Shadow Tenant Redundancy Architecture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing redundancy solutions in network components require reserving complete duplicate resources and often necessitate simultaneous communication with two active tenant instances, increasing complexity and resource consumption.
Innovation Solution
A tenant redundancy architecture is implemented using a shadow tenant that mimics the service tenant's functionality but remains hidden from the network until activated, allowing for efficient switching without the need for duplicate resources, thereby reducing complexity and resource usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If N+1 architecture is used to provide redundant resources, then reliability is improved, but device complexity and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a shadow tenant instance that copies the functionality of the service tenant instance but remains hidden from the network until activation. This allows redundancy without requiring complete duplicate resources to be actively maintained, reducing complexity while preserving reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The shadow tenant instance is created and configured in advance but remains dormant until a switch-over event occurs. This preliminary preparation ensures redundancy is available when needed without the ongoing complexity of maintaining active duplicate resources.
2Reliability
If N+1 architecture is used to provide redundant resources, then reliability is improved, but resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of maintaining complete duplicate resources in an active state, the patent uses a shadow tenant instance that shares underlying infrastructure resources with the service tenant instance. This reduces resource consumption while still providing redundancy capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The shadow tenant instance and service tenant instance share common infrastructure resources, merging their resource requirements rather than requiring separate complete sets of resources. This reduces overall resource consumption while maintaining redundancy.
3Reliability
If simultaneous communication with two active tenant instances is required, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cloud element manager as an intermediary that handles the switching between service tenant instance and shadow tenant instance. This mediator manages the complexity of redundancy operations without requiring the application to directly communicate with both instances simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The shadow tenant instance serves as a hidden copy that can be activated through a simple switch-over event, avoiding the need for complex simultaneous communication protocols with multiple active instances.
Data Source
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AI summary
Various embodiments provide a method and apparatus for providing a tenant redundancy architecture that does not require reserving a complete set of duplicate resources, pushing complexity into the application domain or require the application to communicate simultaneously with two active tenant instances. In particular, a shadow tenant is created that has the functionality of the service tenant but is hidden from the rest of the network until activated.