processing and sending usage information of a private cloud network available from a first cloud service provider to a second cloud service provider

Abstract

Disclosed is a technique for providing a first service from a first computing resource of a first cloud service provider (CSP) to a user having a first user account at a second CSP, the first service being provided via the user's first private network at the second CSP. The technique also includes transmitting data between second private networks communicatively coupled to the first private network, the second private network being associated with the user's second user account at the first CSP. The technique further includes collecting usage data associated with at least one of the first or second private networks by the second computing resource of the first CSP. The technique also includes transmitting usage data from the second computing resource of the first CSP to a second service of the second CSP.

Description

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit and priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 604,665, filed November 30, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Background Technology

[0003] Over the past few years, the adoption of cloud services has risen dramatically, and this trend is only going to grow. Different cloud service providers (CSPs) offer a variety of different cloud environments, each providing a set of one or more cloud services. This set of cloud services provided by a cloud environment can include one or more different types of services, including but not limited to Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and so on.

[0004] While various cloud environments are currently available, each provides a closed ecosystem for its subscribers. Therefore, customers of a cloud environment are limited to using the services provided by that specific cloud environment. For customers subscribed to a cloud environment offered by a CSP, there is no easy way to access services provided by different CSPs through that cloud environment. The embodiments discussed herein address these and other issues. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This article discloses a technique for using the control plane of a second cloud service provider to supply cloud services to a first cloud service provider.

[0006] In some embodiments, a system includes a first computing resource of a first cloud service provider (CSP), housed within a data center of a second CSP. The first computing resource includes: one or more first processors; and one or more first memories storing first instructions, which, when executed by the one or more first processors, configure the first computing resource to provide a first service to a user having a first user account at the second CSP, the first service being provided via a first private network hosted by the second CSP and associated with the first user account; and a second computing resource of the first CSP, located remotely from the data center and communicatively coupled to the first computing resource. The second computing resource includes: one or more second processors; and one or more second memories storing second instructions, which, when executed by the one or more second processors, configure the second computing resource to: provide a second private network communicatively coupled to the first private network and associated with the user's second user account at the first CSP; collect usage data associated with at least one of the first private network or the second private network; and transmit the usage data to the second CSP as a second service.

[0007] In some embodiments, the second computing resource is further configured to determine: a first usage event associated with a first time period and a first resource utilization of the first usage event; a second usage event associated with the first time period and a second resource utilization of the second usage event; and second usage data that aggregates at least the first resource utilization and the second resource utilization.

[0008] In some embodiments, the second computing resource is further configured to: obtain a first account identifier stored by the second CSP using a second user account identifier stored by the first CSP, wherein the first account identifier is included in usage data and the second account identifier is included in second usage data.

[0009] In some embodiments, the data used includes aggregates of resource usage associated with a predefined time period of a second user account.

[0010] In some embodiments, data is associated with an account identifier, and the second computing resource is further configured to: determine a resource allocation associated with the account identifier; determine resource utilization based on the data; generate an amount based on the resource allocation and resource utilization; and transfer the amount to a second CSP.

[0011] In some embodiments, the amount is further generated based on a rate, wherein the rate and resource allocation are predetermined and configured by at least one of the user associated with the account identifier or the administrator of the second CSP.

[0012] In some embodiments, the second computing resource is further configured to: transmit a request to the second CSP for an access token that identifies the user of the first CSP; receive the access token from the second CSP; and transmit the access token to the second CSP and indicate the association with the access token.

[0013] In some embodiments, the second computing resource is further configured to: receive a response code indicating a refusal to use data from a second service of the second CSP; generate adjusted usage data by adjusting at least one of the start time or end time of the usage data; and transmit the adjusted usage data to a second service of the second CSP.

[0014] In some embodiments, the sending of usage data occurs once for a first predefined time period, and wherein the second computing resource is further configured to: receive a response code from a second service of the second CSP indicating that the usage data has been received; and in response to receiving the response code, remove the usage data from the database.

[0015] In some embodiments, the second computing resource is further configured to: receive an error-indicating response code from a second service of the second CSP; increment a count representing the number of received error-indicating response codes; and transmit a notification to the user equipment of the first CSP in response to the count exceeding a threshold.

[0016] In some embodiments, a method includes: providing a first service to a user having a first user account at a second CSP via a first computing resource of a first cloud service provider (CSP); transmitting data between second private networks communicatively coupled to the first private network and associated with a second user account of the user at the first CSP; collecting usage data associated with at least one of the first private network or the second private network by a second computing resource of the first CSP; and transmitting the usage data to a second service of the second CSP by the second computing resource of the first CSP.

[0017] In some embodiments, the technology includes one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations including: providing a first service by a first computing resource of a first cloud service provider (CSP) to a user having a first user account at a second CSP, the first service being provided via a first private network of the user at the second CSP; transferring data between second private networks communicatively coupled to the first private network, the second private network being associated with a second user account of the user at the first CSP; collecting usage data associated with at least one of the first private network or the second private network by a second computing resource of the first CSP; and transferring the usage data to a second service of the second CSP by the second computing resource of the first CSP.

[0018] Some embodiments include a system comprising one or more processing systems and one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing systems, cause the system to perform some or all of the operations and / or methods disclosed herein.

[0019] Some embodiments include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processing systems, cause the systems to perform some or all of the operations and / or methods disclosed herein.

[0020] The techniques described above and below can be implemented in a variety of ways and in a variety of contexts. Several example implementations and contexts are provided with reference to the following figures, which are described in more detail below. However, the following implementations and contexts are only a few of the many implementations and contexts. Attached Figure Description

[0021] The features, embodiments, and advantages of this disclosure can be better understood by reading the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] Figure 1 This is a high-level diagram illustrating a distributed environment of a virtual or overlay cloud network hosted by a cloud service provider infrastructure, according to certain embodiments.

[0023] Figure 2 A simplified architecture diagram of physical components in the physical network within a Cloud Service Provider Infrastructure (CSPI) according to certain embodiments is depicted.

[0024] Figure 3 An example arrangement within CSPI according to certain embodiments is shown, in which a host machine is connected to multiple network virtualization devices (NVDs).

[0025] Figure 4 The connectivity between the host machine and the NVD, according to certain embodiments, is described for providing I / O virtualization to support multi-tenancy.

[0026] Figure 5 A simplified block diagram of a physical network provided by CSPI according to certain embodiments is depicted.

[0027] Figure 6 A simplified high-level diagram of a distributed environment comprising multiple cloud environments provided by different cloud service providers (CSPs) is depicted according to certain embodiments.

[0028] Figure 7 An exemplary physical architecture for providing cross-cloud services based on infrastructure distributed across multiple CSPs, according to some embodiments, is described.

[0029] Figure 8 An exemplary virtual architecture for providing cross-cloud services based on infrastructure distributed across multiple CSPs is described according to some embodiments.

[0030] Figure 9 Exemplary virtual resources provided by a first CSP to a customer of a second CSP, according to some embodiments, are described.

[0031] Figure 10 An exemplary architecture for provisioning and managing cross-cloud services based on infrastructure distributed across multiple CSPs is described according to some embodiments.

[0032] Figure 11 An exemplary user experience flow for supplying resources, according to some embodiments, is described.

[0033] Figure 12An exemplary control plane supply process according to some embodiments is described.

[0034] Figure 13 Examples of architectures, including resource metering mechanisms for cross-cloud services across multiple cloud environments, are described according to some embodiments.

[0035] Figure 14 An example of a plan management system according to some embodiments is described.

[0036] Figure 15 An example process for sharing and using data across multiple cloud environments, according to some embodiments, is described.

[0037] Figure 16 An example process for sharing and using data across multiple cloud environments, according to some embodiments, is described.

[0038] Figure 17 Example processing for sharing and using data across multiple cloud environments, according to some embodiments, is described.

[0039] Figure 18 This is a block diagram illustrating a pattern for implementing a cloud infrastructure-as-a-service system according to certain embodiments.

[0040] Figure 19 This is a block diagram illustrating another pattern for implementing a cloud infrastructure-as-a-service system according to certain embodiments.

[0041] Figure 20 This is a block diagram illustrating another pattern for implementing a cloud infrastructure-as-a-service system according to certain embodiments.

[0042] Figure 21 This is a block diagram illustrating another pattern for implementing a cloud infrastructure-as-a-service system according to certain embodiments.

[0043] Figure 22 This is a block diagram illustrating an example computer system according to certain embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0044] In the following description, specific details are set forth for purposes of explanation in order to provide a thorough understanding of certain embodiments. However, it will be apparent that various embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. The accompanying drawings and description are not intended to be limiting. The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serves as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or superior to other embodiments or designs.

[0045] This disclosure generally relates to improved cloud architectures, and more specifically to techniques for providing services based on infrastructure distributed across multiple cloud service providers (CSPs). In the example, the first cloud service provider (CSP) (e.g., Oracle) ® The cloud infrastructure (OCI) provides primary services (e.g., database services, such as Exadata services available from Oracle), some of which can be obtained from the primary cloud service provider infrastructure (CSPI) of the primary CSP. The secondary CSP (e.g., Microsoft) provides primary services. ® Azure, Google Cloud TM Amazon Web Services – AWS ® The provider offers a second service (e.g., Azure virtual machines), some of which may be available from the second cloud service provider infrastructure (CSPI) of the second CSP. At least one of the first services may be made available to the customers of the second CSP via the second CSPI. In the example, the hardware and / or software configured by the first CSPI to provide the first service is deployed at the second CSPI.

[0046] For example, at the physical level, the second CSPI may include a first set of computing resources of the first CSPI (e.g., server racks optimized for the services of the first CSPI). The first CSPI may include a second set of computing resources of the first CSPI (e.g., servers within a region). The second CSPI may also include a third set of computing resources of the second CSPI (e.g., servers within an availability zone). The first set of computing resources may be connected to the second and third sets of computing resources.

[0047] At the virtual tier, the first and second sets of resources can host a first cloud for a customer at the first CSP. Conversely, a third set of resources can host a second cloud for the same customer at the second CSP. These two clouds can be connected (e.g., via a peering connection using a virtual router). The service provided by the first CSP to the customer can have the first resources hosted in the first set of computing resources and the second resources hosted in the second set of computing resources. This service can be made available to the customer via the second cloud. The use of the first resources enables reduced latency. Providing services from the first CSP via the second CSP can enable a better experience by extending the service to customers of the second CSP (who may be more familiar with configuring and managing clouds using the second CSP).

[0048] To illustrate, consider an example of the Exadata service (i.e., the OCI database service) made available via Azure. In this example, at the physical tier, OCI subsites belonging to the OCI region are co-located in an Azure datacenter. The OCI subsites are connected to the Azure datacenter via FastConnect routers (and a Microsoft MeetMe ToR router on the Azure side). The OCI subsites are also connected to the parent OCI region via a fiber optic connection. At the virtual tier, the Azure datacenter hosts the customer cloud (e.g., VNET), while the parent region and subsites of OCI co-host the customer virtual cloud network (VCN). Latency-critical resources for the OCI service (e.g., data plane resources for the Exadata service) are hosted in the subsites, while other supporting resources (e.g., control plane resources, customer-facing console resources, etc.) are hosted in the parent region.

[0049] On the OCI side, VNET and VCN are connected via virtual routers (e.g., dynamic routing gateways supporting FastConnect, DRGs, and virtual routers supporting MeetMe provided by Azure). Within VNET, delegated subnets can be configured. Within VCN, Exadata service subnets can be configured. Both subnets use the same Internet Protocol (IP) address range. VNET can store mapping information that maps IP addresses used within the IP address range in VNET to IP addresses of the Exadata service at VCN. Given a one-to-one IP address mapping, traffic to that IP address (e.g., compute instances from VNET) is sent from VNET to VCN.

[0050] Therefore, from the customer's perspective, the customer perceives the Exadata service as being within a VNET with an IP address. However, the Exadata service actually resides within the VCN at that IP address. Furthermore, by hosting at least a portion of the Exadata service (e.g., the data plane) in a subsite, the latency associated with the Exadata service can be reduced.

[0051] Referring back to the architecture described above, the first group of computing resources can be referred to as belonging to the sub-site, while the second group of computing resources can be referred to as belonging to the parent site. The third group of computing resources can be referred to as data center resources. The sub-sites of the first CSP are deployed in the data center (or second CSPI) of the second CSP. In contrast, the parent site of the first CSP is deployed in the first CSPI of the first CSP.

[0052] Subsites allow the low-latency services of the first CSP to be provisioned to customers via a second CSP. However, deployment mechanisms may be needed to control the deployment of the first CSP's resources across subsites and the parent site.

[0053] Embodiments of this disclosure relate to a deployment mechanism in which a control plane of a first CSP is not hosted at a subsite. The control plane can receive customer input at a second CSPI and can map it to a customer ID at the first CSPI. Based on this customer ID, the control plane can provision resources at the first CSPI, such as by creating a cloud network for the customer and associated connectivity resources for that cloud network (e.g., a Dynamic Routing Gateway—DRG). The cloud network can also connect to a cluster of virtual machines (VMs) hosting services. The VM cluster can be hosted at a subsite, while other resources of the cloud network can be hosted at a parent site. The control plane can then interconnect this cloud network to the customer's cloud network at the second CSP, thus interconnecting the customer's two cloud networks. As part of this interconnection, the control plane can provide the second CSPI with the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of the VM clusters and possible corresponding DNS records, making these IP addresses and possible DNS records available to the customer at the customer's cloud network at the second CSP.

[0054] To illustrate, consider the OCI and Azure example again. Azure customer input (e.g., selecting their VNET and subnet) is received from Azure Resource Manager (ARM). The Oracle Resource Provider (ORP) can transform this input into the customer's OCIID and pass that information to the control plane. The control plane performs two main processes. The first is provisioning the relevant OCI resources. The second is connecting these resources to the customer's VNET.

[0055] In the first processing step, the control plane creates the customer's VCN in the customer's lease (e.g., at the parent site) and creates subnets (and possibly backup subnets) within the VCN. The Azure and OCI subnets (one in the customer's Azure VNET, and one in the customer's OCI VCN) use the same Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR). The control plane also creates a DRG in the customer's lease and attaches the DRG to the VCN. It also establishes routing information for the DRG and VCN (enabling these two resources to interconnect). The ORP can also be provisioned to a cluster of VMs (e.g., at the subsite). The IP addresses of this VM cluster(s) come from the CIDR and are mapped to the corresponding DNS records.

[0056] In the second process, the control plane registers these IP addresses with Azure (on the MeetMe router). It also creates a virtual circuit between the DRG and the MeetMe router and sends DNS records, enabling the establishment of private DNS zones in Azure.

[0057] For clarity of explanation, embodiments of this disclosure are described in conjunction with specific CSPs (e.g., Oracle and Microsoft) and services (e.g., Exadata services). However, the embodiments are not limited thereto, but are similarly and equivalently applicable to any CSP, CSPI, and service in a multi-cloud environment.

[0058] Examples of cloud networks

[0059] The term cloud service generally refers to services provided by a service provider (CSP) to users or customers on demand (e.g., via a subscription model) using systems and infrastructure (e.g., 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-premises systems and servers. 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 a set of computing resources without requiring customers to invest in the infrastructure used to provide the service.

[0060] 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), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), etc.

[0061] A customer can subscribe to one or more cloud services provided by a CSP. A customer can be any entity, such as an individual, organization, or enterprise. 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 the subscription.

[0062] As mentioned above, IaaS is a specific type of cloud computing service. In the IaaS model, a CSP provides customers with the infrastructure (called Cloud Service Provider Infrastructure or CSPI) that they 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.

[0063] CSPI can include interconnected high-performance computing resources, including various host machines, memory resources, and network resources forming a physical network, also known as the base 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 overlay networks (also known as software-based networks, software-defined networks, or virtual networks) on top of the physical network (or base network or underlying network). The physical network provides the underlying foundation for creating one or more overlay or virtual networks on top of it. The physical network includes physical network devices such as physical switches, routers, computers, host machines, etc. An overlay network is a logical (or virtual) network that runs on top of the physical base network. A given physical network can support one or more overlay networks. Overlay networks typically use encapsulation techniques to distinguish traffic belonging to different overlay networks. Virtual or overlay networks are also known as VCNs. Virtual networks are created using software virtualization technologies (e.g., hypervisors, virtualization functions implemented by network virtualization devices (NVDs) (e.g., smartNICs), top-of-rack (ToR) switches, intelligent TORs that implement one or more functions performed by NVDs, and other mechanisms) to create a network abstraction layer that can run on top of a physical network. Virtual networks can take many forms, including peer-to-peer networks, IP networks, etc. Virtual networks are typically 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 Networks (VPNs) (e.g., MPLS Layer 3 Virtual Private Network (RFC 4364)), VMware's NSX, GENEVE (Generic Network Virtualization Encapsulation), etc.

[0064] For IaaS, CSPI provided by a CSP can be configured to offer a set of 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 infrastructure and a complementary set of cloud services, enabling 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.

[0065] 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 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 the infrastructure and a complementary set of cloud services that enable customers to build and run a wide range of applications and services in a highly available, virtualized managed environment. Customers do not manage or control the underlying physical resources provided by CSPI, but they have control over the operating system, storage, and deployed applications; and may also have limited control over chosen networking components, such as firewalls.

[0066] 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 embodiments, the console is a web-based application provided by the CSP.

[0067] 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 in CSPI to ensure that each tenant's data is isolated and invisible to other tenants.

[0068] In a physical network, a network 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 using 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 provide 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 physical networks, in virtual networks, network management software can be used to move overlay addresses (e.g., overlay IP addresses) from one endpoint to another. Since virtual networks are built on top of physical networks, communication between components within 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.

[0069] 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 or overlay network. A physical IP address is an IP address associated with a physical device (e.g., a network device) in the underlying or physical network. For example, each NVD has an associated physical IP address. An overlay IP address is an overlay address associated with an entity in an overlay network, such as an overlay address associated with a compute instance in a customer's VCN. Two different customers or tenants, each with their own private VCN, can potentially use the same overlay IP address in their VCN without knowing about each other. Both physical IP addresses and overlay IP addresses are types of real IP addresses. They are separate from virtual IP addresses. A virtual IP address is typically a single IP address that represents or maps to multiple real IP addresses. A virtual IP address provides a one-to-many mapping between virtual IP addresses and multiple real IP addresses. For example, a load balancer can use a VIP to map or represent multiple servers, each with its own real IP address.

[0070] CSPI is physically hosted in one or more data centers in one or more regions of the world. CSPI may include components in the physical or underlying network and virtualized components (e.g., virtual networks, compute instances, virtual machines, etc.) in virtual networks 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, another in India, and so on. CSPI resources are partitioned between regions so 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, file storage, object storage, archive storage); networking resources (e.g., VCN, load balancing resources, connectivity to on-premises networks); database resources; edge networking resources (e.g., DNS); access management and monitoring resources, etc. Each region typically has multiple paths connecting it to other regions within the domain.

[0071] 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 redundancy to mitigate the risk of events within a region (such as large weather systems or earthquakes), or to meet different requirements such as legal jurisdiction, tax domain, and other business or social standards.

[0072] 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 VCNs, or Availability Domain-specific, such as compute instances.

[0073] 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 highly available connectivity to other networks (e.g., the internet, customer on-premises networks, etc.) and allowing for replication systems across multiple ADs to achieve both high availability and disaster recovery. Cloud services use multiple ADs to ensure high availability and prevent resource failures. As the infrastructure provided by IaaS providers grows, more regions and ADs, along with additional capacity, can be added. Traffic between availability domains is typically encrypted.

[0074] 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 (called the "primary" 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.

[0075] IaaS providers can offer multiple domains, each catering to the needs of 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. Yet another example, a government domain can be offered for governments, and so on. For instance, a government domain can meet the needs of a specific government and may have a higher level of security than a business domain. For example, OCI currently offers domains for its business region and two domains for its government cloud region (e.g., FedRAMP licensed and IL5 licensed).

[0076] 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 group 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 per AD can vary. For example, in some embodiments, each AD contains three fault domains. Fault domains act as logical data centers within the AD.

[0077] 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 these networks. A customer network hosted in the cloud by CSPI is called a VCN. A customer can use the CSPI resources allocated to them to establish 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.

