Cloud API Translation Interface for Cross-Platform VM Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current virtual computing systems face limitations due to API incompatibilities between different cloud platforms, requiring additional resources and redesigning or recoding for VM management operations, which reduces efficiency and increases storage and execution time.
Innovation Solution
A cloud interface that translates APIs from one cloud platform into corresponding APIs of another, allowing universal APIs to be translated into cloud platform-specific APIs, enabling VM management modules to operate across multiple platforms without modifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If VM management modules are designed to operate on multiple cloud platforms, then platform compatibility is improved, but API incompatibilities require additional resources and redesign
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements an API translation service that acts as an intermediary between cloud platform-specific APIs and a universal API interface. This mediator translates incoming universal API calls into platform-specific API calls, enabling cross-platform compatibility without requiring modifications to VM management modules. The translation service handles the complexity of multiple platform APIs internally while presenting a unified interface to users.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal API interface that can operate across multiple cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP, OpenStack). By designing a platform-agnostic API layer that translates to various underlying implementations, the system achieves multi-functionality where a single interface serves multiple cloud platforms without requiring separate code paths for each platform.
2Reliability
If cloud platform-specific APIs are used, then platform functionality is optimized, but portability between platforms is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of having VM management modules directly call platform-specific APIs, the patent inverts the translation direction: a universal API interface receives platform-agnostic calls and translates them into platform-specific API calls. This inversion allows the system to maintain portability at the interface level while ensuring reliable platform-specific functionality through accurate translation to native APIs.
3Productivity
If APIs are redesigned for each cloud platform, then platform-specific performance is improved, but development time and resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a pre-configured API translation service that has already been developed to handle translations between the universal API interface and multiple cloud platform-specific APIs. This preliminary action of creating the translation layer in advance eliminates the need for developers to redesign APIs for each platform, as the translation capabilities are already in place and can be activated through configuration rather than development.
4Adaptability or versatility
If additional APIs are created for cross-platform support, then compatibility is improved, but storage and execution time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements an API translation mechanism that creates virtual copies of platform-specific API functionality through translation rather than maintaining separate physical API implementations for each platform. The translation service copies the essential functionality of each platform's APIs into a universal interface layer, allowing cross-platform compatibility without duplicating the entire API suite for each platform, thereby reducing overall storage and execution overhead.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method include receiving a request to call a requested application programming interface (API) at a target cloud computing platform. The system and method further include determining that the requested API is unsupported by the target cloud platform. The system and method further include generating a set of workflows associated with the requested API. The system and method also include generating a set of tasks common to the plurality of cloud platforms including the target cloud platform based on the set of workflows. The system and method also include generating a set of target APIs associated with the target cloud platform based on the set of tasks and an identity of the target cloud platform. The system and method also include communicating the set of target APIs t to the target cloud platform.