GUI for analysis of logical network modifications

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10587479-B2
Application number	US-201715477110-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 2, 2017
Priority date	Apr 2, 2017
Publication date	Mar 10, 2020
Grant date	Mar 10, 2020

Abstract

Some embodiments provide a method for an integrated network management and modification analysis system. At the integrated system, the method receives a proposed modification to configuration data for a logical network stored by the integrated system as a set of rules. Without implementing the proposed modification, the method analyzes changes to the rules that would occur based on the proposed modification. The method provides a graphical user interface (GUI) that indicates logical network entities affected by the proposed modification. In response to a command to implement the proposed modification, the method generates an updated set of rules at the integrated system and stores the updated set of rules for distribution to managed forwarding elements that implement the logical network.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method comprising:
at an integrated network management and modification analysis system, receiving a proposed modification to configuration data for a logical network stored by the integrated network management and modification analysis system as a set of rules, wherein the logical network comprises a plurality of logical network entities;
without implementing the proposed modification, analyzing changes to the set of rules that would occur based on the proposed modification;
providing, for display, a graphical user interface (GUI) that (i) indicates how many rules in the set of rules would be affected by the proposed modification and (ii) identifies which logical network entities of the plurality of logical network entities would be affected by the proposed modification; and
in response to a command received through the GUI to implement the proposed modification, generating an updated set of rules at the integrated network management and modification analysis system and storing the updated set of rules for distribution to managed forwarding elements that implement the logical network.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of rules comprises (i) forwarding rules and (ii) distributed firewall rules.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the logical network configuration data defines a set of logical forwarding elements that logically connect a set of data compute nodes (DCNs), wherein the logical network entities comprise the set of DCNs.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the set of DCNs operate on a set of physical host computers connected by a physical network, wherein at least a subset of the managed forwarding elements that implement the logical network operate on the physical host computers to implement the set of logical forwarding elements.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the logical network configuration data further comprises a set of distributed firewall rules, wherein the managed forwarding elements further implement the distributed firewall rules.

6. The method of claim 3 , wherein the logical network entities identified in the GUI as being affected by the proposed modification comprise (i) a set of applications and (ii) a subset of the set of DCNs, wherein each application operates on at least one DCN in the set of DCNs.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein when no command is received to implement the proposed modification, the updated set of rules is not stored by the integrated network management and modification analysis system for distribution to the managed forwarding elements.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing changes to the set of rules comprises:
identifying a new set of rules that would result from the proposed configuration data modification;
modeling a set of managed forwarding elements that implement the rules as a set of transfer functions based on the rules that each managed forwarding element implements; and
using the set of transfer functions to perform a set of checks to determine the logical network entities affected by the particular proposed modification.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein using the set of transfer functions comprises:
determining a network transfer function that models the set of managed forwarding elements collectively;
identifying sets of locations in the network between which data needs to be transmitted; and
using the network transfer function to perform the set of checks.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the set of checks comprises at least one of (i) identifying reachability problems and (ii) identifying loops introduced into the network.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the integrated network management and modification analysis system stores configuration data for a plurality of logical networks as a plurality of sets of rules, wherein the logical network is a first logical network that comprises a first plurality of logical network entities, the set of rules is a first set of rules, the GUI is a first GUI, and the proposed modification is a first proposed modification that is received from a first user account that owns the first logical network, the method further comprising:
receiving a second proposed modification, from a second user account that owns a second logical network, to configuration data for the second logical network stored by the integrated network management and modification analysis system as a second set of rules, wherein the second logical network comprises a second plurality of logical network entities;
without implementing the second proposed modification, analyzing changes to the second set of rules that would occur based on the second proposed modification; and
providing, for display, a second GUI that (i) indicates how many rules in the second set of rules would be affected by the second proposed modification and (ii) identifies which logical network entities of the second plurality of logical network entities would be affected by the second proposed modification.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:
through the second GUI, receiving a command from the second user account to implement the second proposed modification; and
generating an updated second set of rules at the integrated network management and modification analysis system and storing the updated second set of rules for distribution to managed forwarding elements that implement the second logical network.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the managed forwarding elements that implement the first logical network and the managed forwarding elements that implement the second logical network have at least one managed forwarding element in common.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first user account and the second user account access the integrated network management and modification analysis system via different devices that send commands to a same interface.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing changes to the rules that would occur comprises identifying rules that do not affect processing of the managed forwarding elements implementing the logical network.

16. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing an integrated network management and modification analysis program for execution by at least one processing unit, the program comprising sets of instructions for:
receiving a proposed modification to configuration data for a logical network stored by the integrated network management and modification analysis program as a set of rules, wherein the logical network comprises a plurality of logical network entities;
without implementing the proposed modification, analyzing changes to the set of rules that would occur based on the proposed modification;
providing, for display, a graphical user interface (GUI) that (i) indicates how many rules in the set of rules would be affected by the proposed modification and (ii) identifies which logical network entities of the plurality of network entities would be affected by the proposed modification; and
in response to a command received through the GUI to implement the proposed modification, generating an updated set of rules at the integrated network management and modification analysis program and storing the updated set of rules for distribution to managed forwarding elements that implement the logical network.

17. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 16 , wherein:
the logical network configuration data defines a set of logical forwarding elements that logically connect a set of data compute nodes (DCNs);
the logical network entities comprise the set of DCNs;
the set of DCNs operate on a set of p

Assignees

• Nicira Inc

Inventors

• Shakimov Amre
• Zou Xuan Kelvin
• Thakkar Pankaj
• Ganichev Igor

Classifications

• H04L41/0866

  Checking the configuration · CPC title

• H04L41/22 Primary

  comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI] · CPC title

• H04L41/0813

  characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings · CPC title

• H04L41/0873

  Checking configuration conflicts between network elements · CPC title

• H04L41/08

  Configuration management of networks or network elements (address allocation H04L61/50) · CPC title