provides a variety of services available to customers. For example, compute instances (e.g., database systems) in a private subnet of customer VCN 1304 can back up data to service endpoints (e.g., object storage devices) without requiring a public IP address or access to the Internet. In some embodiments, a VCN may have only one SGW, and connections can only originate from subnets within the VCN, not from service network 1310. If a VCN is peered to another, resources in the other VCN typically cannot access the SGW. Resources in the on-premises network of a VCN connected using FastConnect or VPN Connect can also use the service gateway configured for that VCN.

[0201] In some implementations, the SGW 1326 uses the concept of a Service Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) label, which is a string representing all regional public IP address ranges for the service or group of services of interest. Customers use the Service CIDR label when configuring the SGW and associated routing rules to control traffic to the service. If the public IP address of the service changes in the future, customers can optionally use it when configuring security rules without having to adjust them.

[0202] Local peering gateway (LPG) 1332 is a gateway that can be added to customer VCN 1304 and enable VCN 1304 to peer with another VCN in the same area. Peering means that VCNs communicate using private IP addresses, and traffic does not need to traverse public networks (such as the Internet) or be routed through the customer's on-premises network 1316. In a preferred embodiment, a VCN has a separate LPG for each peer it establishes. Local peering, or VCN peering, is a common practice for establishing network connectivity between different applications or infrastructure management functions.

[0203] Service providers (such as those providing services in service network 1310) can offer access to services using different access models. Under the public access model, a service can be exposed as a public endpoint accessible to compute instances within a customer's VCN via a public network (such as the Internet), and / or can be privately accessible via SGW 1326. Under a specific private access model, a service can be accessed as a private IP endpoint within a private subnet of the customer's VCN. This is called private endpoint (PE) access and enables service providers to expose their services as instances within the customer's private network. A private endpoint resource represents a service within the customer's VCN. Each PE is represented as a VNIC (referred to as a PE-VNIC, with one or more private IPs) within a subnet chosen by the customer in the customer's VCN. Thus, the PE provides a way to present services within a private customer VCN subnet using a VNIC. Because the endpoint is exposed as a VNIC, all characteristics associated with the VNIC (such as routing rules, security lists, etc.) are now available for the PE VNIC.

[0204] Service providers can register their services to make them accessible via a PE (Private Provider). Providers can associate policies with services, which restricts the visibility of the service to customer leases. A provider can register multiple services under a single Virtual IP address (VIP), especially for multi-tenant services. Multiple such private endpoints representing the same service can exist (across multiple VCNs).

[0205] Compute instances in a private subnet can then access the service using the private IP address or service DNS name of the PE VNIC. Compute instances in a customer VCN can access the service by sending traffic to the private IP address of the PE in the customer VCN. A Private Access Gateway (PAGW) 1330 is a gateway resource that can be attached to a service provider VCN (e.g., a VCN in service network 1310), which acts as the ingress / egress point for all traffic from / to the private endpoints of the customer subnet. The PAGW 1330 allows providers to scale the number of PE connections without utilizing their internal IP address resources. A provider only needs to configure one PAGW for any number of services registered in a single VCN. A provider can represent a service as a private endpoint in multiple VCNs of one or more customers. From the customer's perspective, the PE VNIC is not an instance attached to the customer, but rather appears to be attached to the service the customer wishes to interact with. Traffic to the private endpoint is routed to the service via the PAGW 1330. These are referred to as customer-to-service private connections (C2S connections).

[0206] The PE concept can also be used to extend private access to services to customers' on-premises networks and data centers by allowing traffic to flow through FastConnect / IPsec links and private endpoints within the customer's VCN. Furthermore, private access to services can be extended to the customer's peering VCN by allowing traffic to flow between the LPG 1332 and the PE within the customer's VCN.

[0207] Customers can control routing within a VCN at the subnet level, allowing them to specify which subnets within their VCN (such as VCN1304) use each gateway. The VCN's routing table is used to determine whether traffic is allowed to leave the VCN via a specific gateway. For example, in a given instance, a routing table for a public subnet within customer VCN 1304 might send non-local traffic via IGW 1320. A routing table for a private subnet within the same customer VCN 1304 might send traffic destined for a CSP service via SGW 1326. All remaining traffic can be sent via NAT gateway 1328. The routing table only controls traffic flowing out of the VCN.

[0208] Security lists associated with a VCN are used to control traffic entering the VCN via a gateway through inbound connections. All resources within a subnet use the same routing table and security lists. Security lists can be used to control specific types of traffic allowed to enter or leave instances within a subnet of the VCN. Security list rules can include inbound and outbound rules. For example, inbound rules can specify allowed source address ranges, while outbound rules can specify allowed destination address ranges. Security rules can specify specific protocols (e.g., TCP, ICMP), specific ports (e.g., 22 for SSH, 3389 for Windows RDP), etc. In some implementations, the instance's operating system can enforce its own firewall rules consistent with the security list rules. Rules can be stateful (e.g., tracking connections and automatically allowing responses without explicit security list rules for response traffic) or stateless.

[0209] Access from a customer's VCN (i.e., through resources or compute instances deployed on VCN 1304) can be categorized as public access, private access, or dedicated access. Public access refers to an access model that uses a public IP address or NAT to access a public endpoint. Private access enables customer workloads with private IP addresses within VCN 1304 (e.g., resources in a private subnet) to access services without traversing a public network such as the Internet. In some embodiments, CSPI 1301 enables customer VCN workloads with private IP addresses to access the service's (public service endpoint) using a service gateway. Thus, the service gateway provides a private access model by establishing a virtual link between the customer's VCN and the public endpoint of the service residing outside the customer's private network.

[0210] Furthermore, CSPI can provide dedicated public access using technologies such as FastConnect public peering, where customer on-premises instances can access one or more services within a customer's VCN using FastConnect connections without traversing public networks such as the internet. CSPI can also provide dedicated private access using FastConnect private peering, where customer on-premises instances with private IP addresses can access a customer's VCN workloads using FastConnect connections. FastConnect is a networking connectivity alternative to using the public internet to connect a customer's on-premises network to CSPI and its services. Compared to internet-based connections, FastConnect offers a simple, flexible, and cost-effective way to create dedicated and private connections with higher bandwidth options and a more reliable and consistent networking experience.

[0211] Figure 13The accompanying description above describes the various virtualized components in the example virtual network. As mentioned above, the virtual network is built on the underlying physical or base network. Figure 14 A simplified architecture diagram of the physical components within the physical network of the CSPI 1400, which provides the underlying layer for virtual networks according to certain embodiments, is depicted. As shown, the CSPI 1400 provides a distributed environment including components and resources (e.g., compute, memory, and networking resources) provided by a cloud service provider (CSP). These components and resources are used to provide cloud services (e.g., IaaS services) to subscribed customers (i.e., customers who have subscribed to one or more services provided by the CSP). Based on the services subscribed to by the customer, a subset of the resources (e.g., compute, memory, and networking resources) of the CSPI 1400 is supplied to the customer. The customer can then use the physical compute, memory, and networking resources provided by the CSPI 1400 to build their own cloud-based (i.e., CSPI-hosted) customizable and private virtual networks. As indicated above, these customer networks are referred to as Virtual Cloud Networks (VCNs). Customers can deploy one or more customer resources, such as compute instances, on these customer VCNs. Compute instances can take the form of virtual machines, bare metal instances, etc. The CSPI 1400 provides infrastructure and a set of complementary cloud services, enabling customers to build and run a wide range of applications and services in a highly available managed environment.

[0212] exist Figure 14 In the example embodiment depicted, the physical components of the CSPI 1400 include one or more physical host machines or physical servers (e.g., 1402, 1406, 1408), network virtualization devices (NVDs) (e.g., 1410, 1412), top-of-rack (TOR) switches (e.g., 1414, 1416), and a physical network (e.g., 1418), as well as switches within the physical network 1418. The physical host machines or servers can host and execute various compute instances participating in one or more subnets of a VCN. Compute instances can include virtual machine instances and bare metal instances. For example, Figure 13 The various computational examples described in the text can be derived from... Figure 14 The physical host machine described in the diagram is used for hosting virtual machine compute instances in a VCN. Virtual machine compute instances in a VCN can be executed by one host machine or multiple different host machines. A physical host machine can also host virtual host machines, container-based hosts, or functions, etc. Figure 13 The VNIC and VCN VR described in the text can be generated by Figure 14 The NVD execution described in the text. Figure 13 The gateway described in the text can be... Figure 14 The host machine and / or NVD execution described in the document.

[0213] A host machine or server can run a hypervisor (also known as a virtual machine monitor or VMM) that creates and enables virtualized environments on the host machine. Virtualization or virtualized environments facilitate cloud-based computing. One or more compute instances can be created, executed, and managed on the host machine by a hypervisor on that host machine. The hypervisor on the host machine enables the host machine's physical computing resources (e.g., compute, storage, and networking resources) to be shared among various compute instances executed by the host machine.

[0214] For example, such as Figure 14 As depicted, host machines 1402 and 1408 execute hypervisors 1460 and 1466, respectively. These hypervisors can be implemented using software, firmware, or hardware, or a combination thereof. Typically, a hypervisor is a process or software layer that sits above the host machine's operating system (OS), which in turn executes on the host machine's hardware processor. Hypervisors provide a virtualized environment by enabling the host machine's physical computing resources (e.g., processing resources such as processors / cores, memory resources, networking resources) to be shared among various virtual machine computing instances executed by the host machine. For example, in... Figure 14 In this configuration, the hypervisor 1460 can reside on top of the operating system of the host machine 1402 and enable the computing resources (e.g., processing, memory, and networking resources) of the host machine 1402 to be shared among computing instances (e.g., virtual machines) executed by the host machine 1402. A virtual machine can have its own operating system (referred to as a guest operating system), which may be the same as or different from the host machine's operating system. The operating system of a virtual machine executed by the host machine can be the same as or different from the operating system of another virtual machine executed by the same host machine. Therefore, the hypervisor enables multiple operating systems to be executed side-by-side while sharing the same computing resources of the host machine. Figure 14 The host machines described in the text may have the same or different types of management programs.

[0215] A compute instance can be a virtual machine instance or a bare metal instance. Figure 14 In the diagram, compute instance 1468 on host machine 1402 and compute instance 1474 on host machine 1408 are examples of virtual machine instances. Host machine 1406 is an example of a bare metal instance provided to a customer.

[0216] In some instances, an entire host machine can be provisioned to a single customer, and all one or more compute instances (or virtual machines or bare metal instances) hosted by that host machine belong to that same customer. In other instances, the host machine can be shared among multiple customers (i.e., multiple tenants). In this multi-tenancy scenario, the host machine can host virtual machine compute instances belonging to different customers. These compute instances can be members of different VCNs for different customers. In some embodiments, bare metal compute instances are hosted by bare metal servers without a hypervisor. When provisioning bare metal compute instances, a single customer or tenant maintains control over the physical CPU, memory, and network interfaces of the host machine hosting the bare metal instance, and the host machine is not shared with other customers or tenants.

[0217] As previously described, each compute instance as part of a VCN is associated with a VNIC that enables that compute instance to become a member of a subnet of the VCN. The VNIC associated with a compute instance facilitates communication to and from the compute instance. The VNIC is associated with the compute instance when the compute instance is created. In some embodiments, for compute instances executed by a host machine, the VNIC associated with that compute instance is executed by an NVD connected to the host machine. For example, in Figure 14 In this example, host machine 1402 executes a virtual machine compute instance 1468 associated with VNIC 1476, and VNIC 1476 is executed by NVD 1410 connected to host machine 1402. As another example, a bare metal instance 1472 hosted by host machine 1406 is associated with VNIC 1480 executed by NVD 1412 connected to host machine 1406. As yet another example, VNIC 1484 is associated with compute instance 1474 executed by host machine 1408, and VNIC 1484 is executed by NVD 1412 connected to host machine 1408.

[0218] For compute instances hosted by a host machine, NVDs connected to that host machine also execute VCN VR corresponding to the VCN where the compute instance is a member. For example, in Figure 14 In the embodiment depicted, NVD 1410 executes VCN VR 1477 corresponding to a VCN that is a member of compute instance 1468. NVD 1412 may also execute one or more VCNVRs 1483 corresponding to VCNs that correspond to compute instances hosted by host machines 1406 and 1408.

[0219] The host machine may include one or more network interface cards (NICs) that enable the host machine to connect to other devices. The NIC on the host machine may provide one or more ports (or interfaces) that allow the host machine to communicate with another device. For example, the host machine may use one or more ports (or interfaces) provided on the host machine and the NVD to connect to the NVD. The host machine may also connect to other devices (such as another host machine).