[0078] 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 characterized by identification information such as IP addresses, DNS names, and ports. Client resources (e.g., compute instances) can access a specific service by visiting 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.

[0079] In some embodiments, a service provider may expose the service via an endpoint used for the service (sometimes referred to as a service endpoint). Customers 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 customers intending to consume the service. In other implementations, a dedicated service endpoint can be provided to a customer, so that only that customer can use that dedicated service endpoint to access the service.

[0080] In some embodiments, when a VCN is created, it is associated with a Private Overlay Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) address space, which is a set of private overlay IP addresses (e.g., 10.0 / 16) assigned to the VCN. The 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 traffic to and from the VCN to one or more endpoints outside the VCN. One or more different types of gateways can be configured for the VCN to enable communication to and from different types of endpoints.

[0081] A VCN can be subdivided into one or more subnets or subnetworks. 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.

[0082] 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, along with 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 become part of a VCN 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 is created for the compute instance and associated with it. For a subnet that includes a set of compute instances, the subnet contains a VNIC corresponding to that set of compute instances, and each VNIC is attached to a compute instance within that set of compute instances.

[0083] A private overlay IP address is assigned to each compute instance via the 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.

[0084] 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 are 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 deleted. Additional VNICs, called 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. The secondary VNIC can be located in a subnet within the same VCN as the primary VNIC, or in a different subnet within the same VCN or different VCNs.

[0085] 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 a region or domain.

[0086] As described above, a VCN can be subdivided into one or more subnets. In some embodiments, a virtual router (VR) configured for a VCN (referred to as a VCN VR or simply VR) enables communication between the subnets of the VCN. For a subnet within a VCN, the VR represents a logical gateway for that subnet, enabling that subnet (i.e., the compute instances on that subnet) to communicate with endpoints on other subnets within the VCN and 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 VCN VR is a Layer 3 / IP concept. In one embodiment, there is one VCN VR for a VCN, where the VCN VR potentially has an unlimited number of ports addressed by IP addresses, one port for each subnet of the VCN. In this way, the VCN VR 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 the address range 10.0 / 16, addresses within this range are reserved for ports on 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 covering the 10.0 / 16 address range, the IP address 10.0.0.1 could be reserved for ports on the VCN VR for that subnet. For the second subnet within the same VCN with the address range 10.1 / 16, the VCN VR could have a port with the IP address 10.1.0.1 for the second subnet. The VCN VR has a different IP address for each subnet within the VCN.

[0087] 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 the VR. For example, the reserved or default IP address may be the first IP address in the range of IP addresses associated with the 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 data packets). In this embodiment, the VR is the ingress / egress point of the 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 the VNIC functionality of the VNICs in the subnet.

[0088] 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.

[0089] Security rules configured for a VCN represent overlay firewall rules used by the VCN. Security rules can include ingress and egress rules, specifying 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.

[0090] In some embodiments, configuration information for a VCN is determined and stored by the VCN control plane (CP). For example, 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 (e.g., VNICs, VRs, gateways) performing various virtualization network functions associated with the VCN, status information for the VCN, and other VCN-related information. In some embodiments, a VCN distribution service publishes the configuration information or portions thereof stored by the VCN CP to the NVD. The distributed information can be used to update information stored by the NVD and used to forward data packets to and from compute instances within the VCN (e.g., forwarding tables, routing tables, etc.).

[0091] In some embodiments, the creation of the VCN and subnet is handled by the VCN CP, and the startup of the compute instance is handled by the compute CP. The compute CP is responsible for allocating physical resources to the compute instance and then invoking the VCN CP to create the VNIC and attach it to the compute instance. 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.

[0092] 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 outside of CSPI.

[0093] The various architectures used to implement cloud-based services using CSPI are described below. Figure 1 This is a high-level diagram of a distributed environment 100, illustrating an overlay or client VCN hosted by CSPI according to certain embodiments. Figure 1 The distributed environment described includes multiple components in the overlay network. Figure 1 The distributed environment 100 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 1 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.

[0094] like Figure 1 As illustrated in the example, distributed environment 100 includes CSPI 101, which provides services and resources that customers can subscribe to and use to build their VCN. In some embodiments, CSPI 101 provides IaaS services to subscribing customers. Data centers within CSPI 101 can be organized into one or more regions. Figure 1 The example shown is Region US 102. The customer has already configured a customer VCN c / o Oracle International for Region 102. The customer can deploy various compute instances on VCN 104, which can include virtual machines or bare metal instances. Examples of instances include applications, databases, load balancers, etc.

[0095] exist Figure 1 In the embodiment depicted, customer VCN 104 includes two subnets, namely "Subnet-1" and "Subnet-2", each with its own CIDR IP address range. Figure 1In this configuration, subnet-1 covers the IP address range of 10.0 / 16, and subnet-2 covers the address range of 10.1 / 16. VCN Virtual Router 105 represents a logical gateway for the VCN, enabling communication between subnets within VCN 104 and with other endpoints outside the VCN. VCN VR 105 is configured to route traffic between the VNICs within VCN 104 and the gateway associated with VCN 104. VCN VR 105 provides a port for each subnet of VCN 104. For example, VCN VR 105 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.

[0096] 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 CSPI 101. Compute instances participate in the subnet via a VNIC associated with the compute instance. For example, as... Figure 1 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 1 In this context, 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 105 using IP address 10.0.0.1, which is the IP address of the port used by VCN VR 105 in subnet-1.

[0097] Multiple compute instances, including virtual machine instances and / or bare metal instances, can be deployed on subnet-2. For example, such as Figure 1 As shown, compute instances D1 and D2 become part of subnet-2 via the VNIC associated with the respective compute instance. Figure 1In the illustrated embodiment, compute instance D1 has an overlay IP address of 10.1.0.2 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 105 using IP address 10.1.0.1, which is the IP address of the port of VCN VR105 in subnet-2.

[0098] VCN A 104 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. Load balancers can also be provided to load balance traffic across subnets within a VCN.

[0099] A specific compute instance deployed on VCN 104 can communicate with a variety of different endpoints. These endpoints can include endpoints hosted by CSPI 200 and endpoints outside of CSPI 200. Endpoints hosted by CSPI 101 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 an endpoint in a VCN within the same region, or communication between a compute instance in subnet-1 and an endpoint in service point 110 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 a VCN in a different region). Compute instances in subnets hosted by CSPI 101 can also communicate with endpoints not hosted by CSPI 101 (i.e., outside of CSPI 101). These external endpoints include endpoints in the customer’s on-premises network 116, endpoints in other remote cloud networks 118, public endpoints 112 that are accessible via public networks such as the Internet, and other endpoints.

[0100] 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 a packet to compute instance C2 in subnet-1. For a packet 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 packet's next hop, 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 forwarding and forwarding of the packet to the destination compute instance.

[0101] For data packets to be transmitted from a compute instance in a subnet to an endpoint in a different subnet 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 1 If compute instance C1 in subnet-1 wants to send a data 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 105 using the default route or port 10.0.0.1 of the VCN VR. VCN VR 105 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.

[0102] For data packets to be transmitted from a compute instance in VCN 104 to an endpoint outside VCN 104, communication is facilitated by the VNIC associated with the source compute instance, VCN VR 105, and the gateway associated with VCN 104. One or more types of gateways can be associated with VCN 104. 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 be conducted over a public network (e.g., the Internet) or over a private network. Various communication protocols can be used for these communications.

[0103] For example, compute instance C1 might want to communicate with an endpoint outside of VCN 104. The data 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 105 for VCN 104. VCN VR 105 then processes the packet and, as part of the processing, determines the specific gateway associated with VCN 104 as the next hop for the packet based on its destination. VCN VR 105 can then forward the packet to the identified specific gateway. For example, if the destination is an endpoint within a customer's on-premises network, the packet can be forwarded by VCN VR 105 to the DRG gateway 122 configured for VCN 104. The packet can then be forwarded from the gateway to the next hop to facilitate delivery to its final intended destination.

[0104] 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 1 It is depicted in the diagram and described below. An example of a gateway associated with a VCN is also included. Figure 18-21 The gateways described herein (e.g., those referenced by reference numerals 1834, 1836, 1838, 1934, 1936, 1938, 2034, 2036, 2138, 2234, 2236, and 2238) are described below. Figure 1As illustrated in the embodiments depicted, DRG 122 can be added to or associated with customer VCN 104 and provides a path for private network traffic communication between customer VCN 104 and another endpoint, which can be customer's on-premises network 116, VCN 108 in a different region of CSPI 101, or another remote cloud network 118 not hosted by CSPI 101. Customer on-premises network 116 can be a customer network or customer data center built using customer resources. Access to customer on-premises network 116 is generally very restricted. For customers who have both customer on-premises network 116 and one or more VCNs 104 deployed or hosted in the cloud by CSPI 101, the customer may want their on-premises network 116 and their cloud-based VCN 104 to be able to communicate with each other. This allows customers to build extended hybrid environments encompassing customer VCNs 104 hosted by CSPI 101 and their on-premises network 116. DRG 122 enables this communication. To enable this type of communication, a communication channel 124 is established, with one endpoint located in the customer's on-premises network 116 and the other endpoint located in CSPI 101 and connected to the customer's VCN 104. Communication channel 124 can be via a public communication network (such as the Internet) or a private communication network. Various 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 forming one endpoint of communication channel 124 in the customer's on-premises network 116 is called a customer premises equipment (CPE), such as... Figure 1 The CPE126 is depicted in the diagram. On the CSPI 101 side, the endpoint can be a host machine executing DRG 122.

[0105] In some embodiments, a remote peering connection (RPC) can be added to the DRG, which allows a customer to peer one VCN with another VCN in a different region. Using such an RPC, customer VCN 104 can use DRG 122 to connect to VCN 108 in another region. DRG 122 can also be used to communicate with other remote cloud networks 118 not hosted by CSPI 101, such as Microsoft Azure Cloud, Amazon AWS Cloud, etc.

[0106] like Figure 1As shown, an Internet Gateway (IGW) 120 can be configured for customer VCN 104, enabling compute instances on VCN 104 to communicate with a public endpoint 112 accessible via a public network such as the Internet. IGW 120 is a gateway connecting the VCN to a public network such as the Internet. IGW 120 allows public subnets within the VCN (such as VCN 104), where resources have publicly overriding IP addresses, to directly access the public endpoint 112 on the public network 114 (such as the Internet). Using IGW 120, connections can be initiated from subnets within VCN 104 or from the Internet.

[0107] Network Address Translation (NAT) gateway 128 can be configured for a customer's VCN 104, enabling cloud resources within the customer's VCN that do not have dedicated public overlay IP addresses to access the Internet, and it does so 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 104) to privately access public endpoints on the Internet. In a NAT gateway, connections can only be initiated from private subnets to the public Internet, and not from the Internet to private subnets.

[0108] In some embodiments, a Service Gateway (SGW) 126 may be configured for a client VCN 104 and provide a path for private network traffic between VCN 104 and service endpoints supported in service network 110. In some embodiments, service network 110 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 clients. For example, compute instances (e.g., database systems) in a private subnet of client VCN 104 may back up data to service endpoints (e.g., object storage) without requiring a public IP address or access to the Internet. In some embodiments, a VCN may have only one SGW, and connections may only originate from subnets within the VCN, not from service network 110. 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 may also use the service gateway configured for that VCN.

[0109] In some implementations, the SGW 126 uses the concept of a Service Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) label, which is a string representing the range of all regional public IP addresses used 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. Customers can optionally use it when configuring security rules without needing to adjust the security rules if the public IP addresses of the service change in the future.

[0110] Local peering gateway (LPG) 132 is a gateway that can be added to customer VCN 104 and enable VCN 104 to peer with another VCN in the same area. Peering refers to VCNs communicating using private IP addresses without traffic traversing public networks (such as the Internet) or routing traffic through the customer's on-premises network 116. In a preferred embodiment, a VCN has a separate LPG for each peering it establishes. Local peering, or VCN peering, is a common practice for establishing network connectivity between different applications or infrastructure management functions.

[0111] Service providers (such as service providers in service network 110) 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 privately accessible via SGW 126. 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 (called a PE-VNIC, with one or more private IPs) within the customer's VCN in a subnet chosen by the customer. Thus, the PE provides a way to present services within a private customer VCN subnet using the VNIC. Because the endpoint is exposed as a VNIC, all features associated with the VNIC (such as routing rules, security lists, etc.) are now available to the PE VNIC.

[0112] Service providers can register their services to enable access via a Virtual Private Server (PE). Providers can associate policies with services, which restricts the visibility of services to customer leases. Providers can register multiple services under a single Virtual IP address (VIP), especially for multi-tenant services. Multiple such private endpoints (across multiple VCNs) can represent the same service.

[0113] 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) 130 is a gateway resource that can be attached to a service provider VCN (e.g., a VCN in service network 110), which acts as the ingress / egress point for all traffic originating from / to the private endpoint of the customer subnet. PAGW 130 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 PAGW 130. These are referred to as customer-to-service private connections (C2S connections).

[0114] The PE concept can also be used to extend private access to services to the customer's on-premises network and data center by allowing traffic to flow through FastConnect / IPsec links and private endpoints within the customer's VCN. Private access to services can also be extended to the customer's peering VCN by allowing traffic to flow between the LPG 132 and the PE within the customer's VCN.

[0115] Customers can control routing within a VCN at the subnet level, allowing them to specify which subnets within a customer's VCN (such as VCN104) 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, the routing table for public subnets within customer VCN 104 might send non-local traffic via IGW 120. The routing table for private subnets within the same customer VCN 104 might send traffic destined for CSP services via SGW 126. All remaining traffic might be sent via NAT gateway 128. The routing table only controls traffic leaving the VCN.

[0116] 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 tables 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., port 22 for SSH, port 3389 for Windows RDP), etc. In some implementations, the instance's operating system can enforce its own firewall rules that conform to 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.

[0117] Access from a customer's VCN (i.e., through resources or compute instances deployed on VCN 104) 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 (e.g., resources in a private subnet) with private IP addresses within VCN 104 to access services without traversing a public network such as the Internet. In some embodiments, CSPI 101 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.

[0118] Furthermore, CSPI can provide private public access using technologies such as FastConnect public peering, where 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 private private access using FastConnect private peering, where on-premises instances with private IP addresses can access a customer's VCN workloads using FastConnect connections. FastConnect is a network 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 private and private connections with higher bandwidth options and a more reliable and consistent network experience.

[0119] Figure 1The 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 2 A simplified architecture diagram of the physical components within the physical network of the CSPI 200, which provides the underlying layer for virtual networks according to certain embodiments, is depicted. As shown, the CSPI 200 provides a distributed environment including components and resources (e.g., compute, memory, and networking resources) provided by the CSP. These components and resources are used to provide cloud services (e.g., IaaS services) to subscribing 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 of the CSPI 200 (e.g., compute, memory, and networking resources) is provisioned to the customer. The customer can then use the physical compute, memory, and networking resources provided by the CSPI 200 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 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 200 provides infrastructure and a complementary set of cloud services that enable customers to build and run a wide range of applications and services in a highly available managed environment.

[0120] exist Figure 2 In the example embodiment depicted, the physical components of CSPI 200 include one or more physical host machines or physical servers (e.g., 202, 206, 208), network virtualization devices (NVDs) (e.g., 210, 212), ToR switches (e.g., 214, 216), and a physical network (e.g., 218), as well as switches within physical network 218. The physical host machines or servers can host and execute various compute instances participating in one or more subnets of the VCN. Compute instances can include virtual machine instances and bare metal instances. For example, Figure 1 The various computational examples described in the text can be derived from... Figure 2 The physical host machine described in the diagram is used for hosting virtual machine compute instances. Virtual machine compute instances in a VCN can be executed by one host machine or multiple different host machines. Physical host machines can also host virtual host machines, container-based hosts, or functions, etc. Figure 1 The VNIC and VCN VR described in the text can be generated by Figure 2 The NVD execution described in the text. Figure 1 The gateway described herein can be a host machine and / or a... Figure 2 The NVD execution described in [the document / document].

[0121] A host machine or server can execute a hypervisor (also known as a virtual machine monitor or VMM) that creates and enables virtualized environments on the host machine. Virtualized 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 a set of physical computing resources (e.g., compute, memory, and networking resources) of the host machine to be shared among various compute instances executed by the host machine.

[0122] For example, such as Figure 2 As depicted, host machines 202 and 208 execute hypervisors 260 and 266, respectively. These hypervisors can be implemented using software, firmware, or hardware, or a combination thereof. Typically, a hypervisor is a processing or software layer located 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 a set of physical computing resources of the host machine (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 2 In this configuration, hypervisor 260 can reside on top of the operating system of host machine 202 and enable a set of computing resources (e.g., processing, memory, and networking resources) of host machine 202 to be shared among computing instances (e.g., virtual machines) running on host machine 202. Virtual machines can have their own operating systems (called guest operating systems), which can be the same as or different from the host machine's operating system. The operating system of a virtual machine running on the host machine can be the same as or different from the operating system of another virtual machine running on the same host machine. Therefore, the hypervisor enables multiple operating systems to be executed simultaneously, sharing the same set of computing resources of the host machine. Figure 2 The host machines described in the text may have the same or different types of management programs.

[0123] A compute instance can be a virtual machine instance or a bare metal instance. Figure 2 In the diagram, compute instance 268 on host machine 202 and compute instance 274 on host machine 208 are examples of virtual machine instances. Host machine 206 is an example of a bare metal instance provided to a customer.

[0124] In some cases, an entire host machine can be provisioned to a single customer, and one or more compute instances (or virtual machines or bare metal instances) hosted by that host machine all belong to the same customer. In other cases, 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 a bare metal compute instance, a single customer or tenant maintains control over the physical CPU, memory, and network interfaces of the host machine hosting that bare metal instance, and the host machine is not shared with other customers or tenants.

[0125] 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 of packets or frames to and from the compute instance. The VNIC is associated with the compute instance when it 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 2 In this example, host machine 202 executes a virtual machine compute instance 268 associated with VNIC 276, and VNIC 276 is executed by NVD 210 connected to host machine 202. As another example, a bare metal instance 272 hosted by host machine 206 is associated with VNIC 280 executed by NVD 212 connected to host machine 206. As yet another example, VNIC 284 is associated with compute instance 274 executed by host machine 208, and VNIC 284 is executed by NVD 212 connected to host machine 208.

[0126] 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 2 In the embodiment depicted, NVD 210 executes VCN VR 277 corresponding to the VCN of compute instance 268, which is a member of NVD 212. NVD 212 may also execute one or more VCN VR 283 corresponding to the VCNs of compute instances hosted by host machines 206 and 208.

[0127] 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 communicatively connect to 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.

[0128] For example, in Figure 2 In this configuration, host machine 202 is connected to NVD 210 via link 220, which extends between port 234 provided by NIC 232 of host machine 202 and port 236 of NVD 210. Host machine 206 is connected to NVD 212 via link 224, which extends between port 246 provided by NIC 244 of host machine 206 and port 248 of NVD 212. Host machine 208 is connected to NVD 212 via link 226, which extends between port 252 provided by NIC 250 of host machine 208 and port 254 of NVD 212.

[0129] The NVD is then connected to ToR switches via communication links, which are connected to physical network 218 (also known as a switch architecture). 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 2 In this configuration, NVDs 210 and 212 are connected to ToR switches 214 and 216 via links 228 and 230, respectively. In some embodiments, links 220, 224, 226, 228, and 230 are Ethernet links. The collection of host machines and NVDs connected to the ToR is sometimes referred to as a rack.

[0130] Physical network 218 provides a communication architecture that enables ToR switches to communicate with each other. Physical network 218 can be a multi-layer network. In some implementations, physical network 218 is a multi-layer Clos network of switches, where ToR switches 214 and 216 represent leaf-level nodes of the multi-layer and multi-node physical switching network 218. Different Clos network configurations are possible, including but not limited to Layer 2 networks, Layer 3 networks, Layer 4 networks, Layer 5 networks, and general "n"-layer networks. Examples of Clos networks are provided in... Figure 5 It is depicted in the middle and described below.

[0131] Various connection configurations can exist between the host machine and the NVD, such as one-to-one, many-to-one, and one-to-many configurations. In a one-to-one configuration, each host machine connects to its own individual NVD. For example, in... Figure 2 In this configuration, host machine 202 connects to NVD 210 via its NIC 232. In a many-to-one configuration, multiple host machines connect to a single NVD. For example, in... Figure 2 In this configuration, host machines 206 and 208 are connected to the same NVD 212 via NICs 244 and 250, respectively.

