Container Network Plugin Agents for SDDC Request Rate Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increased demand for fast deployment of on-demand networking in software-defined datacenters (SDDCs) overwhelms the network manager due to numerous requests from compute clusters, necessitating a solution to manage these connections efficiently without overburdening the network manager.
Innovation Solution
Deploy network plugin agents on multiple host computers to receive notifications of events related to network element deployment, configure network elements, and implement a master DNPA instance to manage request rates, ensuring efficient communication with the network manager by calculating and enforcing rate limits for each DNPA instance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If compute clusters directly communicate with the network manager for each networking request, then fast deployment of on-demand networking is achieved, but the network manager becomes overwhelmed and experiences overload
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces network plugin agents as intermediary components that are deployed on host computers within compute clusters. These agents receive and process networking requests locally, acting as mediators between the compute clusters and the network manager. This intermediary layer enables fast local deployment while preventing direct overload of the network manager, as the agents handle routine networking operations autonomously before communicating with the network manager only when necessary.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the centralized network manager's functionality by distributing network plugin agents across multiple host computers in the compute clusters. This segmentation divides the networking management workload from a single centralized point into distributed local agents, allowing each agent to handle networking requests independently at the host level, thereby improving deployment speed while reducing the burden on the central network manager.
2Reliability
If network plugin agents are deployed on multiple host computers to handle networking requests, then network manager overload is prevented, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The network plugin agents are designed as universal, multi-functional components that can be deployed on any host computer within the compute clusters. Each agent possesses the same capabilities to handle various networking requests (creation, modification, deletion of network elements), making the system architecture consistent and manageable despite the distributed nature. This universality reduces complexity by using identical standardized agents rather than custom solutions for each host.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where network plugin agents communicate with the network manager to report status, receive updates, and coordinate actions. This feedback loop ensures that while agents operate autonomously at the edge, the central network manager maintains awareness and control, enabling the complex distributed system to function coherently through continuous information exchange and coordination.
Data Source
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AI summary
Some embodiments of the invention provide a method for connecting deployed machines in a set of one or more software-defined datacenters (SDDCs) to a virtual private cloud (VPC) in an availability zone (A Z). The method deploys network plugin agents (e.g. listening agents) on multiple host computers and configures the network plugin agents to receive notifications of events related to the deployment of network elements from a set of compute deployment agents executing on the particular deployed network plugin agent's host computer. The method, in some embodiments, is performed by a network manager that receives notifications from the deployed network plugin agents regarding events relating to the deployed machines and, in response to the received notifications, configures network elements to connect one or more sets of the deployed machines.