Orchestration engine for real-time configuration and management of interconnections within a cloud-based services exchange

• US 10,129,078 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2015
• Issued: 11/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Equinix Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Equinix Incorporated
• Inventors: Kumar, Parveen, Rangasamy, Venkatachalam, Jeyapaul, Jaganathan, Lillie, Brian J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Baturay, Alicia
• Application Number:
  US14/927,306
• Publication Number:
  US 20160127254A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,111 Days
• Field of Search: 709227
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/30 Creation or generation of source code
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/70 Software maintenance or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5072 Grid computing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 Configuration setting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/20 Network management software packages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 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 Class Codes: H04L 67/567 Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers

Abstract

In some examples, a cloud-based services exchange comprises a plurality of interconnection assets configured to connect at least one customer of the cloud-based services exchange to a plurality of cloud service providers; and an orchestration engine configured to modify the plurality of interconnection assets by receiving an indication of a client request for cloud exchange services offered by the cloud-based services exchange; selecting a workflow for providing the cloud exchange services, wherein the workflow specifies a set of tasks to be performed to fulfill the client request for the cloud exchange services; call one or more microservices to perform the tasks of the set of tasks as specified by the selected workflow; consolidate responses received from the microservices after performing the tasks; and send a response to the client request for the cloud exchange services based on the consolidated responses.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

by an orchestration engine of a cloud-based services exchange comprising a plurality of physical interconnection assets configured to connect, through a switching fabric of the cloud-based services exchange, a customer network coupled to the switching fabric to a plurality of cloud service provider networks coupled to the switching fabric and co-located in a data center that includes the cloud-based service exchange, receiving an indication of a client request to provision, within the cloud-based services exchange, a virtual circuit for exchanging cloud service data between the customer network located in the cloud-based services exchange and a cloud service provider network of the plurality of cloud service provider networks;

by the orchestration engine, selecting a workflow for provisioning the virtual circuit, wherein the workflow specifies a set of tasks to be performed to provision the virtual circuit,

wherein the workflow for provisioning the virtual circuit specifies a set of tasks comprising;

(i) obtaining port details by a first microservice and (ii) modifying the plurality of physical interconnection assets by creating the virtual circuit based on the port details by a second microservice;

by the orchestration engine, calling the first and second microservices to perform the tasks of the set of tasks as specified by the selected workflow;

by the orchestration engine, consolidating responses received from the first and second microservices after performing the tasks; and

by the orchestration engine, sending a response to the client request to provision the virtual circuit based on the consolidated responses.

2. The method of claim 1,

wherein the set of tasks further comprises (iii) obtaining metro details by a third microservice, and wherein creating the virtual circuit comprises creating the virtual circuit based on the port details and the metro details.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising distributing, by the orchestration engine, tasks of the set of tasks across a plurality of workflow runner threads to access the first and second microservices to perform the tasks.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising executing the orchestration engine on one or more management devices, wherein the data center includes respective ports by which a plurality of networks connect to the data center, each of the networks having a different network address space and associated with a different one of a plurality of customers or cloud service providers.

5. The method of claim 1,

wherein each microservice of the first and second microservices comprises a corresponding application programming interface reachable via an endpoint, and

wherein calling the first and second microservices comprises sending, by the orchestration engine, application data to the endpoints for the microservices.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein sending the application data comprises sending the application data encoded using one of eXtensible Markup Language and JavaScript Object Notation.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual circuit comprises one of an end-to-end layer 3 path and an Ethernet Virtual Circuit.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

by the orchestration engine, in response to determining the first microservice of the one or more microservices has failed to fulfill a request sent by the orchestration engine, determining whether to retry the request with the first microservice;

by the orchestration engine, in response to determining to retry the request with the first microservice, sending the request to the first microservice; and

by the orchestration engine, in response to determining not to retry the request with the first microservice, identifying a third microservice of the one or more microservices to execute the request and sending the request to the third microservice.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the orchestration engine receives the indication of the client request via a software interface reachable by a plurality of networks located in the cloud-based services exchange and associated with respective customers.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the workflow comprises, by the orchestration engine, determining a client that issued the client request and selecting the workflow based on a profile associated with the client.

11. A method comprising:

by an orchestration engine of a cloud-based services exchange, receiving an indication of a client request to provision, within the cloud-based services exchange, a virtual circuit for exchanging cloud service data between a customer network located in the cloud-based services exchange and a cloud service provider network located in the cloud-based services exchange;

by the orchestration engine, selecting a workflow for provisioning the virtual circuit, wherein the workflow specifies a set of tasks to be performed to provision the virtual circuit;

by the orchestration engine, call one or more microservices to perform the tasks of the set of tasks as specified by the selected workflow,

wherein provisioning the virtual circuit comprises, by the orchestration engine;

invoking a first microservice of the microservices to validate a cloud service provider for the cloud service provider network identified in the indication;

invoking a second microservice of the microservices to validate a first port of the cloud-based services exchange for the customer network and a second port of the cloud-based services exchange for the cloud service provider network; and

invoking a third microservice of the microservices to configure the cloud-based services exchange to create the virtual circuit between the first port of the cloud-based services exchange and the second port of the cloud-based services exchange;

by the orchestration engine, consolidate responses received from the first, second, and third microservices after performing the tasks; and

by the orchestration engine, send a response to the client request to provision the virtual circuit based on the consolidated responses.

