Virtual Edge Router Migration for Network Capacity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Provider networks face challenges in efficiently managing and scaling network resources to support growing customer bases with varying traffic needs due to limitations in edge routers, such as memory constraints and traffic handling capacity, leading to difficulties in provisioning network resources and maintaining connectivity.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves partitioning networking resources into independent edge resource groups (ERGs), allowing each ERG to manage a subset of isolated virtual networks, reducing the need for routing metadata replication and enabling intelligent resource assignment based on traffic volumes, and implementing a graceful migration protocol to adjust ERGs as traffic demands change.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If edge routers support more IVNs and traffic, then network capacity and customer base grow, but memory constraints and traffic handling capacity are exceeded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the monolithic edge router into multiple virtual edge routers (vERs), each capable of independently handling routing for a subset of IVNs. This segmentation allows the system to support more IVNs by distributing routing metadata across multiple vERs, thereby overcoming the memory constraints of a single edge router while maintaining scalable network capacity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a single edge router handles all IVN traffic, then device complexity is minimized, but resource utilization becomes unbalanced and scalability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual edge routers that can be dynamically assigned to handle different IVNs based on traffic demands. Each vER is designed with universal functionality to handle routing for any IVN subset, allowing the system to scale adaptively. The controller can reassign IVNs between vERs as needs change, providing both scalability and flexible resource utilization without permanently increasing physical device complexity.
3Reliability
If routing metadata is replicated across all edge routers, then connectivity is maintained, but memory usage increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by having each virtual edge router store only the routing metadata necessary for the specific IVNs it handles, rather than replicating all routing metadata across all routers. This selective storage approach maintains connectivity reliability for each IVN while significantly reducing overall memory usage in the system.
4Productivity
If edge routers are provisioned with high capacity, then traffic handling capacity is sufficient, but resource utilization becomes inefficient during low traffic periods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic resource allocation where the controller can reassign IVNs between virtual edge routers based on real-time traffic demands. When traffic patterns change, the system dynamically adjusts which vER handles which IVNs, ensuring that routing capacity is efficiently utilized during both high and low traffic periods while maintaining sufficient handling capacity through the pool of available vERs.
Data Source
AI summary
A connectivity manager (CM) of a provider network selects, from a plurality of ERGs (edge resource groups), a particular ERG comprising an edge router and a network marker translation agent to be used for routing traffic between a resource collection of a VCS (virtual computing service) and a client network. The CM detects a condition that triggers the selection of a second ERG to be used for at least a subset of the resource collection's traffic, and initiates a set of configuration changes to enable the use of the second ERG for connectivity between the first resource collection and the client network.