[0132] In a one-to-many configuration, a host machine connects to multiple NVDs. Figure 3 An example within the CSPI 300 is shown, where a host machine is connected to multiple NVDs. (Example follows) Figure 3 As shown, host machine 302 includes a network interface card (NIC) 304, which includes multiple ports 306 and 308. Host machine 300 is connected to a first NVD 310 via port 306 and link 320, and to a second NVD 312 via port 308 and link 322. Ports 306 and 308 may be Ethernet ports, and links 320 and 322 between host machine 302 and NVDs 310 and 312 may be Ethernet links. NVD 310 is further connected to a first ToR switch 314, and NVD 312 is connected to a second ToR switch 316. Links between NVDs 310 and 312 and ToR switches 314 and 316 may be Ethernet links. ToR switches 314 and 316 represent Layer 0 switching devices in a multi-layer physical network 318.

[0133] Figure 3 The layout depicted provides two separate physical network paths from physical switch network 318 to host machine 302: the first path goes through ToR switch 314 to NVD 310 and then to host machine 302, and the second path goes through ToR switch 316 to NVD 312 and then to host machine 302. These separate paths provide enhanced availability (referred to as high availability) for host machine 302. 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 / from host machine 302.

[0134] exist Figure 3 In 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.

[0135] Return to reference Figure 2An 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.), cached memory, and ports. Various virtualization functions can be executed by software / firmware running on one or more processing units of the NVD.

[0136] NVDs can be implemented in various different forms. For example, in some embodiments, an NVD is implemented as an interface card called a smartNIC or a smart NIC with an onboard embedded processor. A smartNIC is a device separate from the NIC on the host machine. Figure 2 In this context, NVD 210 and 212 can be implemented as smartNICs connected to host machine 202 and host machines 206 and 208, respectively.

[0137] However, smartNIC 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 200. 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 a smart 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 cluster of host machines.

[0138] In some embodiments, such as when implemented as Figure 2 As shown in the smartNIC 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 2 Examples of host-facing ports include port 236 on the NVD 210 and ports 248 and 254 on the NVD 212. Network-facing ports on the NVD are used to connect the NVD to the ToR switch. Figure 2 Examples of network-facing ports include port 256 on the NVD 210 and port 258 on the NVD 212. Figure 2 As shown, NVD 210 is connected to ToR switch 214 via link 228, which extends from port 256 of NVD 210 to ToR switch 214. Similarly, NVD 212 is connected to ToR switch 216 via link 230, which extends from port 258 of NVD 212 to ToR switch 216.

[0139] 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 the NVD's 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 the NVD's host-facing port.

[0140] In some embodiments, there can be multiple ports and associated links between the NVD and the ToR switch. 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 the ToR switch) 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 is 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 multiple physical links in the LAG. One or more LAGs can be configured between two endpoints. These endpoints can be located between the NVD and the ToR switch, between a host machine and the NVD, etc.

[0141] 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 the routing and forwarding of packets to and from compute instances in the VCN; and so on. In some embodiments, upon receiving a packet, the NVD is configured to execute a packet processing pipeline for processing the packet and determining how to forward or route the packet. As part of this packet processing pipeline, the NVD may perform one or more virtual functions associated with the overlay network, such as executing VNICs associated with compute instances in the VCN, executing 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.

[0142] In some embodiments, the packet processing data path in the NVD may include multiple packet pipelines, each consisting of a series of packet transformation stages. In some implementations, upon receiving a packet, the packet is parsed and classified into a single pipeline. The packet is then processed linearly, stage by stage, until the packet is dropped or sent out through the NVD's interface. These stages 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 stages, and new functionality can be added by creating new stages and inserting them into existing pipelines.

[0143] NVD can perform both control plane and data plane functions corresponding to the control plane and data plane of VCN. Examples of VCN CP are also available. Figure 18-22 The data plane VCN is depicted in (see reference numerals 1816, 1916, 2016, and 2116) and described below. Figure 18-21The following describes the control plane functionality (see reference numerals 1818, 1918, 2018, and 2118) and its features. 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 CP is provided, which 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 established 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.

[0144] 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 2 As depicted, NVD 210 performs the functionality of VNIC 276 associated with compute instance 268 hosted by host machine 202 connected to NVD 210. As another example, NVD 212 performs VNIC 280 associated with bare-metal compute instance 272 hosted by host machine 206, and VNIC 284 associated with compute instance 274 hosted by host machine 208. Host machines can host compute instances belonging to different VCNs (which belong to different customers), and NVDs connected to host machines can perform VNICs corresponding to compute instances (i.e., perform VNIC-related functionality).

[0145] NVD also executes a VCN virtual router corresponding to the VCN of the compute instance. For example, in Figure 2 In the embodiments depicted, NVD 210 executes VCN VR 277 corresponding to the VCN to which compute instance 268 belongs. NVD 212 executes one or more VCN VR 283 corresponding to one or more VCNs to which compute instances hosted by host machines 206 and 208 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.

[0146] In addition to VNIC and VCN VR, NVD can execute various software (e.g., daemons) and includes one or more hardware components that facilitate various network virtualization functions performed by NVD. For simplicity, these various components are grouped together as... Figure 2 The “packet processing component” is shown in the diagram. For example, NVD 210 includes packet processing component 286 and NVD 212 includes packet processing component 288. For example, a packet processing component for an NVD may include a packet processor configured to interact with the NVD’s ports and hardware interface to monitor all packets received by and transmitted using the NVD and to store network information. 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 copy 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.

[0147] Figure 1 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, a VR for the VCN, and a set of gateways configured for the VCN. Figure 1 The overlay component described in the text can be made by Figure 2 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 2 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 a VCN can be executed by one or more different types of NVDs. For example, some gateways can be executed by smartNICs, while others can be executed by one or more host machines or other implementations of NVDs.

[0148] As described above, compute instances in a client VCN can communicate with various endpoints, which may be in the same subnet as the source compute instance, in a different subnet but within the same VCN as the source compute instance, or outside the source compute instance's VCN. These communications are facilitated using VNICs, VCN VRs, and gateways associated with the VCNs.

[0149] 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 of 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, which then 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.

[0150] For packets destined for endpoints in different subnets within the same VCN, the packets originating from the source compute instance are routed from the host machine hosting the source compute instance to an NVD connected to that host machine. On the NVD, the packets are processed using a packet processing pipeline, which may include the execution of one or more VNICs and the VR associated with the VCN. For example, as part of the packet processing pipeline, the NVD executes or invokes functionality corresponding to the VNIC associated with the source compute instance (also known as executing the VNIC). Functionality executed by the VNIC may include viewing VLAN tags on the packets. Since the packet's destination is outside the subnet, the VCN VR functionality is then invoked and executed by the NVD. The VCN VR then routes the packets to the NVD executing the VNIC associated with the destination compute instance. The VNIC associated with the destination compute instance then processes the packets and forwards them 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).

[0151] If the destination of a data packet is outside the VCN of the source compute instance, the packet originating from the source compute instance is transmitted 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 used by that VCN. The NVD invokes the VCN VR functionality, which may result 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 smartNIC, a host machine, or another NVD implementation. The packet is then processed by the gateway and forwarded to the next hop, which facilitates the delivery of the packet to its intended destination endpoint. For example, in Figure 2In the embodiment depicted, data packets originating from compute instance 268 can be transmitted from host machine 202 to NVD 210 via link 220 (using NIC 232). On NVD 210, VNIC 276 is invoked because it is the VNIC associated with the source compute instance 268. VNIC 276 is configured to examine the information encapsulated in the data packets and determine the next hop for forwarding the data packets, with the aim of facilitating the transmission of the data packets to their intended destination endpoint, and then forwarding the data packets to the determined next hop.

[0152] Compute instances deployed on a VCN can communicate with a variety of endpoints. These endpoints can include endpoints hosted by CSPI 200 and endpoints outside of CSPI 200. Endpoints hosted by CSPI 200 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 200 can be performed via physical network 218. Compute instances can also communicate with endpoints not hosted by CSPI 200 or outside of CSPI 200. 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 200 can use various communication protocols over public networks (e.g., the Internet). Figure 2 (not shown in the image) or a dedicated network ( Figure 2 (Not shown in the image) to execute.

[0153] Figure 2 The architecture of the CSPI 200 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 200 may have a more advanced architecture than... Figure 2 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 2 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).

[0154] Figure 4 The connectivity between the host machine and the NVD, according to certain embodiments, is described for providing I / O virtualization to support multi-tenancy. For example... Figure 4As depicted, host machine 402 executes a hypervisor 404 that provides a virtualized environment. Host machine 402 executes two virtual machine instances, VM1 406 belonging to customer / tenant #1 and VM2 408 belonging to customer / tenant #2. Host machine 402 includes a physical NIC 410 connected to NVD 412 via link 414. Each compute instance is attached to a VNIC executed by NVD 412. Figure 4 In one embodiment, VM1 406 is attached to VNIC-VM1 420 and VM2 408 is attached to VNIC-VM2 422.

[0155] like Figure 4 As shown, NIC 410 includes two logical NICs, logical NIC A 416 and logical NIC B 418. Each virtual machine is attached to its own logical NIC and configured to work with its own logical NIC. For example, VM1 406 is attached to logical NIC A 416 and VM2 408 is attached to logical NIC B 418. Although host machine 402 includes only one physical NIC 410 shared by multiple tenants, each tenant's virtual machines believe they have their own host machine and NIC due to the logical NICs.

[0156] In some embodiments, each logical NIC is assigned its own VLAN ID. Thus, a specific VLAN ID is assigned to logical NIC A 416 for tenant #1, and a different VLAN ID is assigned to logical NIC B 418 for tenant #2. When a packet is transmitted from VM1 406, the hypervisor appends a tag assigned to tenant #1 to the packet, and the packet is then transmitted from host machine 402 to NVD 412 via link 414. Similarly, when a packet is transmitted from VM2 408, the hypervisor appends a tag assigned to tenant #2 to the packet, and the packet is then transmitted from host machine 402 to NVD 412 via link 414. Therefore, the packet 424 transmitted from host machine 402 to NVD 412 has an associated tag 426 identifying the specific tenant and the associated VM. On the NVD, for a data packet 424 received from the host machine 402, the tag 426 associated with the data packet is used to determine whether the data packet is processed by VNIC-VM1 420 or VNIC-VM2 422. The data packet is then processed by the corresponding VNIC. Figure 4 The configuration described in [the document] enables each tenant's compute instance to believe that it owns its own host machine and NIC. Figure 4 The setup described in [the document] provides I / O virtualization to support multi-tenancy.

[0157] Figure 5A simplified block diagram of a physical network 500 according to certain embodiments is depicted. Figure 5 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 5 The embodiment depicted is a Layer 3 network, including Layers 1, 2, and 3. The ToR switch 504 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 connect to Layer 1 switches, also known as leaf switches. Figure 5 In the embodiments depicted, a group of "n" Layer 0 ToR switches are connected to a group of "n" Layer 1 switches, forming a pod. Each Layer 0 switch in the pod is interconnected to all Layer 1 switches in 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 group 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). Communication of packets on the physical network 500 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 in the physical network, thereby enabling scaling of the physical network.

[0158] 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.

[0159] In some implementations, each resource within 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: ocid1.<RESOURCE TYPE> . <realm>.[REGION][.FUTURE USE].<UNIQUE ID> wherein, ocid1: a literal string indicating the version of the CID; Resource Type: the type of the resource (e.g., instance, volume, VCN, subnet, user, group, etc.); Realm: the realm in which the resource resides (example values are "cl" for a commercial realm, "c2" for a government cloud realm, or "c3" for a federal government cloud realm, etc. Each realm can have its own domain name); Region: the region in which the resource resides (this section can be empty if the region does not apply to the resource); Future use: (reserved for future use); and unique ID: the unique portion of the ID (the format can vary depending on the type of resource or service).

[0160] partly cloudy

[0161] Figure 6 A simplified high-level diagram 600 depicting a distributed environment comprising multiple cloud environments provided by different CSPs is depicted. As Figure 6 depicted in the diagram, various cloud environments (also referred to as "clouds") can be provided by different CSPs, each cloud environment or cloud offering can be of one or more cloud services subscribed to by one or more customers of the corresponding CSP. A set of cloud services offered by a cloud environment provided by a CSP can include one or more different types of cloud services, including but not limited to SaaS services, IaaS services, PaaS services, Database as a Service (DBaaS) services, and other services. Examples of cloud environments provided by various CSPs include OCI, Azure, Google Cloud, AWS, etc. The cloud services offered by a particular cloud environment can be different from the set of cloud services offered by another cloud environment.

[0162] In a typical cloud environment, a CSP provides a CSPI that is used to provide its customers with a set of cloud services offered by that cloud environment. The CSPI provided by a CSP can include various types of hardware and software resources, including compute resources, memory resources, networking resources, consoles for accessing cloud services, and the like. Customers of a cloud environment provided by a CSP can subscribe to one or more of the cloud services offered by that cloud environment. A CSP can offer various subscription models to its customers. After a customer subscribes to a cloud service offered by a cloud environment, one or more users can be associated with that subscribing customer, and those users can use the cloud service subscribed to by that customer. In certain implementations, when a customer subscribes to a cloud service offered by a particular cloud environment, a customer account or customer tenancy is created for that customer. One or more users can then be associated with that customer tenancy, and those users can then use the service subscribed to by that customer under that customer tenancy. Information about the service subscribed to by a customer, the users associated with a customer tenancy, and the like is typically stored within the cloud environment and associated with that customer tenancy.

[0163] For example, Figure 6 Two different cloud environments provided by two different CSPs are depicted in FIG. 6 (although a different number of cloud environments is also possible). These include cloud environment A (Cloud A) 610 provided by CSP A and cloud environment B (Cloud B) 640 provided by CSP B.

[0164] Cloud A 610 includes infrastructure CSPI_A 612 provided by CSP A. This infrastructure CSPI_A 612 can be used to provide a set of cloud-in services 615 offered by Cloud A 610. One or more customers (e.g., Cust_A1 616-1, Cust_A2 616-2) can subscribe to one or more of these services. One or more users 618-1 can be associated with customer Cust_A1 616-1 and can use the services in Cloud A 610 subscribed to by customer Cust_A1 616-1. In a similar manner, one or more users 618-2 can be associated with customer Cust_A2 616-2 and can use the services in Cloud A 610 subscribed to by customer Cust_A2 616-2. In various use cases, the services subscribed to by customer Cust_A1 616-1 can be different from the services subscribed to by customer Cust_A2 616-2.

[0165] Similarly, Cloud B 640 includes infrastructure CSPI_B 642 provided by CSP B. This infrastructure CSPI_B 642 can be used to provide a set of services 644 provided by Cloud B 640 (which may, but are not necessarily, different from, the services provided by Cloud A 610). One or more customers (e.g., Cust_B1 646-1) can subscribe to one or more services in this set of services 644. One or more users 648-1 can be associated with customer Cust_B1 646-1 and can use the services subscribed to by customer Cust_B1 646-1 in Cloud B 640.

[0166] like Figure 6 As described, customer Cust_A1 616-1 is also a customer of CSP B and has subscribed to services available from CSPI_B642. Therefore, customer Cust_A1 616-1 has leases in both Cloud B 640 and Cloud A 610.

[0167] In some embodiments, CSP A and CSP B may agree to each provide cross-cloud services. Figure 6 As described, CSPA provides one or more of its services (referred to herein as cross-cloud services) to CSP B's customers via CSPI_B 642. These cross-cloud services include, for example, database services, storage services, compute services, etc. Thus, customer Cust_A1 616-1 (a customer of both Cloud A and Cloud B) can request, subscribe to, use, and / or manage one or more cross-cloud services of CSP A via its lease at CSPI_B 642. In contrast, customer Cust_B1 646-1 has no lease at CSPI_A 612. Therefore, cross-cloud services of CSP A may be unavailable to customer Cust_B1 646-1 unless customer Cust_B1 646-1 requests a lease from CSP A. This request can be submitted and managed via the portal of Cloud B 640, as further described in the following diagram.

[0168] To enable CSP A to provide cross-cloud services and ensure availability via Cloud B 640, Cloud A 610 can implement Inter-Cloud Service 614. Inter-Cloud Service 614 can be configured, among other things, to enable the use of CSP A's cross-cloud services via Cloud B. For example, Inter-Cloud Service 614 can communicate with Service 644 of Cloud B 640 and translate this communication into information suitable for use by Cloud A's intra-cloud service 615. More specifically, this set of services 644 enables the deployment and management of resources supporting CSP B's portal and CSP B's customers within Cloud B 640. Through this portal, CSP A's cross-cloud services can be provided. Thus, CSP B's customers (e.g., customer Cust_A1 616-1) can subscribe to and request CSP A's cross-cloud services via this portal. These subscription and cloud operation requests can be received by Inter-Cloud Service 614, which then translates them into information specific to Cloud A 610. This information can be passed to one or more cloud services 615 that then supply the service. Feedback from cloud service 615 can be translated by cloud service 614 and sent to cloud service 644 for its use.

[0169] In some embodiments, the requested cross-cloud service can be provisioned by one or more cloud services in cloud service 615 across resources in both cloud A 610 and cloud B 640. This can support latency-sensitive operations (or at least reduce processing latency).

[0170] As shown in the figure, the infrastructure CSPI_A 612 of cloud A 610 includes infrastructure 624 for the private cloud of customer Cust_A1616-1 in cloud A 610 (e.g., for a VCN as part of the customer's lease at cloud A 610), infrastructure 626 for the private cloud of customer Cust_A2 616-2 in cloud A 610, and other infrastructure 620. Each of these infrastructures includes hardware and / or software provided by CSP A and installed at a location (organized as a region) under the control of CSP A.

[0171] In contrast, the infrastructure CSPI_B 642 of Cloud B 640 includes infrastructure 644 for a private cloud in Cloud A for customer Cust_A1 616-1 (e.g., for a VCN as part of the customer's lease at Cloud A 610), infrastructure 646 for a private cloud in Cloud B 640 for customer Cust_A1 616-1 (e.g., for a VNET as part of the customer's lease at Cloud B 640), infrastructure 648 for a private cloud in Cloud B 640 for customer Cust_B1 646-1, and other infrastructure 650. Infrastructure 644 includes hardware and / or software (e.g., co-located with components of CSPI_B 642) provided by CSP A and installed at a location (organized as a region) under the control of CSP B. In contrast, infrastructures 646, 648, and 650 include hardware and / or software provided by CSP B and installed at a location (organized as a region) under the control of CSP B.

[0172] Infrastructures 644 and 646 can be networked together, allowing customer Cust_A1 616-1 to access its private cloud at CSP A via its private cloud at CSP B, where the private cloud at CSP A is distributed between CSPI_A 612 and CSPI_B 642. This communication coupling of the private clouds can be initiated by inter-cloud service 614 and executed by one or more intra-cloud services in intra-cloud service 615. In this way, customer A 616-1 has two leases: the first at CSP A, which includes a first private cloud (e.g., VCN) distributed between CSPI_A 612 and CSPI_B 642, and the second at CSP B, which includes a second private cloud (e.g., VNET) local to CSPI_B 642.

[0173] The requested cross-cloud service may actually be hosted on the first private cloud (e.g., at least partially hosted on infrastructure 644 within CSPI_B 642, and possibly on infrastructure 624 within CSPI_A 612) and accessible via the second private cloud (e.g., workflow access hosted on infrastructure 646). This component distribution, which is further described in the following diagrams, enables the first private cloud of the first CSP to be hosted at least partially by the second cloud of the second CSP and linked to the second private cloud hosted by the second cloud.

[0174] Figure 7 An exemplary physical architecture for providing cross-cloud services based on infrastructure distributed across multiple CSPs, according to some embodiments, is described. Figure 7 In this embodiment, the second CSP's customer will manage the lifecycle of the cross-cloud service developed by the first CSP. For illustrative purposes, the Exadata service (also referred to herein as the Oracle DB service) and the Oracle and Microsoft clouds are described. In this description, Oracle corresponds to the first CSP, and Microsoft corresponds to the second CSP, while the Exadata service corresponds to the cross-cloud service provided by the first CSP via the second CSP's cloud. However, the embodiment is not limited to this, but is equally applicable to other CSPIs, CSPs, and / or cross-cloud services.

