Firewall Configuration Migration Across Untrusted Networks

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing computing environments face challenges in maintaining firewall configurations during software migration, especially when communicating through untrusted networks, as current methods fail to implement traffic controls consistently across source and destination environments.

Innovation Solution

A configuration management system with a leader and follower component that transforms and implements firewall configurations from a source to a destination environment, using a centralized mode at the source and a distributed mode at the destination, ensuring consistent traffic control during migration via an untrusted network.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If software infrastructure is migrated from source to destination computing environment via untrusted network, then software can access new features and improved performance, but firewall configurations are circumvented and traffic control is lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesoftware migration capabilityVSAvoidfirewall configuration maintenance

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a configuration management system as an intermediary between source and destination computing environments. This system includes a leader component that accesses firewall configurations from the source environment, transforms them into a portable format, and a follower component that restores and implements them at the destination environment, thereby maintaining traffic control during migration through untrusted networks

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies preliminary action by transforming firewall configurations into a portable format before migration occurs. The leader component retrieves and transforms the configurations in advance, ensuring they are ready for restoration at the destination environment, which prevents configuration loss during the migration process

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Ease of operation

If manual reconfiguration of firewall configurations is performed during migration, then configurations can be updated, but delays and errors occur

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconfiguration flexibilityVSAvoidmigration delay

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses copying by creating a transformed version of the firewall configuration that can be transported from the source to the destination environment. The follower component restores this copied configuration at the destination, eliminating the need for manual reconfiguration and reducing migration delays while maintaining configuration integrity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

3Reliability

If centralized mode is used at source environment, then firewall configurations are consistently managed, but distributed implementation is needed at destination environment

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconfiguration consistencyVSAvoidimplementation complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies segmentation by dividing the configuration management system into two distinct components: a leader component at the source environment that handles centralized configuration retrieval and transformation, and a follower component at the destination environment that handles distributed restoration and implementation. This segmentation allows centralized management at the source while enabling distributed implementation at the destination

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS12563096B1Methods and systems for providing configuration management for computing environments

Publication Date: 2026.02.24 STRIPE LLC

AI summary

In embodiments, methods and systems for implementing configuration management are provided. A configuration management system facilitates processing and preserving configurations associated with a software infrastructure. The software infrastructure operates as a co-located environment, high availability environment, disaster recovery environment or migration environment. The configuration management system specifically maintains implementation of firewall configurations for a source computing environment and a destination computing environment. The source computing environment communicates with the destination computing environment using a communication channel via an untrusted network. The configuration management system includes a leader component that accesses the firewall configurations, from the source computing environment, transforms the firewall configurations to a transformed version and communicates the transformed version to the destination computing environment. The configuration management system also includes a follower component that accesses and restores the transformed version into a restored version of the firewall configurations and implements the restored version at the destination computing environment.