Elastic offload of prebuilt traffic management system component virtual machines

• US 9,569,233 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: F5 Networks, Inc. (F5 Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: F5 Networks, Inc. (F5 Incorporated)
• Inventors: Masters, Richard Roderick, Blood, Brent Wayne, Szabo, Paul Imre, Bollay, Benn Sapin
• Primary Examiner(s): SWIFT, CHARLES M
• Application Number:
  US13/830,425
• Publication Number:
  US 20140189686A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,433 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45562 Creating, deleting, cloning virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/4557 Distribution of virtual machine instances; Migration and load balancing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45591 Monitoring or debugging support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45595 Network integration; Enabling network access in virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/455 Emulation; Interpretation; Software simulation, e.g. virtualisation or emulation of application or operating system execution engines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45533 Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45541 Bare-metal, i.e. hypervisor runs directly on hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45545 Guest-host, i.e. hypervisor is an application program itself, e.g. VirtualBox
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4555 Para-virtualisation, i.e. guest operating system has to be modified
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/48 Program initiating; Program switching, e.g. by interrupt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4843 by program, e.g. task dispatcher, supervisor, operating system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/485 Task life-cycle, e.g. stopping, restarting, resuming execution G06F9/4881 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4856 resumption being on a different machine, e.g. task migration, virtual machine migration G06F9/5088 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4862 the task being a mobile agent, i.e. specifically designed to migrate
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4868 with creation or replication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4881 Scheduling strategies for dispatcher, e.g. round robin, multi-level priority queues
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/50 Allocation of resources, e.g. of the central processing unit [CPU]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5005 to service a request
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5027 the resource being a machine, e.g. CPUs, Servers, Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/505 : considering the load
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5055 : considering software capabilities, i.e. software resources associated or available to the machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5083 : Techniques for rebalancing the load in a distributed system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5088 : involving task migration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 : Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• 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 67/1008 : based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1031 : Controlling of the operation of servers by a load balancer, e.g. adding or removing servers that serve requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 : involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

Embodiments are directed towards employing a traffic management system (TMS) that is enabled to deploy component virtual machines (CVM) to the cloud to perform tasks of the TMS. In some embodiments, a TMS may be employed with one or more CVMs. In at least one embodiment, the TMS may maintain an image of each CVM. Each CVM may be configured to perform one or more tasks, to operate in specific cloud infrastructures, or the like. The TMS may deploy one or more CVMs locally and/or to one or more public and/or private clouds. In some embodiments, deployment of the CVMs may be based on a type of task to be performed, anticipated resource utilization, customer policies, or the like. The deployment of the CVMs may be dynamically updated based on monitored usage patterns, task completions, customer policies, or the like.

Claims

1. A method for managing communication over a network, comprising:

employing a traffic management system (TMS) for packet flows over the network, wherein the TMS includes information for deploying one or more component virtual machines (CVM) to a separate cloud infrastructure and locally for execution on the TMS, wherein each deployed CVM is enabled to perform one or more tasks of the TMS;

automatically deploying the one or more CVMs to the separate cloud infrastructure to perform a low security task of the TMS based on one or more of a usage pattern or a CVM deployment policy;

automatically deploying, locally, the one or more CVMs to execute a high security task;

monitoring a periodic heartbeat for each deployed CVM, wherein the heartbeat advertises one or more of being in current communication with the TMS, in current communication with one or more other deployed CVMs, or an ability of a CVM to perform a task; and

monitoring usage patterns associated with each deployed CVM to determine a corresponding workload of each deployed CVM.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

dynamically updating deployment of the one or more deployed CVMs based on the usage patterns and the corresponding workload of each of the deployed CVMs.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more CVMs is optimized to operate in the cloud infrastructure where it is deployed.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more tasks of the TMS comprises one or more of packet protocol management, network protocol communication conversions, security operations, load balancing operations, network traffic optimization operations, network firewall operations, or any other traffic management related task.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the TMS implements a user interface that enables an administrator to manage configuration, deployment, decommissioning, monitoring, and migration of the one or more CVMs.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

employing a remote application programming interface that enables an administrator to manage the TMS'"'"'s deployment of the one or more CVMs.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

deploying the one or more CVMs based on anticipated usage patterns of the TMS, the anticipated usage patterns comprising at least one of packet traffic flow, a number of maintained connections, resource utilization, a particular task, resource utilization of a particular task, or any other anticipated usage patterns of the TMS.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more CVMs is initially deployed locally for execution on the TMS prior to being deployed to the cloud infrastructure based on a processing load of the one or more CVMs, the TMS or any other processing resource.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the TMS deploys the one or more CVMs locally for execution on a local hypervisor prior to or after deploying the one or more CVMs to the cloud infrastructure.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