[0220] For example, in Figure 14 In this configuration, host machine 1402 is connected to NVD 1410 via link 1420, which extends between port 1434 provided by NIC 1432 of host machine 1402 and port 1436 of NVD 1410. Host machine 1406 is connected to NVD 1412 via link 1424, which extends between port 1446 provided by NIC 1444 of host machine 1406 and port 1448 of NVD 1412. Host machine 1408 is connected to NVD 1412 via link 1426, which extends between port 1452 provided by NIC 1450 of host machine 1408 and port 1454 of NVD 1412.

[0221] The NVD is then connected to top-of-rack (TOR) switches via communication links, which are connected to physical network 1418 (also known as a switching fabric). In some embodiments, the links between the host machine and the NVD, and between the NVD and the TOR switches, are Ethernet links. For example, in Figure 14 In this configuration, NVDs 1410 and 1412 are connected to TOR switches 1414 and 1416 via links 1428 and 1430, respectively. In some embodiments, links 1420, 1424, 1426, 1428, and 1430 are Ethernet links. The collection of host machines and NVDs connected to the TOR is sometimes referred to as a rack.

[0222] Physical network 1418 provides a communication structure that enables TOR switches to communicate with each other. Physical network 1418 can be a multi-layer network. In some implementations, physical network 1418 is a multi-layer Clos network of switches, where TOR switches 1414 and 1416 represent leaf-level nodes of the multi-layer and multi-node physical switching network 1418. Different Clos network configurations are possible, including but not limited to Layer 2 networks, Layer 3 networks, Layer 4 networks, Layer 9 networks, and general "n"-layer networks. Examples of Clos networks are provided in... Figure 17 It is described in the text and further described below.

[0223] Various connection configurations between the host machine and the NVD are possible, such as one-to-one, many-to-one, and one-to-many configurations. In a one-to-one configuration implementation, each host machine connects to its own individual NVD. For example, in... Figure 14 In this configuration, host machine 1402 connects to NVD 1410 via its NIC 1432. In a many-to-one configuration, multiple host machines connect to a single NVD. For example, in... Figure 14 In this configuration, host machines 1406 and 1408 are connected to the same NVD 1412 via NICs 1444 and 1450, respectively.

[0224] In a one-to-many configuration, a host machine connects to multiple NVDs. Figure 15 An example within the CSPI 1500 is shown, where a host machine is connected to multiple NVDs. (Example follows) Figure 15 As shown, host machine 1502 includes a network interface card (NIC) 1504, which includes multiple ports 1506 and 1508. Host machine 1502 is connected to a first NVD 1510 via port 1506 and link 1520, and to a second NVD 1512 via port 1508 and link 1522. Ports 1506 and 1508 can be Ethernet ports, and links 1520 and 1522 between host machine 1502 and NVDs 1510 and 1512 can be Ethernet links. NVD 1510 is further connected to a first TOR switch 1514, and NVD 1512 is connected to a second TOR switch 1516. Links between NVDs 1510 and 1512 and TOR switches 1514 and 1516 can be Ethernet links. TOR switches 1514 and 1516 represent Layer 0 switching devices in a multi-layer physical network 1518.

[0225] Figure 15 The layout depicted provides two separate physical network paths from physical switch network 1518 to host machine 1502: the first path goes through TOR switch 1514 to NVD 1510 and then to host machine 1502, while the second path goes through TOR switch 1516 to NVD 1512 and then to host machine 1502. These separate paths provide enhanced availability (referred to as high availability) for host machine 1502. If one of the paths (e.g., a link in one of the paths breaks) or a device (e.g., a particular NVD is not running) experiences a problem, the other path can be used for communication to and from host machine 1502.

[0226] exist Figure 15In the configuration depicted, the host machine connects to two different NVDs using two different ports provided by the host machine's NIC. In other embodiments, the host machine may include multiple NICs that enable the host machine to connect to multiple NVDs.

[0227] Go back to reference Figure 14 An NVD is a physical device or component that performs one or more network and / or storage virtualization functions. An NVD can be any device with one or more processing units (e.g., CPU, Network Processing Unit (NPU), FPGA, packet processing pipeline, etc.), memory (including cache), and ports. Various virtualization functions can be executed by software / firmware performed by one or more processing units of the NVD.

[0228] NVDs can be implemented in various different forms. For example, in some embodiments, an NVD is implemented as an interface card called a smart NIC or a smart NIC with an onboard embedded processor. A smart NIC is a device that is independent of the NIC on the host machine. Figure 14 In this context, NVD 1410 and 1412 can be implemented as intelligent NICs connected to host machine 1402 and host machines 1406 and 1408, respectively.

[0229] However, the intelligent NIC is just one example of an NVD implementation. Various other implementations are possible. For example, in some other implementations, the NVD, or one or more functions performed by the NVD, may be integrated into or performed by one or more host machines, one or more TOR switches, and other components of the CSPI 1400. For instance, the NVD may be implemented within a host machine, where the functions performed by the NVD are performed by the host machine. As another example, the NVD may be part of a TOR switch, or the TOR switch may be configured to perform functions performed by the NVD, enabling the TOR switch to perform various complex packet transformations for public clouds. A TOR performing the functions of the NVD is sometimes referred to as an intelligent TOR. In other implementations that serve virtual machine (VM) instances rather than bare metal (BM) instances to customers, the functions performed by the NVD may be implemented within the hypervisor of the host machine. In some other implementations, some of the functions of the NVD may be offloaded to a centralized service running on a set of host machines.

[0230] In some embodiments, such as when implemented as Figure 14As shown in the diagram, an NVD can include multiple physical ports that enable it to connect to one or more host machines and one or more TOR switches. Ports on an NVD can be categorized as host-facing ports (also known as "south ports") or network-facing or TOR-facing ports (also known as "north ports"). Host-facing ports on an NVD are those used to connect the NVD to host machines. Figure 14 Examples of host-facing ports include port 1436 on the NVD 1410 and ports 1448 and 1454 on the NVD 1412. Network-facing ports on the NVD are used to connect the NVD to a TOR switch. Figure 14 Examples of network-facing ports include port 1456 on the NVD 1410 and port 1458 on the NVD 1412. Figure 14 As shown, NVD 1410 is connected to TOR switch 1414 via link 1428, which extends from port 1456 of NVD 1410 to TOR switch 1414. Similarly, NVD 1412 is connected to TOR switch 1416 via link 1430, which extends from port 1458 of NVD 1412 to TOR switch 1416.

[0231] The NVD receives packets and frames from the host machine (e.g., packets and frames generated by compute instances hosted by the host machine) via its host-facing port, and after performing the necessary packet processing, can forward the packets and frames to the TOR switch via its network-facing port. The NVD can also receive packets and frames from the TOR switch via its network-facing port, and after performing the necessary packet processing, can forward the packets and frames to the host machine via its host-facing port.

[0232] In some embodiments, there can be multiple ports and associated links between the NVD and TOR switches. These ports and links can be aggregated to form a link aggregation group (called a LAG) of multiple ports or links. Link aggregation allows multiple physical links between two endpoints (e.g., between the NVD and TOR switches) to be treated as a single logical link. All physical links in a given LAG can operate at the same speed in full-duplex mode. LAGs help increase the bandwidth and reliability of the connection between two endpoints. If one of the physical links in the LAG fails, traffic will be dynamically and transparently reassigned to one of the other physical links in the LAG. Aggregated physical links deliver higher bandwidth than each individual link. Multiple ports associated with an LAG are treated as a single logical port. Traffic can be load-balanced across the multiple physical links of the LAG. One or more LAGs can be configured between two endpoints. These endpoints can be located between the NVD and TOR switches, between a host machine and the NVD, etc.

[0233] The NVD implements or performs network virtualization functions. These functions are performed by software / firmware executed by the NVD. Examples of network virtualization functions include, but are not limited to: packet encapsulation and decapsulation functions; functions for creating VCN networks; functions for implementing network policies, such as VCN security list (firewall) functionality; functions for facilitating packet routing and forwarding to and from compute instances within the VCN; and so on. In some embodiments, upon receiving a packet, the NVD is configured to perform a packet processing pipeline to process the packet and determine how to forward or route it. As part of this packet processing pipeline, the NVD may perform one or more virtual functions associated with the overlay network, such as performing VNICs associated with the CIS in the VCN, performing virtual routers (VRs) associated with the VCN, packet encapsulation and decapsulation to facilitate forwarding or routing in the virtual network, execution of certain gateways (e.g., local peer gateways), implementation of security lists, network security groups, Network Address Translation (NAT) functionality (e.g., host-by-host translation of public IPs to private IPs), throttling functions, and other functions.

[0234] In some embodiments, the packet processing data path in the NVD may include multiple packet pipelines, each consisting of a series of packet transformation levels. In some implementations, upon receiving a packet, the packet is parsed and classified into a single pipeline. The packet is then processed linearly, one level after another, until the packet is either dropped or sent out through the NVD's interface. These levels provide basic functional packet processing building blocks (e.g., header verification, throttling, insertion of new Layer 2 headers, L4 firewall enforcement, VCN encapsulation / decapsulation, etc.) so that new pipelines can be built by combining existing levels, and new functionality can be added by creating new levels and inserting them into existing pipelines.

[0235] NVD can perform control plane and data plane functions corresponding to those of VCN's control plane and data plane. An example of the VCN control plane is also available in... Figure 18 , Figure 19 , Figure 20 and Figure 21 The VCN data plane is depicted (see reference numerals 1816, 1916, 2016, and 2116) and described below. An example of the VCN data plane is shown in... Figure 18 , Figure 19 , Figure 20 and Figure 21 The diagram is depicted in Figures 1818, 1918, 2018, and 2118 and described below. Control plane functions include features for configuring how control data is forwarded on the network (e.g., setting routes and routing tables, configuring VNICs, etc.). In some embodiments, a VCN control plane is provided that centrally computes all overlay mappings to the base layer and publishes them to the NVD and virtual network edge devices (such as various gateways, such as DRGs, SGWs, IGWs, etc.). Firewall rules can also be published using the same mechanism. In some embodiments, the NVD only receives mappings associated with that NVD. Data plane functions include the ability to actually route / forward packets based on the configuration set using the control plane. The VCN data plane is implemented by encapsulating client network packets before they traverse the base network. Encapsulation / decapsulation functionality is implemented on the NVD. In some embodiments, the NVD is configured to intercept all network packets entering and leaving the host machine and perform network virtualization functions.

[0236] As indicated above, NVD performs various virtualization functions, including VNIC and VCN VR. NVD can execute VNICs associated with compute instances hosted on one or more host machines connected to the VNIC. For example, as... Figure 14As depicted, NVD 1410 performs the functionality of VNIC 1476 associated with compute instance 1468 hosted by host machine 1402 connected to NVD 1410. As another example, NVD 1412 performs VNIC 1480 associated with bare-metal compute instance 1472 hosted by host machine 1406, and VNIC 1484 associated with compute instance 1474 hosted by host machine 1408. Host machines can host compute instances belonging to different VCNs (belonging to different customers), and NVDs connected to host machines can perform VNICs corresponding to compute instances (i.e., perform VNIC-related functionality).

[0237] NVD also executes a VCN virtual router corresponding to the VCN of the compute instance. For example, in Figure 14 In the embodiments depicted, NVD 1410 executes VCN VR 1477 corresponding to the VCN to which compute instance 1468 belongs. NVD 1412 executes one or more VCN VR 1483 corresponding to one or more VCNs to which compute instances hosted by host machines 1406 and 1408 belong. In some embodiments, the VCN VR corresponding to a VCN is executed by all NVDs connected to host machines hosting at least one compute instance belonging to that VCN. If a host machine hosts compute instances belonging to different VCNs, then NVDs connected to that host machine can execute VCN VR corresponding to those different VCNs.

[0238] In addition to VNIC and VCN VR, NVD can execute various software (e.g., daemons) and include one or more hardware components that facilitate various network virtualization functions performed by NVD. For simplicity, these various components are grouped together as... Figure 14The term "packet processing component" is shown in the diagram. For example, NVD 1410 includes packet processing component 1486 and NVD 1412 includes packet processing component 1488. For instance, a packet processing component for an NVD may include a packet processor configured to interact with the NVD's ports and hardware interfaces to monitor all packets received by and transmitted using the NVD and to store network information. This network information may include, for example, network flow information identifying different network flows handled by the NVD and per-flow information (e.g., per-flow statistics). In some embodiments, network flow information may be stored on a per-VNIC basis. The packet processor may perform per-packet manipulation and implement stateful NAT and L4 firewall (FW). As another example, a packet processing component may include a replication agent configured to replicate information stored by the NVD to one or more different replication target repositories. As yet another example, a packet processing component may include a logging agent configured to perform logging functions of the NVD. The packet processing component may also include software for monitoring the performance and health of the NVD and may also monitor the status and health of other components connected to the NVD.