[0175] A second CSP's customer (e.g., an Azure customer) can create and manage virtual resources (e.g., infrastructure and / or VM clusters) within the first CSP's cloud via the second CSP's portal (e.g., the Azure portal). These virtual resources can be provisioned to offer cross-cloud services. This can be at least partially utilized. Figure 6 Cloud services 614 are used to support this provisioning. Furthermore, the infrastructure supporting virtual resources can be distributed between the CSPIs of the two CSPs (e.g., between an Azure data center and an OCI region). Specifically, a first portion of the infrastructure provided by the first CSP is installed at the CSPI of the second CSP, while the remaining second portion of the infrastructure provided by the first CSP is installed at the CSPI of the first CSP. The first portion may be referred to as being contained within the cloud of the second CSP or forming a subsite within the cloud of the second CSP. The second portion may be referred to as containing or forming a parent-child region for that subsite, wherein the parent region is within the cloud of the first CSP.

[0176] exist Figure 7 On the left, a second CSPI_B 750 of the second CSP is shown. This CSPI_B 750 may, for example, represent the data center of the second CSP (e.g., an Azure data center). Within the CSPI_B 750, a base network 730 is available and provided by the second CSP. The base network 730 includes a set of computing resources, such as routers 732A, 732B, etc. (In the case of an Azure data center, these routers may include MeetMe ToRs supporting the MeetMe protocol for peer-to-peer connections). The CSPI_B 750 also includes a subsite 720 (which is a set of computing resources, such as server blades, racks, or other physical hardware of the first CSP that execute the CSP's software). Subsite 720 includes, among others, routers 722A, 722B, etc. (in the case of OCI, these routers may include FastConnect routers that support the FastConnect protocol for connecting peers), connectivity architecture 724 (e.g., physical architecture, such as JFAB, which provides connectivity to other physical architectures and components), and physical resources 726 (e.g., racks, such as OCI server blades optimized for cross-cloud services, such as Exadata services).

[0177] exist Figure 7 On the right, a first CSPI_A 700 of the first CSP is shown. This CSPI_A 700 may, for example, represent the data center of the first CSP (e.g., an OCI data center). Within CSPI_A 700, a parent region 710 is illustrated. The parent region 710 may include a base network with multiple components. Among these components is a connectivity architecture 712 (e.g., a physical architecture, such as JFAB). Connectivity architecture 712 is connected to connectivity architecture 724, enabling the child site 720 to be communicatively coupled to the parent region 710. Optionally, the parent region 710 is located in a region physically adjacent to the child site 720 (or equivalently, CSPI_B 750), thereby reducing network latency for communication between the child site 720 and the parent region 710.

[0178] Router 732 within the base network 730 can be interconnected (e.g., via Ethernet cable) to router 722 within subsite 720. The connectivity architecture 724 of subsite 720 provides interconnection between router 722 and physical resource 726. Furthermore, this connectivity architecture 724 is connected to the connectivity architecture 714 of parent area 710 (e.g., using fiber optic cables, such as dark fiber), enabling data connectivity between subsite 720 and parent area 710.

[0179] The base network 730 can host a set of resources for a second CSP for a customer (e.g., to provide a VNET containing compute instances with access to the Exadata service, as further illustrated in the following diagram). These second CSP resources can be part of a neighboring group within a certain latency (e.g., 100µs) of the cross-cloud service.

[0180] Subsite 720 can host latency-critical resources of the first CSP, where these resources support cross-cloud services (e.g., subsite 720 can host OCI database resources and data plane resources supporting the Exadata service). Parent region 720 can host other resources that support cross-cloud services (e.g., Figure 6 (This includes cloud-to-cloud services 614 and cloud-within-cloud services 715). (For example, for the Exadata service, parent region 720 may host ORP, OCI tools, OCI metrics and logging, the OCI control plane, regional OCI services, and the customer-facing console.) Some of these resources (e.g., OCI database resources and data plane resources) may be deployed as part of the customer's first private cloud at the first CSP (e.g., VCN in the case of OCI) and may be perceived by the customer as being available via the customer's second private cloud at the second CSP (e.g., VNET in the case of Azure). This perception is possible by using the same IP address range in both private clouds used for cross-cloud services.

[0181] In the example, a customer may have multiple private clouds (e.g., multiple VNETs and / or multiple VCNs) at each CSP. In the case of multiple private clouds at the first CSP, the underlying physical resources may not be co-located in the same CSPI at the second CSP, but may instead be contained in different subsites or form different subsites. In this case, these resources may not be directly interconnected (e.g., there may be no direct physical connection between different subsites). Alternatively, indirect connections may exist via a parent region, where each subsite in the different subsites is physically (e.g., via fiber optic) connected to the parent region, and where data flows between the two subsites through the parent region.

[0182] Furthermore, Subsite 720 can support multi-tenant architectures. Specifically, multiple customers can each have one or more private clouds (e.g., one or more VNETs and one or more VCNs) at each CSP. Each such customer can have separate access to the corresponding cross-cloud service via Subsite 720.

[0183] Figure 8 An exemplary virtual architecture for providing cross-cloud services based on infrastructure distributed across multiple CSPs, according to some embodiments, is described. Figure 8 In this context, a customer’s first private cloud 810 at the first CSP (e.g., a VCN hosted by OCI) and the customer’s second cloud 820 at the second CSP (e.g., a VNET hosted by Azure) can be provisioned to provide cross-cloud services of the first CSP to the cloud via the second CSP (e.g., Exadata services provided by Oracle and available to Azure customers via Azure).

[0184] In the example, the second private cloud 820 (e.g., VNET) is hosted by the physical compute resources (e.g., Azure data center) of the second CSP's CSPI_B 850. The second private cloud 820 may include compute instances (not shown) with access to cross-cloud services. The second private cloud 820 includes a subnet 822. Subnet 822 uses an IP address range. This range can be specified based on customer input via the second CSP's portal (e.g., the Azure portal). IP addresses within this IP address range can be assigned to each compute instance (e.g., a VM belonging to a VM cluster and providing a database instance) launched to provide cross-cloud services to customers. These compute instances may be hosted by the first private cloud 810 (in... Figure 8 More generally, these are displayed as virtual resources 814A, 814B, 814C, and 814D. Figure 8 The diagram illustrates four computational examples, indicated by rectangles labeled NIC 824A, 824B, 824C, and 824D (or collectively referred to as NIC 824). While NIC stands for Network Interface Card, Figure 8 The NIC 824 itself is not like that. Instead, the NIC 824 represents mapping information that maps each IP address to a corresponding compute instance across cloud services. This mapping information can be stored as part of the configuration information of the second private cloud 820. If a compute instance of the second private cloud 820 uses an IP address to send or request traffic, and that IP address corresponds to a NIC, then the mapping information indicates that the traffic will be sent to or received from the first private cloud 810 (e.g., VCN) and that the traffic is cross-cloud service traffic.

[0185] The first private cloud 810 (e.g., VCN) can be hosted by the physical computing resources of the first CSP, such as physical computing resources including subsites and parent regions (similar to...). Figure 7 The diagram illustrates physical computing resources. The first private cloud 810 may include subnets 812 using the same IP address range. Each compute instance launched to provide cross-cloud services (e.g., each of virtual resources 814A, 814B, 814C, and 814D, collectively referred to as virtual resource 814) is hosted by a set of physical computing resources of the first CSP. This set of physical computing resources for the compute instance may include physical computing resources in subsites and physical computing resources in the parent region. The computing resources of the subsites may include, for example, hardware (e.g., racks) that performs operations such as... Figure 7 The software shown here is for cross-cloud services and provides latency-critical virtual resources (e.g., database resources, data plane resources, etc.). The physical computing resources of the parent region may include, for example, servers, server clusters, network virtualization devices, etc., that provide non-latency-critical virtual resources (e.g., control plane resources, tool resources, etc.).

[0186] Each compute instance can have an IP address within this IP address range. A one-to-one mapping exists between compute instances in the first private cloud 810 (e.g., virtual resource 814) and NIC 824 in the second private cloud 820. Thus, using this one-to-one mapping, cross-cloud service traffic can be sent from the second private cloud 820 to the first private cloud 810, and vice versa.

[0187] The second private cloud 820 can be connected to the first private cloud 810 via one or more virtual routers (e.g., coupling the base network of the second CSP to the sub-sites), gateways (e.g., implementing gateway 826 at the sub-sites and gateway 816 at the parent area to couple the sub-sites to the parent area, such as as parts of a connectivity architecture), and connectivity protocols (e.g., MeetMe and FastConnect protocols) (e.g., peer-to-peer connections). Overall, gateways 816 and 826 can represent dynamic routing gateways.

[0188] From the customer's perspective, the customer does not need to know the underlying physical architecture and interconnects. Instead, it is sufficient for the customer to have visibility at the virtual tier, enabling them to perceive and manage their private clouds 810 and 820 (e.g., their network configuration). Management of the second private cloud 820 can be via a second portal of the second CSP. Management of the first private cloud 810 can be via a second portal of the second CSP or a first portal of the first CSP. In this embodiment, changes and / or operations related to cross-cloud services are enabled only via the second CSP (e.g., via the second CSP, a customer can expand or shrink, remove, terminate, add, etc., virtual resources at the first private cloud 810 launched for cross-cloud services). In contrast, changes and / or operations unrelated to cross-cloud services may (only) be enabled via the first CSP (e.g., via the first CSP, a customer can expand or shrink, remove, terminate, add, etc., virtual resources at the first private cloud 810 launched for non-cross-cloud services).

[0189] Figure 9 Exemplary virtual resources provided to a client according to some embodiments are described. Figure 9 The right side shows the first resource (e.g., OCI resource) of the first CSP deployed for the customer. Figure 9 The left side shows a second resource (e.g., for an Azure data center) deployed for a second CSP for a customer. The first CSP (shown as CSP A) provides cross-cloud services (e.g., Exadata services) available in the cloud via the second CSP (shown as CSP B).

[0190] The first resource (which may be a combination of physical and virtual resources) may include a private cloud 920, a service lease 910, a VM cluster 926, and a gateway 928. The private cloud 920 (e.g., a VCN) may correspond to a lease held by a customer at a first CSP and may include a primary subnet 922 with an IP range (e.g., a Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) range) and, optionally, a backup subnet 924 using the same IP range. The service lease 910 may be available to multiple customers of the first CSP and may include a gateway 912. The VM cluster 926 includes a number of VMs (or compute instances) launched for clients to provide cross-cloud services. The VM cluster 926 may be hosted on physical resources within a subsite. The gateway 928 (e.g., a service gateway) connects the virtual resources of the primary subnet 922 (and, similarly, the backup subnet 924) hosted on physical resources within a parent region to the VM cluster 926. In contrast, the gateway 912 connects these virtual resources to the customer's private cloud 960 at a second CSP. Gateway 912 can be implemented as a DRG attached to a private cloud 920 in a customer lease. This connection can be via gateway / router 914. Gateway / router 914 can be provided at least partially in a subsite and connects the subsite to the parent region via a first connection protocol (e.g., FastConnect) (thus providing gateway functionality) and connects the subsite to the base network of a second CSP via a second connection protocol (e.g., MeetMe) (thus providing routing functionality). For example, gateway / router 914 can represent a FastConnect virtual circuit resource in service lease 910 for connecting the DRG to an Azure MeetMe router (example router 968).

[0191] The second resource (which may be a combination of physical and virtual resources) may include a private cloud 960 and a router 968. The private cloud 960 may include a main subnet 922 with an IP range, and optionally a backup subnet 964 using the same IP range. This IP range may be the same as the IP range of the main subnet 922. The router 968 may be connected to a gateway / router 914 to provide data connectivity from the main subnet 962 (e.g., and the backup subnet 964) to the private cloud 920. The main subnet 962 may include NICs 966A to 966K connected to the router 968.

[0192] The first CSP (e.g., its inter-cloud or intra-cloud service) can select IP addresses from this IP range to provide different virtual resources for cross-cloud services. The first CSP (e.g., its inter-cloud or intra-cloud service) can create Domain Name System (DNS) records corresponding to these IP addresses, which can then be provided to Private Cloud 960. These DNS records can be used to establish private DNS zones for customers, which can be used in conjunction with Private Cloud 960.

[0193] For illustration, subnets 922, 924, 962, and 964 use IP addresses in the 10.0.10.0 / 24 range. Each NIC 966 has an IP address in this range (e.g., NIC A 966 A uses 10.0.10.10, and NIC K 966 K uses 10.0.10.11). VMs in the VM cluster use the same IP addresses (e.g., the first VM uses 10.0.10.10, while the second VM uses 10.0.10.11).

[0194] Figure 10 An exemplary architecture for provisioning and managing cross-cloud services based on infrastructure distributed across multiple CSPs, according to some embodiments, is described. Figure 10 In this example, the customer of the second CSP (shown as CSP B) will manage the lifecycle of the cross-cloud service developed by the first CSP (shown as CSP A). For clarity and illustration, OCI and Azure are described as examples of CSPI, and the Exadata service is described as an example of a cross-cloud service. However, the embodiment is not limited to this, but is alternatively and similarly applicable to other CSPs and / or cross-cloud services.

[0195] A customer (e.g., an Azure customer) can operate customer device 1000 to create and manage a set of virtual resources for a cross-cloud service (e.g., Oracle DB infrastructure resources) via a portal of a second CSP (displayed as CSP_B portal 1052). In the example, portal 1052 interacts with one or more services of the second CSP (displayed as CSP_B service 1054, examples of which may include Azure Resource Manager (ARM) that exposes APIs for managing the lifecycle of Oracle DB infrastructure resources (DB infrastructure resources include Exadata infrastructure and cloud VM clusters); other examples include Azure Resource Provider as a Service (RPaaS) to simplify the development and operation of Azure resource providers, such as asynchronous operations and their progress updates). To manage the resources (DB Home, databases, pluggable databases) built on top of a set of virtual resources, CSP_B service 1054 interacts with the inter-cloud service 1012 of the first CSP, causing the customer to be redirected to inter-cloud service 1012 (e.g., ORP in the case of OCI).

[0196] Inter-cloud service 1012 is configured to: i. handle the translation of identifiers assigned by a second CSP (e.g., an Azure identifier) ​​to identifiers assigned by a first CSP (e.g., an OCI identifier), including identity, resource ID, and subscription ID; ii. handle the translation of second CSP states (e.g., Azure states) to first CSP states (e.g., OCI states) and vice versa; and / or iii. delegate requests to the first CSP's in-cloud service 1014 for execution (e.g., delegate to a resource control plane 1016, such as the OCI DBaaS control plane). Inter-cloud service 1012 is also configured to coordinate any second CSP-specific integrations with other second CSP services (e.g., with Azure resource providers). Inter-cloud service 1012 may also be configured to perform or cause other in-cloud services 1014 to perform operations, including linking cloud accounts, publishing observability information, and distributing tokens to access other cloud customer environments.

[0197] Cloud service 1014 can provide a portal for the first CSP (displayed as CSP_A portal 1018), which can be accessed by the customer's client device 1000 to manage other services provided by the customer to the first CSP. The two portals 1052 and 1018 can enable similar functionality (e.g., by presenting input and output fields), but are still different. For example, portal 1052 (e.g., the Azure portal) can have a presentation format controlled by the second CSP. Furthermore, in addition to functionality related to cross-cloud services, portal 1052 can also enable functionality specific to the second CSP and unrelated to the first CSP. In contrast, portal 1018 (e.g., the OCI portal) can have a presentation format controlled by the first CSP. Furthermore, in addition to functionality related to cross-cloud services, portal 1018 can also enable functionality specific to the first CSP and unrelated to the second CSP. Regarding cross-cloud services, portal 1052 can expose information available from the second CSP, which can be provided by inter-cloud service 1012.

[0198] In the OCI and Azure use case examples, Cloud Service 1012 exposes the Oracle DB product. Cloud Service 1012 can register with ARM via RPaaS and is configured to implement Azure Resource Provider Contracts (RPCs), a set of operations supported by all Azure resource providers. Azure RPaaS internal services are used to support a large number of RPC operations.

[0199] Generally, Cloud Service 1012 can be configured to have a second CSP identity (e.g., an Azure RP identity equivalent to an OCI service principal) and the ability to operate on a second CSP customer environment using second CSP processes (e.g., Azure OBO processes). Cloud Service 1012 can also be configured to persistently store second CSP-specific metadata for first CSP resources, such as the mapping of Azure identifiers to OCIDs for DB resources. Cloud Service 1012 can also be configured to have a first CSP identity to gain scope for operating on the first CSP customer environment. Cloud Service 1012 can also be configured to act as a thin adapter layer, receiving requests formatted by a second CSP that has been authenticated by Service 1054, translating them into first CSP requests, and delegating the requests to services within the cloud.

[0200] Therefore, cloud service 1012 performs several operations. These operations include translating identifiers from one cloud to another and vice versa. These operations also include obtaining a first CSP identity for invoking cloud service 1014 for incoming requests from service 1054. These operations also include translating requests in a second CSP format into requests in a first CSP format and invoking cloud service 1014. These operations also include limiting / quota / capacity verification pass-through or mediation, implicitly creating first CSP prerequisites for network connectivity resources (e.g., creating OCI DRGs, VCNs, and subnets to which VM clusters are attached), facilitating private cloud links, and configuring DNS entries at the second CSP for resources with associated DNS records.

[0201] In the example, inter-cloud service 1012 can be hosted in one or more subsites. Inter-cloud service 1012 can host virtual resource 1020 in a subsite. In the Exadata service use case, virtual resource 1020 can include the DBaaS data plane via the DBaaS control plane. This control plane is hosted in a parent region as part of in-cloud service 1014. In this use case, compute instances (e.g., VMs) can be instantiated for the customer on their private cloud (e.g., VNET in Azure) at the second CSP. The compute instances can perform database operations by making calls to the DBaaS data plane. These operations include queries, storage, etc., or any operations supported by the Exadata service. The calls and responses to them can be within the private cloud at the second CSP. When in use, the DBaaS data plane can report usage information (e.g., for metrics analytics, billing, etc.) to one or more of the in-cloud services 1014 (e.g., to the observability service). This usage information can then be provided to the monitoring service of the second CSP.

[0202] Figure 11 An exemplary user experience flow 1100 for providing resources according to some embodiments is described. In the example, the user experience flow 1100 involves a client device 1120, a CSPI_B 1150 of a second CSP, and an inter-cloud service of a first CSP. The first CSP may provide cross-cloud services via the second CSP. Virtual resources may be provided to offer at least a portion of the cross-cloud services, wherein the provision follows the user experience flow 1100.

[0203] User input is controlled by CSPI_B 1150 (e.g., by...). Figure 10 The CSP_B portal (similar to portal 1052) receives instructions from client device 1120 to create a subnet and mark it as delegated, enabling it to be used for cross-cloud services. The subnet and the client's second private cloud at the second CSP are created, and instructions for this creation are provided to client device 1100.

[0204] Next, the inter-cloud service 1110 receives user input from the computing device 1100 (which may be at the portal) and indicates a request to create cross-cloud service infrastructure (e.g., an Exadata service). The user input may indicate various parameters for provisioning, such as region and availability zone. The inter-cloud service 1110 may indicate the start of provisioning to the computing device 1100 (e.g., via the portal) and may execute a provisioning workflow that creates the cross-cloud service infrastructure in the relevant subsites. While creating the infrastructure, the inter-cloud service 1110 sets its status to "Provisioning". Once created, the inter-cloud service 1110 updates the status to "Successful" and provides the infrastructure. Indications of these statuses may be provided to the computing device 1100 (e.g., via the portal). Similarly, the computing device 1100 may check the current status via the portal, where a status query request may be issued to the inter-cloud service 1110 from CSPI_B 1150, and the inter-cloud service 1110 will respond with status information.

[0205] Subsequently, cloud service 1110 receives user input from CSPI_B 1150 (where this input is provided at the portal), corresponding to a request from computing device 1100 to create VM cluster resources. This request may indicate a subnet. Cloud service 1110 then performs a set of checks and begins provisioning the VM cluster. The following diagram further illustrates this provisioning. Cloud service 1110 sets the status to "Provisioning". Once created, cloud service 1110 updates the status to "Success". Again, these status indications can be provided to computing device 1100 (e.g., via the portal). Similarly, computing device 1100 can check the current status via the portal, where a status query request can be sent from CSPI_B 1150 to cloud service 1110, and cloud service 1110 will respond with status information.

