Network Digital Twin Validation for Disruption-Free Configuration Changes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Validating configuration changes in complex computer networks is challenging due to their intricate scale and interdependencies, making it difficult to ensure disruption-free deployment of updates.
Innovation Solution
Creating a digital twin (DT) of the network, comprising device-DTs and a network-DT, which mirrors the physical network, allowing for validation of changes in a sandbox environment without duplicating physical devices, using network management systems to manage and synchronize configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If physical network devices are duplicated to validate configuration changes, then validation accuracy is improved, but cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital twin - a virtual copy of the physical network device that replicates its behavior and characteristics. This digital replica allows configuration validation without needing physical duplicates, achieving validation accuracy while avoiding the complexity and cost of duplicating actual hardware devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The digital twin serves as an intermediary between the physical network device and the validation process. It receives configuration changes from the network management system, validates them in a sandbox environment, and provides feedback without directly affecting the physical device, thus enabling accurate validation without physical duplication.
2Measurement precision
If configuration changes are validated in production network, then real-world accuracy is improved, but risk of disruptions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary validation of configuration changes in the digital twin before applying them to the physical network. Configuration changes are first tested in the sandbox environment to identify potential issues, ensuring that only validated changes are deployed to production, thereby maintaining validation realism while eliminating disruption risks.
Solution Approach 2:
The digital twin acts as a cushioning layer that absorbs potential harmful effects of configuration errors before they reach the physical network. By validating changes beforehand in a safe virtual environment, the system prevents erroneous configurations from causing disruptions in the production network.
3Reliability
If physical sandbox environment is created for validation, then testing accuracy is improved, but cost and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of creating physical sandbox environments with actual network devices, the patent creates a virtual copy - the digital twin - that replicates the behavior of physical devices. This virtual replica provides the same testing accuracy as a physical sandbox would, but consumes significantly fewer resources by using software-based simulation rather than physical hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The digital twin provides a cost-effective alternative to expensive physical sandbox environments. The virtual replica can be quickly instantiated, used for validation, and discarded or updated as needed, eliminating the high cost and long provisioning time associated with physical sandbox deployment while maintaining testing accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are system, method, and computer program product aspects for generating a virtual replica of a physical network. An aspect operates by receiving, from a network management system (NMS), a request to generate a network digital twin (network-DT) instance corresponding to a physical network that includes a plurality of physical network devices, where the request includes link connectivity information corresponding to the physical network and a respective plurality of device characteristics corresponding to each of the plurality of physical network devices. A plurality of device digital twin (device-DT) instances are generated, each corresponding to a respective physical network device of the plurality of physical network devices, where each device-DT instance of the plurality of device-DT instances is generated based on the respective plurality of device characteristics corresponding to the respective physical network device. The network-DT instance is generated based on the plurality of device-DT instances and the link connectivity information.