Automated Network Change System for Switch Fabric Migration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Network changes and updates require manual creation of complex 'recipes' of steps, which is time-consuming and prone to errors due to interdependencies, leading to potential configuration failures and incompatibilities, especially in large networks with multiple operators.
Innovation Solution
An automated system that translates current and intended network states into ordered operations using a directed graph, allowing for parallel execution and minimizing risks by selecting operations based on migration logic and safety checks, thus reducing human error and ensuring compatibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If manual creation of change recipes is used, then flexibility in handling complex interdependencies is achieved, but time consumption and error probability increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
An automated system acts as an intermediary between network operators and the complex task of creating change recipes. The system automatically analyzes network topology, identifies interdependencies, and generates ordered sequences of configuration changes, thereby eliminating manual time consumption while preserving the handling of complex relationships through algorithmic analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical process of creating change recipes by operators is replaced with an automated computational system. The system uses algorithms to analyze network state, detect dependencies, and generate execution sequences, substituting human cognitive effort with automated processing that is both faster and more consistent.
2Ease of operation
If manual creation of change recipes is used, then operator judgment can be applied, but error probability and configuration failures increase
Solution Approach 1:
The automated system incorporates feedback mechanisms that analyze the current network state, simulate change outcomes, and validate configuration compatibility before execution. This feedback loop ensures that errors are detected and prevented automatically, maintaining reliability while removing human judgment from the actual change creation process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary analysis of network topology and interdependencies before generating change recipes. By pre-identifying potential conflicts and validating configuration compatibility in advance, the system prevents errors before they occur, thereby improving reliability without requiring manual operator judgment during execution.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple operators are involved in network changes, then diverse expertise is utilized, but contradictory or incompatible changes increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the expertise of multiple operators into a unified automated analysis engine. By consolidating the network state assessment and dependency analysis into a single automated system, conflicting judgments from different operators are eliminated, ensuring consistent and compatible change sequences while still leveraging collective domain knowledge embedded in the system's algorithms.
4Productivity
If automated systems are used for network changes, then time consumption and errors are reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The automated system is designed as a universal platform that handles multiple network configurations, topologies, and change types through a single integrated architecture. By creating a multi-functional system that can address various network scenarios with the same core engine, the complexity is amortized across diverse applications, making the system complexity worthwhile given the productivity gains.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus, for automatically changing a network system. A method includes receiving a set of first intents that describe a state of a first switch fabric; receiving a set of second intents that describe a state of a second switch fabric; computing a set of network operations to perform on the first switch fabric to achieve the second switch fabric, the set of operations also defining an order in which the operations are to be executed, and the set of operations determined based on the set of first intents, the set of second intents, and migration logic that defines a ruleset for selecting the operations based on the set of first intents and the second intents; and executing the set of network operations according to the order, to apply changes to elements within the first switch fabric to achieve the state of the second switch fabric.