[0206] Figure 12 An exemplary control plane provisioning process 1260 according to some embodiments is depicted. In the example, the control plane provisioning process 1260 involves an inter-cloud service 1200, a control plane 1202 (e.g., an example of an in-cloud service), a customer's private cloud 1204 at a first CSP, a gateway 1206 (e.g., a DRG), a connectivity module 1208 (e.g., a connectivity module provided by a connectivity architecture and supporting connectivity protocols such as FastConnect), a cross-cloud service infrastructure 1210 at the first CSP, and a CSPI_B 1250 of a second CSP. The first CSP can provision cross-cloud services via the second CSP. Here, the control plane 1202 can execute a portion of the control plane provisioning process 1260 when triggered by the inter-cloud service 1200 to provision VM cluster resources. The inter-cloud service 1200 can make such a call to the control plane 1202 when receiving input from the CSPI_B 1250 (from ARM in Azure) in response to user input at the second CSP portal.

[0207] As described above, the inter-cloud service 1220 receives a request to create a VM cluster (e.g., an Exadata VM cluster) for cross-cloud services and passes this request, along with other information (e.g., a first identifier assigned by a first CSP and mapped to a second identifier assigned by a second CSP), to the control plane 1202. The control plane 1202 then retrieves details, such as about a subnet (e.g., including CIDR), from CSPI_B 1250 (e.g., from an ARM in Azure) and verifies that prerequisites (e.g., the subnet has been provisioned, the region of the second private cloud at the second CSP (e.g., a VNET in Azure), etc.) are met. The control plane 1202 then creates a first private cloud (e.g., a VCN in OCI) at the first CSP in the customer lease (e.g., based on the first identifier) ​​and creates the subnet within that first private cloud. This subnet has the same CIDR as the subnet in the second private cloud.

[0208] Next, control plane 1202 creates and configures gateway 1206 (e.g., DRG) in the service lease and requests that gateway 1206 be attached to the first private cloud in the customer lease. Control plane 1202 also configures routing information in gateway 1206 (e.g., by creating a DRG routing table for traffic between the two private clouds or a MeetMe router). Similarly, control plane 1202 also configures routing information in the first private cloud (e.g., by creating a VCN routing table for traffic to the DRG and VM cluster). Once the routing information is created, control plane 1202 can notify inter-cloud service 1200 of success. In response, inter-cloud service 1200 can configure a network security group for the first private cloud and request the creation of a VM cluster. The VM cluster is then provisioned in the relevant subsite, thereby assigning IP addresses from CIDR to it. DNS records corresponding to the IP addresses are also generated. Inter-cloud service 1200 can receive such DNS records and request that the first private network be attached to the second private network (e.g., attaching the VCN to the VNET).

[0209] Then, control plane 1202 calls the API of the second CSP, which allows IP addresses to be injected into the customer's subnet in the form of NICs. Each IP address can represent the IP of a VM cluster node. Control plane 1202 can register all the IP addresses that the VM cluster will have. The API call can include a device identifier (e.g., the GUID of the MeetMe router). This identifier can be based on a mapping of the GUID to a physical location (subsite). The call can also include a subnet resource identifier (e.g., the subnet of the private network in the customer's lease), an IP address (e.g., the IP address of the NIC being created, where the address is within the subnet range), and a resource name (the name of the NIC that the user will see). The API can return a Virtual LAN identifier (VLAN ID), which is available during virtual circuit creation. Control plane 1202 then creates a virtual circuit that uses a connection to a router (e.g., to the MeetMe router) (e.g., a FastConnect connection) and provides DNS records that allow a private DNS zone to be added to the customer's second private network. At this point, the VM cluster is successfully created. Compute instances used for cross-cloud services (e.g., Exadata database instances) can then be hosted in that VM cluster.

[0210] resource providers

[0211] As discussed above, a first CSP can provide cloud-based services (e.g., database services, storage services, computing services, etc.) to its customers, and a second CSP can provide similar cloud-based services to its customers. The second CSP's customers can also be customers of the first CSP and may wish to access the cloud-based services provided by the first CSP through their leases within the cloud environment provided by the second CSP. Thus, the first CSP can provide cloud-based services as cross-cloud services to the second CSP's customers. Similarly, the second CSP can provide cloud-based services such as cross-cloud services to the first CSP's customers. At least one of the cross-cloud services provided by one CSP to another CSP's customers can be the same service as the cloud-based service provided by that CSP to its own customers. In this way, the platform-level experience of another CSP can be provided to the customers of one CSP within the cloud environment of that CSP. Furthermore, the customers of that CSP can be exposed to new features, releases, and resources of another CSP without leaving the cloud environment of that CSP.

[0212] For example, Oracle, as a CSP, provides in-cloud services to its own customers via OCI, and Microsoft, as a CSP, can provide similar in-cloud services to its own customers via Azure. Microsoft Azure customers can also be Oracle OCI customers and may wish to access in-cloud services provided by Oracle's OCI via their Microsoft Azure leases. Thus, Oracle's OCI can provide in-cloud services such as Oracle's Exadata database service to Microsoft Azure customers as cross-cloud services. At least one of the cross-cloud services provided by Oracle's OCI to Microsoft Azure customers can be the same service as the in-cloud service provided by Oracle's OCI to one of its own customers. For example, Oracle's OCI can provide Oracle's Exadata database service to both its own customers and Microsoft Azure customers through Microsoft's Azure environment. In this way, a platform-level experience of Oracle's OCI can be provided to Microsoft Azure customers within Microsoft Azure. Furthermore, Microsoft Azure customers can be exposed to new features, releases, and resources of Oracle's OCI without leaving Microsoft Azure. While Oracle's OCI and Microsoft's Azure have been used as examples, the technologies described throughout are not limited to these CSPs and can be similarly applied to other CSPs, such as Google Cloud. TM and AWS®.

[0213] To facilitate the provisioning of cross-cloud services, subsites can be provided within the corresponding CSPIs of different CSPs, and these subsites can be used to access cross-cloud services provided by other corresponding CSPs. For example, in the case of OCI and Azure described above, a subsite can be provided within the Azure CSPI, and this subsite can provide access to the Exadata database service provided by OCI from within the Azure cloud environment. Providing access to cross-cloud services using subsites can provide high-bandwidth access and reduced latency to those cross-cloud services compared to accessing them through a first CSP and / or other remote cloud environments. However, resources such as compute resources at each subsite may be limited. Therefore, it may be desirable to provide one or more management mechanisms to provision and manage the lifecycle of cross-cloud services from one or more CSPIs and / or cloud environments. The techniques described herein relate to resource management mechanisms for provisioning and managing the lifecycle of cross-cloud services provided by one or more CSPs and between one or more CSPs. The resource management mechanisms described herein are dynamic because the characteristics of the subsites, cloud environments, and / or the CSPs' CSPIs, as well as other factors, can be considered when provisioning and managing cross-cloud services.

[0214] Figure 13 An example of an architecture 1300, including a resource metering mechanism for cross-cloud services across multiple cloud environments, is described according to some embodiments. Architecture 1300 may include a first cloud environment 1302 of a first CSP (e.g., Oracle's OCI) and a second cloud environment 1318 of a second CSP (e.g., Microsoft's Azure). It can be based on... Figure 6-9 The described distributed environment implements the first cloud environment 1302 and the second cloud environment 1318. The first cloud environment 1302 and the second cloud environment 1318 may include one or more private clouds (e.g., VCN in the case of Oracle's OCI and VNET in the case of Microsoft's Azure). Furthermore, it can be based on... Figure 10-12 The described experience and delivery process are used to deliver cross-cloud services between the first cloud environment 1302 and the second cloud environment 1318.

[0215] The first cloud environment 1302 may include a console 1314, a multi-cloud platform 1312, an analytics service 1316, a resource provider 1304, cloud-based services 1310, a network control plane 1308, a service control plane, a planning management system 1352, and / or a usage report storage system 1354. The second cloud environment 1318 may include a portal 1320 containing blades 1322, a resource provider-as-a-service (RPaaS) 1328 including configuration 1330, a resource manager 1324 including configuration 1326, a network provider 1334, a service data plane 1332, and / or a resource usage processing system 1356.

[0216] The first cloud environment 1302 can be configured to receive requests for cross-cloud services, assess the permission status for such requests, generate instructions for provisioning such services in one or more other cloud environments (such as the second cloud environment 1318), deploy such services in said one or more other cloud environments, and manage the deployed services. In some embodiments, cloud-based services 1310 of the first cloud environment 1302 can be configured to provide one or more of the cloud-based services 1310 (e.g., Exadata cloud-based services) as one or more cross-cloud services (e.g., Exadata cross-cloud services) to customers with leases in the second cloud environment 1318. The provisioning of cloud-based services supplied by the first cloud environment 1302 as cross-cloud services between the first cloud environment 1302 and the second cloud environment 1318 can be facilitated at least by the resource provider 1304 of the first cloud environment 1302. To provide cross-cloud services, resource provider 1304 can be configured to send a provisioning request for the requested cross-cloud service to the service control plane 1306 and network control plane 1308 of the first cloud environment 1302, and in response, the service control plane 1306 and network control plane 1308 can deploy the cloud service in cloud service 1310 as a cross-cloud service to the second cloud environment 1318 (e.g., the service data plane 1332 and network provider 1334 deployed to the second cloud environment 1318).

[0217] In some implementations, the first cloud environment 1302 may include multiple parent regions, and the second cloud environment 1318 may include multiple sub-sites corresponding to the multiple parent regions. In some implementations, the service data plane 1332 of the second cloud environment 1318 may be used as and / or form one or more sub-sites of the corresponding parent region. In some implementations, each corresponding parent region of the first cloud environment 1302 may include a resource provider such as resource provider 1304, which, together with one or more sub-sites associated with the corresponding parent region, facilitates the provisioning and lifecycle management of one or more cross-cloud services. The one or more cross-cloud services may include one or more of the cloud-based services 1310 of the first cloud environment 1302. For example, resource provider 1304 may be a resource provider of a parent region in the first cloud environment 1302 and may provision and manage the lifecycle of cloud-based services 1310 as cross-cloud services between the service control plane 1306 of the first cloud environment 1302 and the service data plane 1332 of the second cloud environment 1318. Sub-sites may be configured at least according to the above-mentioned... Figure 7 It is implemented using the described physical system architecture.

[0218] In some implementations, the provisioning of cross-cloud services between the first cloud environment 1302 and the second cloud environment 1318 can be facilitated by the resource provider 1304 of the first cloud environment 1302 and the resource manager 1324 of the second cloud environment 1318. For example, the resource manager 1324 of the second cloud environment 1318 can send a cross-cloud service provisioning request to the resource provider 1304 of the first cloud environment 1302, and in response, the resource provider 1304 can work with the second cloud environment 1318 to facilitate the provisioning of cross-cloud services.

[0219] Managing the lifecycle of provisioned cross-cloud services between the first cloud environment 1302 and the second cloud environment 1318 can be facilitated by the resource provider 1304 of the first cloud environment 1302 and the resource manager 1324 of the second cloud environment 1318. For example, the resource manager 1324 of the second cloud environment 1318 can send a request to the resource provider 1304 for managing the lifecycle of the provisioned cross-cloud services (e.g., terminating a cross-cloud service request), and in response, the resource provider 1304 can work with the second cloud environment 1318 to facilitate lifecycle management functionality for the cross-cloud services. In some implementations, to facilitate provisioning and lifecycle management, the resource manager 1324 can be configured to communicate with the resource provider 1304 (e.g., using the API of the first cloud environment 1302 exposed by the resource provider 1304 to the resource manager 1324).

[0220] In some implementations, customers and / or second CSPs of the second cloud environment 1318 who wish to provide cross-cloud services and / or manage cross-cloud services provided by the second cloud environment 1318 can initiate a request 1336 to do so. Customers can initiate the request 1336 via portal 1320 of the second cloud environment 1318. In some implementations, portal 1320 may include one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that can be accessed via client devices such as computers (e.g., via applications, operating systems, and / or software programs running on the client devices). One or more GUIs, or portions thereof, may be generated, populated, and / or otherwise provisioned by resource manager 1324 of the second cloud environment 1318. Customers of the second cloud environment 1318 can access portal 1320 to manipulate and / or interact with one or more GUIs to initiate the request 1336 and perform other functions, such as managing their rentals within the second cloud environment 1318.

[0221] In some implementations, one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) or portions thereof may be generated, populated, and / or otherwise provisioned by resource provider 1304 of the first cloud environment 1302. One or more GUIs or portions thereof may be provided to and / or claimed to portal 1320 using blade 1322 of portal 1320. Blade 1322 may act as and / or serve as an extension, plug-in, add-on, etc., to portal 1320. Customers of both the first cloud environment 1302 and the second cloud environment 1318 may access portal 1320 to manipulate and / or interact with one or more GUIs to initiate requests 1336 and perform other functions, such as managing their rentals within the first cloud environment 1302 and the second cloud environment 1318.

[0222] In some implementations, a request for provisioning cross-cloud services received via portal 1320 can be routed to resource manager 1324 of a second cloud environment 1318, which in turn can route request 1336 to resource provider 1304 of a first cloud environment 1302 (e.g., via a first set of APIs of the first cloud environment 1302 exposed within resource manager 1324). Alternatively, a request received via portal 1320 to manage the lifecycle of a provisioned cross-cloud service (e.g., viewing analytics, consumption, costs, logs, etc.) can be routed to console 1314 of the first cloud environment 1302, which can then route request 1336 within the first cloud environment 1302 (e.g., via a second set of APIs exposed within the first cloud environment 1302). For example, console 1314 can be configured to route request 1336 to analytics service 1316 of the first cloud environment 1302 for viewing analytics, consumption, costs, logs, etc., of the provisioned cross-cloud service. In some implementations, corresponding clients of the second cloud environment 1318 can be assigned corresponding identifiers (e.g., first cloud environment account identifier, second cloud environment account identifier), such that each request 1336 initiated by a corresponding client of the second cloud environment 1318 can be associated with that corresponding client's identifier. In this way, resource manager 1324 can control and manage access to the portal and request initiation based on the roles and / or permissions associated with each client identifier.

[0223] To facilitate the provisioning of cross-cloud services and the lifecycle management of already provisioned cross-cloud services, resource provider 1304 can link to resource manager 1324 and resource provider-as-a-service (RPaaS) 1328 in the second cloud environment 1318. Linking resource provider 1304 to the second cloud environment 1318 enables resource provider 1304, resource manager 1324, and RPaaS 1328 to coordinate resources and operations. Resource provider 1304 can have an identity associated with the second cloud environment 1318. This identity can be configured to replicate the identity that resource provider 1304 has in the first cloud environment 1302. To facilitate the link, resource provider 1304 can provide configuration 1326 to resource manager 1324 and configuration 1330 to RPaaS 1328. Configurations 1326 and 1330 can include identifiers for resource provider 1304 and can define API specifications, connection endpoints, and / or the location of in-cloud services associated with resource provider 1304.

[0224] Resource provider 1304 can be configured to provision cross-cloud services and / or manage the lifecycle of provisioned cross-cloud services based on operations performed by multi-cloud platform 1312 of first cloud environment 1302. Multi-cloud platform 1312 can be configured to perform operations common to other cloud environments of first cloud environment 1302, such as linking and integrating first cloud environment 1302 into second cloud environment 1318 and other CSPs. For example, multi-cloud platform 1312 can be configured to link a customer's second account for second CSP to a customer's first account for first CSP, publish observation information collected from first cloud environment 1302 and / or second cloud environment 1318, generate distribution tokens for accessing other cloud environments of the customer, etc. Furthermore, multi-cloud platform 1312 can be configured to create, define, provision, and / or otherwise implement contracts between resource provider 1304, resource manager 1324, and RPaaS 1328. These contracts can identify resources supported by resource provider 1304, resource manager 1324, and RPaaS 1328 and / or operations to be performed by them. In some implementations, the contract may allow resource provider 1304, resource manager 1324, and RPaaS 1328 to operate on the same lease within the first cloud environment 1302. For example, the contract may define provisioning and / or lifecycle management events to be sent from resource manager 1324 and / or RPaaS 1328 when they occur, wherein resource provider 1304 may be configured to asynchronously perform provisioning and / or lifecycle management operations based on the receipt of such events and / or changes in status.

[0225] Multi-cloud platform 1312 can also be configured to perform common cloud management operations, including but not limited to: (i) mapping subscriptions and leases of the second cloud environment 1318 to subscriptions and leases of the first cloud environment 1302; (ii) generating and managing policy claims that govern leases in the respective cloud environments (e.g., claims that facilitate the operation of multi-cloud platform 1312 and resource provider 1304 in the same lease); (iii) generating and managing access tokens that facilitate cross-cloud access and / or communication between the respective cloud environments; and / or (iv) mapping observability information of the first cloud environment 1302 to the second cloud environment 1318 (e.g., writing events to the second cloud environment 1318 when a backup is completed on the first cloud environment 1302, writing resource logs of the first cloud environment 1302 to the second cloud environment 1318, etc.). In this way, the first cloud environment 1302 and the second cloud environment 1318 can avoid overlapping operations and resources, which in turn can improve efficiency.

[0226] In some implementations, upon receiving a request 1336 to provide cross-cloud services, resource provider 1304 may be configured to map request 1336 to an identifier of first cloud environment 1302 and pass the request to service control plane 1306. Service control plane 1306 may be configured to perform two main processes: the first process is to provision the relevant resources of first cloud environment 1302; and the second process is to connect these resources to the customer's lease in second cloud environment 1318 (e.g., a VNET in second cloud environment 1318). Under the first process, service control plane 1306 creates a VCN for the customer in first cloud environment 1302 and creates one or more subnets within the VCN. In some implementations, the VCN may be used as a shadow lease of the customer's lease in second cloud environment 1318. One or more subnets within the VCN and one or more subnets in the VNET may use the same CIDR. Service control plane 1306 also creates a DRG in first cloud environment 1302, attaches the DRG to the customer's VCN, and configures routing information for the DRG and VCN (e.g., to interconnect the two resources). Service control plane 1306 also provides the VM cluster in service data plane 1332. The IP addresses(s) of this VM cluster come from the CIDR and are mapped to corresponding DNS records. In a second process, service control plane 1306 registers these IP addresses(s)(s) with the second cloud environment 1318, creates a virtual circuit between the DRG and network provider 1334, and sends DNS records, enabling the establishment of a private DNS zone in the second cloud environment 1318.

[0227] Additionally or alternatively, upon receiving a request 1336 for providing cross-cloud services, resource provider 1304 is configured to: (i) map an identifier assigned to a customer by a second CSP to an identifier assigned to a customer by a first CSP; (ii) obtain the identity of resource provider 1304 associated with request 1336 (i.e., the second cloud environment 1318 that issued request 1336); and (iii) translate the format of request 1336 from the format of the second cloud environment 1318 to the format of the first cloud environment 1302, and route the formatted request along with the mapped identifier to the service control plane 1306 and the network. (iv) Establishing network connectivity prerequisites for a network connection between the first cloud environment 1302 and the second cloud environment 1318 (e.g., establishing DRGs, VCNs, and subnets to connect to network providers 1334 and VMs in the service data plane 1332 of the second cloud environment 1318); (v) Establishing a network connection between the network control plane 1308 and the network provider 1334 based on the network connectivity prerequisites (e.g., linking the delegated subnets of the second cloud environment 1318 to the VCNs of the first cloud environment 1302 and configuring DNS entries in the second cloud environment 1318). Furthermore, once cross-cloud services are provisioned, resource provider 1304 can be configured to persist metadata (e.g., a mapping between the identifier of the second cloud environment 1318 and the first cloud environment 1302) between the first cloud environment 1302 and the second cloud environment 1318, and act as a thin adapter layer that accepts requests formatted for the second cloud environment 1318 and already authenticated by resource manager 1324 (e.g., requests that manage the lifecycle of the provisioned cross-cloud services), translates them into requests formatted for the first cloud environment 1302, and delegates the translated requests to service control plane 1306.

