Coordinated Virtual Machine Firewall Migration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hosting systems lack efficient coordination of firewalls for virtual machines across multiple host nodes, leading to vulnerabilities in unauthorized access and infection spread, as prior-art firewalls do not effectively manage security policies and connection data when virtual machines are moved between nodes.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a coordinated firewall system with a virtual network firewall on each host node that enforces security policies and manages connection data, using a firewall coordinator to ensure seamless policy and data transfer when virtual machines are moved, and employing intra-node firewalls to manage packets between virtual machines on the same host node.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If firewalls are implemented on each host node to protect virtual machines, then security against unauthorized access and infection spread is improved, but coordination complexity and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a firewall coordinator as an intermediary component that manages and coordinates firewalls across multiple host nodes. The coordinator maintains a centralized connection table that tracks all virtual machine connections, and when a virtual machine moves between host nodes, the coordinator automatically updates the connection table and redirects firewall rules without requiring manual reconfiguration. This intermediary resolves the coordination complexity by centralizing control while maintaining distributed firewall enforcement.
2Reliability
If firewalls store connection data for all virtual machines, then security coverage is improved, but memory usage and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the connection data storage into a single centralized connection table maintained by the firewall coordinator rather than duplicating connection tables on each host node's firewall. This centralization allows all firewalls to share the same connection data through the coordinator, providing comprehensive security coverage while eliminating redundant memory consumption across multiple nodes. The connection table is updated centrally and distributed only when necessary.
3Reliability
If firewalls are moved along with virtual machines between host nodes, then security continuity is improved, but the complexity of managing firewall policies increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-configuring the firewall coordinator to automatically handle firewall rule updates before a virtual machine completes its migration. When the coordinator detects a virtual machine move, it proactively updates the connection table and redistributes relevant firewall rules to the new host node before the virtual machine becomes active there. This ensures security continuity without requiring complex real-time policy management during the migration process.
4Reliability
If connection tables are maintained on each host node, then local security enforcement is improved, but data synchronization and coordination overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The firewall coordinator acts as an intermediary that maintains the master connection table and manages synchronization with host node firewalls. Instead of requiring continuous peer-to-peer synchronization between multiple firewalls, the coordinator centralizes connection data management and distributes updates only when changes occur. This reduces coordination overhead by eliminating redundant synchronization operations while maintaining local security enforcement capability at each host node.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of providing a firewall to protect a set of virtual machines on a host node that is one of multiple host nodes that host virtual machines. The method stores a table of allowed connections for each virtual machine on the host node. Upon a particular virtual machine moving from the host node to another host node, the method deletes records of a first set of allowed connections that each identify the particular virtual machine and do not identify any other virtual machine in the set of virtual machines. Also upon the virtual machine moving, the method edits records of a second set of allowed connections, each identifying the particular machine and one other virtual machine in the set of virtual machines on the first host node, to remove an identifier of the particular virtual machine.