Deterministic Microservice Traffic Routing Across Physical Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current service meshes in telecommunications networks cannot support the automatic deployment of microservices in a cloud of choice to ensure deterministic traffic flow due to the lack of integration with physical networks that provide quality of service guarantees.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a deterministic service mesh architecture with deterministic modules and a centralized controller to calculate and communicate a virtual topology, enabling zero-touch resource provisioning for deterministic traffic flow between microservices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If service meshes are implemented in telecommunications networks, then microservice deployment flexibility is improved, but deterministic traffic flow support deteriorates due to lack of physical network integration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a service communication proxy (SCP) as an intermediary component that bridges the service mesh and physical network. The SCP calculates deterministic virtual topology, generates routing tables, and communicates with network nodes to establish deterministic paths. This intermediary enables both microservice flexibility and deterministic traffic flow by translating between service mesh requirements and physical network capabilities.
2Extent of automation
If automatic resource provisioning is implemented, then manual intervention is reduced, but integration with physical networks for QoS guarantees becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The service communication proxy performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating deterministic virtual topology and generating routing tables before traffic flows are established. The system proactively communicates routing information to network nodes in advance, enabling automatic resource provisioning while simplifying the integration process through pre-computed deterministic paths rather than reactive configurations.
3Reliability
If deterministic virtual topology calculation is implemented, then deterministic routing is achieved, but network apparatus complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the deterministic virtual topology calculation and routing table generation functions from individual network nodes and centralizes them in the service communication proxy. This extraction allows network nodes to maintain simpler forwarding logic while the SCP handles the complex deterministic path calculations, achieving deterministic routing without distributing complexity across all network apparatus.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed is a method comprising a network apparatus (CDC) calculating (601) a deterministic virtual topology of a physical IP network, and based on the calculating, communicating (602), to network node(s) (DM) that are located in the physical IP network and are capable of supporting deterministic traffic flow, a routing table including information on the deterministic virtual topology of the physical IP network. The method comprises receiving (603), by a network node (DM) from the network apparatus (CDC), the communication comprising the routing table, detecting (604), by the network node (DM), a deterministic traffic flow received by a first router or switch from a microservice which the network node is connected to via said first router or switch, and routing (605), by the network node (DM), the deterministic traffic flow to a further microservice via a physical routing path indicated by the routing table.