[0228] Resource provider 1304 may collect resource usage information associated with second cloud environment 1318 and supplied cloud services 1310. Resource usage information may be collected during the use of supplied cloud services 1310 by a user identified using a first account identifier within first cloud environment 1302. The user may have a second account identifier that identifies the user within second cloud environment 1318. The second account identifier may be associated with the first account identifier in the memory of first cloud environment 1302 and / or second cloud environment 1318. Planning management system 1352 and / or other components of first cloud environment 1302 may be configured to determine the first account identifier using the second account identifier, or to determine the second account identifier using the first account identifier. For example, the first account identifier may be transmitted to second cloud environment 1318 in a request to obtain the second account identifier (e.g., by planning management system 1352, or the inter-cloud data adapter described further below). The mapping between the first account identifier and the second account identifier (e.g., a token) may be maintained by the second cloud environment 1318 (e.g., to increase the security of the second account and / or the second cloud environment 1318) and used to determine the second account identifier (e.g., a token) to be transferred to the first cloud environment 1302.

[0229] Resource usage information can be collected on a per-service and / or-account identifier basis. For example, when a second account for a second cloud environment 1318 invokes (e.g., uses) a first service and a second service for a first cloud environment 1302, resource provider 1304 can collect resource usage information indicating that the second account (an account for the second cloud environment 1318 and associated with the first account) and / or the first account (an account associated with the first cloud environment 1302 and associated with the second account) invoked the two services. In another example, when a second account invokes (e.g., uses) a first service and a second service for a first cloud environment 1302, resource provider 1304 can collect resource usage information indicating that the second account and / or the first account invoked the first and second services. Resource usage information may also include utilization (e.g., resource quota usage measurement), metering period (e.g., metering hour), sub-stock keeping units (SKUs), and / or basket SKUs. SKUs may indicate the supplied cloud service 1310 used / invoked by the second account. Metering periods may include the start date and / or time of use for the corresponding service and the end date and / or time of use. Utilization may be calculated based on the duration of service use, the amount of storage involved in service use (e.g., the amount of database storage used), the amount of processing power used in service use, the number of times the service was used / invoked, and / or the duration of service use.

[0230] In some embodiments, a subSKU indicates a separate product and / or resource that a user account may deploy and / or use from the first cloud environment 1302. A basket SKU can be a top-level SKU, representing a commitment (e.g., a payment commitment) that a user account may have made in a contract (e.g., as described herein). As an example, a user account may have committed to spending $100,000, which could be associated with a basket SKU as 100,000 units. A user account may be allowed to use and / or supply many different types of products and / or resources, each of which would be a subSKU indicating the resources for which the 100,000 units of commitment made by the user account would be counted.

[0231] Resource provider 1304 can transmit resource usage information to planning management system 1352. The resource usage information can be transmitted after a predetermined amount of time (e.g., thirty minutes, one hour, six hours, one day, etc.) since the last transmission of previous resource usage information. Planning management system 1352 can be included in multi-cloud platform 1312 and / or implement functions similar to those described above for multi-cloud platform 1312. Planning management system 1352 can receive resource usage information from a first account associated with a second account. Resource usage information can be received from resource provider 1304.

[0232] As described above, resource usage information may include account identifiers (e.g., a first account identifier and / or a second account identifier for an account in the first cloud environment 1302). Resource usage information may indicate which SKUs were used by the first account during a given metering period (e.g., a metering hour). Resource usage information may also indicate utilization during the metering period (e.g., resource usage associated with a SKU).

[0233] Utilization can be used in conjunction with one or more defined rates to determine cost amounts. Utilization and resource allocation can be used to determine usage and excess. Usage can indicate the amount of utilization within a resource allocation. Usage can be less than or equal to the resource allocation. Excess can indicate the amount of utilization exceeding the utilization. For example, utilization could be 15 resource credits. Resource allocation could be 10 resource credits. Therefore, usage could be 10 resource credits, and excess could be 5 resource credits.

[0234] In some embodiments, resource utilization and one or more resource allocations can be used to determine more or less amounts. For example, a first resource allocation may be equal to 10 resource quotas, and a second resource allocation may be equal to 12 quotas. In such examples, usage, a first excess amount, and excessive excess amount can be calculated. In some embodiments, no resource allocation is performed.

[0235] Resource usage information can be used to calculate one or more costs associated with that resource usage information. Usage costs can be calculated using usage volume and usage rate (e.g., usage volume). (Usage rate). Excess costs can be calculated using excess amount and excess rate (e.g., excess amount). Excess rates). Usage rates and excess rates can be predefined. Rates and resource allocations (one or more) can be defined by contract information (e.g., the contract described above regarding multi-cloud platform 1312). Rates, resource allocations, and / or resource utilization can be associated with a first account and differ from those of another account. In some embodiments, one or more rates (e.g., excess rates) are dynamic (e.g., based on account history, resource demand, time of day, etc.). Using multiple rates corresponding to multiple resource utilization ranges / volumes, a tiered pricing structure can be established for resource utilization, thereby establishing a tiered pricing structure for services supplied by the first cloud environment 1302 to the second cloud environment 1318. In some embodiments, rates increase or decrease as more resources are used. For example, a higher rate may be charged for resource allocations exceeding a threshold ("excess fees").

[0236] Each rate can be associated with a calculation type. The calculation type indicates whether the rate is associated with excess usage, usage volume, pay-as-you-go (PAYG) volume, or other volume. Each cost calculated using a usage rate (e.g., usage rate, excess rate, etc.) can be associated with a calculation type.

[0237] Resource usage information, or a portion thereof, may be stored in a first data structure (e.g., a table, hash map) and included in usage entries stored by the first data structure. One or more costs calculated using the resource usage information may also be stored in the first data structure. In some embodiments, the first data structure may include different entries for each unique combination of account identifier, SKU, metering period, and calculation type included in the received resource usage information.

[0238] Continuing the example above, the first service identified by the first SKU (e.g., 893380) may have been used, resulting in 15 resource credits being used to run the first service. The first service may have been used by a first account with a first account identifier (e.g., 28721). The first service may have been used (e.g., fully used, started, ended) during a first metering period (e.g., 2024-04-02 5:00:00). The resource allocation for the first account may have been 10 credits (e.g., a combination across services for the first service). The rate for usage within the resource allocation can be set to $1 / credit. The rate for usage exceeding the resource allocation can be set to $2. Based on the resource allocation and resource utilization, usage calculations can be performed associated with the first 10 resource credits, and over-credit calculations can be performed associated with credits exceeding 10 (e.g., 5 credits). The usage cost can be 10. $1 = $10, and the excess cost can be 5. $2 = $10.

[0239] The planning management system 1352 can add a unique usage identifier to a usage entry when adding it to the first data structure. The usage identifier can be used to uniquely identify and distinguish the usage entry from other usage entries.

[0240] Continuing with the first example, the first data structure may include two usage entries corresponding to resource usage information. An example of the first data structure is shown below using Table 1.

[0241] Table 1:

[0242] In some embodiments, Table 1 may also track when (e.g., date and / or time) each usage entry is added to the table. The first data structure and operations described above regarding generating data for the first data structure and inserting that data into the first data structure can be provided by the resource usage tracking system of the planning management system 1352 (e.g., as described below regarding...). Figure 14 The resource usage tracking system 1404 is described in further detail. The resource usage tracking system can be configured to remove usage entries from the first data structure.

[0243] One or more usage entries of the first data structure can be transferred to the resource usage report generation system (e.g., the following about...). Figure 14 The resource usage report generation system 1406 is described further. Usage entries can be transmitted periodically (e.g., hourly), after the resource usage tracking system has generated a certain number of usage entries, and / or on request (e.g., from the resource usage report generation system). Usage entries can be used to generate resource usage reports (e.g., resource usage report 1408, described further below). Resource usage reports may include usage entries, portions of usage entries, and / or data generated using usage entries.

[0244] Resource usage reports can be generated after a specific time period (e.g., once per hour, once per day, once per month), when a specific number of usage entries have been received, or when resource usage entries are received. Resource usage reports can indicate which services (e.g., SKUs) a first user account has used, when the resource was used, the costs associated with the resource, the amount of excess cost accumulated, the amount of usage cost accumulated, the amount of PAYG cost accumulated, trends, relationships between entries, relationships between data fields contained in individual entries, and / or at least other information available based on the first data structure.

[0245] Resource usage reports can be transmitted to usage report storage system 1354. Usage report storage system 1354 can store resource usage reports. Resource usage reports can be associated with accounts, services, and / or cloud providers (e.g., a second cloud provider). Resource usage reports can be transmitted (e.g., in response to a request) from schedule management system 1352 and / or from usage report storage system 1354 to resource provider 1304 and / or console 1314.

[0246] Usage report storage system 1354 can transmit usage reports to users (in the second cloud environment), administrators (in the first cloud environment), and another system (in the first cloud environment) at the end of a time period (e.g., one month). This other system can analyze the usage reports to determine whether fund transfers received from a funds account associated with the first cloud environment 1302 match the total amount included in the usage reports, a portion of the usage reports, or a set of usage reports. The usage reports may contain the total cost of one or more account identifiers. Account identifiers can be a second account identifier and / or a first account identifier. By reconciling the information in the usage reports against the funds received in the fund transfers and / or the value generated by the second cloud environment 1318, the first cloud environment 1302 can perform account balancing and ensure that outstanding fees related to services within the cloud are paid.

[0247] In addition to transferring one or more usage entries of the first data structure to the usage report generation system 1354, or alternatively, the one or more usage entries may be transferred to the resource aggregation system (e.g., as described below regarding...). Figure 14 The resource aggregation system 1410 is described in further detail. Usage entries can be transmitted periodically (e.g., once per hour), after the resource usage tracking system has generated a certain number of usage entries, and / or upon request (e.g., from the resource aggregation system). Usage entries can be used to generate the aggregated cost amount.

[0248] The resource aggregation system can maintain a second data structure (e.g., a data table, hash map, etc.) containing aggregated entries. The resource aggregation system can be configured to insert, modify, and / or delete aggregated entries and / or portions of aggregated entries. The resource aggregation system can receive one or more usage entries, or portions of usage entries, from a resource usage tracking system. For each received usage entry (e.g., or a portion of a usage entry), the resource aggregation system can determine whether a similar aggregated entry is contained in the second data structure. If the account identifier, calculation type, and metering period are equivalent (e.g., matching), then the usage entry can be similar to the aggregated entry. An aggregated entry can contain an account identifier, calculation type, aggregated cost amount, metering period, and a set of usage identifiers representing the usage entry represented by the aggregated entry. A usage entry can be represented by an aggregated entry because a usage entry can contain the same account identifier, calculation type, and metering period as the aggregated entry. Furthermore, a usage entry can be represented by an aggregated entry because the aggregated cost amount contained in the aggregated entry can be the sum of the costs of these usage entries.

[0249] If the resource aggregation system determines that the usage entry is similar to the aggregation entry, then the resource aggregation can add (e.g., sum) that cost to the aggregation cost contained in the aggregation entry (e.g., usage cost, excess cost, PAYG cost, etc.).

[0250] After an aggregated entry is transmitted (e.g., to another system (e.g., for storage, for further processing), resource usage processing system 1356, or an inter-cloud data adapter (e.g., inter-cloud data adapter 1412, which is described in further detail below)), the aggregated entry can be removed from the second data structure (e.g., deleted). After receiving a response (e.g., a success response) from another system (e.g., resource usage processing system 1356, or inter-cloud data adapter), the aggregated entry can be removed from the second data structure (e.g., deleted). After removing the aggregated entry from the second data structure, one or more usage entries represented by the aggregated entry can be removed from the first data structure.

[0251] In some embodiments, if a usage entry contains a usage identifier included in a set of usage identifiers contained in a second data structure, then the usage entry may not need to be added to the second data structure.

[0252] In some embodiments, the second data structure includes a pending record indication for each aggregation entry. This pending record indication may indicate whether any usage entry received by the resource aggregation system, which would otherwise have its usage identifier and cost added to the aggregation entry, should not be merged with an existing aggregation entry. In this case, the usage entry may be used to initialize a new aggregation entry, or merged with an existing aggregation entry if the pending record indication changes to indicate that the resource aggregation entry is not pending. The pending record indication may also indicate that the aggregation entry has been transferred to another system (e.g., an inter-cloud data adapter and / or resource usage processing system 1356, each of which is described below (e.g., regarding...)). Figure 14 (Further details)

[0253] Some embodiments can prevent usage entries from being added to aggregate entries because if the resource aggregation system receives a response indicating that the aggregate entry associated with the pending record indication has been successfully recorded, then the aggregate entry can be removed from the second data structure (e.g., deleted, overwritten). Therefore, the pending record indication ensures that usage entries received after similar usage entries have been transferred to another system can still be transferred and considered at a later time.

[0254] Continuing with the first example above, usage entries from the first data structure can be transferred to the resource aggregation system and inserted into the second data structure. An example of the second data structure is shown below using Table 2.

[0255] Table 2:

[0256] Continuing this example, consider a resource aggregation system receiving the following usage entries: [Use Identifier = 3; Metering Hour = 2024-04-02 5:00:00; SKU = 893380; First Account Identifier = 28721; Calculation Type = Excess; Cost Amount = 20] [Use Identifier = 4; Metering Hour = 2024-04-02 5:00:00; SKU = 800000; First Account Identifier = 28721; Calculation Type = Excess; Cost Amount = 12] [Use Identifier = 5; Metering Hour = 2024-04-02 6:00:00; SKU = 100000; First Account Identifier = 28721; Calculation Type = Excess; Cost Amount = 20] If the resource aggregation system receives the above usage entries, then Table 2 will be updated to include the information shown in Table 3 below.

[0257] Table 3:

[0258] In some embodiments, aggregated entries may be transmitted to a resource usage report generation system (for generating resource usage reports), a usage report storage system 1354, a resource provider 1304, a multi-cloud platform 1312, a console 1314 (for presenting information about usage data), and / or another system.

[0259] Aggregate cost entries can be used to generate usage data (e.g., below about...). Figure 14 (Further details can be described using the cloud data adapter). Data can be transferred to the resource usage processing system 1356.

[0260] Resource usage processing system 1356 can provide an API used by planning management system 1352. This API enables planning management system 1352 to transmit usage data (e.g., push) to resource usage processing system 1356. Usage data may contain entries included in a second data structure, or information represented by aggregated entries included in the second data structure. This information can be formatted so that resource usage processing system 1356 can process the aggregated entries. Usage data can be generated using this usage data and formatted (e.g., using an inter-cloud data adapter) so that the usage data can be received and processed by resource usage processing system 1356. Planning management system 1352 can be configured (e.g., using an inter-cloud data adapter) to format responses received from resource usage processing system 1356 so that they can be received and / or processed by planning management system 1352.

[0261] Usage data may include aggregations (e.g., summations) of one or more aggregated cost entries (e.g., usage entries and excess entries) that share a common metering period (e.g., metering hours). The aggregation of cost entries may include usage costs, excess costs, PAYG costs, and / or other costs associated with the account and aggregated within one or more metering periods (e.g., metering hours). The aggregation of cost entries may include costs other than usage costs associated with the account within one or more metering periods (e.g., metering hours). Cost entries may be aggregated over a period of time (e.g., one day, 4 hours) before being transmitted to the resource usage processing system 1356. Usage data may be associated with a single account (e.g., a first user account identifier, a second user account identifier).

[0262] Aggregating cost entries over a period of time before generating and transmitting usage data can be useful to reduce the number of response codes (e.g., repetition indicators) received back from the resource usage processing system 1356. These response codes would cause the first cloud environment 1302 to perform further processing, which could be reduced by aggregating costs over a longer period. This is because the scheduling management system 1352 may not receive some resource usage information for a period of time after a service invocation due to delays in other processing.

[0263] The resource usage processing system 1356 may transmit a response to the planning management system 1352 after receiving usage data. In some embodiments, the response may indicate acceptance of the usage data. In response to receiving a response indicating acceptance of usage data representing a set of resource usage information, the planning management system 1352 may cause the usage entry represented by the aggregated entry to be removed from a first data structure. In response to receiving a response indicating acceptance of usage data representing a set of resource usage information, the planning management system 1352 may cause the aggregated entry represented by the usage data to be removed from a second data structure. By removing these entries from the data structures, the reuse of these entries can be prevented, which would otherwise lead to further processing and the sending of duplicate usage data to the resource usage processing system 1356 after the resource usage processing system 1356 has already received and / or processed the aggregated entry. By reducing data and processing duplication, network, energy, storage, and processing resources can be reduced.

[0264] In some embodiments, the response can indicate a rejection of usage data. For example, a rejection can be indicated when the usage data contains metered periods already included in the usage data (e.g., aggregated entries for calculation type, metered period, and account identifier have been recorded by resource usage processing system 1356). A rejection can indicate that duplicate metered periods have been received. In response to receiving a rejection for duplicate metered periods from resource usage processing system 1356, planning management system 1352 can adjust the metered period of the aggregated entry represented by the usage data and aggregate it with aggregated entries having a common account identifier, calculation type, and metered period.

[0265] In some embodiments, if the number of times a response indicating a continuous rejection of usage information is received from the resource usage processing system 1356 without a successful response exceeds a set threshold, a notification can be transmitted to another system (e.g., a user device, a system included in the first cloud environment 1302, etc.). This set threshold number of rejections can be compared to a rejection counter, which increments upon receiving a rejection response from the resource usage processing system 1356 and resets to zero when the resource usage processing system 1356 returns a message indicating successful usage of the data record.

[0266] In some implementations, one or more graphical user interfaces or portions thereof may be generated, populated, and / or otherwise provisioned by the resource usage processing system 1356. The resource usage processing system 1356 may be configured to transmit usage data, or a subset thereof, to the portal 1320. Usage data may indicate how many times a service has been used, when a service has been used (e.g., metered hours), an account identifier associated with service usage, a first cost associated with the service (e.g., base usage cost), a second cost associated with the service (e.g., excess cost), and / or other data accessible to the resource usage processing system 1356. Usage data may be used by the portal 1320 to indicate usage associated with a user account (e.g., displaying usage statistics and costs), usage over time, services used, services used over time, and / or billing information, etc.

[0267] In some embodiments, the data received from resource provider 1304 may include tags. These tags may indicate whether the planning management system should process resource usage information, generate resource usage reports, and / or generate usage data.

[0268] Figure 14 Examples of a planning management system 1352 (e.g., the planning management system 1352 described above) according to some embodiments are depicted. The planning management system 1352 may include a resource usage tracking system 1404, a resource usage report generation system 1406, a resource aggregation system 1410, and / or an inter-cloud data adapter 1412. The planning management system 1352 may receive resource usage information (e.g., from a resource provider (e.g., resource provider 1304)). The planning management system 1352 may generate a resource usage report 1408 and / or usage data 1414.

[0269] As described above, resource usage information 1402 can be received / collected (e.g., from a resource provider (e.g., resource provider 1304)). Resource usage information 1402 can be used to calculate one or more costs associated with resource usage information 1402. Usage costs (e.g., usage amount) can be calculated using usage volume and usage rate. (Usage rate). Excess costs can be calculated using excess amount and excess rate (e.g., excess amount). Excess rates). Usage rates and excess rates can be predefined. Rates and resource allocation(s) can be defined by contract information (e.g., the contract described above regarding Multi-Cloud Platform 1312).

[0270] Resource usage information 1402, or a portion thereof, may be stored in a first data structure (e.g., a table, hash map) included in the usage entries. One or more costs calculated using resource usage information 1402 may also be stored in the first data structure. In some embodiments, the first data structure may include different entries for each unique combination of account identifier, SKU, metering period, and calculation type contained in the received resource usage information 1402.

[0271] The first data structure and operations described above regarding generating data for the first data structure and inserting that data into the first data structure can be performed by the resource usage tracking system 1404 of the planning management system 1352. The resource usage tracking system 1404 can be configured to remove usage entries from the first data structure.

[0272] One or more usage entries of the first data structure can be transmitted to the resource usage report generation system 1406. Usage entries can be transmitted periodically (e.g., hourly), after the resource usage tracking system 1404 has generated a specific number of usage entries, and / or upon request (e.g., from the resource usage report generation system 1406). Usage entries can be used to generate a resource usage report 1408. The resource usage report 1408 may include usage entries, portions of usage entries, and / or data generated using the usage entries.