[0239] Figure 13 The components of an example virtual or overlay network are shown, including a VCN, subnets within the VCN, compute instances deployed on the subnets, VNICs associated with the compute instances, VRs for the VCN, and a collection of gateways configured for the VCN. Figure 13 The overlay component described in the text can be made by Figure 14 One or more executions or hosts are described in the physical components. For example, a compute instance in a VCN can be executed or managed by... Figure 14 The VNIC described herein is executed or hosted by one or more host machines. For a compute instance hosted by a host machine, the VNIC associated with that compute instance is typically executed by an NVD connected to that host machine (i.e., VNIC functionality is provided by an NVD connected to that host machine). The VCN VR functionality for a VCN is executed by all NVDs connected to the host machine hosting or executing a compute instance as part of that VCN. The gateway associated with the VCN can be executed by one or more different types of NVDs. For example, some gateways can be executed by a smart NIC, while others can be executed by one or more host machines or other implementations of NVDs.

[0240] As described above, compute instances in a client VCN can communicate with various endpoints, which can be within the same subnet as the source compute instance, in a different subnet but within the same VCN as the source compute instance, or communicate with endpoints located outside the VCN of the source compute instance. These communications are facilitated using VNICs, VCN VRs, and gateways associated with the VCNs.

[0241] For communication between two compute instances on the same subnet within a VCN, a VNIC associated with both the source and destination compute instances facilitates the communication. The source and destination compute instances can be hosted by the same host machine or different host machines. Packets originating from the source compute instance can be forwarded from the host machine hosting the source compute instance to an NVD connected to that host machine. On the NVD, packets are processed using a packet processing pipeline, which may include the execution of the VNIC associated with the source compute instance. Because the destination endpoint for the packet is within the same subnet, the execution of the VNIC associated with the source compute instance results in the packet being forwarded to the NVD executing the VNIC associated with the destination compute instance, whereupon the NVD processes the packet and forwards it to the destination compute instance. The VNIC associated with the source and destination compute instances can execute on the same NVD (e.g., when the source and destination compute instances are hosted by the same host machine) or on different NVDs (e.g., when the source and destination compute instances are hosted by different host machines connected to different NVDs). The VNIC can use a routing / forwarding table stored by the NVD to determine the next hop for the packet.

[0242] For packets destined for endpoints in different subnets within the same VCN, the packet originating from the source compute instance is forwarded from the host machine hosting the source compute instance to an NVD connected to that host machine. On the NVD, the packet is processed using a packet processing pipeline, which may include the execution of one or more VNICs and a VR associated with the VCN. For example, as part of the packet processing pipeline, the NVD executes or invokes functionality (also known as executing the VNIC) associated with the source compute instance. Functionality executed by the VNIC may include viewing VLAN tags on the packet. Since the packet's destination is outside the subnet, VCN VR functionality is then invoked and executed by the NVD. The VCN VR then routes the packet to the NVD executing the VNIC associated with the destination compute instance. The VNIC associated with the destination compute instance then processes the packet and forwards it to the destination compute instance. The VNICs associated with the source and destination compute instances may execute on the same NVD (e.g., when the source and destination compute instances are hosted by the same host machine) or on different NVDs (e.g., when the source and destination compute instances are hosted by different host machines connected to different NVDs).

[0243] If the destination of the packet is outside the VCN of the source compute instance, the packet originating from the source compute instance is forwarded from the host machine hosting the source compute instance to the NVD connected to that host machine. The NVD executes the VNIC associated with the source compute instance. Since the destination endpoint of the packet is outside the VCN, the packet is subsequently processed by the VCN VR for that VCN. The NVD invokes the VCN VR functionality, which results in the packet being forwarded to the NVD executing the appropriate gateway associated with the VCN. For example, if the destination is an endpoint within a customer's on-premises network, the packet may be forwarded by the VCN VR to the NVD executing the DRG gateway configured for the VCN. The VCN VR may execute on the same NVD as the NVD executing the VNIC associated with the source compute instance, or it may be executed by a different NVD. The gateway may be executed by the NVD, which may be a smart NIC, a host machine, or another NVD implementation. The packet is then processed by the gateway and forwarded to the next hop, which facilitates the forwarding of the packet to its intended destination endpoint. For example, in Figure 14 In the embodiment depicted, packets originating from compute instance 1468 can be transmitted from host machine 1402 to NVD 1410 via link 1420 (using NIC 1432). On NVD 1410, VNIC 1476 is invoked because it is the VNIC associated with the source compute instance 1468. VNIC 1476 is configured to examine the information encapsulated in the packet and determine the next hop for forwarding the packet, with the aim of facilitating the transmission of the packet to its intended destination endpoint, and then forwarding the packet to the determined next hop.

[0244] Compute instances deployed on a VCN can communicate with a variety of endpoints. These endpoints can include endpoints hosted by CSPI 1400 and endpoints outside of CSPI 1400. Endpoints hosted by CSPI 1400 can include instances within the same VCN or other VCNs, which can be the customer's VCN or a VCN not belonging to the customer. Communication between endpoints hosted by CSPI 1400 can be performed via physical network 1418. Compute instances can also communicate with endpoints not hosted by CSPI 1400 or outside of CSPI 1400. Examples of these endpoints include endpoints within the customer's on-premises network or data center, or public endpoints accessible via public networks such as the Internet. Communication with endpoints outside of CSPI 1400 can use various communication protocols over public networks (e.g., the Internet). Figure 14 (not shown in the image) or a dedicated network ( Figure 14 (Not shown in the image) to execute.

[0245] Figure 14The architecture of the CSPI 1400 depicted herein is merely an example and is not intended to be limiting. Variations, alternatives, and modifications are possible in alternative embodiments. For example, in some implementations, the CSPI 1400 may have more advanced features than... Figure 14 The systems or components shown may include more or fewer systems or components, and may combine two or more systems, or may have different system configurations or arrangements. Figure 14 The systems, subsystems, and other components described herein may be implemented in software (e.g., code, instructions, programs) executed by one or more processing units (e.g., processors, cores) of the respective system, using hardware, or a combination thereof. The software may be stored on a non-transitory storage medium (e.g., a memory device).

[0246] Figure 16 The diagram depicts a connection between a host machine and an NVD, according to certain embodiments, for providing I / O virtualization to support multi-tenancy. For example... Figure 16 As depicted, host machine 1602 executes hypervisor 1604 to provide a virtualized environment. Host machine 1602 executes two virtual machine instances, VM1 1606 belonging to customer / tenant #1 and VM2 1608 belonging to customer / tenant #2. Host machine 1602 includes a physical NIC 1610 connected to NVD 1612 via link 1614. Each compute instance is attached to a VNIC executed by NVD 1612. Figure 16 In the embodiment, VM1 1606 is attached to VNIC-VM1 1620 and VM2 1608 is attached to VNIC-VM2 1622.

[0247] like Figure 16 As shown, NIC 1610 includes two logical NICs, logical NIC A 1616 and logical NIC B 1618. Each virtual machine is attached to its own logical NIC and configured to work with its own logical NIC. For example, VM11606 is attached to logical NIC A 1616 and VM2 1608 is attached to logical NIC B 1618. Although host machine 1602 includes only one physical NIC 1610 shared by multiple tenants, due to the logical NICs, each tenant's virtual machines believe they have their own host machine and NIC.

[0248] In some embodiments, each logical NIC is assigned its own VLAN ID. Therefore, a specific VLAN ID is assigned to logical NIC A 1616 for tenant #1, and a separate VLAN ID is assigned to logical NIC B 1618 for tenant #2. When a packet is transmitted from VM1 1606, the hypervisor appends a tag assigned to tenant #1 to the packet, and the packet is then transmitted from host machine 1602 to NVD 1612 via link 1614. Similarly, when a packet is transmitted from VM2 1608, the hypervisor appends a tag assigned to tenant #2 to the packet, and the packet is then transmitted from host machine 1602 to NVD 1612 via link 1614. Thus, a packet 1624 transmitted from host machine 1602 to NVD 1612 has an associated tag 1626 identifying the specific tenant and the associated VM. On the NVD, for packet 1624 received from host machine 1602, the tag 1626 associated with the packet is used to determine whether the packet is processed by VNIC-VM1 1620 or VNIC-VM2 1622. The packet is then processed by the corresponding VNIC. Figure 16 The configuration described herein enables each tenant's compute instance to believe that it owns its own host machine and NIC. Figure 16 The setup described in [the document] provides I / O virtualization to support multi-tenancy.

[0249] Figure 17 A simplified block diagram of a physical network 1700 according to certain embodiments is depicted. Figure 17 The embodiments depicted are structured as Clos networks. Clos networks are a specific type of network topology designed to provide connectivity redundancy while maintaining high bandwidth and maximum resource utilization. Clos networks are non-blocking, multi-stage or multi-layer switching networks, where the number of stages or layers can be two, three, four, five, etc. Figure 17 The embodiment depicted is a Layer 3 network, including Layers 1, 2, and 3. The TOR switch 1704 represents a Layer 0 switch in a Clos network. One or more NVDs are connected to the TOR switch. Layer 0 switches are also referred to as edge devices of the physical network. Layer 0 switches are connected to Layer 1 switches, also known as leaf switches. Figure 17In the embodiments depicted, a set of "n" Layer 0 TOR switches is connected to a set of "n" Layer 1 switches, forming a pod (cluster). Each Layer 0 switch in a pod is interconnected to all Layer 1 switches within that pod, but there is no switch connectivity between pods. In some implementations, two pods are referred to as blocks. Each block is served by or connected to a set of "n" Layer 2 switches (sometimes called backbone switches). There can be several blocks in the physical network topology. The Layer 2 switches are then connected to "n" Layer 3 switches (sometimes called super backbone switches). Packet communication over the physical network 1700 is typically performed using one or more Layer 3 communication protocols. Typically, all layers of the physical network (except the TOR layer) are n-way redundant, thus allowing for high availability. Policies can be specified for pods and blocks to control the visibility of switches to each other within the physical network, enabling scaling of the physical network.

[0250] A key characteristic of Clos networks is that the maximum number of hops from one Layer 0 switch to another (or from an NVD connected to a Layer 0 switch to another NVD connected to a Layer 0 switch) is fixed. For example, in a Layer 3 Clos network, a packet takes a maximum of seven hops to reach another NVD, where the source and destination NVDs are connected to the leaf layers of the Clos network. Similarly, in a Layer 4 Clos network, a packet takes a maximum of nine hops to reach another NVD, where the source and destination NVDs are connected to the leaf layers of the Clos network. Therefore, the Clos network architecture maintains consistent latency throughout the network, which is important for communication within and between data centers. Clos topologies are horizontally scalable and cost-effective. Network bandwidth / throughput capacity can be easily increased by adding more switches at each layer (e.g., more leaf switches and backbone switches) and by increasing the number of links between switches in adjacent layers.

[0251] In some embodiments, each resource within the CSPI is assigned a unique identifier called a Cloud Identifier (CID). This identifier is included as part of the resource's information and can be used to manage the resource, for example, via a console or API. An example syntax for a CID is:

[0252]

[0253] in,

[0254] ocid1: A text string indicating the version of the CID;

[0255] resource type: The type of resource (e.g., instance, volume, VCN, subnet, user, group, etc.);

[0256] realm: The realm where the resource resides. Example values ​​are "c1" for the commercial realm, "c2" for the government cloud realm, or "c3" for the federal government cloud realm, etc. Each realm can have its own domain name;

[0257] region: The region where the resource is located. This section may be empty if the region is not applicable to the resource.

[0258] future use: to be reserved for future use.

[0259] Unique ID: The unique part of the ID. The format may vary depending on the type of resource or service.

[0260] As noted above, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a specific type of cloud computing. IaaS can be configured to provide virtualized computing resources over a public network (e.g., the Internet). In the IaaS model, cloud providers can host infrastructure components (e.g., servers, storage devices, network nodes (e.g., hardware), deployment software, platform virtualization (e.g., hypervisor layer), etc.). In some cases, IaaS providers can also offer various services accompanying these infrastructure components (e.g., billing, monitoring, logging, load balancing, and clustering). Therefore, because these services may be policy-driven, IaaS users can implement policies to drive load balancing to maintain application availability and performance.

