Multi-Service Traffic Controllers for Cross-Service Flow Coordination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing network traffic in complex multi-service environments of large distributed systems is challenging due to unintended negative consequences from local traffic management decisions, impacting overall service quality and performance.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a traffic modeling and control service (TMCS) with customizable parametrized instances of traffic control primitives, including classifier, flow change decider, regulator, and telemetry recorder modules, to manage network traffic across multiple services, using multi-service network traffic controllers (MNTCs) that collect data and make holistic traffic control decisions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If local service-level traffic management decisions are made at individual services, then each service can independently optimize its own performance and availability, but unintended negative consequences occur at other services and overall system performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
A system-level traffic management intermediary is introduced that sits between individual services and the network infrastructure. This intermediary collects traffic data from multiple services, analyzes system-wide conditions, and coordinates traffic management decisions across services to prevent unintended negative consequences while maintaining local service optimization capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback loops where traffic management decisions at individual services are monitored for their impact on other services. When negative consequences are detected, the system adjusts traffic management parameters across the distributed system to eliminate harmful effects while preserving local optimization benefits.
2Adaptability or versatility
If dozens or hundreds of services are utilized within a distributed system, then service functionality and versatility are enhanced, but managing network traffic flow becomes increasingly complex and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The traffic management system is segmented into modular components: local service-level traffic controllers at individual services, regional traffic coordination nodes grouping related services, and system-level orchestration. This hierarchical segmentation allows each component to manage traffic within its scope independently, reducing overall system complexity while supporting hundreds of services.
Solution Approach 2:
A universal traffic management framework is implemented that provides common traffic control mechanisms, data collection methods, and coordination protocols applicable across all services in the distributed system. This universal approach reduces complexity by eliminating the need for custom traffic management solutions for each service.
3Ease of manufacture
If each service has its own application programming interfaces and local traffic control, then service independence and ease of development are improved, but system-wide traffic coordination and overall performance suffer
Solution Approach 1:
Individual services maintain self-service capabilities with their own APIs and local traffic control mechanisms for independent development and deployment. The system-level coordination layer automatically discovers services, collects traffic data, and implements coordinated traffic management without requiring changes to individual service codebases, thus preserving development ease while improving system throughput.
Data Source
AI summary
One or more multi-service network traffic controllers are established for a distributed system. The controllers are connected to traffic control implementation units at a first service and a second service. Based at least in part on data collected from a traffic control implementation unit deployed at the second service, a modification to be made to a parameter of a traffic control implementation unit deployed at the first service is determined at the controllers. The modification is applied at the first service, and results in a change to a traffic flow of the second service.