Cloud Datacenter Provisioning with Platform-Independent Declarations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Maintaining large data centers on cloud platforms using continuous delivery platforms is complex due to the need for managing millions of lines of code and supporting different cloud platforms with varying network policies and access controls, leading to high maintenance costs for multi-tenant systems.
Innovation Solution
A cloud platform-independent declarative specification is used to create and modify data centers across multiple cloud platforms, utilizing a compiler that generates platform-specific metadata representations and instructions for execution, allowing for substrate-agnostic data center creation and modification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If continuous delivery platforms are used to manage data centers on cloud platforms, then automation and deployment efficiency are improved, but device complexity and maintenance burden increase significantly due to managing millions of lines of code
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer (the declarative specification language and compiler system) between the user and the cloud platform infrastructure. This intermediary allows users to describe desired data center states in high-level declarative terms rather than managing low-level imperative code, thereby maintaining automation benefits while reducing the complexity of code management and maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates an abstract representation (declarative specification) that copies and simplifies the essential characteristics of complex cloud infrastructure configurations. Instead of managing the actual millions of lines of code directly, the system works with simplified declarative models that capture the desired state, reducing maintenance burden while preserving deployment capabilities.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple cloud platforms are supported with different implementations, then adaptability and versatility are improved, but device complexity and maintenance costs increase due to managing multiple codebases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal declarative specification language that can describe data center configurations across multiple cloud platforms in a platform-agnostic manner. The compiler then adapts this universal specification to platform-specific implementations, allowing a single codebase to support multiple platforms thereby reducing maintenance costs while maintaining broad adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the system into two distinct layers: a platform-independent declarative specification layer and platform-specific compilation layers. This segmentation allows the core logic to remain universal and maintainable while handling platform-specific variations in the compilation and execution layers, thereby reducing overall maintenance complexity.
3Reliability
If platform-specific implementations are used for each cloud platform, then manufacturing precision and reliability are improved, but ease of manufacture and adaptability worsen due to inability to port configurations
Solution Approach 1:
The declarative specification acts as an intermediary representation that preserves the essential configuration logic in a platform-independent form. This intermediary allows configurations to be ported across platforms while maintaining reliability through accurate compilation to platform-specific implementations, bridging the gap between portability and implementation accuracy.
Data Source
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AI summary
Computing systems, for example, multi-tenant systems create data centers in a cloud platform using a cloud platform infrastructure language that is cloud platform independent. The system receives a cloud platform independent declarative specification describing a new datacenter to be created or modifications to an existing datacenter deployed on a cloud platform. The system compiles the cloud platform independent declarative specification to generate a metadata representation of the data center. If the datacenter is existing, the system generates a metadata representation representing modifications to the datacenter to obtain a desired datacenter. The system sends the metadata representation and a set of instructions for execution on a target cloud platform. The target cloud platform executes the instructions to configure the data center. The system provides users with access to the computing resources of the data center configured by the target cloud platform.