Appliance Service Front-End Nodes for Subnet Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing and provisioning physical computing resources in large-scale data centers has become increasingly complex due to the scale and scope of operations, and customers may interfere with or block access needed for monitoring and management of appliance services in virtualized private networks, leading to challenges in resource management and billing.
Innovation Solution
Implementing appliance services with separate interfaces for customer-side access and management purposes, where backend nodes are provisioned in a service provider's subnet instead of the customer's subnet, allowing for independent monitoring and management without interfering with customer traffic, and using multiple interfaces to manage and monitor resources effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If backend nodes are provisioned in the customer's subnet, then customer control and access are improved, but management and monitoring are interfered with or blocked by customer traffic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network into two distinct subnets: a customer subnet for data traffic and a service provider subnet for management traffic. The appliance service is divided into front-end nodes in the customer subnet and backend nodes in the service provider subnet, allowing independent management access without customer interference.
Solution Approach 2:
The service provider subnet acts as an intermediary between the customer's data plane and the management plane. Management traffic is routed through this intermediate subnet, which is controlled by the service provider, thereby mediating access to backend nodes without exposing them directly to customer traffic.
2Reliability
If separate interfaces are implemented for customer-side access and management purposes, then management monitoring is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The front-end nodes are designed with multi-functionality, serving both as customer-facing access points and as management interfaces. These nodes operate in the customer subnet for data traffic while also providing the service provider with management access, thereby consolidating multiple functions into a single component.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a network dimension by creating a separate service provider subnet for management traffic, rather than adding multiple interfaces to existing nodes. This dimensional separation allows management and data traffic to coexist without increasing the complexity of individual device configurations.
3Reliability
If backend nodes are provisioned in service provider's subnet, then management and monitoring are improved, but customer network configuration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service through automated provisioning and configuration mechanisms. The service provider can automatically provision backend nodes in their subnet and configure the necessary routing and networking, eliminating the need for customer intervention in complex network configuration tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The service provider acts as an intermediary that abstracts away the complexity of having backend nodes in a separate subnet. The service provider manages the networking, routing, and connectivity between the customer subnet and service provider subnet, shielding customers from the underlying complexity.
4Productivity
If management and data traffic are separated, then operational efficiency is improved, but network infrastructure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The network infrastructure is segmented into distinct subnets for data traffic and management traffic. This segmentation is achieved through logical network division rather than physical duplication, maintaining infrastructure efficiency while enabling separate management of data and management planes.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus that enable appliance service instances to be provisioned in a subnet of a customer's private network on a service provider network without provisioning the backend nodes in the customer's subnet. At least one front-end node instance is provisioned in the customer's subnet. Instead of provisioning the backend nodes in the customer's subnet, the appliance service provider provisions the backend node instances in the appliance service provider's subnet. In addition, at least the front-end node instance may be provided with multiple interfaces. At least two of the interfaces face different subnets, with one facing the customer subnet and the other facing the backend subnet operated by the appliance service provider in which the backend node instances are implemented. In some implementations, a third interface may face a management subnet so that the owner of the front-end node instance may manage the instance.