Load Balancer Data Plane Segmentation for Tenant Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional load balancers in network systems face challenges in isolating network data traffic between multiple tenants, leading to potential performance interference and inefficient resource allocation, especially in shared environments like cloud computing.
Innovation Solution
A load balancer system with a control plane and data planes, where each data plane can be instantiated, deleted, or adjusted with network traffic multiplexers (MUXes) to dedicate resources to specific tenants, isolating network data and optimizing traffic distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a shared load balancer is used to serve multiple tenants, then resource utilization is improved, but network data isolation between tenants deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The load balancer is segmented into multiple data planes, with each data plane dedicated to a specific tenant. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high resource utilization through shared infrastructure while ensuring complete network data isolation between tenants by directing each tenant's traffic through dedicated data plane paths.
2Device complexity
If network data from multiple tenants is processed through a single load balancer, then device complexity is reduced, but performance interference between tenants increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the load balancer into multiple data planes to eliminate performance interference between tenants. Each data plane operates independently for its designated tenant, ensuring that traffic processing for one tenant does not affect the performance of others, while the overall structure remains manageable through centralized control plane coordination.
3Reliability
If data planes are dedicated to specific tenants, then network data isolation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control plane serves as an intermediary that manages the complexity of multiple dedicated data planes. It handles the configuration, monitoring, and coordination of all data planes, allowing each data plane to be dedicated to a specific tenant for maximum isolation while the control plane abstracts the overall system complexity.
4Productivity
If multiple data planes are instantiated for different tenants, then resource allocation efficiency is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The control plane acts as an intermediary that simplifies the operation of managing multiple data planes. It provides centralized configuration and monitoring capabilities, allowing operators to manage resource allocation across multiple tenants through a unified interface rather than individually configuring each data plane, thus maintaining ease of operation while maximizing resource allocation efficiency.
Data Source
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AI summary
A load balancer capable of adjusting how network data is distributed to a tenant or group of tenants by manipulating the data plane. The load balancer is placed directly in the flow path of network data that is destined for a tenant or group of tenants having a tenant address. The load balancer includes a control plane and one or more data planes. Each data plane may contain one or more network traffic multiplexors. Further, each data plane may be dedicated to a tenant or group of tenants. Data planes may be added or deleted from the load balancer; additionally, multiplexors may be added or deleted from a data plane. Accordingly, network data directed towards one tenant is less likely to affect the performance of load balancing performed for another tenant.