deploying a plurality of CVMs to form a CVM cluster, wherein the one or more CVMs in the CVM cluster works cooperatively with one or more other CVMs in one or more of the CVM cluster or another CVM cluster to perform one or more portions of the one or more tasks.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the TMS deploys the CVM based on one or more of deployment policy requirement comprising at least one of task specific, customer specific, server specific, service level specific, permission specific, capacity limits, latency restrictions, security requirements, or any other specific criterion.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more CVMs performs one or more of policy enforcement operations, policy reference operations, charging operations, data storage operations, server health monitoring operations, network monitoring operations, logging operations, reporting operations, encryption operations, compression operations, or any other network/policy enforcement related operation.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more CVMs support one or more different cloud infrastructure application program interfaces.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the TMS load balances the one or more CVMs across one or more cloud infrastructures.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, which when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to be capable of performing one or more actions to manage communication over a network, comprising:

employing a traffic management system (TMS) for packet flows over the network, wherein the TMS includes information for deploying one or more component virtual machines (CVM) to a separate cloud infrastructure and locally for execution on the TMS, wherein each deployed CVM is enabled to perform one or more tasks of the TMS;

automatically deploying the one or more CVMs to the separate cloud infrastructure to perform a low security task of the TMS based on one or more of a usage pattern or a CVM deployment policy;

automatically deploying, locally, the one or more CVMs to execute a high security task;

monitoring a periodic heartbeat for each deployed CVM, wherein the heartbeat advertises one or more of being in current communication with the TMS, in current communication with one or more other deployed CVMs, or an ability of a CVM to perform a task; and

monitoring usage patterns associated with each deployed CVM to determine a corresponding workload of each deployed CVM.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising:

dynamically updating deployment of the one or more deployed CVMs based on the usage patterns and the corresponding workload of each of the deployed CVMs.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more CVMs is optimized to operate in the cloud infrastructure where it is deployed.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more tasks of the TMS comprises one or more of packet protocol management, network protocol communication conversions, security operations, load balancing operations, network traffic optimization operations, network firewall operations, or any other traffic management related task.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the TMS implements a user interface that enables an administrator to manage configuration, deployment, decommissioning, monitoring, and migration of the one or more CVMs.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising:

employing a remote application programming interface that enables an administrator to manage the TMS'"'"'s deployment of the one or more CVMs.

21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising:

deploying the one or more CVMs based on anticipated usage patterns of the TMS, the anticipated usage patterns comprising at least one of packet traffic flow, a number of maintained connections, resource utilization, a particular task, resource utilization of a particular task, or any other anticipated usage patterns of the TMS.

22. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more CVMs is initially deployed locally for execution on the TMS prior to being deployed to the cloud infrastructure based on a processing load of the one or more CVMs, the TMS or any other processing resource.

23. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the TMS deploys the one or more CVMs locally for execution on a local hypervisor prior to or after deploying the one or more CVMs to the cloud infrastructure.

24. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising:

deploying a plurality of CVMs to form a CVM cluster, wherein the one or more CVMs in the CVM cluster works cooperatively with one or more other CVMs in one or more of the CVM cluster or another CVM cluster to perform one or more portions of the one or more tasks.

25. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the TMS deploys the CVM based on one or more of deployment policy requirement comprising at least one of task specific, customer specific, server specific, service level specific, permission specific, capacity limits, latency restrictions, security requirements, or any other specific criterion.

26. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more CVMs performs one or more of policy enforcement operations, policy reference operations, charging operations, data storage operations, server health monitoring operations, network monitoring operations, logging operations, reporting operations, encryption operations, compression operations, or any other network/policy enforcement related operation.

27. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more CVMs support one or more different cloud infrastructure application program interfaces.

28. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the TMS load balances the one or more CVMs across one or more cloud infrastructures.

29. A network apparatus for managing communication over a network, comprising:

a transceiver configured to be capable of receiving and transmitting network packets;

a memory that stores computer-executable instructions;

a processor, coupled to the transceiver and the memory, that is configured to be capable of performing actions, including;

employing a traffic management system (TMS) for packet flows over the network, wherein the TMS includes information for deploying one or more component virtual machines (CVM) to a separate cloud infrastructure and locally for execution on the TMS, wherein each deployed CVM is enabled to perform one or more tasks of the TMS;

automatically deploying the one or more CVMs to the separate cloud infrastructure to perform a low security task of the TMS based on one or more of a usage pattern or a CVM deployment policy;

automatically deploying, locally, the one or more CVMs to execute a high security task;

monitoring a periodic heartbeat for each deployed CVM, wherein the heartbeat advertises one or more of being in current communication with the TMS, in current communication with one or more other deployed CVMs, or an ability of a CVM to perform a task; and

monitoring usage patterns associated with each deployed CVM to determine a corresponding workload of each deployed CVM.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising:

dynamically updating deployment of one of the one or more deployed CVMs based on the usage patterns and the corresponding workload of each of the deployed CVMs.

31. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the one or more CVMs is optimized to operate in the cloud infrastructure where it is deployed.

32. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the one or more tasks of the TMS comprises one or more of packet protocol management, network protocol communication conversions, security operations, load balancing operations, network traffic optimization operations, network firewall operations, or any other traffic management related task.

33. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the TMS implements a user interface that enables an administrator to manage configuration, deployment, decommissioning, monitoring, and migration of the one or more CVMs.

34. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising:

deploying the one or more CVMs based on anticipated usage patterns of the TMS, the anticipated usage patterns comprising at least one of packet traffic flow, a number of maintained connections, resource utilization, a particular task, resource utilization of a particular task, or any other anticipated usage patterns of the TMS.

35. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the one or more CVMs is initially deployed locally for execution on the TMS prior to being deployed to the cloud infrastructure based on a processing load of the one or more CVMs, the TMS or any other processing resource.

36. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the TMS deploys the one or more CVMs locally for execution on a local hypervisor prior to or after deploying the one or more CVMs to the cloud infrastructure.

37. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising:

deploying a plurality of CVMs to form a CVM cluster, wherein the one or more CVMs in the CVM cluster works cooperatively with one or more other CVMs in one or more of the CVM cluster or another CVM cluster to perform one or more portions of the one or more tasks.

38. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the TMS deploys the CVM based on one or more of deployment policy requirement comprising at least one of task specific, customer specific, server specific, service level specific, permission specific, capacity limits, latency restrictions, security requirements, or any other specific criterion.

39. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the one or more CVMs performs one or more of policy enforcement operations, policy reference operations, charging operations, data storage operations, server health monitoring operations, network monitoring operations, logging operations, reporting operations, encryption operations, compression operations, or any other network/policy enforcement related operation.

40. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the one or more CVMs support one or more different cloud infrastructure application program interfaces.

41. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the TMS load balances the one or more CVMs across one or more cloud infrastructures.

42. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions stored thereon, which when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to implement a component virtual machine (CVM) that is configured to be capable of performing one or more actions to manage communication over a network, comprising:

automatically deploying the CVM to a cloud infrastructure for execution on a traffic management system (TMS) to perform a low security task based on one or more of a usage pattern or a CVM deployment policy;

automatically deploying, locally, the CVM to execute a high security task;

implementing at least one application programming interface (API) to communicate with the TMS utilizing the CVM and the cloud infrastructure hosting the CVM;

automatically performing at least one task of the TMS that the CVM is configured to perform based on one or more of a usage pattern or a CVM deployment policy;

providing usage pattern information associated with the at least one task to the TMS via the API;

monitoring a periodic heartbeat for the CVM, wherein the heartbeat advertises one or more of being in current communication with the TMS, in current communication with one or more other deployed CVMs, or an ability of the CVM to perform a task; and

dynamically updating CVM configuration information based on instructions from the TMS received via the API, the instructions from the TMS being based on the usage pattern information sent by the CVM.

43. A system configured to be capable of performing one or more actions to manage communication over a network, comprising one or more processors, coupled to a transceiver and a memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to perform actions, including:

providing one or more traffic management systems (TMS);

providing one or more component virtual machine (CVM) that is configured to perform one or more tasks of the TMS, wherein the one or more CVMs is also configured to perform actions, comprising;

being deployed in a separate cloud infrastructure, wherein the one or more CVMs is configured to communicate with the TMS over an application programming interface (API), and

providing usage pattern information associated with the one or more tasks to the TMS via the API; and

the one or more TMSs is configured to perform actions, comprising;

automatically deploying the one or more CVMs to the separate cloud infrastructure to perform a low security task of the TMS based on one or more of a usage pattern or a CVM deployment policy;

automatically deploying, locally, the one or more CVMs to execute a high security task;

monitoring a periodic heartbeat for each deployed CVM, wherein the heartbeat advertises one or more of being in current communication with the TMS, in current communication with one or more other deployed CVMs, or an ability of a CVM to perform a task; and

monitoring usage patterns associated with each deployed CVM to determine a corresponding workload of each deployed CVM.