Distributed Storage Management Tunnels to Reduce Public IP Use

The patent introduces a gateway as an intermediary component that terminates tunnel connections between clusters. The gateway acts as a mediator that receives management traffic from local SP nodes, performs routing checks, and forwards the traffic through encrypted tunnels to remote clusters. This intermediary approach allows mesh connectivity to be maintained while significantly reducing the number of public IP addresses required, as the gateway consolidates the tunnel termination function rather than requiring direct public IP addresses for each SP node pair.

The patent introduces a virtual dimension through encrypted tunnels that overlay the physical network infrastructure. Instead of managing public IP addresses in the traditional network dimension, the system creates a virtual communication dimension where SP nodes can communicate using private addresses through the tunnel gateway infrastructure. This dimensional shift allows the system to maintain communication adaptability while eliminating the operational burden of managing public IP address allocations and subnet changes.

The gateway implements self-service routing functionality by automatically performing routing checks on incoming management traffic. When the gateway receives traffic from a local SP node destined for a remote SP node, it autonomously checks the routing rule associating the destination address with the appropriate tunnel, applies the tunnel configuration rule, and forwards the traffic through the correct tunnel. This self-service approach reduces routing complexity compared to manual configuration, as the gateway automatically manages the routing decisions based on pre-configured rules.