Tenant Overlay Routing with Centralized Control Plane Scaling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional overlay networks face challenges in scaling and managing routing tables, route calculations, and securing per-tenant routing information, leading to inefficient operational costs and burdensome management.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a distributed data plane for traffic forwarding and a centralized routing control plane to handle routing logic, using eXpress Data Path (XDP) and extended Berkeley Packet Filter (eBPF)-based programs to distribute routing decisions across tenants, allowing for efficient and secure routing path determination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional overlay networks are used for routing, then routing tables can be managed for each tenant, but the system does not scale well and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the routing system into two distinct planes: a centralized control plane that handles routing logic and route calculations, and a distributed data plane that handles traffic forwarding. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, improving scalability while reducing management complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a centralized control plane as an intermediary between tenants and the overlay network infrastructure. This control plane manages routing tables and performs route calculations centrally, acting as a mediator that simplifies tenant operations while enabling scalable routing across the network.
2Productivity
If routing logic is distributed across tenants, then operational costs increase, but if centralized, then routing decisions are more efficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts routing logic from individual tenant systems and consolidates it into a centralized control plane. This extraction eliminates redundant routing calculations across multiple tenant systems, improving routing decision efficiency while reducing total operational costs through centralized resource utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges routing logic from multiple distributed tenant systems into a single centralized control plane. This consolidation combines computational resources and routing intelligence, improving overall routing efficiency while reducing duplicate operations and operational costs.
3Reliability
If per-tenant routing information is stored locally, then security is simplified, but scalability and centralized control are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The centralized control plane acts as a secure intermediary that manages and protects per-tenant routing information. Tenants interact with the control plane through defined interfaces, allowing centralized security policies to be enforced while maintaining scalability. The control plane mediates between security requirements and scalability needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by maintaining tenant-specific routing information in a centralized location rather than distributing it locally. Each tenant's routing data is stored and managed centrally with appropriate access controls, providing both security through centralized management and scalability through the overlay network architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for multi-tenant overlays with per-tenant distributed routing are described herein. The techniques may include provisioning an overlay network such that tenants hosted by a forwarding plane of the overlay network are each configured to forward routing protocol packets to a routing control plane of the overlay network and the routing control plane of the overlay network is configured to determine routing paths between each tenant and respective destinations. A routing protocol packet may be sent to the routing control plane by a first tenant. The routing protocol packet may include an indication of a destination that is served by the first tenant. Based on receiving the routing protocol packet, the routing control plane may determine one or more routing paths between the tenants and the destination. Additionally, an indication of the routing path may be sent to the tenants.