Hardware Controller Offloads Security Services
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing information processing systems face challenges in managing and provisioning system-level services on client devices, including resource-intensive services that consume significant processor, memory, and network resources, leading to performance issues and user experience degradation. Additionally, conventional approaches require manual reconfiguration and management across multiple devices, which is time-consuming and prone to errors.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves using a physical hardware controller coupled to a processing device to provision security services. This controller identifies remote security service instances and initiates network emulation modules to emulate physical network interface devices, allowing for the analysis and modification of network traffic. The solution offloads resource-intensive processes to the hardware controller, freeing up client device resources and enabling remote management of services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If resource-intensive security services are run on the host operating system, then security protection is provided, but client device performance and user experience deteriorate due to consumption of processor, memory, and network resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts security services from the host operating system and relocates them to a separate virtualization management module. This module runs security services in virtual machine environments, isolating resource-intensive security operations from the host OS. The host OS only needs to interact with virtualized network interface cards, while the actual security processing occurs in the separated virtualization environment, thus protecting security functionality while preserving host performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtualization management module as an intermediary between the host OS and security services. This module contains a virtual machine manager that creates and manages virtual machine instances for security services, and virtualized network interface cards that mediate network traffic between the host and security services. This intermediary layer enables security services to run without directly consuming host OS resources, resolving the contradiction between security protection and system performance.
2Ease of operation
If manual reconfiguration and management of services is performed across multiple devices, then service provisioning is achieved, but time consumption and error probability increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service capabilities through automated service provisioning. The virtualization management module automatically discovers available security services, creates appropriate virtual machine instances, configures virtualized network interface cards, and provisions services to client devices without requiring manual intervention. The system self-manages the entire service deployment lifecycle, from service selection to instance creation and client provisioning, dramatically reducing configuration time and eliminating human errors.
3Adaptability or versatility
If security services are provisioned through host operating system software, then service functionality is achieved, but resource consumption and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the system into distinct functional components: the host OS, the virtualization management module, virtual machine instances for security services, and virtualized network interface cards. Each component has a specific responsibility - the host OS handles user applications, the virtualization management module handles service provisioning and resource allocation, virtual machines execute security services, and virtualized NICs handle network traffic. This segmentation allows service functionality to be achieved while distributing resource consumption across multiple specialized components rather than concentrating it in the host OS.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a virtualization dimension to the traditional host OS architecture. Instead of running security services directly on the host OS (one-dimensional), the system creates a virtualized layer with virtual machines and virtualized network interfaces (adding another dimension). This dimensional change allows security services to operate in an isolated virtual environment, enabling versatile service functionality while managing resource consumption through virtualization overhead rather than direct host OS resource consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus comprises a first processing device, the first processing device comprising a physical hardware controller configured for coupling with a second processing device. The first processing device is configured to identify remote security service instances attached to the second processing device and to initiate, at the first processing device, one or more network emulation modules for the remote security service instances attached to the second processing device that emulate physical network interface devices configured for attachment to the second processing device. The first processing device is also configured to provision the remote security service instances to the second processing device by utilizing hardware resources of the physical hardware controller to analyze network traffic associated with the second processing device, to modify at least a portion of the network traffic, and to provide the modified network traffic to the second processing device via the emulated physical network interface devices.