Multi-site Orchestrator Namespace Translation for Data Center Interoperability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The integration of policy-aware and policy-unaware data center sites poses challenges in configuration and management due to differences in network policies and encapsulation protocols, leading to namespace conflicts and interoperability issues across multiple sites.
Innovation Solution
A multi-site orchestrator (MSO) device is configured to obtain configuration information for various sites, enabling unified fabric creation by performing ingress and egress translations of identifiers, such as VNIDs and Class IDs, to facilitate communication across sites with different policy frameworks, ensuring seamless interoperability regardless of site configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple different types of sites (policy-aware and policy-unaware) are integrated to increase datacenter capacity and redundancy, then system reliability and capacity are improved, but configuration and management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a multi-site orchestrator (MSO) as an intermediary device that manages communications and translations between policy-aware and policy-unaware sites. The MSO acts as a mediator that handles the complexity of integrating different site types, translating identifiers and managing namespace conflicts, thereby improving reliability through multi-site integration while containing configuration and management complexity within the orchestrator itself
2Adaptability or versatility
If identifier translations (VNID, Class ID) are performed to enable communication across sites with different policy frameworks, then interoperability is improved, but processing overhead and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-configuring translation rules and namespace mappings in the multi-site orchestrator before communications occur. The MSO maintains translation tables that map identifiers between different site types, so that when packets need translation, the work has already been prepared in advance, reducing real-time processing complexity while maintaining interoperability
Solution Approach 2:
The MSO serves as an intermediary that performs identifier translations between policy-aware and policy-unaware sites. Rather than requiring each site to implement complex translation logic, the MSO centralizes this function, translating VNIDs and Class IDs as packets pass through it, thereby improving interoperability while containing translation processing complexity in a single dedicated device
3Reliability
If namespace translations are performed to prevent conflicts across sites, then communication security is improved, but processing time and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-establishing namespace translations and security policies in the multi-site orchestrator before actual communications occur. The MSO maintains pre-configured translation tables that map namespaces between sites, allowing packets to be forwarded with minimal real-time processing while still ensuring security and preventing namespace conflicts
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by modifying identifier parameters (VNID, Class ID) in packet headers as they pass through the MSO. The orchestrator changes these parameters according to pre-configured translation rules, enabling secure communication between sites with different namespaces while minimizing processing time through efficient parameter substitution rather than complex analysis
Data Source
AI summary
Presented herein are systems and methods to enable simultaneous interoperability with policy-aware and policy-unaware data center sites. A multi-site orchestrator (MSO) device can be configured to obtain configuration information for each of a plurality of different data center sites. The data center sites may include one or more on-premises sites and one or more off-premises sites, each of which may include one or more policy-aware sites and/or one or more policy-unaware sites. The MSO can selectively use namespace translations to create a unified fabric across the different data center sites, enabling one or more hosts and/or applications at a first of the data center sites to communicate with one or more hosts and/or applications at a second of the data center sites, regardless of the sites' respective configurations.