[0261] In some instances, IaaS customers can access resources and services over a wide area network (WAN) such as the internet, and can use the cloud provider's services to install the remaining elements of the application stack. For example, a user can log in to the IaaS platform to create virtual machines (VMs), install an operating system (OS) on each VM, deploy middleware such as databases, create buckets for workloads and backups, and even install enterprise software into that VM. The customer can then use the provider's services to perform various functions, including balancing network traffic, troubleshooting application issues, monitoring performance, and managing disaster recovery.

[0262] In most cases, cloud computing models will require the involvement of cloud providers. Cloud providers can, but are not necessarily, third-party providers specializing in (e.g., provisioning, renting, selling) IaaS services. Entities may also choose to deploy private clouds, thus becoming their own infrastructure service providers.

[0263] In some examples, IaaS deployment is the process of placing a new application or a new version of an application onto a prepared application server, etc. It may also include the processing of server preparation (e.g., installation libraries, daemons, etc.). This is typically managed by the cloud provider, below the hypervisor layer (e.g., servers, storage devices, network hardware, and virtualization). Therefore, the customer can be responsible for processing (OS), middleware, and / or application deployment (e.g., on self-service virtual machines, etc., which can be started on demand).

[0264] In some examples, IaaS provisioning can refer to acquiring computers or virtual hosts for use, or even installing necessary libraries or services on them. In most cases, deployment does not include provisioning, and provisioning may need to be performed first.

[0265] In some cases, IaaS provisioning presents two distinct challenges. First, there's the initial challenge of provisioning the initial infrastructure set before anything is operational. Second, once everything is provisioned, there's the challenge of evolving the existing infrastructure (e.g., adding new services, changing services, removing services, etc.). In some cases, these challenges can be addressed by enabling the declarative definition of infrastructure configuration. In other words, the infrastructure (e.g., which components are needed and how they interact) can be defined by one or more configuration files. Therefore, the overall topology of the infrastructure (e.g., which resources depend on which resources and how they work together) can be described declaratively. In some instances, once the topology is defined, workflows for creating and / or managing the different components described in the configuration files can be generated.

[0266] In some examples, the infrastructure can have many interconnected components. For example, there may be one or more Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs) (e.g., potential on-demand pools of configurable and / or shared computing resources), also known as the core network. In some examples, one or more inbound / outbound traffic group rules may also be provided to define how inbound / outbound traffic to the network and one or more virtual machines (VMs) will be configured. Other infrastructure elements, such as load balancers, databases, etc., may also be provided. The infrastructure can evolve incrementally as more and / or more infrastructure elements are desired and added.

[0267] In some instances, continuous deployment techniques can be employed to enable the deployment of infrastructure code across various virtual computing environments. Furthermore, the described techniques enable infrastructure management within these environments. In some examples, service teams may write code that they expect to deploy to one or more, but often many, different production environments (e.g., across various geographical locations, sometimes spanning the entire world). However, in some examples, the infrastructure on which the code will be deployed must first be set up. In some instances, provisioning can be done manually, resources can be provisioned using provisioning tools, and / or once the infrastructure is provisioned, the code can be deployed using deployment tools.

[0268] Figure 18 This is a block diagram 1800 illustrating an example pattern of an IaaS architecture according to at least one embodiment. Service operator 1802 may communicatively couple to secure host lease 1804, which may include a virtual cloud network (VCN) 1806 and a secure host subnet 1808. In some examples, service operator 1802 may use one or more client computing devices, which may be portable handheld devices (e.g., iPhone®, cellular phone, iPad®, computing tablet, personal digital assistant (PDA)) or wearable devices (e.g., Google Glass® head-mounted display), running software (such as Microsoft Windows Mobile®) and / or various mobile operating systems (such as iOS, Windows Phone, Android, BlackBerry 8, Palm OS, etc.), and supporting the Internet, email, short message service (SMS), Blackberry®, or other communication protocols. Alternatively, client computing devices may be general-purpose personal computers, including, for example, personal computers and / or laptops running various versions of Microsoft Windows®, Apple Macintosh®, and / or Linux operating systems. Client computing devices can be workstation computers running a variety of commercially available UNIX® or UNIX-like operating systems, including but not limited to any of the various GNU / Linux operating systems (such as, for example, Google Chrome OS). Alternatively or additionally, client computing devices can be any other electronic device, such as thin client computers, internet-enabled gaming systems (e.g., Microsoft Xbox game consoles with or without Kinect® gesture input devices), and / or personal messaging devices capable of communicating over a network that can access VCN 1806 and / or the internet.

[0269] VCN 1806 may include a local peering gateway (LPG) 1810, which may be communicatively coupled to SSH VCN 1812 via LPG 1810 contained in a Secure Shell (SSH) VCN 1812. SSH VCN 1812 may include an SSH subnet 1814, and SSH VCN 1812 may be communicatively coupled to control plane VCN 1816 via LPG 1810 contained in control plane VCN 1816. Furthermore, SSH VCN 1812 may be communicatively coupled to data plane VCN 1818 via LPG 1810. Control plane VCN 1816 and data plane VCN 1818 may be contained in a service lease 1819 that may be owned and / or operated by an IaaS provider.

[0270] The control plane VCN 1816 may include a control plane demilitarized zone (DMZ) layer 1820 that acts as a peripheral network (e.g., part of a corporate network between a corporate intranet and an external network). DMZ-based servers can have limited accountability and help keep vulnerabilities suppressed. Furthermore, the DMZ layer 1820 may include one or more load balancer (LB) subnets 1822, a control plane application layer 1824 that may include one or more application subnets 1826, and a control plane data layer 1828 that may include one or more database (DB) subnets 1830 (e.g., one or more front-end DB subnets and / or one or more back-end DB subnets). One or more LB subnets 1822 included in the control plane DMZ layer 1820 can be communicatively coupled to one or more application subnets 1826 included in the control plane application layer 1824 and an Internet gateway 1834 that can be included in the control plane VCN 1816. The one or more application subnets 1826 can be communicatively coupled to one or more DB subnets 1830 included in the control plane data layer 1828, as well as a service gateway 1836 and a Network Address Translation (NAT) gateway 1838. The control plane VCN 1816 may include the service gateway 1836 and the NAT gateway 1838.

[0271] The control plane VCN 1816 may include a data plane mirror application layer 1840, which may include one or more application subnets 1826. The one or more application subnets 1826 included in the data plane mirror application layer 1840 may include a virtual network interface controller (VNIC) 1842, which can execute a compute instance 1844. The compute instance 1844 may communicatively couple the one or more application subnets 1826 of the data plane mirror application layer 1840 to the one or more application subnets 1826 that may be included in the data plane application layer 1846.

[0272] Data plane VCN 1818 may include data plane application layer 1846, data plane DMZ layer 1848, and data plane data layer 1850. Data plane DMZ layer 1848 may include one or more LB subnets 1822, which may be communicatively coupled to one or more application subnets 1826 of data plane application layer 1846 and Internet gateway 1834 of data plane VCN 1818. One or more application subnets 1826 may be communicatively coupled to service gateway 1836 and NAT gateway 1838 of data plane VCN 1818. Data plane data layer 1850 may also include one or more DB subnets 1830 that may be communicatively coupled to one or more application subnets 1826 of data plane application layer 1846.

[0273] The Internet gateway 1834 of the control plane VCN 1816 and data plane VCN 1818 can be communicatively coupled to the metadata management service 1852, which in turn can be communicatively coupled to the public Internet 1854. The public Internet 1854 can be communicatively coupled to the NAT gateway 1838 of the control plane VCN 1816 and data plane VCN 1818. The service gateway 1836 of the control plane VCN 1816 and data plane VCN 1818 can be communicatively coupled to the cloud service 1856.

[0274] In some examples, the service gateway 1836 of the control plane VCN 1816 or data plane VCN 1818 can make application programming interface (API) calls to the cloud service 1856 without traversing the public internet 1854. API calls from the service gateway 1836 to the cloud service 1856 can be unidirectional: the service gateway 1836 can make API calls to the cloud service 1856, and the cloud service 1856 can send requested data to the service gateway 1836. However, the cloud service 1856 may not initiate API calls to the service gateway 1836.

[0275] In some examples, secure host lease 1804 can be directly connected to service lease 1819, which may be otherwise isolated. Secure host subnet 1808 can communicate with SSH subnet 1814 via LPG 1810, which can enable bidirectional communication through otherwise isolated systems. Connecting secure host subnet 1808 to SSH subnet 1814 allows secure host subnet 1808 to access other entities within service lease 1819.

[0276] Control plane VCN 1816 can allow user service leases 1819 to configure or otherwise provide desired resources. The desired resources provisioned in control plane VCN 1816 can be deployed or otherwise used in data plane VCN 1818. In some examples, control plane VCN 1816 can be isolated from data plane VCN 1818, and the data plane mirror application layer 1840 of control plane VCN 1816 can communicate with the data plane application layer 1846 of data plane VCN 1818 via a VNIC 1842 that can be included in both the data plane mirror application layer 1840 and the data plane application layer 1846.

[0277] In some examples, a user or client of the system may issue a request, such as a Create, Read, Update, or Delete (CRUD) operation, via the public internet 1854, which can then forward the request to the metadata management service 1852. The metadata management service 1852 can then forward the request to the control plane VCN 1816 via internet gateway 1834. The request may be received by one or more LB subnets 1822 contained in the control plane DMZ layer 1820. The LB subnets 1822 can determine that the request is valid, and in response to this determination, they can forward the request to one or more application subnets 1826 contained in the control plane application layer 1824. If the request is validated and requires an invocation of the public internet 1854, the invocation of the public internet 1854 can be forwarded to the NAT gateway 1838, which can then invoke the public internet 1854. The request may expect the stored metadata to be stored in one or more DB subnets 1830.

[0278] In some examples, the data plane mirroring application layer 1840 can facilitate direct communication between the control plane VCN 1816 and the data plane VCN 1818. For example, it may be desirable to apply configuration changes, updates, or other appropriate modifications to resources contained in the data plane VCN 1818. Through VNIC 1842, the control plane VCN 1816 can communicate directly with the resources contained in the data plane VCN 1818, and thus can perform configuration changes, updates, or other appropriate modifications to them.

[0279] In some embodiments, the control plane VCN 1816 and data plane VCN 1818 may be included in service lease 1819. In this case, the system's users or customers may not own or operate either the control plane VCN 1816 or the data plane VCN 1818. Alternatively, the IaaS provider may own or operate both the control plane VCN 1816 and the data plane VCN 1818, both of which may be included in service lease 1819. This embodiment enables network isolation, preventing users or customers from interacting with the resources of other users or customers. Moreover, this embodiment allows the system's users or customers to privately store databases without relying on the public internet 1854, which may not have the desired level of threat protection.

[0280] In other embodiments, one or more LB subnets 1822 included in the control plane VCN 1816 may be configured to receive signals from the serving gateway 1836. In this embodiment, the control plane VCN 1816 and the data plane VCN 1818 may be configured to be invoked by the IaaS provider's customers without invoking the public internet 1854. The IaaS provider's customers may expect this embodiment because the database(s) used by the customer can be controlled by the IaaS provider and can be stored on a service lease 1819, which may be isolated from the public internet 1854.

[0281] Figure 19 This is a block diagram 1900 illustrating another example pattern of an IaaS architecture according to at least one embodiment. Service operator 1902 (e.g., Figure 18 Service providers (1802) can communicatively couple to secure host leases (1904, e.g., Figure 18 Secure hosting lease 1804), Secure hosting lease 1904 may include Virtual Cloud Network (VCN) 1906 (e.g., Figure 18 VCN 1806) and Secure Host Subnet 1908 (e.g., Figure 18The secure host subnet 1808). VCN 1906 may include a local peering gateway (LPG) 1910 (e.g., Figure 18 LPG 1810), LPG 1910 can be transmitted via Secure Shell (SSH) VCN 1912 (e.g., Figure 18 The LPG 1810 included in SSH VCN 1812 is communicatively coupled to SSH VCN 1912. SSH VCN 1912 may include SSH subnet 1914 (e.g., Figure 18 SSH subnet 1814), and SSH VCN 1912 can be communicatively coupled to control plane VCN 1916 via LPG 1910 contained in control plane VCN 1916 (e.g., Figure 18 Control plane VCN 1816). Control plane VCN 1916 may be included in service lease 1919 (e.g., Figure 18 In the service lease 1819), and the data plane VCN 1918 (e.g., Figure 18 The data plane VCN 1818 can be included in customer lease 1921, which can be owned or operated by the system's user or customer.

