Centralized network control for a cloud-based services exchange

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016337175-A1
Application number	US-201615001862-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jan 20, 2016
Priority date	May 12, 2015
Publication date	Nov 17, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

In some examples, a method includes: providing, by a centralized network control (CNC) system, a software interface to receive service requests for configuration of services within an edge network of one or more network data centers that are controlled by the CNC system; receiving a service request to configure a service within the edge network; generating a service definition that specifies service requirements to implement the service; determining at least one network field unit that is capable of servicing the service request; and sending, to the at least one network field unit, the service definition to configure the service at the portion of the edge network.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method comprising:
providing, by a centralized network control (CNC) system, a software interface to receive service requests for configuration of services within an edge network of one or more network data centers that are controlled by the CNC system; receiving, by the CNC system and via the software interface, a service request to configure a service within the edge network of the network data center, wherein the edge network within the one or more network data centers connects through one or more switching fabrics of the one or more network data centers; generating, by the CNC system and based on the service request, a network service definition that specifies one or more service requirements to implement the service; determining, by the CNC system and based on the network service definition, at least one network field unit that is capable of servicing the service request, wherein the network field unit controls a portion of the edge network, wherein the network service definition is usable by the at least one network field unit to configure the portion of the edge network to provide the service; and sending, by the CNC system and to the at least one network field unit, the network service definition to configure at least one network service of the service at the portion of the edge network.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
monitoring, by the CNC system, performance data for the service that is received from the at least one network field unit; comparing, by the CNC system, the performance data with at least one of the service requirements and service telemetry and analytics data stored by the CNC system to determine whether the service requirements are satisfied by performance of the portion of the edge network; responsive to determining that the service requirements for the service are not satisfied, determining, by the CNC system, at least one remedial action to satisfy the service requirements for the service; and executing, by the CNC system, the at least one remedial action.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein executing the at least one remedial action comprises sending one or more instructions to the at least one network field unit to reconfigure at least the portion of the edge network or a different portion of the edge network.

4 . The method of any of claims 1 , wherein the one or more service requirements specify at least one of a type of service, a geographic location for the service, a bandwidth for the service, an indication whether the bandwidth is burstable, an Excess Information Rate (EIR), a maximum latency for the bandwidth, a minimum availability level of the service, a cloud service provider for the service, or one or more security properties for the service.

5 . The method of any of claims 1 , wherein the service comprises at least one of a layer-3 interconnection service, a firewall service, a data storage service, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) service, an analytics service, a network address translation service, or a deep-packet inspection service.

6 . The method of any of claims 1 , further comprising:
responsive to configuring the at least one network service of service at the portion of the edge network, storing, by the CNC system, billing information that indicates a fee for provisioning the service to a requestor of the service; and sending, by the CNC system, an indication of the billing information to the requestor of the service.

7 . The method of any of claims 1 ,
wherein the one or more network data centers are geographically dispersed, and wherein a plurality of network field units are geographically dispersed, respectively, with the one or more geographically dispersed network data centers, each of the plurality of network field units controlling a respective portion of the edge network.

8 . The method of any of claims 1 ,
wherein the service requirements of the service definition do not specify particular, physical devices of the edge network, and wherein the network service definition is usable by the at least one network field unit to configure the particular, physical devices of the edge network.

9 . The method of any of claims 1 , wherein the service is a first service, wherein sending the network service definition to configure the at least one network service of the first service at the portion of the edge network, further comprises:
configuring the edge network to aggregate first cloud service traffic originating from a first cloud service provider and second cloud service traffic originating from a second cloud service provider; and configuring the edge network to deliver the aggregated cloud service traffic.

10 . A centralized network control (CNC) system comprising:
one or more computer processors; and a memory comprising instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to:
provide a software interface to receive service requests for configuration of services within an edge network of one or more network data centers that are controlled by the CNC system;
receive, via the software interface, a service request to configure a service within the edge network of the network data center, wherein the edge network within the one or more network data centers connects through one or more switching fabrics of the one or more network data centers;
generate, based on the service request, a network service definition that specifies one or more service requirements to implement the service;
determine, based on the network service definition, at least one network field unit that is capable of servicing the service request, wherein the network field unit controls a portion of the edge network, wherein the network service definition is usable by the at least one network field unit to configure the portion of the edge network to provide the service; and
send, to the at least one network field unit, the network service definition to configure at least one network service of the service at the portion of the edge network.

11 . The CNC system of claim 10 , wherein the memory comprises instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to:
monitor performance data for the service that is received from the at least one network field unit; compare the performance data with at least one of the service requirements and service telemetry and analytics data stored by the CNC system to determine whether the service requirements are satisfied by performance of the portion of the edge network; responsive to determining that the service requirements for the service are not satisfied, determine at least one remedial action to satisfy the service requirements for the service; and execute the at least one remedial action.

12 . The CNC system of claim 11 , wherein executing the at least one remedial action comprises sending one or more instructions to the at least one network field unit to reconfigure at least the portion of the edge network or a different portion of the edge network.

13 . The CNC system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more service requirements specify at least one of a type of service, a geographic location for the service, a bandwidth for the service, an indication whether the bandwidth is burstable, an Excess Information Rate (EIR), a maximum latency for the bandwidth, a minimum availability level of the service, a cloud service provider for the service, or one or more security properties for the service.

14 . The CNC system of claim 10 , wherein the service comprises at least

Assignees

• Equinix Inc

Inventors

• Rao Ravindra Jn

Classifications

• H04L67/1097

  for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS] · CPC title

• H04L45/64

  using an overlay routing layer · CPC title

• H04L41/0806

  for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play · CPC title

• H04L41/0813

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

• H04L41/5025

  by proactively reacting to service quality change, e.g. by reconfiguration after service quality degradation or upgrade · CPC title