Policy-driven on-demand tunnel creation/deletion based on traffic information in a wide area network (WAN)
Techniques are described for policy driven on-demand tunnel creation and deletion between end points in a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) having a hub-and-spoke topology. A software-defined networking (SDN) controller that facilitates cloud-based services of a service provider network that sets up the SD-WAN is configured to determine whether a tunnel between end-points is to be created or deleted based on information indicative of the traffic, such as amount, time, application generating the traffic, and the like, between end-points.
1. A method of communicating in a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) configured in a hub-and-spoke topology, the method comprising:
in the hub-and-spoke topology, where each of a plurality of spoke devices are configured with an overlay tunnel to a corresponding one of a plurality of hub devices such that a first spoke device configured with a tunnel to a first hub device communicates with a second spoke device configured with a tunnel to a second hub device via a first path through the first hub device and the second hub device, determining, with a software-defined networking (SDN) controller facilitating SD-WAN services across the SD-WAN, information indicative of traffic flowing between the first and second spoke devices via the first path;
determining, with the SDN controller, that a second path for communicating between the first spoke device and the second spoke device is to be configured based on the determined information, wherein the second path bypasses both the first hub device and the second hub device; and
configuring, with the SDN controller and in response to the determination, parameters required for the second path between the first spoke device and the second spoke device through the SD-WAN that bypasses both the first hub device and the second hub device.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the SDN controller is configured to determine the information indicative of traffic flowing between the first and second spoke devices, and not route traffic between the first and second spoke devices.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
comparing the determined information to a policy metric,
wherein determining that the second path for communicating between the first spoke device and the second spoke device is to be configured based on the determined information comprises determining that the second path for communicating between the first spoke device and the second spoke device is to be configured based on the comparison.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, with at least one of the first or second spoke devices, whether one or more policy metrics are satisfied;
determining, with at least one of the first or second spoke devices, information indicative of traffic flowing between the first and second spoke devices based on the determination of whether the one or more policy metrics are satisfied; and
transmitting, with at least one of the first and second spoke devices to the SDN controller, the determined information indicative of the traffic flowing between the first and second spoke devices,
wherein determining information indicative of traffic flowing between the first and second spoke devices via the first path comprises determining information indicative of traffic flowing between the first and second spoke devices via the first path based on the determined information received from at least one of the first and second spoke devices.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
configuring, with at least one of the first or second spoke devices, the second path.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second path traverses an underlay network of hardware components that form the SD-WAN.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein configuring parameters required for the second path between the first spoke device and the second spoke device through the SD-WAN that bypasses both the first hub device and the second hub device comprises outputting a unique identifier for the second spoke device to the first spoke device, the method further comprising:
determining, with the first spoke device, an Internet protocol (IP) address for the second spoke device based on the unique identifier; and
configuring, with the first spoke device, the second path based on the determined IP address.
8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
determining, with the SDN controller, the unique identifier for the second spoke device based at least in part on a site identification of the second spoke device and a WAN interface name.
9. A software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) configured in a hub-and-spoke topology comprising:
a plurality of hub devices;
a plurality of spoke devices configured with an overlay tunnel to corresponding one of the plurality of hub devices such that a first spoke device configured with a tunnel to a first hub device communicates with a second spoke device configured with a tunnel to a second hub device via a first path through the first hub device and the second hub device; and
a software-defined networking (SDN) controller facilitating SD-WAN services across the SD-WAN, wherein the SDN controller is configured to:
determine information indicative of traffic flowing between the first and second spoke devices via the first path;
determine that a second path for communicating between the first spoke device and the second spoke device is to be configured based on the determined information, wherein the second path bypasses both the first hub device and the second hub device; and
configure, in response to the determination, parameters required for the second path between the first spoke device and the second spoke device through the SD-WAN that bypasses both the first hub device and the second hub device.
10. The SD-WAN of claim 9 , wherein the SDN controller is configured to determine the information indicative of traffic flowing between the first and second spoke devices, and not route traffic between the first and second spoke devices.
11. The SD-WAN of claim 9 , wherein the SDN controller is configured to:
compare the determined information to a policy metric,
wherein to determine that the second path for communicating between the first spoke device and the second spoke device is to be configured based on the determined information, the SDN controller is configured to determine that the second path for communicating between the first spoke device and the second spoke device is to be configured based on the comparison.
12. The SD-WAN of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the first or second spoke devices is configured to:
determine whether one or more policy metrics are satisfied;
determine information indicative of traffic flowing between the first and second spoke devices based on the determination of whether the one or more policy metrics are satisfied; and
transmit, to the SDN controller, the determined information indicative of the traffic flowing between the first and second spoke devices,
wherein to determine information indicative of traffic flowing between the first and second spoke devices via the first path, the SDN controller is configured to determine information indicative of traffic flowing between the first and second spoke devices via the first path based on the determined information received from at least one of the first and second spoke devices.
13. The SD-WAN of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the first or second spoke devices is configured to form the second path.
14. The SD-WAN of claim 9 , wherein the second path traverses an underlay network of hardware components that form the SD-WAN.
15. The SD-WAN of claim 9 , wherein to configure parameters required for the second path between the first spoke device and the second spoke device through the SD-WAN that bypasses both the first hub device and the second hub device, the SDN controller is configured to output a unique identifier for the second spoke device to the first spoke device, and
wherein the first spoke device is configured to:
determine an Internet protocol (IP) address for the second spoke device based on the unique identifier; and
configure the second path based on the determined IP address.
16. The SD-WAN of claim 15 , wherein the SDN controller is configured to:
determine the unique identifier for the second spoke device based at least in part on a site identification of the second spoke device and a WAN interface name.
17. A service provider for a software-defined area network (SD-WAN) arranged in a hub-and-spoke topology, the service provider comprising:
a software-defined networking (SDN) controller communicatively coupled to a plurality of spoke devices in the hub-and-spoke topology, wherein the SDN controller is configured to facilitate SD-WAN services across the SD-WAN, wherein the plurality of spoke devices are configured with an overlay tunnel to a corresponding one of a plurality of hub devices such that a first spoke device configured with a tunnel to a first hub device communicates with a second spoke device configured with a tunnel to a second hub device via a first path through the first hub device and the second hub device, and
wherein the SDN controller is configured to:
determine information indicative of traffic flowing between the first and second spoke devices via the first path;
determine that a second path for communicating between the first spoke device and the second spoke device is to be configured based on the determined information, wherein the second path bypasses both the first hub device and the second hub device; and
configure, in response to the determination, parameters required for the second path between the first spoke device and the second spoke device through the SD-WAN that bypasses both the first hub device and the second hub device.
18. The service provider of claim 17 , wherein the SDN controller is configured to determine the information indicative of traffic flowing between the first and second spoke devices, and not route traffic between the first and second spoke devices.
19. The service provider of claim 17 , wherein the SDN controller is configured to:
compare the determined information to a policy metric,
wherein to determine that the second path for communicating between the first spoke device and the second spoke device is to be configured based on the determined information, the SDN controller is configured to determine that the second path for communicating between the first spoke device and the second spoke device is to be configured based on the comparison.
20. The service provider of claim 17 , wherein to configure parameters required for the second path between the first spoke device and the second spoke device through the SD-WAN that bypasses both the first hub device and the second hub device, the SDN controller is configured to output a unique identifier for the second spoke device to the first spoke device.