Hierarchical Edge Control Plane for Fault-Tolerant Hybrid Cloud Management

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Solution Overview

Problem

Centralized control planes for hybrid cloud environments are fault-intolerant and struggle to manage edge devices with varying characteristics, such as solar-powered devices operating in reduced power modes, leading to inefficiencies in resource allocation and policy enforcement.

Innovation Solution

A decentralized hierarchical control plane with multiple control nodes distributed across a hierarchy, where each node manages resources of devices in lower layers, enabling efficient resource allocation, policy application, and fault tolerance through distributed decision-making and machine learning.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a centralized control plane is used for hybrid cloud environments, then policy enforcement and resource allocation can be统一管理, but the system becomes fault-intolerant and unable to handle edge devices with varying characteristics

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefault toleranceVSAvoidcontrol plane architecture

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The control plane is segmented into multiple distributed control nodes organized in a hierarchy, where each node autonomously manages resources in its scope. This segmentation eliminates the single point of failure in centralized architectures while maintaining coordinated policy enforcement through hierarchical communication between nodes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Productivity

If a centralized control plane manages edge devices with varying characteristics, then unified policy enforcement is achieved, but resource allocation efficiency decreases due to inability to adapt to device-specific constraints

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresource allocation efficiencyVSAvoiddevice capability adaptation

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

Each control node is equipped with local intelligence that enables it to make resource allocation decisions tailored to the specific characteristics of devices in its scope. The hierarchical structure allows higher nodes to define global policies while lower nodes adapt these policies to local device constraints, achieving both efficiency and adaptability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If a decentralized hierarchical control plane is implemented, then resilience to changing network conditions and device capabilities is enhanced, but the complexity of managing multiple control nodes increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresilience to network conditionsVSAvoidcontrol node management

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple control nodes are merged into a hierarchical organization where nodes at different levels coordinate through standardized interfaces. This merging maintains the resilience benefits of distribution while simplifying management through hierarchical structure, where upper nodes aggregate information from and issue commands to lower nodes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS20260046190A1Decentralized hierarchical control plane for virtualization management in edge devices and hybrid cloud environments

Publication Date: 2026.02.12 RED HAT INC

AI summary

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a decentralized hierarchical control plane for management in edge devices and hybrid cloud environments. More specifically, a method of the present disclosure includes obtaining, at a device, an indication that the device is to act as a control node in a decentralized hierarchical control plane, where the decentralized hierarchical control plane includes a plurality of control nodes in a decentralized hierarchy. The method includes managing, by a processing device at the device acting as the control node and via the decentralized hierarchical control plane, resources associated with a plurality of devices in the decentralized hierarchy.