Compliance Proxy Logic for Network Device Command Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing compliance management approaches for internetworking devices are reactive, failing to prevent non-compliant configurations from being applied, which can cause damage by the time policy violations are detected.
Innovation Solution
Implementing compliance proxy logic in internetworking devices to intercept commands and request compliance checks from a compliance server before execution, ensuring that only compliant commands are executed, thereby preventing policy violations proactively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If reactive compliance monitoring is implemented, then compliance detection capability is improved, but prevention capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary compliance validation by checking configuration commands against compliance policies before they are executed. The compliance proxy intercepts commands, validates them against stored policies, and only allows execution if compliant. This prevents non-compliant configurations from being applied in the first place, rather than detecting them after damage occurs.
2Reliability
If proactive command validation is implemented, then prevention capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a compliance proxy as an intermediary component between the configuration command source and the network device. This proxy handles all compliance validation logic externally, intercepting commands, validating them against policies, and forwarding only compliant commands to the device. This separates compliance checking functionality from the device itself, reducing the complexity burden on the network device while maintaining strong prevention capability.
Data Source
AI summary
In an embodiment, an internetworking device is configured with compliance proxy logic that is configured for sending, to a compliance server, a request to determine whether the command conforms to one or more compliance policies, wherein the request includes the command; receiving a compliance response from the compliance server; in response to determining whether the compliance response indicates success, executing the command only when the compliance response indicates that the command conforms to the one or more compliance policies. Thus the device can determine actively whether a proposed user command or configuration change will violate established standards or policies, before the command or change is applied to the device.