Checking cloud contracts in microsoft azure

Abstract

Cloud Contracts capture architectural requirements in datacenters. They can be expressed as logical constraints over configurations. Contract violation is indicative of miss-configuration that may only be noticed when networks are attacked or correctly configured devices go off-line. In the context of Microsoft Azure’s data-center we develop contracts for (1) network access restrictions, (2) forwarding tables, and (3) BGP policies. They are checked using the SecGuru tool that continuously monitors configurations in Azure. SecGuru is based on the Satisfiability Modulo Theories solver Z3, and uses logical formulas over bit-vectors to model network configurations. SecGuru is an instance of applying technologies, so far developed for program analysis, towards networks. We claim that Network Verification is an important and exciting new opportunity for formal methods and modern theorem proving technologies. Networking is currently undergoing a revolution thanks to the advent of highly programmable commodity devices for network control, the build out of large scale cloud data-centers and a paradigm shift from network infrastructure as embedded systems into software controlled and defined networking. Tools, programming languages, foundations, and methodologies from software engineering disciplines have a grand opportunity to fuel this transformation.