SDN Rollback Control Unit for Process Inconsistency
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Solution Overview
Problem
In Software Defined Networks (SDN), there is no effective mechanism to prevent inconsistencies and contamination spread when a switch or controller process is compromised by malware, leading to potential network-wide damage.
Innovation Solution
A communication apparatus with a rollback control unit, storage unit, buffer, and timing control unit that creates a secondary process to roll back the primary process, ensuring event buffering and state sharing to prevent inconsistencies and contamination spread.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rollback mechanism is implemented to revert a compromised process, then security and reliability are improved, but process inconsistency and event loss occur during the rollback transition
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a standby process in advance that mirrors the main process state. When rollback is needed, the standby process is promoted to replace the compromised main process, eliminating the need for complex in-progress rollbacks and preventing event loss or order reversal.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a standby process that copies the main process state, including flow tables, buffer memory, and other runtime data. This copy enables seamless takeover during rollback without losing any events or causing inconsistencies in the network state.
2Speed
If real-time process switching is performed during event processing, then response speed is improved, but event loss and order reversal occur
Solution Approach 1:
The standby process is prepared in advance with identical state to the main process, including all flow tables and buffer memory contents. This preliminary preparation allows instantaneous promotion without interrupting ongoing event processing, achieving fast response while preventing event loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The standby process maintains a complete copy of the main process state including buffer memory. When promotion occurs, the standby process inherits all buffered events and maintains their original order, preventing event loss or order reversal while enabling rapid failover.
3Reliability
If flow tables are copied during active processing, then rollback capability is improved, but processing time and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The standby process is created and maintained in advance with continuous updates of flow tables and buffer memory. This ongoing maintenance is performed efficiently without blocking the main process, so when rollback is triggered, the standby process is already ready for immediate promotion with minimal time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow tables and buffer memory are copied to the standby process continuously in the background. This asynchronous copying avoids blocking the main processing path, maintaining high processing throughput while ensuring the standby process has complete state information for reliable rollback.
Data Source
AI summary
A communication apparatus comprises a rollback control unit to create a second process to roll back a currently working first process thereto; a storage to store states shared by the first and the second processes, the second process taking over a state(s) stored in the storage unit; a buffer; and a timing control unit that controls of timing of rollback. The rollback control unit starts event buffering to store in the buffer all of an event(s) received during when the first process is processing and destined to the first process, and upon completion of the processing of the event by the first process, the rollback control unit performs switching of a working process from the first process to the second process, sends the event(s) stored therein from start of the event buffering to the second process and stop event buffering.