Fog Node Emergency Service Substitution for Network Outages
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cloud-based network services become unavailable due to wide area network disruptions, such as hardware failures, congestion, or physical damage, leading to unmet minimum quality of service requirements and extended service outages.
Innovation Solution
An access network computing node, referred to as a 'fog node', detects unavailability of cloud-based services and supplies a substitute network service by obtaining executable resources from a cloud-based service provider or another location, enabling temporary or emergency network service provision to endpoint devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If cloud-based network services are provided via wide area network connections, then service centralization and resource efficiency are improved, but service availability and reliability deteriorate during network disruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized cloud service architecture into distributed service instances deployed at multiple locations including edge networks and endpoint devices. This segmentation allows local service provision when wide area network connections are disrupted, maintaining service availability while preserving the resource efficiency benefits of cloud-based delivery through coordinated resource management across the distributed architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-loading executable resources and service data to endpoint devices and ad-hoc nodes before network disruption occurs. This allows these nodes to immediately provide substitute services when the wide area network becomes unavailable, ensuring continuous service availability without waiting for network restoration.
Solution Approach 3:
The patent introduces ad-hoc nodes and endpoint devices as intermediaries that can relay service requests and provide substitute services when the wide area network is disrupted. These intermediaries maintain service continuity by locally executing substitute services or forwarding requests through alternative paths, thereby improving reliability without sacrificing the centralized resource management efficiency.
2Reliability
If substitute network services are provided by access network computing nodes during outages, then service availability is improved, but device complexity and resource requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by enabling endpoint devices and ad-hoc nodes to autonomously execute substitute services using locally cached executable resources when network disruptions occur. This eliminates the need for complex real-time coordination with central cloud infrastructure, reducing the operational complexity of access nodes while maintaining service availability through self-contained local service provision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by distributing copies of executable resources and service data to multiple endpoint devices and ad-hoc nodes in advance. These copies enable local substitution of cloud services during outages without requiring the access nodes to generate or manage complex service logic, thereby improving availability while keeping device complexity manageable through simple resource replication.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If service detection and substitution mechanisms are implemented, then service continuity is improved, but system complexity and overhead worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where access network computing nodes continuously monitor the availability of wide area network connections and automatically trigger substitute service deployment when disruptions are detected. This automated feedback loop ensures service continuity without requiring complex manual intervention or decision-making systems, as the detection and substitution process is driven by simple availability thresholds and pre-configured response protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a method comprises detecting, by an access network computing node, a network service provided by a service provider for one or more identified endpoint devices via a wide area network connection, the access network computing node within an access network providing connections for the one or more identified endpoint devices to access the network service via the wide area network connection; detecting an unavailability of the network service via the wide area network connection; and supplying, by the access network computing node, at least a substitute of the network service for the one or more identified endpoint devices in response to the detected unavailability of the network service via the wide area network connection.