DESC:
FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10 and rule 13)
1. TITLE OF THE INVENTION
METHOD AND SYSTEM TO MANAGE FUNCTIONS OF AN INVENTORY COMPONENT
2. APPLICANT(S)
NAME NATIONALITY ADDRESS
JIO PLATFORMS LIMITED INDIAN OFFICE-101, SAFFRON, NR. CENTRE POINT, PANCHWATI 5 RASTA, AMBAWADI, AHMEDABAD 380006, GUJARAT, INDIA
3.PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION

THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE NATURE OF THIS INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PERFORMED.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to communication network management, more particularly relates to a method and a system to manage functions of an inventory.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] With the increase in number of users, a communication network is rapidly evolving to accommodate the surge of request commands and improve user experience. A communication network comprises of many network elements which are configured to operate in specific manners to improve credibility of the communication network. The network incorporates inventories to safe-keep resources and mechanism to efficiently distribute resources to all NFs (Network Functions) in the network so as to process the service requests. Inventory Management (IM) service maintains the virtual inventory and limited physical inventory. The IM maintains the relation between physical and virtual resources with respect to overlay to manage storage memory allocation. Also, the IM describes physical and virtual resources in view of different attributes using updates from external micro-service. Thus, data accuracy of the inventory management service is dependent upon the micro-services which create, update, delete these resources and at the same time update these events with IM. Other services can query IM relations, attributes etc. using Query Application Programming Interface (API) provided by IM. However, as there are thousands of network functions running in parallel to process multiple requests within a specific time frame. Therefore, there is a need to properly sort out requests and manage them. The inventory manager continually receives requests for various data access or updates. The inventory manager also interacts with many micro-service interfaces and thus managing every task of storing, updating, sending or receiving requests may be chaotic without a proper channel/platform. Presently there is no single interface to perform every activities of the inventory manager such as to store Virtual data (Host aggregates, PODs), Physical Data (Sites, Hosts), All VNF(virtual network function), and CNF (container network function) details, VNFC(virtual network function components) and CNFC(container network function components) details, Graphical Hierarchy; to relay request from micro-service platforms; to send information to micro-service platforms; and to search, update available databases in the network. Thus, efficiency of the inventory manager may be improved. There is a requirement of a system and method for the system to manage all activities of the inventory manager via a single platform/interface which can manage complex data in an efficient manner without consuming too much time.
[0003] Thus, there is requirement of a system and a method to regulate activities performed by the inventory manager via a single platform or interface by which all the operations at IM can be accomplished with ease, with improved efficacy and in a time efficient way.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] One or more embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and system to manage functions of an inventory component.
[0005] In one aspect of the present invention, the system to manage functions of the inventory component is disclosed. The system includes a receiving unit configured to receive at the inventory component, a request from one or more microservices, the request includes data. The system further includes an extraction unit configured to extract at the inventory component, information of type of the data from the request. The system further includes an identification unit, configured to identify a database from a plurality of databases which stores the type of data extracted from the request. The system further includes a storage unit configured to store the data received at the inventory component in the identified database. The system further includes the identification unit configured to identify one or more databases from the plurality of databases which stores the data based on receiving a query event from the one or more microservices for retrieving the data. The system further includes a retrieving unit, configured to retrieve the data from the identified database. The system further includes a transmitting unit, configured to transmit the data from the inventory component to the one or more microservices as a response to the query event.
[0006] In an embodiment, the request is at least one of, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request which includes the data required to be stored in the database.
[0007] In an embodiment, the query event is received as the HTTP query event, the query event includes information of the data type and one or more data identifiers which are required to be retrieved from the database.
[0008] In an embodiment, the identification unit, is configured to, identify, one or more databases from the plurality of databases which stores the data, by extracting, from the query event, information pertaining to at least one of, the type of data, and one or more data identifiers. The identification unit further configured to compare the extracted information pertaining to the at least one of, the type of data, and the one or more data identifiers with data stored across the plurality of databases and identify, the one or more databases based on the comparison.
[0009] In an embodiment, the system communicates with the one or more microservices, the inventory component and the databases via a communication channel. In an embodiment, the communication channel is an interface between the inventory component and the plurality of databases, for performing functions including at least one of, transmit, create, update, delete and retrieve data from the databases. In an embodiment, the single interface is at least one of, Inventory component _ database (IM_NS) interface.
[0010] In another aspect of the present invention, the method to manage functions of the inventory component is disclosed. The method includes the step of receiving at the inventory component, a request from one or more microservices, the request received from one or microservices includes data. The method further includes the step of extracting at the inventory component information of type of the data from the request. The method further includes the step of identifying a database from a plurality of databases which stores the type of data extracted from the request. The method includes the step of storing the data received at the inventory component in the identified database. The method includes the step of identifying one or more databases from the plurality of databases which store the data based on receiving a query event from the one or more microservices for retrieving the data. The method includes the step of retrieving the data from the identified database. The method includes the step of transmitting the data from the inventory component to the one or more microservices as a response to the query event.
