Test Controller Secure Tunneling for Commodity Hardware
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing use of commodity hardware and cloud-based services in new network environments makes it costly and cumbersome for network service providers to build dedicated systems for testing, necessitating a method to test networks using standardized and cheap hardware while maintaining security and control over test components.
Innovation Solution
A virtual test platform (VTP) utilizing Linux and Docker to host tests in Docker containers, employing a two-stage secure communication protocol with authentication and authorization to ensure only authorized users can run licensed test applications, and using a phone home service for secure tunnel setup and key management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If dedicated test systems are built using standardized and cheap hardware, then cost is reduced, but security and control over test components deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into distinct components: a test controller that manages test applications and a test platform that executes them. This segmentation allows the test platform to use inexpensive commodity hardware while the test controller maintains security through centralized management and authentication mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
A phone home service acts as an intermediary between the test platform and external services. This intermediary establishes secure tunnels and manages authentication, enabling the use of cheap hardware while maintaining security through centralized control and encrypted communication channels.
2Device complexity
If commodity hardware is used for testing, then device complexity is reduced, but control over test applications deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The test controller is designed as a universal management system that can control multiple test applications and platforms. It provides centralized configuration, authentication, and management capabilities that work across different commodity hardware platforms, maintaining control without increasing hardware complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the test platform reports status and metrics to the test controller, which then adjusts configuration and management accordingly. This closed-loop control enables effective management of test applications on commodity hardware through software-based control rather than complex hardware.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of a test controller controlling a test platform to run test applications is provided, wherein an authenticated connection exists between the test platform and a phone home service through which secure tunnel information for the test controller has been obtained. The method including the test controller (i) transmitting an instruction to the test platform over an initiated first secure tunnel between the test platform and the test controller, and (ii) controlling the test platform to perform a requested test using the test application using an established second secure tunnel between (a) the test platform and (b) the test controller.