[0282] The control plane VCN 1916 may include (one or more) LB subnets 1922 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane DMZ layer 1920 of (one or more) LB subnets 1822 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane DMZ layer 1820 may include one or more application subnets 1926 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane application layer 1924 of (one or more) application subnets 1826 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane application layer 1824) may include one or more database (DB) subnets 1930 (e.g., similar to...). Figure 18 The control plane data layer 1928 of (one or more) DB subnets 1830 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane data layer 1828). One or more LB subnets 1922 included in the control plane DMZ layer 1920 can be communicatively coupled to one or more application subnets 1926 included in the control plane application layer 1924, and an Internet gateway 1934 (e.g., included in the control plane VCN 1916) can be included in the control plane VCN 1916. Figure 18 Internet gateway 1834), and application subnet(s) 1926 can communicatively couple to DB subnet(s) 1930 contained in control plane data layer 1928 and service gateway 1936 (e.g., Internet gateway 1834), and application subnet(s) 1926 can be communicatively coupled to DB subnet(s) 1930 contained in control plane data layer 1928 and service gateway 1936 (e.g., Internet gateway 1834), and application subnet(s) 1926 can communicatively couple to DB subnet(s) 1930 contained in control plane data layer 1928 and service gateway(s) 1936 (e.g., Internet gateway 1834), and service subnet(s) 1926 can communicatively couple to DB subnet(s) 1930 contained in control plane data layer 1928 and service gateway(s) 1936 (e.g., Internet gateway 1834), and service subnet(s) 1926 can communicatively couple to DB subnet(s) 1930 contained in control plane data layer 1928 and service gateway(s) 1936 (e.g., Internet gateway 1834), and service subnet(s) 193 ... Figure 18Service gateway 1836) and Network Address Translation (NAT) gateway 1938 (e.g., Figure 18 (NAT gateway 1838). The control plane VCN 1916 may include the service gateway 1936 and the NAT gateway 1938.

[0283] The control plane VCN 1916 may include a data plane mirror of the application layer 1940, which may include one or more application subnets 1926 (e.g., Figure 18 The data plane mirror application layer 1940). The application subnet(s) 1926 contained in the data plane mirror application layer 1940 may include executable compute instances 1944 (e.g., similar to...). Figure 18 The virtual network interface controller (VNIC) 1942 (e.g., the VNIC of 1842) of the computing instance 1844. The computing instance 1944 can facilitate the connection between the VNIC 1942 contained in the data plane mirroring application layer 1940 and the VNIC 1942 contained in the data plane application layer 1946, and one or more application subnets 1926 of the data plane mirroring application layer 1940 and the VNIC 1942 contained in the data plane application layer 1946 (e.g., Figure 18 Communication between one or more application subnets 1926 in the data plane application layer 1846.

[0284] The Internet gateway 1934 included in the control plane VCN 1916 can be communicatively coupled to the metadata management service 1952 (e.g., Figure 18 Metadata management service 1852), which can communicatively couple to the public Internet 1954 (e.g., Figure 18 The public internet 1954 can communicatively couple to the NAT gateway 1938 contained in the control plane VCN 1916. The service gateway 1936 contained in the control plane VCN 1916 can communicatively couple to the cloud service 1956 (e.g., Figure 18 Cloud services (1856).

[0285] In some examples, data plane VCN 1918 may be included in customer lease 1921. In this case, the IaaS provider may provide control plane VCN 1916 for each customer, and the IaaS provider may set up a unique compute instance 1944 for each customer, included in service lease 1919. Each compute instance 1944 may allow communication between control plane VCN 1916 included in service lease 1919 and data plane VCN 1918 included in customer lease 1921. Compute instance 1944 may allow resources provisioned in control plane VCN 1916 included in service lease 1919 to be deployed or otherwise used in data plane VCN 1918 included in customer lease 1921.

[0286] In other examples, an IaaS provider's customer may have a database that exists in customer lease 1921. In this example, control plane VCN 1916 may include a data plane mirror application layer 1940 that may include one or more application subnets 1926. Data plane mirror application layer 1940 may reside in data plane VCN 1918, but may not exist in data plane VCN 1918. That is, data plane mirror application layer 1940 may be able to access customer lease 1921, but may not exist in data plane VCN 1918 or be owned or operated by the IaaS provider's customer. Data plane mirror application layer 1940 may be configured to invoke data plane VCN 1918, but cannot be configured to invoke any entities contained in control plane VCN 1916. Customers may expect to deploy or otherwise use the resources in the data plane VCN 1918 provided in the control plane VCN 1916, and the data plane mirroring application layer 1940 can facilitate the customer's expected deployment or other resource usage.

[0287] In some embodiments, an IaaS provider's customer can apply filters to data plane VCN 1918. In this embodiment, the customer can determine what data plane VCN 1918 can access, and the customer can restrict access from data plane VCN 1918 to the public Internet 1954. The IaaS provider may not be able to apply filters or otherwise control data plane VCN 1918's access to any external networks or databases. Applying filters and controls to data plane VCN 1918 included in customer lease 1921 can help isolate data plane VCN 1918 from other customers and the public Internet 1954.

[0288] In some embodiments, cloud service 1956 can be invoked by service gateway 1936 to access services that may not exist on the public internet 1954, control plane VCN 1916, or data plane VCN 1918. The connection between cloud service 1956 and control plane VCN 1916 or data plane VCN 1918 may not be real-time or continuous. Cloud service 1956 may reside on different networks owned or operated by an IaaS provider. Cloud service 1956 may be configured to receive invocations from service gateway 1936 and may be configured not to receive invocations from the public internet 1954. Some cloud services 1956 may be isolated from other cloud services 1956, and control plane VCN 1916 may be isolated from cloud services 1956, meaning the cloud service 1956 may not be located in the same region as control plane VCN 1916. For example, control plane VCN 1916 may be located in "Region 1," while cloud service "Deployment 18" may be located in both "Region 1" and "Region 2." If deployment 18 is invoked by service gateway 1936 contained in control plane VCN 1916 in region 1, the invocation can be routed to deployment 18 in region 1. In this example, control plane VCN 1916 or deployment 18 in region 1 may not be communicatively coupled to or otherwise communicate with deployment 18 in region 2.

[0289] Figure 20 This is a block diagram 2000 illustrating another example pattern of an IaaS architecture according to at least one embodiment. Service operator 2002 (e.g., Figure 18 Service providers (1802) can communicatively couple to secure host rental (2004) (e.g., Figure 18 Secure hosting lease 1804), the secure hosting lease 2004 may include Virtual Cloud Network (VCN) 2006 (e.g., Figure 18 VCN 1806) and Secure Host Subnet 2008 (e.g., Figure 18 The secure host subnet 1808). VCN 2006 can include LPG 2010 (e.g., Figure 18 LPG 1810), which can be accessed via SSH VCN 2012 (e.g., Figure 18 The LPG 2010 in SSH VCN 2012 is communicatively coupled to SSH VCN 2012. SSH VCN 2012 may include SSH subnet 2014 (e.g., Figure 18 SSH subnet 1814), and SSH VCN 2012 can be communicatively coupled to control plane VCN 2016 via LPG2010 included in control plane VCN 2016 (e.g., Figure 18The control plane VCN 1816), and can be communicatively coupled to the data plane VCN 2018 via the LPG 2010 included in the data plane VCN 2018 (e.g., Figure 18 Data plane 1818). Control plane VCN 2016 and data plane VCN 2018 can be included in service lease 2019 (e.g., Figure 18 In the service rental (1819).

[0290] Control plane VCN 2016 may include control plane DMZ layer 2020 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane DMZ layer 1820), control plane DMZ layer 2020 may include one or more load balancer (LB) subnets 2022 (e.g., Figure 18 (one or more) LB subnets 1822), may include (one or more) application subnets 2026 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane application layer 2024 of (one or more) application subnets 1826 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane application layer 1824), may include (one or more) control plane data layers 2028 of DB subnet 2030 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane data layer 1828). One or more LB subnets 2022 contained in the control plane DMZ layer 2020 can be communicatively coupled to one or more application subnets 2026 contained in the control plane application layer 2024 and an Internet gateway 2034 that can be contained in the control plane VCN 2016 (e.g., Figure 18 Internet gateway 1834), and application subnet(s) 2026 can communicatively couple to DB subnet(s) 2030 contained in control plane data layer 2028 and service gateway 2036 (e.g., Figure 18 The service gateway) and Network Address Translation (NAT) gateway 2038 (e.g., Figure 18 (NAT gateway 1838). The control plane VCN 2016 may include service gateway 2036 and NAT gateway 2038.

[0291] Data plane VCN 2018 may include data plane application layer 2046 (e.g., Figure 18 Data plane application layer 1846), data plane DMZ layer 2048 (e.g., Figure 18 Data plane DMZ layer 1848) and data plane data layer 2050 (e.g., Figure 18The data plane data layer 1850). The data plane DMZ layer 2048 may include one or more LB subnets 2022, which may be communicatively coupled to one or more trusted application subnets 2060 and one or more untrusted application subnets 2062 of the data plane application layer 2046, as well as the Internet gateway 2034 included in the data plane VCN 2018. One or more trusted application subnets 2060 may be communicatively coupled to the service gateway 2036 included in the data plane VCN 2018, the NAT gateway 2038 included in the data plane VCN 2018, and one or more DB subnets 2030 included in the data plane data layer 2050. One or more untrusted application subnets 2062 may be communicatively coupled to the service gateway 2036 included in the data plane VCN 2018 and the one or more DB subnets 2030 included in the data plane data layer 2050. The data plane data layer 2050 may include one or more DB subnets 2030, which may be communicatively coupled to the service gateway 2036 contained in the data plane VCN 2018.

[0292] One or more untrusted application subnets 2062 may include one or more primary VNICs 2064(1)-(N) that may communicatively couple to tenant virtual machines (VMs) 2066(1)-(N). Each tenant VM 2066(1)-(N) may communicatively couple to a corresponding application subnet 2067(1)-(N) that may be contained in a corresponding container egress VCN 2068(1)-(N), which may be contained in a corresponding customer lease 2070(1)-(N). A corresponding secondary VNIC 2072(1)-(N) may facilitate communication between the one or more untrusted application subnets 2062 contained in the data plane VCN 2018 and the application subnets contained in the container egress VCN 2068(1)-(N). Each container egress VCN 2068(1)-(N) may include a NAT gateway 2038, which may communicatively couple to the public Internet 2054 (e.g., Figure 18 The public internet (1854).

[0293] The Internet gateway 2034, contained in the control plane VCN 2016 and the data plane VCN 2018, can communicatively couple to the metadata management service 2052 (e.g., Figure 18The metadata management system 2052 can be communicatively coupled to the public internet 2054. The public internet 2054 can be communicatively coupled to a NAT gateway 2038 contained in a control plane VCN 2016 and a data plane VCN 2018. The service gateway 2036 contained in a control plane VCN 2016 and a data plane VCN 2018 can be communicatively coupled to a cloud service 2056.

[0294] In some embodiments, the data plane VCN 2018 can be integrated with the customer lease 2070. Such integration can be useful or desirable to the IaaS provider's customers in certain situations, such as when support may be needed during code execution. Customers may provide code to be run that could be destructive, communicate with other customer resources, or otherwise cause undesirable effects. In response, the IaaS provider can determine whether to run the code provided by the customer.

[0295] In some examples, an IaaS provider's customer can grant temporary network access to the IaaS provider and request that functionality be attached to the data plane application layer 2046. The code running this functionality can execute in VMs 2066(1)-(N), and this code may not be configured to run anywhere else on the data plane VCN 2018. Each VM 2066(1)-(N) can be connected to a customer lease 2070. The corresponding container 2071(1)-(N) contained within VMs 2066(1)-(N) can be configured to run the code. In this case, there can be dual isolation (e.g., container 2071(1)-(N) runs the code, where container 2071(1)-(N) may be contained within VMs 2066(1)-(N) that are at least contained in one or more untrusted application subnets 2062), which can help prevent incorrect or otherwise unintended code from corrupting the IaaS provider's network or the networks of different customers. Containers 2071(1)-(N) may be communicatively coupled to customer lease 2070 and may be configured to send or receive data from customer lease 2070. Containers 2071(1)-(N) may not be configured to transmit or receive data from any other entity in the data plane VCN2018. After the running code is completed, the IaaS provider may terminate or otherwise dispose of containers 2071(1)-(N).

