Remoting Application Servers via Virtual Network Functions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems face inefficiencies and security risks in accessing applications, with remote execution leading to network bottlenecks and potential malicious software threats, especially when resources are insufficient on user devices.
Innovation Solution
Implementing remote application access through remoting application servers that instantiate applications close to the user within a network, using software-defined networks and virtualized functions to manage performance and security, thereby executing applications in a virtual environment to optimize performance and protect local resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If applications are executed at remote servers in a cloud environment, then application access is enabled for users, but network efficiency deteriorates due to increased latency, jitter, and bandwidth constraints when traversing large networks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network into multiple virtual network functions (VNFs) that can be independently instantiated and positioned. By dividing the network path into manageable segments with intermediate VNFs, the system can optimize each segment locally while maintaining overall connectivity, thereby reducing latency and improving network efficiency for remote application access.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces virtualization as an additional dimension to network architecture, allowing applications to be instantiated as virtual network functions rather than physical servers. This virtual dimension enables flexible positioning of applications closer to users through software-defined networks, decoupling physical distance from network latency and improving accessibility without sacrificing performance.
2Loss of energy
If applications are downloaded onto local computer systems, then network bandwidth is conserved, but security risks increase due to potential malicious software in downloaded content
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a virtualized network function as an intermediary between the remote application server and the user's local system. This intermediate VNF layer receives applications from the cloud, validates them against security policies, and only permits approved applications to be instantiated locally. This mediator approach maintains bandwidth efficiency while blocking malicious content before it reaches the user's device.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs disposable virtual network function instances that are created temporarily for each application execution and then destroyed afterward. These short-lived VNF instances provide a secure, isolated environment for application execution without persisting on the user's system, thereby eliminating long-term security risks associated with downloaded applications while maintaining efficient bandwidth usage.
3Ease of operation
If applications are downloaded onto local computer systems, then application execution is achieved, but local hardware resources are significantly taxed by hardware and resource intensive applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the application in the form of a virtual network function that runs on remote infrastructure rather than requiring the full application to be downloaded and executed locally. Users can access and interact with the virtual copy through the network without the computational burden of running resource-intensive applications on their local hardware, thereby maintaining ease of operation while dramatically reducing local resource consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical approach of downloading and executing applications directly on local hardware with a virtualized system where applications are instantiated as software-defined network functions. This substitution moves the computational workload from the user's local machine to remote virtualized infrastructure, eliminating the need for users to have powerful hardware while maintaining full application functionality through network access.
4Productivity
If applications require certain versions or settings of execution software, then optimal application execution is achieved, but system complexity increases when required software is not installed locally
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal virtualized platform that can execute multiple application versions and configurations through a single interface. The virtual network function layer provides multi-functionality by abstracting away the underlying hardware and software differences, allowing applications to be executed with their required specific versions and settings without requiring users to install or manage these dependencies locally. This universal layer handles all versioning and configuration complexity automatically.
Data Source
AI summary
Novel tools and techniques might provide for implementing remote application access, and, in some cases, by instantiating an application or service close to the intended recipient or user of the application or service, from a networking perspective. A network might provide connectivity between a first computer and a second computer. A file (comprising an application and data) might be transmitted, over the network, from the first computer. A node in the network, which might be on a path between the first and second computers, might determine that the file contains the application and the data, and, based on such determination, might capture the file (before the second computer can receive it). An instance of the application might be instantiated on a compute surface in the network as a service for the second computer, such that the compute surface can operate on the data with the instance of the application.