12. A method comprising:

by an orchestration engine of a cloud-based services exchange, receiving an indication of a client request to view a virtual circuit in the cloud-based services exchange for exchanging cloud service data between a customer network located in the cloud-based services exchange and a cloud service provider network located in the cloud-based services exchange;

by the orchestration engine, selecting a workflow for viewing the virtual circuit, wherein the workflow specifies a set of tasks to be performed to satisfy the client request to view the virtual circuit;

by the orchestration engine, call one or more microservices to perform the tasks of the set of tasks as specified by the selected workflow,

wherein satisfying the client request to view the virtual circuit comprises, by the orchestration engine;

invoking a first microservice of the microservices to validate a virtual circuit request parameter identified in the indication;

invoking a second microservice of the microservices to query the virtual circuit to obtain data describing the virtual circuit;

receiving the data describing the virtual circuit from the second microservice;

by the orchestration engine, consolidate responses received from the first and second microservices after performing the tasks; and

by the orchestration engine, output a response to the client request to view the virtual circuit based on the consolidated responses,

wherein the response to the client request includes the data describing the virtual circuit.

13. A cloud-based services exchange comprising:

a plurality of physical interconnection assets configured to connect, through a switching fabric of the cloud-based services exchange, at least one customer network coupled to the switching fabric to a plurality of cloud service provider networks coupled to the switching fabric and co-located in a data center that includes the cloud-based service exchange; and

an orchestration engine configured to;

receive an indication of a client request to provision, within the cloud-based services exchange, a virtual circuit for exchanging cloud service data between the customer network and one of the plurality of cloud service provider networks;

select a workflow for provisioning the virtual circuit, wherein the workflow specifies a set of tasks to be performed to provision the virtual circuit,

wherein the workflow for provisioning the virtual circuit specifies a set of tasks comprising;

(i) obtaining port details by a first microservice and (ii) modifying the plurality of physical interconnection assets by creating the virtual circuit based on the port details by a second microservice;

call the first and second microservices to perform the tasks of the set of tasks as specified by the selected workflow;

consolidate responses received from the first and second microservices after performing the tasks; and

send a response to the client request to provision the virtual circuit based on the consolidated responses.

14. The cloud-based service exchange of claim 13,

wherein the set of tasks further comprises (iii) obtaining metro details by a third microservice, and wherein creating the virtual circuit comprises creating the virtual circuit based on the port details and the metro details.

15. The cloud-based service exchange of claim 13, wherein the orchestration engine is configured to distribute tasks of the set of tasks across a plurality of workflow runner threads to access the first and second microservices to perform the tasks.

16. The cloud-based service exchange of claim 13,

wherein the orchestration engine is configured to execute on one or more management devices, and

wherein the data center includes respective ports by which a plurality of networks connect to the data center, each of the networks having a different network address space and associated with a different one of a plurality of customers or cloud service providers.

17. The cloud-based service exchange of claim 13,

wherein each microservice of the first and second microservices comprises a corresponding application programming interface reachable via an endpoint, and

wherein to call the first and second microservices the orchestration engine is configured to send application data to the endpoints for the microservices.

18. The cloud-based service exchange of claim 13,

wherein to provision the virtual circuit the orchestration engine is configured to:

invoke a third microservice to validate a cloud service provider for the cloud service provider network identified in the indication;

invoke a microservice to validate a first port of the cloud-based services exchange for the customer network and a second port of the cloud-based services exchange for the cloud service provider network; and

invoke the second microservice to configure the cloud-based services exchange to create the virtual circuit between the first port of the cloud-based services exchange and the second port of the cloud-based services exchange.

19. The cloud-based services exchange of claim 13, wherein the virtual circuit comprises one of an end-to-end layer 3 path and an Ethernet Virtual Circuit.

20. A cloud-based services exchange comprising:

a physical network data center that includes respective ports of a switching fabric of the cloud-based services exchange to which a plurality of networks connect, each of the networks having a different network address space and associated with a different one of a plurality of customers or cloud service providers;

a plurality of physical interconnection assets within the physical network data center and configured to connect, through the switching fabric, each of the networks associated with the plurality of customers of the cloud-based services exchange to one or more of the networks associated with the cloud service providers, the plurality of interconnection assets including a respective set of one or more virtual circuits for each of the networks associated with the plurality of customers and providing network connectivity within the physical network data center to enable access by the networks associated with the plurality of customers to cloud services executing from within the networks associated with the plurality of cloud service providers; and

an interconnection platform configured for execution by one or more management devices, the interconnection platform comprising;

an orchestration engine configured to execute at least one workflow that causes the orchestration engine to invoke a plurality of microservices to manage the virtual circuits; and

a software interface reachable by the networks associated with the plurality of customers and configured to, in response to receiving a client request to provision, within the cloud-based services exchange, a virtual circuit for exchanging cloud service data between a customer network and one of the plurality of cloud service provider networks, direct the orchestration engine to select a workflow for provisioning the virtual circuit, wherein the workflow specifies a set of tasks to be performed to provision the virtual circuit, wherein each task of the set of tasks invokes one of the plurality of microservices, and provision the virtual circuit based on the selected workflow.