Flexible Cloud Namespace Scaling in SDDC
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cloud infrastructure-as-a-service offerings require customers to purchase and manage minimum host configurations, leading to inefficiencies and increased costs for customers with smaller resource requirements. Additionally, customers face complexity in managing underlying infrastructure and must handle lifecycle management and capacity planning, which can be sub-optimal.
Innovation Solution
The system and method for scaling flexible cloud namespaces (FCNs) in a software-defined data center (SDDC) monitor resource utilizations and compare them with set thresholds. Based on these comparisons, resource capacities in the FCNs are scaled, allowing for more efficient and flexible resource allocation without requiring customers to manage underlying infrastructure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If customers purchase minimum host configurations in traditional cloud infrastructure, then infrastructure stability is maintained, but resource allocation efficiency deteriorates due to unused capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments cloud computing resources from traditional host-based units into granular Flexible Cloud Namespace (FCN) units. This segmentation allows customers to purchase and allocate resources in smaller, more flexible increments rather than being constrained to minimum host configurations, thereby improving resource allocation efficiency and reducing unused capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic scaling capabilities for FCNs, allowing resource capacities to be automatically adjusted based on actual workload demands. This dynamic approach enables customers to scale resources up or down as needed, optimizing resource utilization and eliminating the waste associated with static minimum host configurations.
2Ease of operation
If customers manage underlying infrastructure directly, then control over resources is improved, but operational complexity increases due to lifecycle management and capacity planning requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts infrastructure management responsibilities from the customer domain and transfers them to the cloud provider domain. Customers interact with simplified FCN abstractions rather than underlying infrastructure, while the cloud provider's control plane handles complex operations including lifecycle management, capacity planning, and infrastructure provisioning automatically.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces Flexible Cloud Namespaces as an intermediary layer between customers and the underlying cloud infrastructure. This abstraction layer simplifies customer interactions by providing a manageable interface while the control plane acts as another intermediary that automatically handles complex management tasks, thereby reducing operational complexity for customers.
3Productivity
If traditional host-based capacity planning is used, then infrastructure provisioning is simplified, but resource utilization efficiency deteriorates due to rigid allocation units
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments capacity allocation from rigid host-based units into flexible FCN units that can be dynamically adjusted. This segmentation enables granular resource allocation that adapts to varying workload requirements, improving both resource utilization efficiency and capacity flexibility compared to traditional host-based planning.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables dynamic parameter changes for FCN resource capacities, allowing customers to adjust compute, storage, and networking resources based on actual needs. This flexibility in modifying capacity parameters eliminates the rigidity of traditional host-based allocation while improving resource utilization through demand-driven provisioning.
Data Source
AI summary
System and method for scaling flexible cloud namespaces (FCNs) in a software-defined data center (SDDC) uses resource utilizations in resource capacity profiles of the FCNs in the SDDC, which are compared with resource utilization thresholds set for the resource capacity profiles. Based on these comparisons, resource capacities in the resource capacity profiles of the FCNs are scaled.