Network Diagram Generation for Multi-Tier Cloud Application Administration
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity of managing multi-tier applications in cloud computing environments, where each micro-service uses its own data model, interfaces, and interaction models, makes it difficult for administrators to identify runtime issues and maintain system observability and extensibility as the number of services increases.
Innovation Solution
A deployment director generates a network diagram compatible with the cloud computing environment based on an application blueprint, illustrating the physical network structure and allowing for the deployment of multi-tier applications across various cloud platforms, facilitating administration and observability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If micro-services are used to replace monolithic applications, then the system gains independence of service lifecycle and modularity, but the device complexity and difficulty of administration increase as the number of services increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a centralized service registry and discovery mechanism that acts as an intermediary between micro-services and clients. Each service registers its metadata (interfaces, data models, interaction models) with the central registry, which then provides unified access points. This mediator abstracts the complexity of multiple independent services, allowing administrators to manage services through a centralized interface rather than dealing with each service individually.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates universal service templates and standardized interface definitions that can be applied across multiple micro-services. By defining common data models, interaction patterns, and deployment configurations that can be reused across different services, the system reduces administrative overhead. Administrators can manage a family of services using a single set of templates and configurations rather than customizing each service individually.
2Adaptability or versatility
If each service uses its own data model and interfaces, then service independence is maintained, but the difficulty of identifying runtime issues and maintaining system observability increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements centralized logging and monitoring systems that collect runtime information from all micro-services and provide feedback to administrators. Each service logs its operations, errors, and performance metrics to a centralized system that aggregates and analyzes this data. This feedback mechanism allows administrators to identify runtime issues across the distributed system by viewing consolidated logs and metrics rather than investigating each service separately.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a service mesh or gateway layer that acts as an intermediary for inter-service communication. This mediator standardizes interaction patterns between services with different data models and interfaces, providing a unified protocol for service-to-service communication. By routing all service interactions through this standardized intermediary, the system maintains observability of data flow and interaction patterns even though individual services retain their own data models.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the number of services increases, then functional capabilities expand, but the administrative burden and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the administration of micro-services into distinct, manageable domains using service templates and configuration files. Each service is defined by a template that separates concerns into: service identity (name, version), technical configuration (resources, networking), operational parameters (scaling, monitoring), and interface definitions. This segmentation allows administrators to manage services by category and function rather than dealing with monolithic service definitions, reducing the cognitive burden as service numbers increase.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs service templates that pre-define common configurations, deployment parameters, and operational settings for categories of services. Administrators create a template once with standardized settings for a class of services (e.g., web servers, databases, message queues), and then instantiate multiple services from this template. This preliminary action of template creation eliminates the need to manually configure each service individually, significantly reducing administrative burden as the number of services scales.
Data Source
AI summary
One or more embodiments provide techniques for processing a request for generating a network diagram for a multi-tier application to be deployed on a cloud computing environment. A deployment director receives a request to deploy the multi-tier application to the cloud computing environment. Deployment director receives an application blueprint of the multi-tier application from an application director. The application blueprint includes logical attributes and logical connections of each component. Deployment director receives an identification of the cloud computing environment. Deployment director generates a network diagram compatible with the cloud computing environment based on at least the application blueprint. The network diagram illustrates physical network structure of the cloud computing environment. Deployment director displays the network diagram.