Coordinated data protection for multiple networking devices
Embodiments are described for a method and system of applying data protection software mechanisms to network devices to auto-discover the networking equipment, save changes from memory (TCAM) to local storage, backup changes to protection storage, provide auditing and tracking history of changes, and provide the ability to deploy test/development copies of changes using software defined networking techniques. A coordinator protects network devices organized into a plurality of partitions by creating a backup of each network device, pushing backup policies to individual data protection units for the network devices within each partition to provide a consistent-state backup of the network devices, and backing up the configuration changes of the network devices to a protection storage device.
1. A computer-implemented method of providing coordinated data protection for a plurality of partitioned network devices, comprising:
creating a backup of each network device in a partition of a system having a plurality of partitions, wherein the backup is performed by backup software connected to a data protection network device (DPND) coordinator;
deploying the network devices as dual-homed devices having access to both an out-of-band network and a production software network through individual device port assignments, wherein the network devices each comprise at least one of: a managed switch, a router, a firewall, and a buffer;
configuring, upon a first deployment, the network devices with default day 0 settings dictating values for a plurality of parameters including the port assignments for each network device as set by a respective device vendor, wherein each network device is programmed according to respective vendor control commands, and further wherein the DPND coordinator supports the respective vendor control commands and a pluggable driver model that is configured to support a common set of backup and restore operations of the system;
pushing, from the DPND coordinator, one or more backup policies to individual DPND units for the network devices within the partition to provide a consistent-state backup of the network devices;
maintaining, in each partition managed by an individual DPND unit, a local copy of a backup policy for the backup;
authenticating, by each individual DPND unit, each network device within its respective partition;
registering changes to the default day 0 settings as configuration changes for each network device caused by normal operation of the system, and in accordance with the respective vendor control commands;
committing the changes for all of the DPND units at one time to maintain consistency among all network devices in the system through a synchronous commit operation;
backing up the configuration changes of the network devices to a protection storage device;
providing auditing and history tracking of the configuration changes;
facilitating deployment of test and development copies of the configuration changes using software defined networking;
determining, through a discovery operation, a vendor of the network equipment devices within the partition, based on a respective media access controller (MAC) address and IP address of each device, wherein the vendor is used as part of the backup policy; and
applying the backup policy to the configuration changes backed up to the protection storage device.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising discovering the partitioned network devices through an auto-discovery process, wherein the day 0 settings and configuration changes the network device is stored in resident memory for saving to local persistent storage in a commit operation.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising configuring a data protection networking device (DPND) to backup and restore configuration changes for the network devices from a respective day 0 setting for each of the network devices according to vendor requirements.
4. The method of claim 2 wherein a partition comprises a series of network devices grouped together and communicating using the single DPND coordinator, and wherein the DPND coordinator runs within a production network and acts as a proxy between the network devices and the protection storage device.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein a grouping of the network devices comprises one of a geographical grouping, a temporal grouping, and a role-based grouping.
6. The method of claim 4 wherein the DPND coordinator protects the partitions based on a service level agreement (SLA) protection policy defining protection elements including: protection frequency and protection duration.