Cluster Update Rollouts for Outage-Safe AV Infrastructure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cluster infrastructure updates in autonomous vehicle fleets can be risky, with the potential for widespread outages if the update is faulty, and are labor-intensive when performed manually on a cluster-by-cluster basis.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a progressive roll out manager that allows updates to be rolled out in a staged and ordered manner based on order values associated with different clusters, ensuring that only a subset of clusters receives the update at a time, and allowing for evaluation of success before proceeding to the next stage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If updates are applied to all clusters simultaneously, then deployment speed is improved, but risk of widespread outages increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the cluster update process into multiple stages, where updates are applied to subsets of clusters in sequential batches rather than all at once. Each stage updates a portion of the clusters while monitoring for issues, allowing the system to maintain reliability while achieving reasonable deployment speed through automated progression.
2Reliability
If updates are applied manually to each cluster, then risk control is improved, but labor intensity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements an automated progressive rollout manager that self-manages the update deployment process across multiple clusters. The system automatically progresses through stages, monitors update success, and determines when to proceed to the next cluster subset, eliminating manual intervention while maintaining controlled risk through staged deployment.
3Productivity
If updates are rolled out to all clusters at once, then productivity is improved, but ability to evaluate success before full deployment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cluster population into multiple subsets that receive updates at different stages. This allows the system to evaluate success metrics on the first subset before proceeding to subsequent subsets, maintaining the ability to detect and respond to issues while still achieving efficient deployment through parallel processing within each stage.
4Reliability
If manual cluster-by-cluster updates are performed, then risk mitigation is improved, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic staged updates where clusters are updated in regular intervals or batches rather than one-at-a-time manually. The automated system progresses through predefined stages at optimized intervals, maintaining risk mitigation through staged deployment while reducing total time consumption through automation and parallel processing capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
Platforms to support and manage an autonomous vehicle (AV) fleet can be implemented on and supported by cluster infrastructure. Cluster infrastructure may include different clusters, such as a cluster for an AV fleet with safety drivers, and a cluster for an AV fleet without safety drivers. Updates to the cluster infrastructure can be made to multiple clusters at once. Such updates may cause an outage that impacts multiple clusters and create a massive vehicle retrieval event for all AV fleets. To mitigate the risk and allow for prioritization of clusters, updates can be rolled out in a staged and ordered manner according to order values associated with different clusters. After applying an update to a cluster at a stage of the roll out, the cluster may be evaluated to confirm the success of the update, before the roll out can be moved to the next stage.