Infrastructure Base Model API for IaC Translation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Infrastructure as Code (IaC) solutions require developers to learn new syntax, translate code, and validate changes, leading to inefficiencies and errors due to compatibility issues between different IaC solutions, making infrastructure development time-consuming and costly.
Innovation Solution
An abstract, API-based infrastructure base model that abstracts all infrastructure assets into a metadata model, using a modeling language like AML to standardize and integrate assets, allowing for flexible and generic application across various infrastructures without requiring complex API coding, and enabling easy creation, management, and migration of infrastructure projects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If plugin-based infrastructure base models are used, then infrastructure assets can be integrated, but developers must learn new syntax, translate code, and validate changes, increasing development time and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary translation layer that converts between different IaC syntaxes and the unified infrastructure base model. This mediator handles the syntax translation automatically, eliminating the need for developers to manually learn and translate between different plugin syntaxes, thus reducing development complexity while maintaining integration flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal infrastructure base model that can work with multiple different IaC solutions through a common interface. This universal model serves multiple functions by supporting various plugin types (compute, storage, network, etc.) through a single unified framework, reducing the need for solution-specific development while maintaining broad adaptability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple IaC solutions are supported, then more infrastructure assets can be integrated, but compatibility issues arise requiring custom code changes
Solution Approach 1:
The translation layer acts as a mediator that ensures compatibility between different IaC solutions and the unified infrastructure base model. It automatically handles syntax conversions and validates code changes, eliminating compatibility issues without requiring custom code modifications for each solution, thus maintaining both multi-solution support and code reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses parameter-based configuration to adapt the infrastructure base model to different IaC solutions. By changing parameters rather than code structure, the system maintains compatibility across multiple solutions. This allows the same core model to work with different plugins by adjusting configuration parameters, ensuring reliability while supporting diversity.
3Ease of manufacture
If manual code translation and validation are required, then infrastructure projects can be built, but unnecessary time and money are spent
Solution Approach 1:
The translation layer provides self-service functionality by automatically translating code between different IaC syntaxes and validating changes without requiring manual developer intervention. The system performs syntax conversion, validation, and error checking automatically, enabling infrastructure projects to be built efficiently without wasting time on manual translation and validation tasks.
4Adaptability or versatility
If custom code changes are made for compatibility, then specific features can be supported, but errors and inconsistencies increase
Solution Approach 1:
The translation layer serves as a mediator that maintains code consistency while supporting diverse features. Instead of allowing custom code changes that may introduce errors, the intermediary handles feature-specific adaptations through controlled translation rules and validation, ensuring that all code changes are consistent and error-free while still supporting the required features.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of apparatus, systems, and methods are described for creating and managing an abstract, API-based infrastructure base model. The API-based model can abstract infrastructure assets, such as infrastructure components or connections between components, into a metadata model using standardized syntax and interfaces, for defining and building an infrastructure. Using a modeling document, connections and components of an infrastructure can be abstracted into an API-based model having semantics that covers them all. Connections and infrastructure components can be made available for selection, arrangement, and grouping to build complex infrastructure models without requiring complex API coding by the user. Other infrastructure models having different API definitions can be by abstracted to standardize the assets for building new APIs. The APIs can be further modified and exported to another or the same implementation project.