Event generation in response to validation between logical level and hardware level

• US 10,528,444 B2
• Filed: 07/28/2017
• Issued: 01/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Harneja, Sanchay, Yadav, Navneet, Sundaresan, Sanjay, Jagannati, Harsha, Venkatesan, Ramadoss
• Primary Examiner(s): Manoskey, Joseph D
• Application Number:
  US15/663,594
• Publication Number:
  US 20180365121A1
• Time in Patent Office: 893 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0709 in a distributed system consisting of a plurality of standalone computer nodes, e.g. clusters, client-server systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0766 Error or fault reporting or storing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2289 by configuration test
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2365 Ensuring data consistency and integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0866 Checking the configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/145 involving simulating, designing, planning or modelling of a network

Abstract

Disclosed are systems, methods, and computer-readable media for assuring tenant forwarding in a network environment. Network assurance can be determined in layer 1, layer 2 and layer 3 of the networked environment including, internal-internal (e.g., inter-fabric) forwarding and internal-external (e.g., outside the fabric) forwarding in the networked environment. The network assurance can be performed using logical configurations, software configurations and/or hardware configurations.

Claims

1. A system for performing a network assurance check of proper deployment of a configuration in a fabric, comprising:

at least one memory configured to store data; and

at least one processor operable to execute instructions associated with the data, which when executed by the at least one processor, causes the processor to perform operations comprising;

receive, from a controller, a global logical model in a first format, the global logical model containing instructions on how endpoints connected to a fabric communicate within each other through one or more network devices within the fabric;

receive, from a network device within the fabric;

a software model being at least a subset of instructions from the global logical model in a second format executable on the network device, the subset of instructions being device specific instructions from the global logical model that are specific to operability of the network device, wherein the software model was created by the network device from a portion of the global logical model that is specific to how the network device communicates to the fabric; and

a hardware model of hardware configurations of the network device, wherein the hardware model was created by the network device from the software model;

validate accuracy of the received global logical model, the received software model and the received hardware model relative to each other; and

generate one or more events based on the validating.

2. The system of claim 1, the operations further comprising:

store prior configurations and corresponding effectiveness of the prior configurations;

identify any configuration in the received global logical model, the received software model and/or the received hardware model that is the same or similar to a stored prior configuration with a corresponding adverse effectiveness;

report potential flaws in the received global logical model, the received software model and/or the received hardware model in response to a positive result of the identifying.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more events include an informational event in response to no identified inconsistencies resulting from the validating.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more events include an error event in response to at least one identified inconsistency resulting from the validating.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the error event can have different levels of severity based on a severity of the at least one inconsistency.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the severity is based on which of the network devices had the inconsistency.

7. The system of claim 4, the operations further comprising independently validating, in response to an error event, secondary content within the received global logical model, the received software model and/or the received hardware model, the secondary content being related to original content for which the at least one inconsistency was generated.

8. At least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions, which when executed by a processor causes the processor to perform operations comprising:

receive, from a controller, a global logical model in a first format, the global logical model containing instructions on how endpoints connected to a network fabric communicate within each other through one or more network devices within the fabric;

receive, from a network device within the fabric;

a software model being at least a subset of instructions from the global logical model in a second format executable on the network device, the subset of instructions being device specific instructions from the global logical model that are specific to operability of the network device, wherein the software model was created by the network device from a portion of the global logical model that is specific to how the network device communicates to the fabric; and

a hardware model of hardware configurations of the network device, wherein the hardware model was created by the network device from the software model;

validate accuracy of the received global logical model, the received software model and the received hardware model relative to each other; and

generate one or more events based on the validating.

9. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, the operations further comprising:

store prior configurations and corresponding effectiveness of the prior configurations;

identify any configuration in the received global logical model, the received software model and/or the received hardware model that is the same or similar to a stored prior configuration with a corresponding adverse effectiveness;

report potential flaws in the received global logical model, the received software model and/or the received hardware model in response to a positive result of the identifying.

10. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the one or more events include an informational event in response to no identified inconsistencies resulting from the validating.

11. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the one or more events include an error event in response to at least one identified inconsistency resulting from the validating.

12. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein the error event can have different levels of severity based on a severity of the at least one inconsistency.

13. The at least one non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, the operations further comprising independently validating, in response to an error event, secondary content within the received global logical model, the received software model and/or the received hardware model, the secondary content being related to original content for which the at least one inconsistency was generated.

14. A method for performing a network assurance check of proper deployment of a configuration in a fabric, comprising:

receiving, from a controller, a global logical model in a first format, the global logical model containing instructions on how endpoints connected to a network fabric communicate within each other through one or more network devices within the fabric;

receiving, a network device within the fabric;

a software model being at least a subset of instructions from the global logical model in a second format executable on the network device, the subset of instructions being device specific instructions from the global logical model that are specific to operability of the network device, wherein the software model was created by the network device from a portion of the global logical model that is specific to how the network device communicates to the fabric; and

a hardware model of hardware configurations of the network device, wherein the hardware model was created by the network device from the software model;

validating accuracy of the received global logical model, the received software model and/or the received hardware model relative to each other; and

generating one or more events based on the validating.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

storing prior configurations and corresponding effectiveness of the prior configurations;

identifying any configuration in the received global logical model, the received software model and/or the receiving hardware model that is the same or similar to a stored prior configuration with a corresponding adverse effectiveness;

reporting potential flaws in the received global logical model, the received software model and/or the receiving hardware model in response to a positive result of the identifying.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more events include an informational event in response to no identified inconsistencies resulting from the validating.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more events include an error event in response to at least one identified inconsistency resulting from the validating.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the error event can have different levels of severity based on a severity of the at least one inconsistency.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the severity is based on which of the network devices had the inconsistency.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising independently validating, in response to an error event, secondary content within the received global logical model, the received software model and/or the receiving hardware model, the secondary content being related to original content for which the at least one inconsistency was generated.