[0273] Resource usage report 1408 can be transmitted to usage report storage system 1354. The usage report storage system can store resource usage report 1408. Resource usage report 1408 can be associated with an account, service, and / or cloud provider (e.g., a second cloud provider). Resource usage report 1408 can be transmitted (e.g., in response to a request) from planning management system 1352 and / or from usage report storage system 1354 to resource provider 1304 and / or console 1314. The usage report storage system can transmit the usage report to the user (in the second cloud environment), the administrator (in the first cloud environment), or another system (e.g., an accounts receivable system) at the end of a time period (e.g., one month).

[0274] In addition to transmitting one or more usage entries of the first data structure to the resource usage report generation system 1406, or alternatively, the one or more usage entries may be transmitted to the resource aggregation system 1410. Usage entries may be transmitted periodically (e.g., hourly), after the resource usage tracking system 1404 has generated a specific number of usage entries, and / or upon request (e.g., from the resource aggregation system 1410). Usage entries may be used to generate aggregated cost amounts.

[0275] The resource aggregation system 1410 can maintain a second data structure (e.g., a data table, hash graph, etc.) containing aggregation entries. The processes performed by the resource aggregation system 1410 and how the second data structure can be used have been described above.

[0276] Resource aggregation system 1410 can transfer aggregated entries to inter-cloud data adapter 1412 (e.g., in response to a request, at a specific time, when the second data structure contains a predefined number of entries, etc.). Inter-cloud data adapter 1412 can request one or more aggregated entries based on the time when the aggregated entries were added to the second data structure and / or the metering period they represent, or the time since the last time the inter-cloud data adapter 1412 requested aggregated entries from resource aggregation system 1410.

[0277] The cloud data adapter 1412 can modify data received from the resource aggregation system 1410 (e.g., end / or other data) into a format that can be used by the resource usage processing system and / or another system (e.g., usage data 1414). The cloud data adapter 1412 can modify data received from the resource usage processing system or another system into a format that can be used by the resource aggregation system 1410 (e.g., and / or another system).

[0278] The inter-cloud data adapter 1412 can convert the account identifier of a first account in a first cloud environment (e.g., first cloud environment 1302) into the second account identifier of a second account in a second cloud environment (e.g., and vice versa). The account identifier can be included in an account identifier mapping maintained by the first and / or second cloud environments. The inter-cloud data adapter 1412 can use this mapping. The inter-cloud data adapter 1412 can load the mapping and / or periodically refresh it to ensure it is up-to-date.

[0279] The inter-cloud data adapter 1412 can be configured to convert compute types (e.g., usage, excess) into auxiliary compute type identifiers (e.g., "dimension identifiers"). The conversion can be performed based on a mapping between compute types and auxiliary compute type identifiers stored in the first and / or second cloud environments and accessible by the inter-cloud data adapter 1412. The mapping can be adjusted based on (e.g., as described above) contracts, input from cloud environment administrators, etc.

[0280] The cloud data adapter 1412 can use an API to transfer data to a resource usage processing system (e.g., resource usage processing system 1356). This API enables the cloud data adapter 1412 to transfer (e.g., push) usage data 1414 to the resource usage processing system. Usage data 1414 may contain entries contained in a second data structure, or information represented by aggregated entries contained in a second data structure. This information can be formatted so that the resource usage processing system can process the information represented by the aggregated entries.

[0281] Aggregating cost entries over a period of time before generating and transmitting usage data 1414 can be useful to reduce the number of response codes (e.g., repetition indicators) received from the resource usage processing system. These response codes would cause the first cloud environment to perform further processing, which could be reduced by aggregating costs over a longer period. This is because the planning management system 1352 may not receive some resource usage information 1402 for a period of time after the service is invoked due to processing delays.

[0282] The resource usage processing system can transmit a response to the inter-cloud data adapter 1412 after receiving usage data 1414. In some embodiments, the response can indicate acceptance of usage data 1414 (e.g., using a response code). In response to receiving a response indicating acceptance of usage data 1414 representing a set of resource usage information, the inter-cloud data adapter 1412 can cause the usage entry represented by the aggregated entry to be removed from a first data structure (e.g., by sending a response code to the resource usage tracking system 1404). In response to receiving a response indicating acceptance of usage data 1414 representing a set of resource usage information, the inter-cloud data adapter 1412 can cause the aggregated entry represented by the usage data 1414 to be removed from a second data structure (e.g., by sending a response code to the resource aggregation system 1410). By removing these entries from the data structures, the reuse of these entries can be prevented, which could otherwise lead to further processing and the sending of duplicate usage data 1414 to the resource usage processing system after the resource usage processing system has already received and / or processed the aggregated entry. By reducing data and processing duplication, network, energy, storage, and processing resources can be reduced.

[0283] In some embodiments, a response (e.g., a response code) may indicate a rejection of usage data 1414. For example, a rejection may be indicated when usage data 1414 contains a metering period already included in recorded usage data (e.g., an aggregated entry for calculation type, metering period, and account identifier has been recorded by the resource usage processing system). A rejection may indicate that a duplicate metering period has been received. In response to receiving a duplicate metering period rejection from the resource usage processing system, cloud data adapter 1412 may indicate the rejection to resource aggregation system 1410, and resource aggregation system 1410 may adjust the metering period of the aggregated entry represented by usage data 1414 and aggregate it with any other aggregated entries having a common account identifier, calculation type, and metering period.

[0284] In some embodiments, if the number of consecutive rejections of data 1414 received from the resource usage processing system exceeds a set threshold without a successful response, a notification may be transmitted to another system (e.g., a user device, a system included in the first cloud environment 1302, etc.) via the cloud data adapter 1412. This set threshold number of rejections may be compared to a rejection counter that increments upon receiving a rejection response from the resource usage processing system and is reset to zero when the resource usage processing system returns a message indicating successful data usage.

[0285] exist Figure 15-17 The processes depicted in any other diagram can be implemented in software (e.g., code, instructions, programs) executed by one or more processing units (e.g., processors, cores) of the corresponding system, using hardware, or a combination thereof. The software can be stored on a non-transitory storage medium (e.g., a memory device). Figure 15-17 The methods presented in other figures and described herein are intended to be illustrative rather than limiting. Although Figure 15-17 Other diagrams depict various processing steps that occur in a specific sequence or order, but this is not intended to be limiting. In some alternative embodiments, processing may be performed in a different order, or some steps may be performed in parallel. It should be recognized that in alternative embodiments, Figure 15-17 The processes depicted in other diagrams may contain more or fewer steps than those depicted in the corresponding diagrams.

[0286] Figure 15 An example flow 1500 for sharing usage data across multiple cloud environments, according to some embodiments, is described. This flow includes a resource usage tracking system 1404 (e.g., the resource usage tracking system 1404 described above), a resource aggregation system 1410 (e.g., the resource aggregation system 1410 described above), an inter-cloud data adapter 1412 (e.g., the inter-cloud data adapter 1412 described above), a multi-cloud linking service 1512, and / or a resource usage processing system 1356 (e.g., the resource usage processing system 1356 described above).

[0287] At step 1, mappings can be loaded. These mappings may include account identifier mappings, SKU mappings, computation type mappings, and / or other mappings. To record usage data (e.g., usage data 1414 above) using the resource usage processing system 1356, the inter-cloud data adapter 1412 can convert a first account identifier associated with a first cloud environment into a corresponding second account identifier. The first account identifier and the second account identifier can identify the same user as a user in each cloud environment. To record usage data using the resource usage processing system 1356, the inter-cloud data adapter 1412 can convert SKUs configured to be used in the first cloud environment into corresponding SKUs configured to be interpreted in the second cloud environment. To record usage data using the resource usage processing system 1356, the inter-cloud data adapter 1412 can convert computation types used by the first cloud environment into auxiliary computation types used by the second cloud environment. This conversion(s) allows the first and second cloud environments to "translate" data between the two environments. This conversion can be useful because cloud environments may be existing cloud environments and configured to use different data from each other. These mappings allow cloud environments to operate using data from another environment in a predictable manner.

[0288] In some embodiments, the mapping of the first account identifier is mapped to a pair of second account identifiers and resource identifiers (e.g., {SPM subscription ID} → {Azure resource ID, plan ID}). This mapping can be generated during the order activation process and stored and globally replicated by the multi-cloud linking service 1512 as part of the Multi-cloudLink data. The multi-cloud linking service 1512 can perform operations similar to those described above with respect to the multi-cloud platform 1312. The inter-cloud data adapter 1412 can load the mapping from the multi-cloud linking service 1502 at startup and can refresh the mapping periodically.

[0289] At step 2, the mappings from step 1 can be refreshed (e.g., using a technique similar to that described with respect to step 1). These mappings can be refreshed periodically. Refreshing the mappings helps ensure that they are up-to-date, allowing communication between the cloud data adapter 1412, the resource aggregation system, and the resource usage processing system 1356 to occur with fewer or no problems compared to situations where the mappings are not refreshed periodically and may become outdated.

[0290] At step 3, resource usage information (e.g., resource usage information 1402) may be received by the resource usage tracking system 1404. Resource usage information may be received from a resource provider (e.g., resource provider 1304). Resource usage information has been described in more detail above. The resource usage tracking system 1404 may maintain the first data structure described above to track usage entries for submission to the resource usage report generation system and / or resource aggregation system 1410.

[0291] At step 4, the resource usage tracking system 1404 can transmit the tracked usage information to the resource aggregation system 1410. The tracked usage information may include usage entries from a first data structure. The tracked usage information may be inserted into a second data structure maintained by the resource aggregation system 1410. The inserted tracked usage information may be merged with (e.g., added to) existing aggregation entries in the second data structure or included in a new aggregation entry (e.g., other tracked usage information may be added to this new entry).

[0292] In step 5, the aggregated usage data can be transferred from the resource aggregation system to the inter-cloud data adapter. The aggregated usage data may include one or more aggregation entries. In response to a request from inter-cloud data adapter 1412, the aggregated usage data can be transferred to inter-cloud data adapter 1412. Inter-cloud data adapter 1412 can format the received aggregated usage data into a format configured for processing by resource usage processing system 1356 (e.g., usage data 1414). Formatting the aggregated usage data into usage data can be performed based on the mappings loaded in steps 1 and 2 and / or based on other rules for generating usage data.

[0293] At step 6, the cloud data adapter 1412 may generate and transmit a request for a token. The token request may be transmitted to the resource usage processing system 1356. The token can be used to successfully transmit usage data from the cloud data adapter 1412 to the resource usage processing system 1356. In some embodiments, if no token is included, or the token is expired, outdated, and / or incorrect, the resource usage processing system 1356 will not record the usage data and may receive a response from the resource usage processing system 1356 indicating a recording failure (e.g., the resource usage processing system 1356 did not record the usage data). In some embodiments, the token request may include a client identifier and / or a client secret. The client secret can be obtained using the client identifier and can be stored as a key (e.g., a private key). The client identifier can identify the client (e.g., a user account). The token request may be transmitted to a secret service (e.g., Secret Service Version 2 (SSV2)).

[0294] At step 7, the token can be transferred from the resource usage processing system 1356 to the cloud data adapter 1412 (e.g., in response to the token request transferred in step 6).

[0295] At step 8, the second account identifier of the second cloud service provider may replace the first user identifier included in the aggregated data (e.g., replacing the first account identifier included in the aggregated entry with the second account identifier). The second account identifier may replace the first account identifier such that when the resource usage processing system 1356 receives usage data containing information representing the aggregated usage data, the resource usage processing system 1356 may associate the usage data with the second account identifier. As mentioned above, the first account identifier can identify the account of a user in the first cloud environment, while the second account identifier can identify the account of a user in the second cloud environment. The second account identifier may be obtained from a token (e.g., the token may be a tokenized account identifier) ​​and / or from a mapping loaded by the inter-cloud data adapter 1412.

[0296] At step 9, the cloud data adapter 1412 can transmit usage data to the resource usage processing system 1356 (e.g., using an API). The usage data can be generated by the cloud data adapter 1412 using aggregated usage data. The usage data can be formatted for processing by the resource usage processing system 1356 and can include a different format than the aggregated usage data. Although the usage data can be formatted differently from the aggregated usage data, it can represent one or more pieces of information represented by the aggregated usage data. The usage data may include a second account identifier, an indication of the calculation type (e.g., an auxiliary calculation type identifier), aggregated costs, metering periods, and / or a list of usage identifiers.

[0297] At step 10, the resource usage processing system 1356 may receive usage data and (e.g., based on metering period, account identifier, and / or auxiliary calculation type identifier) ​​determine whether to record (e.g., accept) the usage data or reject the usage data.

[0298] In some embodiments, when the resource usage processing system 1356 accepts usage data, it may transmit a response indicating acceptance to the inter-cloud data adapter. This indication may be included in a response code. This response code may be interpreted by the inter-cloud data adapter 1412. In some embodiments, the response code indicates that the usage data has not been accepted (e.g., the usage data is rejected). These embodiments relate to... Figure 15 Further detailed description. The cloud data adapter 1412 can listen for responses from the resource usage processing system 1356.

[0299] At step 11, a usage data response can be transmitted from the inter-cloud data adapter 1412 to the resource aggregation system 1410. The usage data response may include an indication received by the inter-cloud data adapter 1412 from the resource usage processing system 1356, or a second indicator indicating the same indication (e.g., success, rejection, etc.). In some embodiments, when the response code indicates acceptance of usage data, the aggregation entries contained in the second data structure may be removed (e.g., because they have already been recorded by the resource usage processing system 1356). Usage entries represented by aggregation entries contained in the first data structure may be removed from the first data structure (e.g., because they have already been recorded by the resource usage processing system 1356).

[0300] Figure 16 An example flow 1600 for sharing usage data across multiple cloud environments, according to some embodiments, is described. This flow includes a resource usage tracking system 1404 (e.g., the resource usage tracking system 1404 described above), a resource aggregation system 1410 (e.g., the resource aggregation system 1410 described above), an inter-cloud data adapter 1412 (e.g., the inter-cloud data adapter 1412 described above), a multi-cloud linking service 1512 (e.g., the multi-cloud linking service 1512 described above), and / or a resource usage processing system 1356 (e.g., the resource usage processing system 1356 described above).

[0301] Steps 1-11 can be performed as in steps 1-11 included in process 1500. In the illustrated embodiment, the usage data response transmitted in steps 10 and 11 may indicate that the resource usage processing system 1356 has not recorded usage data. Usage data may not be recorded because it is determined that the usage data is duplicated (e.g., the user account's usage data for that metering period has already been accepted by the resource usage processing system 1356), the token has expired, an unknown error has occurred, the resource identifier is invalid (e.g., the multi-cloud linking service 1512 stores an incorrect (e.g., outdated) resource identifier value), the second account identifier is invalid, and / or the aggregation cost is negative. In some embodiments, the usage data response may cause (e.g., after step 10) the execution of steps 1, 2, and / or 6 (e.g., re-execution).

[0302] At step 12, based on the usage data response, the aggregated entry can be modified and / or removed. In some embodiments, when the usage data response indicates that the resource usage processing system 1356 has received duplicate usage data, the aggregated entry included in the usage data can be merged with another aggregated entry (e.g., an aggregated entry for the next metering period) if that other aggregated entry already exists in the second data structure. If that other entry does not exist in the second data structure, then the metering period of the aggregated entry may be changed (e.g., changed to the next metering period in the metering period sequence, representing the metering period of the current time).

[0303] In some embodiments, when a usage data response indicates a refusal to use data, a retry counter may be incremented before the usage data, or different usage data (e.g., usage data in different metering periods), is transmitted to the cloud data adapter 1412 for transmission to the resource usage processing system 1356. If the retry counter increments beyond a predefined threshold, a notification may be transmitted to the system or user equipment. After the usage data response indicates a successful recording to the resource usage processing system 1356, the retry counter may be reset (e.g., to zero).

[0304] In some embodiments, steps 1, 2, and / or 6 may be performed when the data response indicator is refused use. These steps are performed because the data response indicator mapping may be outdated, an incorrect second account identifier was used, an incorrect token was used, and / or an incorrect auxiliary calculation type identifier was used, etc.

[0305] In some embodiments, if no usage data response is received within a predefined time period, the usage data can be transmitted again and the retry counter can be incremented.

[0306] Steps 13-16 can be performed in a similar manner to steps 5, 9, 10 and 11, respectively.

[0307] Figure 17 An example process 1700 for sharing and using data across multiple cloud environments, according to some embodiments, is described. Process 1700 can be executed using the architecture 1300 described above.

[0308] At step 1702, the first computing resources of the first cloud service provider (e.g., the first cloud service provider of the first cloud environment 1302) can provide a first service to a user having a first user account associated with a second cloud service provider (e.g., the second cloud service provider of the second cloud environment 1318). The first service can be provided via a first private network of the user at the second cloud service provider. The first service can be provided such that the first user account can use the first service provided by the first cloud service provider.

[0309] At step 1704, data (e.g., resource usage information 1402 or data used to obtain resource usage information 1402) may be transmitted between a second private network communicatively coupled to the first private network. The second private network may be associated with the user's second user account at the first cloud service provider.

[0310] At step 1706, a second computing resource of the first cloud service provider (e.g., a planning management system 1352) may collect usage data (e.g., usage data 1414) associated with the first private network and / or the second private network. This usage data can be collected to allow the first cloud service provider to determine the utilization of resources associated with the second user account and / or the first user account. The usage data may be transmitted to the second cloud provider. The usage data may indicate the cost amount (e.g., aggregated cost amount) of the resources used by the first cloud service provider (e.g., used by the second user account). The usage data may include aggregates of resource usage associated with predefined time periods (e.g., metering periods). Resource usage represents the resources used by the second user account.

[0311] At step 1708, the first cloud service provider's second computing resources can transmit usage data to the second cloud service provider's second service (e.g., resource usage processing system 1356). The transmission of usage data to the second cloud service provider allows the cloud service provider to determine which resources of the first cloud service provider are being used, how much is being used, what the resources are being used for, when the resources are being used, and / or the costs associated with the resource usage. The first cloud service provider can use this information to present information in a portal, transfer funds to the first cloud service provider, and / or request funds from user devices or accounts associated with the first user account (e.g., bank accounts).

[0312] In some embodiments, data is used to indicate how much resource was utilized, how much resource was utilized beyond the resource allocation, the cost amount associated with the resource allocation, the cost amount associated with resource utilization below the excess threshold, and / or the cost amount associated with resource utilization above the excess threshold.

[0313] One or more cost amounts may be generated based on one or more rates. These rates may be predefined (e.g., configured by a user associated with a user identifier, or configured by an administrator of a second cloud service provider). Different rates may be used to calculate cost amounts. For example, a first rate may be used to determine a first cost amount representing resource costs below a threshold (e.g., resource allocation), and a second rate may be used to determine a second cost amount representing resource costs above the threshold.

[0314] The data used may include a first account identifier associated with the user and used by a second cloud service provider. The first account identifier can be mapped to a second account identifier used by the first cloud service provider. The first or second account identifier can be used to obtain the second or first account identifier, respectively. For example, the first cloud service provider can use the second account identifier to obtain the first account identifier, and the second cloud service provider can use the first account identifier to obtain the second account identifier. Similarly, other information used by the first and second cloud providers can be mapped such that information used by the first cloud provider can be used to obtain information used by the second cloud provider. These mappings may be useful for obtaining data representing data from one cloud service provider that can be used by another cloud service provider during processing.

[0315] In some embodiments, the second computing resource may transmit a request for an access token identifying a user of the first cloud service provider (e.g., a second user account) to the second cloud service provider. The second computing resource may receive the access token from the second cloud service provider. The second computing resource may transmit the access token to the second cloud service provider and indicate the association with the access token. For example, the access token may be included in usage data. In an example, the access token may indicate permission to record data and cause the second service to record usage data. In an example, the access token may represent a first account identifier.

[0316] In some embodiments, the second computing resource may receive a response code from a second service of a second cloud service provider. The response code may indicate successful recording of data usage. The response code may also indicate rejection of data usage (e.g., data usage has been received, an error has occurred, etc.). Data usage may be adjusted based on the response code (e.g., adjusting the metering period, aggregating the usage data with other usage data). A counter may be incremented or reset based on the response code. In some embodiments, if the counter increments above a predefined value, a notification may be transmitted (e.g., within the first cloud environment, to the second cloud environment, to the user device, etc.).

