Bitemporal Cloud Resource Provisioning for Pre- and Post-Deployment Compliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cloud-based enterprise networks face challenges in managing resource provisioning due to increasing complexity and scale, with existing approaches relying on reactive detection of operational errors after deployment, leading to non-compliant resources and operational delays.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an immutable database for bitemporal analysis to perform pre-provisioning and post-provisioning checks using multiple timelines, allowing for proactive evaluation of resource compliance before and after deployment, and generating alternate timelines to test changes without affecting the current system state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If reactive detection approach is used to detect operational errors after resource deployment, then the system can identify non-compliant resources, but operational delays and errors occur before detection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements pre-provisioning checks that evaluate resource compliance requests before resources are deployed to the cloud environment. The system maintains a current execution timeline of the cloud environment state and creates alternate timelines to test proposed changes, ensuring compliance is verified in advance. This preliminary action prevents non-compliant resources from being deployed, eliminating operational delays that would occur with reactive detection.
2Quantity of substance
If cloud footprint and scale increase, then more resources can be managed, but complexity in managing provisioning and ensuring compliance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates alternate timelines that are copies of the current execution timeline to test proposed resource provisioning changes. Instead of directly modifying the live cloud environment, the system provisions test resources on alternate timelines, evaluates their impact, and only commits changes if compliance is satisfied. This copying approach simplifies management of large cloud footprints by providing a safe testing mechanism that scales with the environment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary evaluation layer between resource provisioning requests and actual deployment. The alternate timeline mechanism acts as a mediator that intercepts provisioning requests, evaluates them against compliance policies, and determines whether to allow the provisioning to proceed. This intermediary layer simplifies compliance management across large numbers of resources by centralizing the evaluation process.
3Reliability
If pre-provisioning checks are implemented to ensure compliance before deployment, then non-compliant resources are prevented from being deployed, but additional evaluation time is required
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs pre-provisioning compliance checks by creating alternate timelines and evaluating proposed resource changes before actual deployment. The current execution timeline is maintained to record the actual state of the cloud environment, while alternate timelines are used to test compliance scenarios. This preliminary evaluation ensures that only compliant resources are provisioned, preventing future compliance issues while maintaining efficient resource management.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments disclosed are directed to ensuring resource compliance within a cloud-based environment. The embodiments include steps for performing both pre-provisioning and post-provisioning checks of resources, such as network protocols, prior to and after their deployment within the cloud-based environment. These steps include using bitemporal analysis to determine the impact of deploying resources within the environment through the use of multiple execution timelines where the impact of deploying a resource may be evaluated on an alternative timeline that does not change the current resource scope of the cloud-based environment. The analysis may further include tracking the impact of the resource after it has been deployed to ensure resource compliance.