Virtualized Control Plane Switchover for Live Network Debugging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Network device manufacturers face challenges in debugging and profiling due to the impracticality of testing all combinations for interoperability, leading to issues that are difficult to troubleshoot, especially in live networks, and often require significant resources and time, with existing methods disrupting production environments.
Innovation Solution
An on-demand debug network device is created in a cloud or remote infrastructure, forming a stack with a target network device, allowing a switchover of the control plane to the debug network device while maintaining the data plane operation, enabling debugging and profiling with minimal disruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If extensive debugging features are included in production network devices, then debugging capability is improved, but system performance deteriorates and system resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments debugging functionality from production network devices by deploying a separate virtualized debug network device that mirrors the target device's control plane. This allows extensive debugging features to be included in the debug device without impacting the performance of production devices, as the debug device operates independently while maintaining synchronization with the target device's state.
Solution Approach 2:
A virtualized debug network device acts as an intermediary between the target production network device and debugging tools. This intermediary captures control plane state, synchronizes it with the target device, and provides extensive debugging capabilities through a separate system that does not consume resources from the production device.
2Loss of information
If instrumented images are implemented in live network devices for debugging, then debugging data collection is improved, but network operations are disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a virtualized copy of the target network device's control plane state in a separate debug network device. This copy is synchronized periodically or in real-time with the target device, allowing comprehensive debugging data collection from the virtualized copy without implementing instrumented images in the live production device, thus avoiding disruption to network operations.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If maintenance windows are set aside for instrumented image implementation, then debugging capability is improved, but network availability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The virtualized debug network device is pre-configured with debugging tools and capabilities before being deployed. Once deployed, it synchronizes with the target production device and enables debugging operations without requiring maintenance windows, as the debug device operates independently in parallel with the production device.
Data Source
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AI summary
An exemplary method is disclosed that facilitate the on-demand creation of an exemplary instrumented network device in a cloud infrastructure, remote server, evaluation platform, or customized testing server and to form a stack between the instrumented network device as a debug network device and a target network device. The control plane of the target network device then switches over, via a switchover operation, to the control plane of the debug network device, while the data-plane of the target network device continues to operate. Once switched over, the instrumentation (e.g., hardware or software) of the control plane or debug network device facilitates the debug, optimization, profile, and/or recovery of the physical network device, even in a live network.