Data Plane Services Support Mechanism for Dynamic Scaling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current communication networks face challenges in efficiently and flexibly deploying and managing data plane services, particularly in providing scalable and dynamic support for various data plane services in datacenter environments, where existing solutions often require complex configurations and may not fully leverage network interface card (NIC) offloading capabilities.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves a data plane services support mechanism that uses virtual switches to configure and manage virtual resources, enabling dynamic, distributed deployment and management of data plane services. This mechanism includes instantiating virtual resources associated with applications, configuring them to provide data plane services, and setting up flow connectivity, while also supporting NIC offloading to enhance packet processing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If data plane services are deployed using traditional methods, then services can be provided, but deployment complexity and management overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic service insertion and removal capabilities, allowing data plane services to be flexibly deployed and managed. The system can dynamically instantiate service virtual machines, configure flow rules, and adapt service chains based on changing requirements, thereby reducing deployment complexity while maintaining service functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a service gateway and controller as intermediary components that manage service deployment and configuration. These intermediaries abstract the complexity of service chain management, providing simplified interfaces for service insertion, configuration, and monitoring, thus reducing overall system complexity
2Adaptability or versatility
If more virtual resources are instantiated for data plane services, then service scalability improves, but resource overhead and management complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates universal service virtual machines that can host multiple different data plane services. These service VMs are designed to be multi-functional, capable of performing various service functions (firewall, NAT, load balancing, etc.) through configurable software modules, thereby improving scalability without proportionally increasing management complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements service template and cloning mechanisms that allow rapid deployment of service instances. Once a service configuration is created, it can be copied and instantiated multiple times across different virtual machines or hosts, enabling scalable service deployment without repeating complex configuration procedures for each instance
3Productivity
If NIC offloading is implemented, then packet processing performance improves, but compatibility and configuration difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements automatic NIC offloading detection and configuration capabilities. The system automatically detects supported offloading features on physical NICs, configures appropriate offloading parameters, and manages offloading state without requiring manual intervention. This self-service approach enables performance optimization while maintaining ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor packet processing performance and NIC offloading status. Based on this feedback, the system dynamically adjusts offloading configurations to optimize performance while maintaining stability. The feedback loop ensures that offloading is properly configured and maintained without increasing operational complexity
4Reliability
If flow connectivity is configured for each service, then service functionality is ensured, but configuration time and operational overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-configures service templates with default flow connectivity rules and service chain configurations. When services are deployed, these pre-configured templates provide immediate functionality, and flow rules can be adjusted as needed. This preliminary preparation significantly reduces configuration time while ensuring service functionality is maintained
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A
AI summary
The present disclosure generally discloses a data plane services support mechanism. The data plane services support mechanism may be configured to provide a data plane service for an application. The data plane services support mechanism may be configured to instantiate a virtual resource for the data plane service to be provided for the application, configure the data plane service on the virtual resource, and configure flow connectivity for the data plane service to support delivery of application traffic of the application to the data plane service. The data plane services support mechanism may be configured to support automatic scalability. The data plane services support mechanism may be configured to support improved communication of application traffic associated with providing the data plane service for the application. The improved communication of application traffic may be provided based on configuration of a virtual switch to support a network interface card (NIC) offloading capability.