Multi-Cloud Overlay Network Private IP Compliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cloud-based architectures face compliance issues due to the use of public IP addresses, leading to increased network complexity, cost, and scalability issues, particularly in industries like government and finance that require private network addressing.
Innovation Solution
A software-defined multi-cloud overlay network that exclusively relies on private network addressing, featuring a management VPC, spoke VPCs, transit VPCs, multi-cloud access VPC, and remote load balancing VPC, with a controller managing network traffic and communications across different public cloud networks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If public IP addresses are used for cloud network communications, then network accessibility and routing are simplified, but compliance requirements are violated and security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a translation service as an intermediary component that mediates between private IP addresses used within the cloud network and public IP addresses required for external communications. This translation service maintains compliance by preventing direct public IP assignment to cloud instances while enabling necessary external communications through controlled translation, thus resolving the contradiction between compliance requirements and network functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the network addressing space into distinct private and public domains. Private IP addresses are assigned to cloud instances and internal network components, while public IP addresses are assigned only to external-facing components like the translation service. This segmentation enforces compliance boundaries while maintaining internal network simplicity, resolving the contradiction between compliance and network complexity.
2Reliability
If private IP addressing is implemented across the entire cloud network, then compliance and security are improved, but network routing and external communications become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The translation service acts as an intermediary that handles the complexity of routing between private and public IP spaces. Internal network components communicate using simple private IP addressing, while the translation service manages the complex mapping and translation to public IPs for external communications, thus maintaining ease of operation internally while satisfying external communication requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The translation service creates a virtual copy or representation of private IP addresses in the public IP space. Instead of requiring direct public IP assignment to each instance, the translation service maintains a mapping table that copies private address space semantics into the public address space, simplifying internal routing while enabling external communications.
3Ease of operation
If public IP addresses are assigned to cloud instances, then external accessibility is improved, but network costs and compliance violations increase
Solution Approach 1:
The translation service serves as a compliant intermediary that enables external accessibility without direct public IP assignment to cloud instances. It translates incoming external requests with public IPs into internal private IP addresses, and outgoing responses from private instances into public IPs, thus maintaining external accessibility while ensuring compliance with private-addressing-only policies.
Solution Approach 2:
The translation service implements self-service mechanisms by automatically managing IP address translation, mapping tables, and routing decisions without requiring manual public IP assignment or configuration on each cloud instance. This automation maintains compliance while providing seamless external accessibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A multi-cloud overlay network for supporting communications between a first public cloud network and a second public cloud network. The overlay network features a management virtual private network, which includes a network load balancing (NLB) component and a controller registered as a target on a port of the NLB component. The overlay network further includes one or more spoke or transit gateways and a multi-cloud access virtual private cloud (VPC) operating within the first public cloud network, and a remote cloud load balancer component operating the second public cloud network. The remote cloud load balancer component is communicatively coupled between the multi-cloud access VPC and one or more remote spoke or transit gateways. The multi-cloud access VPC includes a VPC endpoint that is assigned a private IP address and communicatively coupled to the NLB component and a virtual private network (VPN) gateway communicatively coupled to a private transport.