[0317] Regarding at least Figure 13-17 The described embodiments enable automated processing. This processing can automate the generation and transmission of reports. The reports can be used to generate invoices, payment requests, and / or information for presentation via portals and / or consoles.

[0318] The implementation allows for the tracking of resource utilization. Resource utilization can be tracked on a per-cloud-environment basis, per-account-identifier basis, and / or per-service basis. Fine-grained tracking allows services from one cloud service provider to be accessed and considered by another cloud service provider, while these cloud service providers may have little insight into the configuration of the other, thereby increasing the confidentiality and integrity of data within the cloud environment.

[0319] Examples of cloud infrastructure

[0320] As noted above, 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 provision various services to accompany these infrastructure components (example services include billing software, monitoring software, logging software, load balancing software, and clustering software, etc.). Therefore, because these services may be policy-driven, IaaS users can implement policies to drive load balancing to maintain application availability and performance.

[0321] In some cases, 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 their 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.

[0322] 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.

[0323] 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).

[0324] 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.

[0325] In some cases, IaaS provisioning presents two distinct challenges. First, there's the initial challenge of provisioning a set of initial infrastructure 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, both challenges can be addressed by enabling configuration that declaratively defines the infrastructure. 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 cases, once the topology is defined, workflows for creating and / or managing the different components described in the configuration files can be generated.

[0326] In some examples, the infrastructure can have many interconnected components. For example, there may be one or more Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs) (e.g., a potential on-demand pool 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 is structured, along with one or more virtual machines (VMs). Other infrastructure elements, such as load balancers, databases, etc., may also be provided. The infrastructure can evolve incrementally as more and / or additional infrastructure elements are desired.

[0327] In some cases, continuous deployment techniques can be used 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 established. In some cases, 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.

[0328] 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 be communicatively coupled to a 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.

[0329] VCN 1806 may include a local peering gateway (LPG) 1810, which may be communicatively coupled to a secure shell (SSH) VCN 1812 via LPG 1810 included in SSH VCN 1812. SSH VCN 1812 may include an SSH subnet 1814, and SSH VCN 1812 may be communicatively coupled to a control plane VCN 1816 via LPG 1810 included in control plane VCN 1816. Furthermore, SSH VCN 1812 may be communicatively coupled to a data plane VCN 1818 via LPG 1810. Control plane VCN 1816 and data plane VCN 1818 may be contained within a service lease 1819 that may be owned and / or operated by an IaaS provider.

[0330] 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 assume limited liability and help control vulnerabilities. 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 contained in the control plane DMZ layer 1820 may be communicatively coupled to one or more application subnets 1826 contained in the control plane application layer 1824 and an Internet gateway 1834 that may be contained in the control plane VCN 1816. The application subnets 1826 may be communicatively coupled to one or more DB subnets 1830 contained 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.

[0331] 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 capable of executing 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.

[0332] 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 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 communicatively coupled to one or more application subnets 1826 of data plane application layer 1846.

[0333] 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 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.

[0334] 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.

[0335] In some examples, secure host lease 1804 can be directly connected to service lease 1819, which would otherwise be isolated. Secure host subnet 1808 can communicate with SSH subnet 1814 via LPG 1810, which enables bidirectional communication between 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.

[0336] Control plane VCN 1816 allows users of service lease 1819 to set up or otherwise provision desired resources. 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 VNIC 1842, which can be included in both the data plane mirror application layer 1840 and the data plane application layer 1846.

[0337] In some examples, users or clients of the system can make requests, such as create, read, update, or delete (CRUD) operations, via the public internet 1854, which can transmit requests to the metadata management service 1852. The metadata management service 1852 can transmit requests to the control plane VCN 1816 via internet gateway 1834. Requests can 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 transmit the request to one or more application subnets 1826 contained in the control plane application layer 1824. If the request is validated and requires a call to the public internet 1854, the call to the public internet 1854 can be transmitted to a NAT gateway 1838 that can make calls to the public internet 1854. The request may expect stored metadata to be stored in one or more DB subnets 1830.

[0338] 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 might 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.

[0339] 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 the control plane VCN 1816 or data plane VCN 1818. Alternatively, the IaaS provider may own or operate both the control plane VCN 1816 and data plane VCN 1818, and both planes may be included in service lease 1819. This embodiment enables the isolation of networks that might prevent users or customers from interacting with resources from other users or customers. Furthermore, this embodiment allows users or customers of the system to privately store databases without relying on the public internet 1854, which may not have the desired level of threat prevention for storage.

[0340] In other embodiments, one or more LB subnets 1822 included in the control plane VCN 1816 may be configured to receive signals from the service 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.

[0341] 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), the secure hosting lease 1904 may include a virtual cloud network (VCN) 1906 (e.g., Figure 18 VCN 1806) and Secure Host Subnet 1908 (e.g., Figure 18 The secure host subnet 1808). VCN 1906 may include a local peering gateway (LPG) 1910 (e.g., Figure 18 The LPG 1810), which can be communicatively coupled to the Secure Shell (SSH) VCN 1912 (e.g., via the LPG 1810 contained in the SSH VCN 1912) Figure 18 SSH VCN 1812). SSH VCN 1912 can 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) may be included in a customer lease 1921 that may be owned or operated by the system's users or customers.

[0342] 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 can contain 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 contain 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 contained in the control plane DMZ layer 1920 can be communicatively coupled to one or more application subnets 1926 contained in the control plane application layer 1924 and an Internet gateway 1934 that can be contained in the control plane VCN 1916 (e.g., 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., Figure 18 Service 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.

[0343] The control plane VCN 1916 may include a data plane mirror of the application layer 1940, which may contain one or more application subnets 1926 (e.g., Figure 18 The data plane mirror application layer 1840). One or more application subnets 1926 contained in the data plane mirror application layer 1940 may include computational 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 may facilitate the mirroring of the application subnet(s) 1926 of the application layer 1940 in the data plane and may be included in the application layer 1946 in the data plane (e.g., Figure 18 Communication between one or more application subnets 1926 in the data plane application layer 1846 via VNIC 1942 contained in the data plane mirror application layer 1940 and VNIC 1942 contained in the data plane application layer 1946.

[0344] 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 a NAT gateway 1938 contained in a control plane VCN 1916. A service gateway 1936 contained in a control plane VCN 1916 can communicatively couple to a cloud service 1956 (e.g., ...). Figure 18 Cloud services (1856).

[0345] 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 establish 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.

[0346] In other examples, an IaaS provider's customer may have a database residing in customer lease 1921. In this example, control plane VCN 1916 may include data plane mirror application layer 1940, which may include one or more application subnets 1926. Data plane mirror application layer 1940 may reside in data plane VCN 1918, but may not reside in data plane VCN 1918. That is, data plane mirror application layer 1940 may have access to customer lease 1921, but may not reside 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 may not be configured to invoke any entity contained in control plane VCN 1916. Customers may expect to deploy or otherwise use resources provisioned in the control plane VCN 1916 in the data plane VCN 1918, and the data plane mirroring application layer 1940 can facilitate customers' desired deployments or other uses of resources.

[0347] 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, which is included in customer lease 1921, can help isolate data plane VCN 1918 from other customers and the public Internet 1954.

[0348] In some embodiments, cloud service 1956 may be invoked by service gateway 1936 to access services that may not exist on 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 calls from service gateway 1936 and may be configured not to receive calls from 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 that may not be in the same region as control plane VCN 1916. For example, control plane VCN 1916 may be located in "Region 1," and cloud service "Deployment 19" may be located in both "Region 1" and "Region 2." If the service gateway 1936, contained in the control plane VCN 1916 located in region 1, makes a call to deployment 19, then that call can be transmitted to deployment 19 in region 1. In this example, the control plane VCN 1916 or deployment 19 in region 1 may not be communicatively coupled to or otherwise communicate with deployment 19 in region 2.

[0349] 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 The LPG 1810), which can be communicatively coupled to SSH VCN 2012 via the LPG 2010 included in SSH VCN 2012 (e.g., Figure 18 SSH VCN 1812). SSH VCN 2012 can include SSH subnets 2014 (e.g., Figure 18 SSH subnet 1814), and SSH VCN 2012 can be communicatively coupled to control plane VCN 2016 via LPG 2010 included in control plane VCN 2016 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane VCN 1816) and coupled to the data plane VCN 2018 via the LPG 2010 contained 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).

[0350] The control plane VCN 2016 may include one or more load balancer (LB) subnets 2022 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane DMZ layer of (one or more) LB subnets 1822) 2020 (e.g., Figure 18 The control plane DMZ layer 1820 may include one or more application subnets 2026 (e.g., similar to...). 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), which may include (one or more) DB subnets 2030, and the control plane data layer 2028 (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.

[0351] 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 18 The data plane data layer 1850). The data plane DMZ layer 2048 may include one or more trusted application subnets 2060 and one or more untrusted application subnets 2062 that are communicatively coupled to the data plane application layer 2046, and one or more LB subnets 2022 that are included in the Internet gateway 2034 in the data plane VCN 2018. One or more trusted application subnets 2060 may be communicatively coupled to the service gateway 2036, the NAT gateway 2038, and the DB subnets 2030 included in the data plane VCN 2018. One or more untrusted application subnets 2062 may be communicatively coupled to the service gateway 2036 and the DB subnets 2030 included in the data plane VCN 2018. The data plane data layer 2050 may include one or more DB subnets 2030 that can be communicatively coupled to the service gateway 2036 contained in the data plane VCN 2018.

[0352] One or more untrusted application subnets 2062 may include one or more primary VNICs 2064(1)-(N) that can be communicatively coupled to tenant virtual machines (VMs) 2066(1)-(N). Each tenant VM 2066(1)-(N) may be communicatively coupled 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 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).

[0353] 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 18 A metadata management system 1852 is provided, which can communicatively couple to the public internet 2054. The public internet 2054 can communicatively couple to a NAT gateway 2038 contained in a control plane VCN 2016 and a data plane VCN 2018. A service gateway 2036 contained in a control plane VCN 2016 and a data plane VCN 2018 can communicatively couple to a cloud service 2056.

[0354] In some embodiments, the data plane VCN 2018 can be integrated with customer leases 2070. Such integration may be useful or desired by the IaaS provider's customers in certain situations, such as when support may be expected during code execution. Customers may provide code that could be destructive, might communicate with other customer resources, or might otherwise cause undesirable effects. In response, the IaaS provider can determine whether to run the code provided by the customer.

[0355] In some examples, an IaaS provider's customer can grant temporary network access to the IaaS provider and request functionality 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 in VM 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 in at least one or more untrusted application subnets 2062 containing VM 2066(1)-(N)), which can help prevent incorrect or otherwise unintended code from corrupting the IaaS provider's network or the networks of different customers. Container 2071(1)-(N) may be communicatively coupled to customer lease 2070 and may be configured to transmit or receive data from customer lease 2070. Container 2071(1)-(N) may not be configured to transmit or receive data from any other entity in the data plane VCN 2018. After the code execution is complete, the IaaS provider may terminate or otherwise dispose of container 2071(1)-(N).

[0356] In some embodiments, one or more trusted application subnets 2060 may run code that can be 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.

[0357] 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. LPG 2010 may be established by an IaaS provider, which can facilitate communication between the control plane VCN 2016 and the data plane VCN 2018. In another example, the control plane VCN 2016 or the data plane VCN 2018 may invoke cloud service 2056 via service gateway 2036. For example, an invocation of 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.

[0358] 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 18 LPG 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).

[0359] 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.

[0360] 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 trusted application subnets 2160 that can be communicatively coupled to 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 2062 and one or more LB subnets 2122 of Internet gateway 2134. One or more trusted application subnets 2160 may communicatively couple to service gateway 2136, NAT gateway 2138, and DB subnets 2130 in data plane VCN 2118. One or more untrusted application subnets 2162 may communicatively couple to service gateway 2136 and DB subnets 2130 in data plane VCN 2118. Data plane VCN 2150 may include one or more DB subnets 2130 that may communicatively couple to service gateway 2136 in data plane VCN 2118.

[0361] One or more untrusted application subnets 2162 may include a primary VNIC 2164(1)-(N) 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 is communicatively coupled to an application subnet 2126 that may be contained in a data plane application layer 2146 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 a data plane VCN 2118 and the application subnets contained in a container egress VCN 2168. The container egress VCN may include a public internet 2154 (e.g., Figure 18 The public internet (1854) uses NAT gateway 2138.

[0362] Internet gateway 2134, contained in control plane VCN 2116 and data plane VCN 2118, can be communicatively coupled to metadata management service 2152 (e.g., Figure 18 The metadata management system 1852 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 a control plane VCN 2116 and a data plane VCN 2118 can communicatively couple to a cloud service 2156.

[0363] 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 architecture diagram 2000, and this pattern may be what the IaaS provider's customers would 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.

[0364] 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.

[0365] 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.

[0366] 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.

[0367] 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.

[0368] 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. For example, such architectures may include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) buses, Microchannel 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.

[0369] 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.

[0370] 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.

[0371] 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 displays, 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.

[0372] 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.

[0373] 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.

[0374] 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.

[0375] 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.

[0376] 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, along with the guest operating system (GOS), may be loaded into system memory 2210 and executed by one or more processors or cores of processing unit 2204.

[0377] 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 embodiments, system memory 2210 may include a basic input / output system (BIOS), which contains basic routines such as those that facilitate the transfer of information between components within computer system 2200 during startup.

[0378] Computer-readable storage medium 2222 may 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.

[0379] 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.

[0380] 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.

[0381] 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., disks or 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.

[0382] 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 technologies, 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).

[0383] 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.

[0384] 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.

[0385] 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 quote machines, network performance measurement tools (e.g., network monitoring and traffic management applications), clickstream analysis tools, vehicle traffic monitoring, and so on.

[0386] 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.

[0387] 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.

[0388] Due to the ever-evolving nature of computers and networks, the description of the computer system 2200 depicted in the figures is merely a concrete 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 using hardware, firmware, software (including applets), or a combination thereof. Additionally, connections to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may also 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.

[0389] 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.

[0390] 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 service 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.

[0391] 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.

[0392] In the context of describing the disclosed embodiments (particularly in the context of the following claims), the terms "a," "an," and "the," and similar designations, are to be interpreted as covering both singular and plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or obviously 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 in, 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 obviously 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.

[0393] Extractive 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 extractive 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.

[0394] This document describes preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, including the best modes known for carrying out the present disclosure. Variations of those preferred embodiments will 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 the present disclosure in ways other than those specifically described herein. Thus, the present disclosure includes all modifications and equivalents to the subject matter recited in the appended claims, where permitted by applicable law. Moreover, unless otherwise indicated herein, the present disclosure includes any combination of the foregoing elements in all its possible variations.

[0395] All references cited in this article, including publications, patent applications and patents, are incorporated into this article by reference to the same extent as if each reference individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and elaborated in full in this article.

[0396] In the foregoing specification, various aspects of this disclosure have been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof, but 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.< / realm>

Claims

1. A system comprising: The first computing resource of the first cloud service provider (CSP), housed within the data center of the second CSP, includes: One or more first processors, and One or more first memories storing first instructions, which, when executed by the one or more first processors, configure first computing resources to provide a first service to a user having a first user account at a second CSP, the first service being provided via a first private network hosted by the second CSP and associated with the first user account; and A second computing resource of the first CSP, the second computing resource being located remotely from the data center and communicatively coupled to the first computing resource, the second computing resource comprising: One or more second processors, and One or more second memories store second instructions, which, when executed by the one or more second processors, configure second computing resources to: Provide a second private network that is communicatively coupled to the first private network and associated with the user's second user account at the first CSP; Collect usage data associated with at least one of the first private network or the second private network; and The second service uses data to transmit it to the second CSP.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the second computing resource is further configured to determine: The first use event associated with the first time period and the first resource utilization of the first use event; and The second use event associated with the first time period and the second resource utilization of the second use event; and Aggregate at least the second usage data of the first and second resource utilizations.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the second computing resource is further configured as follows: The first account identifier stored by the second CSP is obtained using the second user account identifier stored by the first CSP, wherein the first account identifier is included in the usage data, and the second account identifier is included in the second usage data.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the usage data includes an aggregation of resource usage associated with a predefined time period of a second user account.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the usage data is associated with an account identifier, and the second computing resource is further configured to: Determine the resource allocation associated with the account identifier; Resource utilization is determined based on the aforementioned usage data; Amounts are generated based on the resource allocation and resource utilization; as well as The amount is transferred to the second CSP.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the amount is further generated based on a rate, wherein the rate and the resource allocation are predetermined and configured by at least one of the user or the administrator of the second CSP associated with the account identifier.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the second computing resource is further configured to: Transmit a request to the second CSP for an access token that identifies the user of the first CSP; Receive the access token from the second CSP; as well as The access token is transmitted to the second CSP and the association with the access token is indicated.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the second computing resource is further configured to: Receive a response code from the second service of the second CSP indicating that the use of the data is rejected; The adjusted usage data is generated by adjusting at least one of the start time or end time of the usage data; and The adjusted usage data is transmitted to the second service of the second CSP.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmission of the usage data occurs once for a first predefined time period, and wherein the second computing resource is further configured to: The second service of the second CSP receives a response code indicating that the usage data has been received; and Upon receiving the response code, the usage data is removed from the database.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the second computing resource is further configured to: Receive an error response code from the second service of the second CSP; Increment represents the count of the number of response codes received indicating the error; and In response to the count exceeding the threshold, a notification is transmitted to the user equipment of the first CSP.

11. A method comprising: A first service is provided by a first computing resource of a first cloud service provider (CSP) to a user with a first user account at a second CSP, the first service being provided via the user’s first private network at the second CSP; Data is transmitted between a second private network that is communicatively coupled to a first private network, the second private network being associated with the user’s second user account at the first CSP; The second computing resource of the first CSP collects usage data associated with at least one of the first private network or the second private network; as well as The usage data is transmitted from the second computing resources of the first CSP to the second service of the second CSP.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: Second usage data is collected by the second computing resource of the first CSP, wherein the second usage data includes: The first use event associated with the first time period and the first resource utilization of the first use event; and A second usage event associated with a first time period and a second resource utilization of the second usage event, wherein the usage data is collected by aggregating at least the first resource utilization and the second resource utilization.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: The second computing resource of the first CSP obtains the first account identifier stored by the second CSP using the second account identifier stored by the first CSP, wherein the first account identifier is included in the usage data and the second account identifier is included in the second usage data.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the transmission of the usage data occurs once for a first predefined time period, and wherein the method further comprises: The response code indicating that the usage data has been received is obtained from the second computing resource of the first CSP and from the second service of the second CSP. as well as In response to receiving the response code, the usage data is removed from the database by the second computing resource of the first CSP.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the usage data includes an aggregation of resource usage associated with a predefined time period of a second user account.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising: The first CSP receives a response code indicating that the use of the data is rejected from the second service of the second CSP, via its second computing resources. The adjusted usage data is generated by the second computing resource of the first CSP by adjusting at least one of the start time or end time of the usage data. as well as The adjusted usage data is transmitted from the second computing resource of the first CSP to the second service of the second CSP.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions, said instructions, when executed by one or more processors, causing a system to perform operations, including: A first service is provided by a first computing resource of a first cloud service provider (CSP) to a user with a first user account at a second CSP, the first service being provided via the user’s first private network at the second CSP; Data is transmitted between a second private network that is communicatively coupled to a first private network, the second private network being associated with the user’s second user account at the first CSP; The second computing resource of the first CSP collects usage data associated with at least one of the first private network or the second private network; as well as The usage data is transmitted from the second computing resources of the first CSP to the second service of the second CSP.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17, further comprising: Determined by the second computing resource of the first CSP: The first usage event associated with the first time period and the first resource utilization of the first usage event; as well as The second use event associated with the first time period and the second resource utilization of the second use event; as well as The second usage data is determined by aggregating at least the first and second resource utilizations.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as described in claim 18, further comprising: The second computing resource of the first CSP obtains the first account identifier stored by the second CSP using the second account identifier stored by the first CSP, wherein the first account identifier is included in the usage data and the second account identifier is included in the second usage data.

20. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as claimed in claim 17, wherein... The usage data includes aggregates of resource usage associated with predefined time periods for the second user account.

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