Transit Gateway Routing Rules for Cloud Policy Enforcement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing complex routing and forwarding information in large-scale cloud networks with diverse and dynamically changing resources is challenging due to the difficulty in controlling and enforcing network policies across various routing information sources, leading to issues like stale route advertisements and security vulnerabilities.
Innovation Solution
Implementing match-and-mutate rules (MMRs) to simplify the administration of routing information bases (RIBs) and forwarding information bases (FIBs) at transit gateways (TGWs) using programmable interfaces, allowing administrators to define policies for modifying RIB and FIB entries based on specified criteria, ensuring centralized control and policy enforcement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional routing information sources are used in cloud networks, then network connectivity and flexibility are improved, but control and enforcement of network policies becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a Transit Gateway as an intermediary component that sits between multiple routing information sources and the cloud network. This Transit Gateway receives routing information from various sources (VPCs, on-premises networks, other cloud networks) and applies centralized policy enforcement through match-and-mutate rules. The intermediary structure allows diverse connectivity while maintaining centralized control, resolving the contradiction between network flexibility and policy enforceability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple routing information sources are integrated, then network versatility is improved, but stale route advertisements and security vulnerabilities increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements match-and-mutate rules that are applied in advance to routing information before it is propagated across the network. These rules pre-validate and modify routing entries to ensure they meet security and accuracy requirements. By performing preliminary actions on routing information from multiple sources, the system maintains network versatility while preventing stale and vulnerable routes from being distributed, thus resolving the reliability concern.
3Reliability
If complex routing policies are enforced manually, then security is improved, but administrative complexity and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service mechanism where the Transit Gateway automatically applies match-and-mutate rules to routing information without requiring manual intervention for each routing decision. The system autonomously evaluates routing entries against predefined policies, automatically accepting, modifying, or rejecting routes based on security requirements. This automation maintains high security standards while dramatically reducing administrative time and complexity, resolving the contradiction between security and efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Routing metadata, to be used at a transit gateway to transmit packets among a plurality of networks, is obtained from several routing information sources at a route processing node of a connectivity service. The node applies a rule to a subset of the metadata to generate at least a portion of a routing information base, with the first rule indicating a matching criterion for selecting the subset, as well as a mutation to be implemented with respect to the subset. A packet forwarding node of the connectivity service obtains at least a portion of a forwarding information base (FIB) generated by the node from the RIB, and transmits a data packet received at the transit gateway to a next hop destination indicated in the FIB.