Cloud Edge Appliance Local Caching for Network Outage Resilience
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Cloud applications face performance issues due to network outages and congestion in wide area networks, leading to slow responsiveness and unavailability during connectivity failures.
Innovation Solution
A cloud edge appliance (CEA) is installed at customer premises to locally store data and perform cloud application functionality, intelligently managing network outages by caching data and forming backup connections to ensure continuous service through alternate network paths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If cloud applications are hosted at remote servers and accessed through wide area networks, then hardware and software support can be outsourced to the cloud provider, but network outages and congestion cause slow responsiveness and unavailability
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments cloud application functionality into two parts: core services hosted at remote cloud servers and local caching/storage functions deployed at customer premises edge devices. This segmentation allows the customer to maintain local copies of frequently accessed data and applications, ensuring continued operation during network outages while still benefiting from cloud provider support for hardware and software.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary component (edge device or gateway) between the customer network and the cloud service provider. This intermediary caches data locally and can operate independently when network connectivity is lost, mediating between the need for cloud outsourcing and the need for local reliability during outages.
2Device complexity
If cloud applications rely on wide area network connectivity, then centralized management and updates can be simplified, but network congestion and outages reduce application responsiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-caching frequently accessed data and applications at local edge devices before network outages or congestion occur. This allows the customer to maintain fast local access to critical resources without requiring continuous network connectivity for responsiveness, while centralized management remains simplified for updates and new deployments.
3Reliability
If data is stored locally at customer premises, then access speed and reliability during outages improve, but data synchronization and backup requirements increase complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the edge device continuously monitors network connectivity status and automatically synchronizes data with the cloud service provider when connectivity is restored. This automated feedback loop handles data synchronization and backup requirements without increasing operational complexity, as the system self-manages the synchronization process based on network conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
A cloud edge appliance (CEA) may augment the providing, by a remote cloud service provider, of cloud applications to a customer. The CEA may be installed at the customer premises and may provide a local access point for the customer. In one implementation, the CEA may provide a cloud-based application to a number of user devices, the cloud-based application being associated with functions, in which at least a first portion of the functions are implemented by the CEA and at least a second portion of the plurality of functions are forwarded, over a wide area network, to the cloud service provider.