MANAGING NETWORK CONNECTIVITY USING NETWORK ACTIVITY REQUESTS

A controller such as an instant micro-connectivity controller includes a transceiver configured to receive a network access request (NAR) associated with an activity of an application executing on a device in a managed network. The NAR indicates a request for access by the application for a duration of the activity and the NAR includes a timestamp and information indicating the duration. The controller also includes a processor configured to selectively grant the request based on information included in the NAR and generate configuration information for the managed network in response to granting the request. In some cases, the configuration information is used to configure one or more of authorizations for a network switch, a firewall, a network address translation (NAT) element, and a router to route messages associated with the activity of the application.