Remote Network Virtualization Management via Cloud Hosting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional network virtualization management appliances face challenges with scalability, upgradability, and multi-tenancy, leading to security vulnerabilities and customer dissatisfaction.
Innovation Solution
Remote hosting of the management plane on a cloud platform, allowing for scalable and upgradable network management services, enabling multi-tenancy and reducing the need for multiple network appliances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a monolithic network appliance is deployed to manage network virtualization, then network management functions are provided, but scalability is limited and requires replacement or relocation to devices with more computing resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network management functions by separating the management plane from the data plane. The management plane is extracted and implemented as virtual machine instances that can be independently deployed, scaled, and upgraded on standard computing infrastructure, eliminating the need for monolithic network appliances and enabling horizontal scaling across multiple virtual machines.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a management plane that acts as an intermediary between the network control functions and the underlying infrastructure. This management plane can be remotely hosted and accessed, allowing network management operations to be performed without direct physical access to network devices, thereby simplifying scalability and deployment.
2Reliability
If network appliances are used for network virtualization management, then management functions are provided, but upgrading is difficult and administrators delay installation of updates resulting in security vulnerabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic upgradability by allowing the management plane virtual machine instances to be updated independently and on-demand. New versions of management software can be deployed as new virtual machine instances without disrupting existing operations, enabling continuous security updates and feature enhancements without the constraints of traditional appliance upgrade cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses virtual machine copying and cloning capabilities to facilitate easy upgrades. New versions of the management plane can be created as copies of existing virtual machines, tested independently, and then swapped into production without affecting the underlying network infrastructure, thereby eliminating upgrade difficulties and security delays.
3Reliability
If separate network appliances are installed on respective individual networks to provide multi-tenancy, then network isolation is achieved, but cost increases and resource utilization decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements multi-tenancy by designing the management plane to support multiple network tenants within a single deployed system. The virtual machine instances can be configured to serve multiple customers or departments simultaneously while maintaining logical isolation, thereby eliminating the need for separate physical appliances for each tenant and reducing overall infrastructure requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple network management functions and multiple tenant management capabilities into a single unified management plane deployment. By combining what would traditionally require separate appliances into one virtualized platform, the system achieves both network isolation for different tenants and reduced hardware requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are various approaches for remotely hosted management of network virtualization. In one approach, an administrative user at a client device is authenticated by a computing device for access to manage a network located remotely from the computing device. One or more commands are received from the client device to configure a software-defined networking rule for the network. The computing device communicates with one or more services on the network to implement the software-defined networking rule. A status of implementing the software-defined networking rule is reported to the client device.