[0296] In some embodiments, one or more trusted application subnets 2060 may run code owned or operated by an IaaS provider. In this embodiment, one or more trusted application subnets 2060 may be communicatively coupled to one or more database subnets 2030 and configured to perform CRUD operations in one or more database subnets 2030. One or more untrusted application subnets 2062 may be communicatively coupled to one or more database subnets 2030, but in this embodiment, one or more untrusted application subnets may be configured to perform read operations in one or more database subnets 2030. Containers 2071(1)-(N) that may be contained in each customer's VM 2066(1)-(N) and may run code from the customer may not be communicatively coupled to one or more database subnets 2030.

[0297] In other embodiments, the control plane VCN 2016 and the data plane VCN 2018 may be coupled without direct communication. In this embodiment, there may be no direct communication between the control plane VCN 2016 and the data plane VCN 2018. However, communication can occur indirectly through at least one method. An LPG 2010 may be established by the IaaS provider to facilitate communication between the control plane VCN 2016 and the data plane VCN 2018. In another example, either the control plane VCN 2016 or the data plane VCN 2018 may invoke cloud service 2056 via service gateway 2036. For example, invoking cloud service 2056 from the control plane VCN 2016 may include a request for a service that can communicate with the data plane VCN 2018.

[0298] Figure 21 This is a block diagram 2100 illustrating another example pattern of an IaaS architecture according to at least one embodiment. Service operator 2102 (e.g., Figure 18 The service provider 1802) can communicatively couple to the secure host lease 2104 (e.g., Figure 18 Secure hosting lease 1804), the secure hosting lease 2104 may include a virtual cloud network (VCN) 2106 (e.g., Figure 18 VCN 1806) and Secure Host Subnet 2108 (e.g., Figure 18 The secure host subnet 1808). VCN 2106 may include LPG 2110 (e.g., Figure 18 LPG 1810), the LPG 2110 can be contained in SSH VCN 2112 (e.g., Figure 18LPG 2110 in SSH VCN 2112 is communicatively coupled to SSH VCN 2112. SSH VCN 2112 may include SSH subnet 2114 (e.g., Figure 18 SSH subnet 1814), and SSH VCN 2112 can be communicatively coupled to control plane VCN 2116 via LPG 2110 included in control plane VCN 2116 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane VCN 1816) and coupled to the data plane VCN 2118 via the LPG 2110 contained in the data plane VCN 2118 (e.g., Figure 18 Data plane 1818). Control plane VCN 2116 and data plane VCN 2118 may be contained in service lease 2119 (e.g., Figure 18 In the service rental (1819).

[0299] The control plane VCN 2116 may include one or more LB subnets 2122 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane DMZ layer 2120 of (one or more) LB subnets 1822) (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane DMZ layer 1820 may include (one or more) application subnets 2126 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane application layer 2124 of (one or more) application subnets 1826 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane application layer 1824) may include one or more DB subnets 2130 (e.g., Figure 20 The control plane data layer 2128 of (one or more) DB subnets 2030 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane data layer 1828). One or more LB subnets 2122 contained in the control plane DMZ layer 2120 can be communicatively coupled to one or more application subnets 2126 contained in the control plane application layer 2124 and an Internet gateway 2134 that can be contained in the control plane VCN 2116 (e.g., Figure 18 Internet gateway 1834), and application subnet(s) 2126 can communicatively couple to DB subnet(s) 2130 contained in control plane data layer 2128 and service gateway 2136 (e.g., Figure 18 The service gateway) and the Network Address Translation (NAT) gateway 2138 (e.g., Figure 18 (NAT gateway 1838). The control plane VCN 2116 may include the service gateway 2136 and the NAT gateway 2138.

[0300] Data plane VCN 2118 may include data plane application layer 2146 (e.g., Figure 18 Data plane application layer 1846), data plane DMZ layer 2148 (e.g., Figure 18 Data plane DMZ layer 1848) and data plane data layer 2150 (e.g., Figure 18 The data plane data layer 1850). The data plane DMZ layer 2148 may include one or more LB subnets 2122, which may be communicatively coupled to one or more trusted application subnets 2160 of the data plane application layer 2146 (e.g., Figure 20 (one or more) trusted application subnets 2060) and (one or more) untrusted application subnets 2162 (e.g., Figure 20 The data plane VCN 2118 may include one or more untrusted application subnets 2162 and an Internet gateway 2134. One or more trusted application subnets 2160 may be communicatively coupled to a service gateway 2136, a NAT gateway 2138, and a DB subnet 2130 within the data plane VCN 2118. One or more untrusted application subnets 2162 may be communicatively coupled to a service gateway 2136 and a DB subnet 2130 within the data plane VCN 2118. The data plane data layer 2150 may include one or more DB subnets 2130 that may be communicatively coupled to a service gateway 2136 within the data plane VCN 2118.

[0301] One or more untrusted application subnets 2162 may include primary VNICs 2164(1)-(N), which may be communicatively coupled to tenant virtual machines (VMs) 2166(1)-(N) residing within one or more untrusted application subnets 2162. Each tenant VM 2166(1)-(N) may run code in a corresponding container 2167(1)-(N) and may be communicatively coupled to an application subnet 2126, which may be contained in a data plane application layer 2146, which may be contained in a container egress VCN 2168. A corresponding secondary VNIC 2172(1)-(N) may facilitate communication between one or more untrusted application subnets 2162 contained in the data plane VCN 2118 and the application subnets contained in the container egress VCN 2168. The container export VCN may include components that can communicatively couple to the public internet (e.g., Figure 18The public internet (1854) uses NAT gateway 2138.

[0302] The Internet gateway 2134, contained in the control plane VCN 2116 and the data plane VCN 2118, can be communicatively coupled to the metadata management service 2152 (e.g., Figure 18 The metadata management system 2152 can communicatively couple to the public internet 2154. The public internet 2154 can communicatively couple to a NAT gateway 2138 contained in a control plane VCN 2116 and a data plane VCN 2118. The service gateway 2136 contained in the control plane VCN 2116 and the data plane VCN 2118 can communicatively couple to a cloud service 2156.

[0303] In some examples, Figure 21 The architecture shown in block diagram 2100 can be considered as... Figure 20 This is an exception to the pattern shown in the block diagram 2000, and this pattern may be what the IaaS provider's customers expect if the IaaS provider cannot communicate directly with the customer (e.g., in a disconnected region). The customer can access in real time the corresponding container 2167(1)-(N) contained in each customer's VM 2166(1)-(N). Container 2167(1)-(N) can be configured to invoke the corresponding auxiliary VNIC 2172(1)-(N) contained in one or more application subnets 2126 of the data plane application layer 2146, which may be contained in the container egress VCN 2168. The auxiliary VNIC 2172(1)-(N) can transmit the call to the NAT gateway 2138, which can then transmit the call to the public internet 2154. In this example, containers 2167(1)-(N), which can be accessed by clients in real time, can be isolated from the control plane VCN 2116 and from other entities contained in the data plane VCN 2118. Containers 2167(1)-(N) can also be isolated from resources from other clients.

[0304] In other examples, a client may use container 2167(1)-(N) to invoke cloud service 2156. In this example, the client may run code within container 2167(1)-(N) requesting a service from cloud service 2156. Container 2167(1)-(N) may transmit the request to auxiliary VNIC 2172(1)-(N), which may transmit the request to a NAT gateway, which may transmit the request to public internet 2154. Public internet 2154 may transmit the request via internet gateway 2134 to one or more LB subnets 2122 contained in control plane VCN 2116. In response to determining that the request is valid, one or more LB subnets may transmit the request to one or more application subnets 2126, which may transmit the request to cloud service 2156 via service gateway 2136.

[0305] It should be recognized that the IaaS architectures 1800, 1900, 2000, and 2100 depicted in the figures may have other components besides those depicted. Furthermore, the embodiments shown in the figures are merely some examples of cloud infrastructure systems that can be incorporated into embodiments of this disclosure. In some other embodiments, the IaaS system may have more or fewer components than shown in the figures, may combine two or more components, or may have different configurations or component arrangements.

[0306] In some embodiments, the IaaS system described herein may include application suites, middleware, and database service offerings delivered to customers in a self-service, subscription-based, elastically scalable, reliable, highly available, and secure manner. An example of such an IaaS system is the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) provided by this assignee.

[0307] Figure 22 An example computer system 2200, in which various embodiments can be implemented, is illustrated. System 2200 can be used to implement any of the computer systems described above. As shown, computer system 2200 includes a processing unit 2204 that communicates with a plurality of peripheral subsystems via a bus subsystem 2202. These peripheral subsystems may include a processing acceleration unit 2206, an I / O subsystem 2208, a storage subsystem 2218, and a communication subsystem 2224. Storage subsystem 2218 includes a tangible computer-readable storage medium 2222 and system memory 2210.

[0308] Bus subsystem 2202 provides a mechanism for allowing various components and subsystems of computer system 2200 to communicate with each other as intended. While bus subsystem 2202 is schematically shown as a single bus, alternative embodiments of the bus subsystem may utilize multiple buses. Bus subsystem 2202 can be any of several types of bus architectures, including memory buses or memory controllers, peripheral buses, and local buses using any of the various bus architectures available. For example, such architectures may include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) buses, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) buses, Enhanced ISA (EISA) buses, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local buses, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) buses, which may be implemented as Mezzanine buses manufactured according to the IEEE P1386.1 standard.

[0309] A processing unit 2204, which may be implemented as one or more integrated circuits (e.g., a conventional microprocessor or microcontroller), controls the operation of the computer system 2200. One or more processors may be included in the processing unit 2204. These processors may include single-core or multi-core processors. In some embodiments, the processing unit 2204 may be implemented as one or more independent processing units 2232 and / or 2234, each including a single-core or multi-core processor. In other embodiments, the processing unit 2204 may also be implemented as a quad-core processing unit formed by integrating two dual-core processors into a single chip.

[0310] In various embodiments, processing unit 2204 can execute various programs in response to program code and can maintain multiple concurrently executing programs or processes. At any given time, some or all of the program code to be executed can reside in processor(s) 2204 and / or storage subsystem 2218. With appropriate programming, processor(s) 2204 can provide the various functions described above. Computer system 2200 may additionally include processing acceleration unit 2206, which may include digital signal processor (DSP), dedicated processor, etc.

[0311] I / O subsystem 2208 may include user interface input devices and user interface output devices. User interface input devices may include keyboards, pointing devices such as mice or trackballs, touchpads or touchscreens integrated into a display, scroll wheels, click wheels, dials, buttons, switches, keyboards, audio input devices with voice command recognition systems, microphones, and other types of input devices. User interface input devices may include, for example, motion sensing and / or gesture recognition devices, such as the Microsoft Kinect® motion sensor, which enables users to control and interact with input devices such as the Microsoft Xbox® 360 game controller via a natural user interface using gestures and voice commands. User interface input devices may also include eye posture recognition devices, such as the Google Glass® blink detector, which detects eye activity from the user (e.g., “blinking” when taking a photo and / or making menu selections) and translates the eye posture into input in an input device (e.g., Google Glass®). Furthermore, user interface input devices may include voice recognition sensing devices that enable users to interact with a voice recognition system (e.g., the Siri® navigator) via voice commands.

[0312] User interface input devices may also include, but are not limited to, 3D mice, joysticks or pointing sticks, game panels and drawing tablets, as well as audio / video devices such as speakers, digital cameras, digital camcorders, portable media players, webcams, image scanners, fingerprint scanners, barcode readers, 3D scanners, 3D printers, laser rangefinders, and eye-tracking devices. Furthermore, user interface input devices may include, for example, medical imaging input devices such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and medical ultrasound equipment. User interface input devices may also include, for example, audio input devices such as MIDI keyboards, digital musical instruments, etc.

[0313] User interface output devices may include display subsystems, indicator lights, or non-visual displays such as audio output devices, etc. Display subsystems may be cathode ray tubes (CRTs), flat panel devices such as those using liquid crystal displays (LCDs) or plasma displays, projection devices, touchscreens, etc. Generally, the term "output device" is intended to include all possible types of devices and mechanisms for outputting information from computer system 2200 to a user or other computer. For example, user interface output devices may include, but are not limited to, various display devices that visually convey text, graphics, and audio / video information, such as monitors, printers, speakers, headphones, car navigation systems, plotters, voice output devices, and modems.

[0314] Computer system 2200 may include storage subsystem 2218, which provides a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium for storing software and data constructs that provide the functionality of the embodiments described in this disclosure. The software may include programs, code modules, instructions, scripts, etc., which, when executed by one or more cores or processors of processing unit 2204, provide the aforementioned functionality. Storage subsystem 2218 may also provide a repository for storing data used according to this disclosure.

[0315] like Figure 22 As illustrated in the example, storage subsystem 2218 may include various components, including system memory 2210, computer-readable storage medium 2222, and computer-readable storage medium reader 2220. System memory 2210 may store program instructions that can be loaded and executed by processing unit 2204. System memory 2210 may also store data used during instruction execution and / or data generated during program instruction execution. Various types of programs may be loaded into system memory 2210, including but not limited to client applications, web browsers, middleware applications, relational database management systems (RDBMS), virtual machines, containers, etc.

[0316] System memory 2210 may also store operating system 2216. Examples of operating system 2216 may include various versions of Microsoft Windows®, Apple Macintosh® and / or Linux operating systems, various commercially available UNIX® or UNIX-like operating systems (including, but not limited to, various GNU / Linux operating systems, Google Chrome® OS, etc.), and / or mobile operating systems such as iOS, Windows® Phone, Android® OS, BlackBerry® OS, and Palm® OS. In some implementations where computer system 2200 executes one or more virtual machines, the virtual machine and its guest operating system (GOS) may be loaded into system memory 2210 and executed by one or more processors or cores of processing unit 2204.

[0317] System memory 2210 can be configured differently depending on the type of computer system 2200. For example, system memory 2210 can be volatile memory (such as random access memory (RAM)) and / or non-volatile memory (such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.). Different types of RAM configurations can be provided, including static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), etc. In some implementations, system memory 2210 may include a basic input / output system (BIOS), which contains basic routines that facilitate the transfer of information between components within computer system 2200, such as during startup.

[0318] Computer-readable storage medium 2222 can represent remote, local, fixed and / or removable storage devices and storage media for temporarily and / or more permanently containing and storing computer-readable information for use by computer system 2200, including instructions executable by processing unit 2204 of computer system 2200.

[0319] Computer-readable storage medium 2222 may include any suitable medium known or used in the art, including storage media and communication media, such as, but not limited to, volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented by any method or technology for storing and / or transmitting information. This may include tangible computer-readable storage media such as RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic tape cassette, magnetic tape, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or other tangible computer-readable media.

[0320] For example, computer-readable storage medium 2222 may include hard disk drives that read from or write to non-removable non-volatile magnetic media, disk drives that read from or write to removable non-volatile magnetic disks, and optical disc drives that read from or write to removable non-volatile optical discs (such as CD ROMs, DVDs, and Blu-ray® discs or other optical media). Computer-readable storage medium 2222 may include, but is not limited to, Zip® drives, flash memory cards, Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash memory drives, Secure Digital (SD) cards, DVD discs, digital audio tapes, and so on. Computer-readable storage medium 2222 may also include solid-state drives (SSDs) based on non-volatile memory (such as flash memory-based SSDs, enterprise flash drives, solid-state ROMs, etc.), volatile memory-based SSDs (such as solid-state RAM, dynamic RAM, static RAM), DRAM-based SSDs, magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) SSDs, and hybrid SSDs using a combination of DRAM-based and flash memory-based SSDs. Disk drives and their associated computer-readable media can provide non-volatile storage for computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for computer system 2200.

[0321] Machine-readable instructions executable by one or more processors or cores of processing unit 2204 may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may include physically tangible memory or storage devices, including volatile memory storage devices and / or non-volatile memory devices. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable storage media include magnetic storage media (e.g., magnetic disks or magnetic tapes), optical storage media (e.g., DVDs, CDs), various types of RAM, ROM, or flash memory, hard disk drives, floppy disk drives, removable memory drives (e.g., USB drives), or other types of storage devices.

[0322] The communication subsystem 2224 provides an interface to other computer systems and networks. The communication subsystem 2224 serves as an interface for receiving data from other systems and sending data from computer system 2200 to other systems. For example, the communication subsystem 2224 enables computer system 2200 to connect to one or more devices via the Internet. In some embodiments, the communication subsystem 2224 may include radio frequency (RF) transceiver components (e.g., advanced data network technologies using cellular telephone technology, such as 3G, 4G, or EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution), WiFi (IEEE 802.11 series standards), or other mobile communication technologies, or any combination thereof), GPS receiver components, and / or other components for accessing wireless voice and / or data networks. In some embodiments, as an addition to or alternative to the wireless interface, the communication subsystem 2224 may provide a wired network connection (e.g., Ethernet).

[0323] In some embodiments, the communication subsystem 2224 may also represent one or more users who may use the computer system 2200 to receive input communications in the form of structured and / or unstructured data feeds 2226, event streams 2228, event updates 2230, etc.

[0324] For example, the communication subsystem 2224 can be configured to receive data feeds 2226 in real time from users of social networks and / or other communication services, such as Twitter® feeds, Facebook® updates, web feeds such as Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds, and / or real-time updates from one or more third-party information sources.

[0325] Furthermore, the communication subsystem 2224 can also be configured to receive data in the form of a continuous data stream, which may include event streams 2228 and / or event updates 2230 that are essentially continuous or unbounded real-time events without a clearly defined termination. Examples of applications that generate continuous data may include, for example, sensor data applications, financial quotation machines, network performance measurement tools (e.g., network monitoring and traffic management applications), clickstream analysis tools, vehicle traffic monitoring, etc.

[0326] The communication subsystem 2224 can also be configured to output structured and / or unstructured data feeds 2226, event streams 2228, event updates 2230, etc. to one or more databases, which can communicate with one or more streaming data source computers coupled to the computer system 2200.

[0327] The computer system 2200 can be one of a variety of types, including handheld portable devices (e.g., iPhone® cellular phones, iPad® computing tablets, PDAs), wearable devices (e.g., Google® Glass head-mounted displays), PCs, workstations, mainframes, information stations, server racks, or any other data processing system.

[0328] Due to the constantly evolving nature of computers and networks, the description of the computer system 2200 depicted in the figures is merely a specific example. Many other configurations with more or fewer components than the system depicted in the figures are possible. For example, custom hardware may be used and / or specific elements may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software (including applets), or a combination thereof. Additionally, connectivity with other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be employed. Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, those skilled in the art will recognize other ways and / or methods for implementing the various embodiments.

[0329] While specific embodiments have been described, various modifications, alterations, alternative constructions, and equivalents are also included within the scope of this disclosure. The embodiments are not limited to operation within certain specific data processing environments, but can be freely operated within multiple data processing environments. Furthermore, although the embodiments have been described using a specific series of transactions and steps, those skilled in the art will understand that the scope of this disclosure is not limited to the described series of transactions and steps. Various features and aspects of the above embodiments can be used individually or in combination.

[0330] Furthermore, while embodiments have been described using specific combinations of hardware and software, it should be recognized that other combinations of hardware and software are also within the scope of this disclosure. Embodiments may be implemented using only hardware, or only software, or a combination thereof. The various processes described herein can be implemented in any combination on the same processor or on different processors. Thus, where a component or module is described as being configured to perform certain operations, such configuration can be accomplished, for example, by designing electronic circuits to perform operations, by programming programmable electronic circuits (such as microprocessors), or any combination thereof. Processes may communicate using various technologies, including but not limited to conventional technologies for inter-process communication, and different pairs of processes may use different technologies, or the same pair of processes may use different technologies at different times.

[0331] Therefore, the specification and drawings are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive. However, it will be apparent that additions, omissions, deletions, and other modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope set forth in the claims. Thus, while specific disclosed embodiments have been described, they are not intended to be limiting. Various modifications and equivalents are within the scope of the following claims.

[0332] In the context of describing the disclosed embodiments (particularly in the context of the following claims), the terms “a,” “an,” and “the,” as well as similar designations, are to be interpreted as encompassing both the singular and plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by the context. Unless otherwise stated, the terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be interpreted as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including but not limited to”). The term “connected” should be interpreted as partially or wholly contained within, attached to, or joined together, even if something exists in between. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the enumeration of value ranges herein is intended only as a shorthand method for individually referencing each individual value falling within that range, and each individual value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually enumerated herein. Unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by the context, all methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order. The use of any and all examples or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein is intended only to better illustrate the embodiments and does not constitute a limitation on the scope of this disclosure, unless otherwise stated. Nothing in the specification should be construed as indicating that any unclaimed element is essential to the practice of this disclosure.

[0333] Disjunctive language, such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, or Z”, is intended to be understood in the context in which items, terms, etc., can be X, Y, or Z, or any combination thereof (e.g., X, Y, and / or Z), unless otherwise expressly stated. Therefore, such disjunctive language is generally not intended to, and should not, imply that certain embodiments require the presence of at least one of X, at least one of Y, or at least one of Z, each individually.

[0334] Preferred embodiments of this disclosure are described herein, including the best modes known for carrying out this disclosure. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description. Those skilled in the art should be able to suitably employ such variations and may practice this disclosure in ways other than those specifically described herein. Thus, this disclosure includes all modifications and equivalents to the subject matter recited in the appended claims, where permitted by applicable law. Furthermore, unless otherwise indicated herein, this disclosure includes any combination of the foregoing elements in all its possible variations.

[0335] All references cited in this article, including publications, patent applications and patents, are incorporated herein by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and to be presented in its entirety in this article.

[0336] In the foregoing specification, various aspects of this disclosure have been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof; however, those skilled in the art will recognize that this disclosure is not limited thereto. The various features and aspects of the foregoing disclosure may be used individually or in combination. Furthermore, embodiments may be used in any number of settings and applications other than those described herein without departing from the broader spirit and scope of this specification. Therefore, this specification and the accompanying drawings should be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.

[0337] Clause 1: A computer-implemented method comprising:

[0338] The computer devices of the virtual cloud network select one or more filters from a plurality of filters for use in the data pipeline, said plurality of filters including at least one of the following:

[0339] Malware filters;

[0340] Content filters;

[0341] Signature filter;

[0342] Content analyzer;

[0343] Machine learning filters; or

[0344] Artificial intelligence filters;

[0345] The order of one or more filters selected in the data pipeline is determined by the computing devices of the virtual cloud network;

[0346] The computing devices in the virtual cloud network receive messages from the data pipeline from the network interface card (NIC), which is configured as a one-way transmission device;

[0347] The computing devices of the virtual cloud network filter messages in the data pipeline by delivering messages in a predetermined order through one or more selected filters; and

[0348] Logs of events occurring in the data pipeline are provided by computing devices in a virtual cloud network via a log recording network.

[0349] Clause 2: The method described in Clause 1, wherein the determined order is determined at least in part based on the source of the message.

[0350] Clause 3: The method described in Clause 1, wherein the selected one or more filters are selected based at least in part on the source of the message.

[0351] Clause 4: The method described in Clause 1, wherein multiple filters are selected for the same source of the message.

[0352] Clause 5: The method described in Clause 1, wherein the network interface card includes a software-based unidirectional transmission device.

[0353] Clause 6: The method described in Clause 1 further includes:

[0354] After messages are processed by one or more selected filters in a predetermined order, the one or more selected filters are removed from the data pipeline.

[0355] Clause 7: The method described in Clause 1, wherein the virtual cloud network is a virtual machine.

[0356] Clause 8: A computer program product comprising instructions tangibly implemented on one or more non-transitory machine-readable media, the instructions being configured to cause one or more data processors to execute instructions comprising:

[0357] Select one or more filters from a plurality of filters for the data pipeline, wherein the plurality of filters includes at least one of the following:

[0358] Malware filters;

[0359] Content filters;

[0360] Signature filter;

[0361] Content analyzer;

[0362] Machine learning filters; or

[0363] Artificial intelligence filters;

[0364] Determine the order of one or more filters selected in the data pipeline;

[0365] Messages are received from the data pipeline from a network interface card (NIC), which is configured as a one-way transmission device;

[0366] Messages in the data pipeline are filtered by passing them through selected filters in a predetermined order; and

[0367] Logs of events occurring in the data pipeline are provided via a logging network.

[0368] Clause 9: A computer program product pursuant to Clause 8, wherein the determined order is determined at least in part based on the source of the message.

[0369] Clause 10: A computer program product pursuant to Clause 8, wherein one or more filters are selected based at least in part on the source of the message.

[0370] Clause 11: A computer program product pursuant to Clause 8, wherein multiple filters are selected for the same source of a message.

[0371] Clause 12: The computer program product described in Clause 8, wherein the network interface card includes a software-based unidirectional transmission device.

