Virtualized Service Device Offloading for Secure Network Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing computing systems face challenges in consistently managing virtual machines across different software versions and securely interacting with network-based services, leading to complexity and inefficiency, particularly in maintaining compatibility and ensuring privacy and security.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of virtualized service devices within a client computing device, backed by a secure compute layer, allows for direct interaction with network-accessible services using standardized system calls, reducing the need for internal processing and encryption, and enabling secure, modular access to network services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If virtual machines are managed with different software versions by different administrators, then privacy and security are enhanced through isolation, but system consistency and compatibility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a service gateway as an intermediary component that mediates between virtual machines with different software versions and external services. The gateway handles protocol translation, authentication, and service routing, allowing virtual machines to interact with services without direct exposure. This maintains security isolation while ensuring compatibility across different software versions through standardized interface mediation.
2Reliability
If virtual machines are isolated as black boxes, then privacy and security are improved, but operational consistency and service management become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the virtual machine architecture into distinct functional components: the isolated virtual machine environment (black box), the service gateway (management interface), and the external services. This segmentation allows the virtual machines to maintain their security isolation while the gateway provides standardized management capabilities. The gateway exposes controlled interfaces for service registration, discovery, and management without compromising the virtual machine isolation boundaries.
3Ease of operation
If direct network service interactions are implemented in client devices, then service access is simplified, but security risks and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex security processing and service management functionality from the client device into a separate service gateway component. The client device is simplified to only handle basic service access requests, while the gateway assumes responsibility for authentication, encryption, protocol translation, and service coordination. This extraction reduces client device complexity while maintaining simplified service access through the gateway's standardized interface.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for handling file operations from a hosted computing instance via a secure compute layer. The secure compute layer is presented to the instance as a virtualized service device that is locally addressable by the instance. Software within the instance can submit file operations to the virtualized service device, which the secure compute layer can translate into calls to a network-accessible storage service. Results from the calls can then be passed back to the instance through the virtualized service device. As a result, the instance can communicate with a variety of different network services, without itself implementing network communications for those services.