FEDERATED, POLICY-DRIVEN SERVICE MESHES FOR DISTRIBUTED SOFTWARE SYSTEMS

• US 20130103837A1
• Filed: 10/25/2011
• Published: 04/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ViaSat Incorporated
• Original Assignee: LonoCloud, Inc. (ViaSat Incorporated)
• Inventors: Krueger, Ingolf Heiko
• Granted Patent: US 9,519,520 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5072 Grid computing

Abstract

Platforms, systems, software, and methods for deploying and maintaining distributed computing, networking and storage comprising a configuration of dedicated service meshes. The invention further comprising a module for dynamically managing physical nodes; a module for dynamically managing nodes on physical nodes; a module for dynamically managing services/workers on nodes; a module for governing communication within the system and with the system; a plurality of communication endpoints; a plurality of services, wherein each service is associated with one or more endpoints, wherein services communicate by message exchange via their endpoints; a module for grouping nodes into clusters; a module for grouping endpoints into meshes such that all member services of a mesh can be addressed as a whole or as pertinent subsets thereof; and a module for dynamically effecting topology changes.

Claims

1. A distributed computing platform comprising:

a plurality of cloud-infrastructures and software for the creation, implementation, operation, and maintenance of a policy-based, federated network of said cloud-infrastructures for the deployment of applications across multiple independent data centers, cloud providers, or other physical nodes.

2. Computer readable media encoded with a computer program including instructions executable to create a distributed, federated computing software platform, wherein the platform comprises:

a. a software module for dynamically managing physical nodes;

b. a software module for dynamically managing nodes on physical nodes;

c. a software module for dynamically managing services/workers on nodes;

d. a software module for governing communication within the system and with the system;

e. a plurality of communication endpoints;

f. a plurality of services, wherein each service is associated with one or more endpoints, wherein services communicate by message exchange via their endpoints;

g. a software module for grouping nodes into clusters;

h. a software module for grouping endpoints into meshes such that all member services of a mesh can be addressed as a whole or as pertinent subsets thereof; and

i. a software module for dynamically effecting topology changes;

whereby the platform provides a configuration of policy-based, federated service meshes.

3. The media of claim 2, wherein one or more of said modules, or an integration of one or more of said modules, is policy-based and federated.

4. The media of claim 2, wherein the module for dynamically managing physical nodes offers management functions selected from the group consisting of:

allocating, creating, deploying, relocating, and destroying physical nodes.

5. The media of claim 2, wherein the module for dynamically managing nodes on physical nodes offers management functions selected from the group consisting of:

allocating, creating, deploying, relocating, and destroying nodes on physical nodes.

6. The media of claim 2, wherein the module for dynamically managing services/workers on nodes offers management functions selected from the group consisting of:

allocating, creating, deploying, relocating, and destroying services/workers on nodes.

7. The media of claim 2, wherein said platform further comprises a policy-based module for constraining communication among nodes to those that belong to the same cluster.

8. The media of claim 2, wherein said platform further comprises a policy-based module for governing communication among services/workers.

9. The media of claim 2, wherein the topology changes comprise changes in the associations between physical nodes, nodes, communication endpoints, services/workers, meshes, clusters, and combinations thereof.

10. The media of claim 2, wherein the platform distributes computing, networking, or storage across a plurality of cloud infrastructures.

11. The media of claim 2, wherein one or more physical nodes are stationary servers.

12. The media of claim 2, wherein one or more physical nodes are selected from the group consisting of:

mobile devices, computationally capable sensors, actuators, sensor/actuator combinations, cell phones, smart-phones, laptop computers, tablet computers, electronic control units, set-top boxes, and displays.

13. A method of responding to an external denial-of-service attack by means of a policy within the platform of claim 2 that compares message sources with predetermined white-lists of addresses, reprovisions fresh nodes to deal with additional incoming requests, and creates fresh instances of the entire topology only accessible by whitelisted request sources.

14. A distributed computing platform comprising:

a. at least one computing device; and

b. software, provided to the at least one computing device, for creating, implementing, operating, and maintaining a federated, policy-controlled system of communicating processes across a dynamic computation plane, said system comprising;

i. a module for dynamically managing physical nodes;

ii. a module for dynamically managing nodes on physical nodes;

iii. a module for dynamically managing services/workers on nodes;

iv. a module for governing communication within the system and with the system;

v. a plurality of communication endpoints;

vi. a plurality of services, wherein each service is associated with one or more endpoints, wherein services communicate by message exchange via their endpoints;

vii. a module for grouping nodes into clusters;

viii. a module for grouping endpoints into meshes such that all member services of a mesh can be addressed as a whole or as pertinent subsets thereof; and

ix. a module for dynamically effecting topology changes;

whereby the platform provides a configuration of policy-based, federated service meshes.

15. The platform of claim 14, wherein one or more of said modules, or an integration of one or more of said modules, is policy-based and federated.

16. The platform of claim 14, wherein the module for dynamically managing physical nodes offers management functions selected from the group consisting of:

allocating, creating, deploying, relocating, and destroying physical nodes.

17. The platform of claim 14, wherein the module for dynamically managing nodes on physical nodes offers management functions selected from the group consisting of:

allocating, creating, deploying, relocating, and destroying nodes on physical nodes.

18. The platform of claim 14, wherein the module for dynamically managing services/workers on nodes offers management functions selected from the group consisting of:

allocating, creating, deploying, relocating, and destroying services/workers on nodes.

19. The platform of claim 14, wherein said system further comprises a policy-based module for constraining communication among nodes to those that belong to the same cluster.

20. The platform of claim 14, wherein said system further comprises a policy-based module for governing communication among services/workers.

21. The platform of claim 14, wherein the topology changes comprise changes in the associations between physical nodes, nodes, communication endpoints, services/workers, meshes, clusters, and combinations thereof.

22. The platform of claim 14, wherein the platform distributes computing, networking, or storage across a plurality of cloud infrastructures.

23. The platform of claim 14, wherein one or more physical nodes are stationary servers.

24. The platform of claim 14, wherein one or more physical nodes are selected from the group consisting of:

mobile devices, computationally capable sensors, actuators, sensor/actuator combinations, cell phones, smart-phones, laptop computers, tablet computers, electronic control units, set-top boxes, and displays.