US 9,794,172 B2 · Edge network virtualization

Abstract

A virtual edge router network for providing managed services to distributed remote office locations can include routing components that are capable of being autonomously deployed at the network edge, as well as remotely managed, thereby obviating the need for on-site technical support in remote offices of the a small and medium business (SMB) client. Autonomous deployment and remote management is achieved through abstraction of the control and management planes from the data plane. Virtual edge routers may include virtual forwarding units and virtual remote agents instantiated on host devices in each remote office location, as well as a virtual network controller instantiated on a host device in a head-office location. A data plane of the virtual edge router communicatively couples the virtual forwarding units to one another, while a control plane communicatively couples the virtual network controller to each virtual data forwarding unit.

Claims22

Dependent claims

A virtual edge router comprising:

a plurality of virtual data forwarding units, wherein each virtual forwarding unit is instantiated on a different one of a plurality of host devices;
a data plane communicatively coupling the plurality of virtual data forwarding units with one another, wherein the data plane includes data tunnels extending between WAN interfaces of the host devices;
a virtual controller instantiated on a central host device;
and
a control plane communicatively coupling the virtual controller to each of the virtual data forwarding units, wherein the control plane includes control tunnels interconnecting a WAN interface of the central host device to WAN interfaces of the plurality of host devices, and
wherein the virtual controller establishes the control tunnels by decrypting encrypted control tunnel establishment messages, received from the plurality of virtual data forwarding units, in accordance with a control tunnel password.

3 more elements

A local host device comprising a wide area network (WAN) interface, a processor, and a memory adapted to store programming for execution by the processor, the programming including instructions to:

send a beacon message to a virtual network commander instantiated on a server, the beacon message configured to establish a management tunnel between the WAN interface of the local host device and the virtual network commander on the server, wherein the management tunnel is adapted to carry signaling over a management plane of a virtual edge router;
trigger establishment of a control tunnel between the WAN interface of the local host device and a WAN interface of a first remote host device, wherein the control tunnel is adapted to carry signaling over a control plane of the virtual edge router, and wherein the instructions to trigger establishment of the control tunnel includes instructions to receive an encrypted control tunnel establishment message from a first virtual data forwarding unit instantiated on the first remote host device, to attempt to decrypt the encrypted control tunnel establishment message in accordance with a control tunnel password, and to establish the control tunnel when attempt to decrypt the encrypted control tunnel establishment message is successful;
and
trigger establishment of a data tunnel adapted to carry signaling over a data plane of the virtual edge router, wherein each of the data plane, the control plane, and the management plane have a distinct communication plane topology.

1 more element

A local host device comprising a wide area network (WAN) interface, a processor, and a memory adapted to store programming for execution by the processor, the programming including instructions to:

send a beacon message to a virtual network commander instantiated on a server, the beacon message configured to establish a management tunnel between the WAN interface of the local host device and the virtual network commander on the server, wherein the management tunnel is adapted to carry signaling over a management plane of a virtual edge router;
trigger establishment of a control tunnel between the WAN interface of the local host device and a WAN interface of a first remote host device, wherein the control tunnel is adapted to carry signaling over a control plane of the virtual edge router, wherein the instructions to trigger establishment of the control tunnel includes instructions to receive a configuration instruction carrying a control tunnel password and an internet protocol (IP) address of the first remote host device over the management tunnel from the virtual network commander, to encrypt a control tunnel establishment message in accordance with the control tunnel password, and to send the encrypted control tunnel establishment message to a virtual network controller instantiated on the first remote host device, the encrypted control tunnel establishment message configured to establish the control tunnel;
and
trigger establishment of a data tunnel adapted to carry signaling over a data plane of the virtual edge router, wherein each of the data plane, the control plane, and the management plane have a distinct communication plane topology.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Edge network virtualization

Life of this patent

Edge network virtualization

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims22