20240028416. Centralized Management of External Clusters on Managed Kubernetes Platforms simplified abstract (Dell Products L.P.)

Centralized Management of External Clusters on Managed Kubernetes Platforms

Organization Name

Dell Products L.P.

Inventor(s)

David Jensen of Dallas TX (US)

Linwood W. Zoller, Iv of Lexington KY (US)

Daniel E. Cummins of Hudson NH (US)

Centralized Management of External Clusters on Managed Kubernetes Platforms - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 20240028416 titled 'Centralized Management of External Clusters on Managed Kubernetes Platforms

Simplified Explanation

The patent application describes a method for managing remote Kubernetes clusters using a central orchestrator and cluster integration interfaces. Here are the key points:

• The method involves a central orchestrator that integrates with one or more managed Kubernetes platforms.
• A cluster of interest is selected through one of the interfaces, and a connection with the applicable platform is registered.
• The registered connection includes platform account credentials and cluster admin role information.
• A platform-specific microservice (PSM) is instantiated with platform-specific logic and tooling.
• The PSM retrieves an administrative manifest with administrative pods, allowing secure communication between the central orchestrator and the platform.
• The central orchestrator can then import the cluster of interest and perform platform-specific management tasks.
• These tasks include cluster infrastructure configuration, scaling nodes, updating Kubernetes versions, and modifying access/permission roles.

Potential applications of this technology:

• Efficient management of multiple remote Kubernetes clusters from a central location.
• Streamlining the deployment and management of application workloads across different Kubernetes platforms.
• Simplifying the process of scaling nodes, updating Kubernetes versions, and modifying access/permission roles.

Problems solved by this technology:

• Overcoming the complexity of managing multiple remote Kubernetes clusters individually.
• Ensuring secure communication between the central orchestrator and the managed platforms.
• Simplifying administrative tasks and reducing the time required for cluster infrastructure configuration.

Benefits of this technology:

• Centralized management allows for better control and coordination of Kubernetes clusters.
• Improved efficiency and productivity in deploying and managing application workloads.
• Enhanced security through secure communication and role-based access control.
• Simplified administration tasks, reducing the potential for errors and saving time.

Original Abstract Submitted

a method for managing remote kubernetes clusters employs a central orchestrator with cluster integration interfaces for one or more managed kubernetes platforms. a cluster of interest is selected via one of the interfaces and a connection with the applicable platform is registered. the registered connection may include platform account credentials and cluster admin role information to an authenticated cluster-admin role defined for the platform. a platform-specific microservice (psm), provisioned with platform-specific logic and tooling, is instantiated. the psm retrieves an administrative manifest including one or more administrative pods enabling the central orchestrator to communicate securely with the platform and deploy and manage application workloads on the cluster. the cluster of interest is then imported into the central orchestrator enabling administrators to perform platform-specific management tasks, including cluster infrastructure configuration tasks such as scaling nodes, updating kubernetes versions, and modifying access/permission roles.