[0372] Clause 13: The computer program product described in Clause 8 further includes:

[0373] After messages are processed by one or more selected filters in a predetermined order, the one or more selected filters are removed from the data pipeline.

[0374] Clause 14: Non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in Clause 8, wherein the virtual cloud network is a virtual machine.

[0375] Clause 15: A data pipeline comprising:

[0376] A network interface card (NIC) configured as a unidirectional transmission device as part of a data pipeline;

[0377] Multiple filters, including at least one of the following:

[0378] Malware filters;

[0379] Content filters;

[0380] Signature filter;

[0381] Content analyzer;

[0382] Machine learning filters; or

[0383] Artificial intelligence filters;

[0384] A virtual cloud network configured to include one or more filters among a plurality of filters, wherein messages received by the virtual cloud network from a network interface controller pass sequentially through the one or more filters of a data pipeline in an order determined during configuration; and

[0385] A logging network is used to provide a log of events that occur in the data pipeline.

[0386] Clause 16: The data pipeline described in Clause 15, wherein the determined order is determined at least in part based on the source of the message.

[0387] Clause 17: The data pipeline as described in Clause 15, wherein one or more filters are selected based at least in part on the source of the message.

[0388] Clause 18: The data pipeline as described in Clause 15, wherein multiple of the one or more filters are selected for the same source of a message.

[0389] Clause 19: The data pipeline as described in Clause 15, wherein the network interface card includes a software-based unidirectional transmission device.

[0390] Clause 20: The data pipeline described in Clause 15 further includes:

[0391] After messages are processed by one or more selected filters in a predetermined order, the one or more selected filters are removed from the data pipeline.

[0392] Clause 21: A computer-implemented method comprising:

[0393] The computing device provided by the disconnected network is configured to present an application programming interface (API) of a set of filter types.

[0394] Receive selection of one or more filter types from the set of filter types via an application programming interface;

[0395] The order of the selected filter types is received via the application programming interface;

[0396] A computing device connected to a disconnected network generates a data pipeline with filters selected in the order described in response to a command received via an application programming interface.

[0397] The computing device on the disconnected network analyzes the messages by passing them through a selected filter in the order they are received at the one-way transmission device.

[0398] The disconnected network logs the events that occur in the data pipeline received by the network.

[0399] Logs of events presented via application programming interfaces; and

[0400] The data pipeline is terminated upon receiving a termination command via the application programming interface.

[0401] Clause 22: The method described in Clause 21, wherein the one or more filter types include one or more of malware filters, content filters, signature filters, content analyzers, machine learning filters, or artificial intelligence filters.

[0402] Clause 23: The method described in Clause 21, wherein the method further comprises:

[0403] Messages are sent from a disconnected network to a trusted storage via a one-way transmission device.

[0404] Clause 24: The method described in Clause 21, wherein the one-way transmission device is a software-based one-way transmission device.

[0405] Clause 25: The method described in Clause 21, wherein the log of events includes logs of events occurring at the operating system (OS) level, application level, and payload level.

[0406] Clause 26: The method described in Clause 21, wherein the disconnected network includes a virtual cloud network.

[0407] Clause 27: The method described in Clause 21, wherein the one-way transmission device is a smart network interface card (smart NIC).

[0408] Clause 28: A computer program product comprising instructions tangibly implemented on one or more non-transitory machine-readable media, the instructions being configured to cause one or more data processors to execute instructions comprising:

[0409] Provides an application programming interface (API) that can be configured to present a set of filter types;

[0410] Receive selection of one or more filter types from the set of filter types via an application programming interface;

[0411] The order of the selected filter types is received via the application programming interface;

[0412] In response to a command received via an application programming interface, a data pipeline is generated having filters selected in the order stated in the command.

[0413] The messages received at the one-way transmission device are analyzed by passing them through a selected filter in the order described.

[0414] Logs of events occurring in the data pipeline are received via a disconnected network.

[0415] Logs of events presented via application programming interfaces; and

[0416] The data pipeline is terminated upon receiving a termination command via the application programming interface.

[0417] Clause 29: The computer program product pursuant to Clause 28, wherein the one or more filter types include one or more of malware filters, content filters, signature filters, content analyzers, machine learning filters, or artificial intelligence filters.

[0418] Clause 30: A computer program product pursuant to Clause 28, wherein said set of instructions further comprises:

[0419] Messages are sent from a disconnected network to a trusted storage via a one-way transmission device.

[0420] Clause 31: A computer program product as described in Clause 28, wherein the one-way transmission device is a software-based one-way transmission device.

[0421] Clause 32: A computer program product pursuant to Clause 28, wherein the log of events includes logs of events occurring at the operating system (OS) level, application level, and payload level.

[0422] Clause 33: Computer program products as described in Clause 28, wherein the disconnected network includes virtual cloud networks.

[0423] Clause 34: The computer-readable storage medium described in Clause 28, wherein the one-way transmission device is a smart network interface card (smart NIC).

[0424] Clause 35: A system comprising:

[0425] The memory is configured to store multiple instructions; and

[0426] One or more processors of a computer device disconnected from the network are configured to access memory and execute the plurality of instructions to at least:

[0427] Provides an application programming interface (API) that can be configured to present a set of filter types;

[0428] Receive selection of one or more filter types from the set of filter types via an application programming interface;

[0429] The order in which the selected filter types are received;

[0430] In response to a command received via an application programming interface, a data pipeline is generated having filters selected in the order stated in the command.

[0431] The messages received at the one-way transmission device are analyzed by passing them through a selected filter in the order described.

[0432] Logs of events occurring in the data pipeline are received via a disconnected network.

[0433] Logs of events presented via application programming interfaces; and

[0434] The data pipeline is terminated upon receiving a termination command via the application programming interface.

[0435] Clause 36: In a system pursuant to Clause 35, the one or more filter types mentioned therein include one or more of malware filters, content filters, signature filters, content analyzers, machine learning filters, or artificial intelligence filters.

[0436] Clause 37: The system as described in Clause 35, wherein the system further includes:

[0437] Messages are sent from a disconnected network to a trusted storage via a one-way transmission device.

[0438] Clause 38: The system described in Clause 35, wherein the one-way transmission device is a software-based one-way transmission device.

[0439] Clause 39: A system pursuant to Clause 35, wherein the log of events includes logs of events occurring at the operating system (OS) level, application level, and payload level.

[0440] Clause 40: In a system pursuant to Clause 35, the disconnected network includes a virtual cloud network.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: The computing device on the disconnected network provides an application programming interface (API) configured to present a set of filter types of a restrictive gateway. The computing device receives from the API a selection of one or more filter types from the set of filter types; In response to receiving the selection of one or more filter types, the computing device generates a data pipeline through a unidirectional transmission device arranged between a source node and a destination node, the data pipeline including the restrictive gateway, wherein the restrictive gateway includes the selected one or more filter types; At the unidirectional transmission device, at least one first message is received from a first source, wherein the first source corresponds to a first source type; Upon receiving the at least one first message, (a) the computing device generates a first order of the one or more filter types, wherein the computing device determines the first order based on a first source type, and (b) arranges the one or more filter types of the restrictive gateway according to the first order; The computing device analyzes the at least one first message by passing the at least one first message received at the one-way transmission device through the one or more filter types of the restrictive gateway in a first order. At the unidirectional transmission device, at least one second message is received from a second source, wherein the second source corresponds to a second source type and wherein the second source is different from the first source; Upon receiving the at least one second message, (a) the computing device generates a second order of the one or more filter types, wherein the computing device determines the second order based on a second source type, and (b) arranges the one or more filter types of the restrictive gateway according to the second order, wherein the second order is different from the first order; The computing device analyzes the at least one second message by passing the at least one second message received at the one-way transmission device through the one or more filter types of the restrictive gateway in a second order.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more filter types include one or more of the following: malware filter, content filter, signature filter, content analyzer, machine learning filter, or artificial intelligence filter.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The message is sent from the disconnected network to a trusted storage via the one-way transmission device.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one-way transmission device is a software-based one-way transmission device.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The logging network of the disconnected network receives an event log, which includes indications of one or more events that have occurred in the data pipeline; The event log is presented via the API; as well as The data pipeline is terminated upon receiving a termination command via the API. The indication of the one or more events includes one or more events that have occurred with respect to at least one of the following: operating system level, application level, or payload level.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the disconnected network includes a virtual cloud network.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the unidirectional transmission device is a smart network interface card.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors of a computing device disconnected from a network, cause the computing device to perform operations including: Provides an application programming interface (API) that can be configured to present a set of filter types for a restrictive gateway; The computing device receives from the API a selection of one or more filter types from the set of filter types; In response to receiving the selection of one or more filter types, a data pipeline is generated through a unidirectional transmission device arranged between a source node and a destination node, the data pipeline including the restrictive gateway, wherein the restrictive gateway includes the selected one or more filter types; At the unidirectional transmission device, at least one first message is received from a first source, wherein the first source corresponds to a first source type; Upon receiving the at least one first message, (a) the computing device generates a first order of the one or more filter types, wherein the computing device determines the first order based on a first source type, and (b) arranges the one or more filter types of the restrictive gateway according to the first order; The at least one first message is analyzed by passing the at least one first message received at the one-way transmission device through the one or more filter types of the restrictive gateway in a first order. At the unidirectional transmission device, at least one second message is received from a second source, wherein the second source corresponds to a second source type and wherein the second source is different from the first source; Upon receiving the at least one second message, (a) the computing device generates a second order of the one or more filter types, wherein the computing device determines the second order based on a second source type, and (b) arranges the one or more filter types of the restrictive gateway according to the second order, wherein the second order is different from the first order; The computing device analyzes the at least one second message by passing the at least one second message received at the one-way transmission device through the one or more filter types of the restrictive gateway in a second order.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the one or more filter types include one or more of the following: malware filter, content filter, signature filter, content analyzer, machine learning filter, or artificial intelligence filter.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the operation further comprises: The message is sent from the disconnected network to a trusted storage via the one-way transmission device.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein the unidirectional transmission device is a software-based unidirectional transmission device.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the operation further comprises: The logging network of the disconnected network receives an event log, which includes indications of one or more events that have occurred in the data pipeline; The event log is presented via the API; as well as The data pipeline is terminated upon receiving a termination command via the API. The indication of the one or more events includes one or more events that have occurred with respect to at least one of the following: operating system level, application level, or payload level.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the disconnected network includes a virtual cloud network.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein the unidirectional transmission device is a smart network interface card.

15. A system comprising: A memory configured to store computer-executable instructions; as well as One or more processors of a computing device disconnected from the network, the one or more processors being configured to access the memory and execute the computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to perform operations including: Provides an application programming interface (API) that can be configured to present a set of filter types for a restrictive gateway; Receive from the API a selection of one or more filter types from the set of filter types; In response to receiving the selection of one or more filter types, a data pipeline is generated through a unidirectional transmission device arranged between a source node and a destination node, the data pipeline including the restrictive gateway, wherein the restrictive gateway includes the selected one or more filter types; At the unidirectional transmission device, at least one first message is received from a first source, wherein the first source corresponds to a first source type; Upon receiving the at least one first message, (a) the computing device generates a first order of the one or more filter types, wherein the computing device determines the first order based on a first source type, and (b) arranges the one or more filter types of the restrictive gateway according to the first order; The at least one first message is analyzed by passing the at least one first message received at the one-way transmission device through the one or more filter types of the restrictive gateway in a first order. At the unidirectional transmission device, at least one second message is received from a second source, wherein the second source corresponds to a second source type and wherein the second source is different from the first source; Upon receiving the at least one second message, (a) the computing device generates a second order of the one or more filter types, wherein the computing device determines the second order based on a second source type, and (b) arranges the one or more filter types of the restrictive gateway according to the second order, wherein the second order is different from the first order; The computing device analyzes the at least one second message by passing the at least one second message received at the one-way transmission device through the one or more filter types of the restrictive gateway in a second order.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more filter types include one or more of the following: malware filter, content filter, signature filter, content analyzer, machine learning filter, or artificial intelligence filter.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the operation further comprises: The message is sent from the disconnected network to a trusted storage via the one-way transmission device.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the one-way transmission device is a software-based one-way transmission device.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the operation further comprises: The logging network of the disconnected network receives an event log, which includes indications of one or more events that have occurred in the data pipeline; The event log is presented via the API; as well as The data pipeline is terminated upon receiving a termination command via the API. The indication of the one or more events includes one or more events that have occurred with respect to at least one of the following: operating system level, application level, or payload level.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the disconnected network includes a virtual cloud network.

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