Autonomic Device Fabric Protocol Flexibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current autonomic networking infrastructure (ANI) lacks flexibility in bootstrap protocols, signaling protocols, and routing protocols, and requires encryption of all data packets, limiting its capabilities in secure and autonomous management of network devices.
Innovation Solution
The autonomic device fabric (ADF) module enables the use of various bootstrap protocols, signaling protocols, and routing protocols beyond those supported by ANI, allowing for secure management without encrypting data packets, and provides independent hardware forwarding capabilities to ensure secure and autonomous network device management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ANI encrypts all data packets for secure management, then security is improved, but device complexity and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network management architecture into two distinct planes: the control plane (handling management traffic and security) and the data plane (handling user data traffic). By separating these functions, encryption is applied only where necessary for security while data plane traffic can be handled more efficiently without universal encryption overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary controller that manages the control plane functions, acting as a mediator between management systems and network devices. This intermediary handles security-critical operations centrally, reducing the security processing burden on individual network devices while maintaining strong security through centralized control.
2Stability of the object's composition
If ANI uses fixed bootstrap and signaling protocols, then system stability is improved, but adaptability to different network scenarios deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic protocol selection capabilities in the control plane, allowing the system to adaptively choose appropriate bootstrap and signaling protocols based on network conditions, device capabilities, and security requirements. This dynamic approach maintains stability through standardized interfaces while enabling adaptability to diverse scenarios.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the control plane with universal, multi-functional protocol support that can handle multiple bootstrap and signaling protocols through a common architecture. This allows the system to maintain stable core functions while adapting to different protocol requirements through configurable protocol handlers and translators.
3Extent of automation
If ADF module handles all forwarding operations, then network device software installation becomes autonomous, but hardware resource utilization efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary configuration of forwarding rules in hardware during device initialization, before the full network device software is installed. The ADF module uses these pre-configured hardware forwarding entries to handle traffic autonomously during the software installation process, enabling zero-touch provisioning while maintaining efficient hardware utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial forwarding in hardware through the ADF module, handling only the essential control plane and bootstrap traffic in hardware, while allowing the full software forwarding stack to handle remaining traffic once installed. This partial hardware acceleration enables autonomous operation during installation without over-provisioning hardware resources.
Data Source
AI summary
A network device is provided that comprises a plurality of physical ports, an autonomic device fabric (ADF) module configured to receive, send, and forward data packets via the plurality of physical ports, a memory that stores instructions, and one or more processors configured by the instructions to perform operations. The operations comprise determining that network device software is not installed and requesting the network device software from a management machine using the ADF module.