[0011] In another aspect of the invention, a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-readable instructions is disclosed. The computer-readable instructions are executed by a processor. The processor is configured to receive at an inventory component a request from one or more microservices, the request includes data. The processor is configured to extract at the inventory component information of the type of the data from the request. The processor is configured to identify a database from a plurality of databases which store the type of data extracted from the request. The processor is configured to store the data received at the inventory component in the identified database. The processor is configured to identify one or more databases from the plurality of databases which store the data based on receiving a query event from the one or more microservices for retrieving the data. The processor is configured to retrieve the data from the identified database. The processor is configured to transmit the data from the inventory component to the one or more microservices as a response to the query event.
[0012] Other features and aspects of this invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings. The features and advantages described in this summary and in the following detailed description are not all-inclusive, and particularly, many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art, in view of the drawings, specification, and claims hereof. Moreover, it should be noted that the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter, resort to the claims being necessary to determine such inventive subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the disclosed methods and systems in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the different drawings. Components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Some drawings may indicate the components using block diagrams and may not represent the internal circuitry of each component. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that disclosure of such drawings includes disclosure of electrical components, electronic components or circuitry commonly used to implement such components.
[0014] FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram of an environment to manage functions of an inventory component, according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of a system to manage functions of the inventory component, according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram of an architecture implemented in the system of the FIG. 2, according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a signal flow diagram to manage functions of the inventory component, according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a method to manage functions of the inventory component, according to one or more embodiments of the present invention; and
[0019] FIG. 6 illustrates an architecture framework (e.g., MANO architecture framework), in which the present invention can be implemented, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention.
[0020] The foregoing shall be more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] Some embodiments of the present disclosure, illustrating all its features, will now be discussed in detail. It must also be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
[0022] Various modifications to the embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the present disclosure including the definitions listed here below are not intended to be limited to the embodiments illustrated but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.
[0023] A person of ordinary skill in the art will readily ascertain that the illustrated steps detailed in the figures and here below are set out to explain the exemplary embodiments shown, and it should be anticipated that ongoing technological development will change the manner in which particular functions are performed. These examples are presented herein for purposes of illustration, and not limitation. Further, the boundaries of the functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of the description. Alternative boundaries can be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships thereof are appropriately performed. Alternatives (including equivalents, extensions, variations, deviations, etc., of those described herein) will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachings contained herein. Such alternatives fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments.
[0024] The present invention provides a system and method to manage functions of an inventory manager in a network to achieve optimum time and data management efficiently by using a dedicated interface. The present system performs the required functions of the inventory manager so as to provide improved access to inventory data when requested by any ongoing microservice.
[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an environment 100 to manage functions of an inventory component 222 (As shown in FIG.2), according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, the environment 100 includes a User Equipment (UE) 102, a server 104, a network 106 and a system 108 communicably coupled to each other to manage the functions of the inventory component 222.
[0026] In an embodiment, the functions refer to the operations or actions performed to manage the flow of data between one or microservices 224, the inventory component 222, and a plurality of databases 208. The functions include, but not limited to, receiving requests, extracting information, identifying databases, storing data, query handling, retrieving data, transmitting data. The managing function refers to control, coordinate, and execute the operations in an efficient and organized manner. In an embodiment, the inventory refers to a centralized system that manages and maintains data related to various resources or assets within the network 106. The functions of the inventory include, but are not limited to, receiving, storing, tracking, retrieving, updating, reordering of the data. The inventory component 222 refers to a functional module responsible for managing and tracking the storage, retrieval, and organization of data across multiple databases. The inventory component 222 facilitates communication between microservices and the multiple databases by processing requests, identifying the appropriate database where specific data is stored, and ensuring proper storage or retrieval of the data based on the needs of the requesting microservice. The microservice is an independent service designed to perform a task within the system 108. The task refers to the operation or function that the one or more microservice 224 performs within the system 108. The data refers to the information that is transmitted, stored, and processed within the system 108.
[0027] As per the illustrated embodiment and for the purpose of description and illustration, the UE 102 includes, but not limited to, a first UE 102a, a second UE 102b, and a third UE 102c, and should nowhere be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. In alternate embodiments, the UE 102 may include a plurality of UEs as per the requirement. For ease of reference, each of the first UE 102a, the second UE 102b, and the third UE 102c, will hereinafter be collectively and individually referred to as the “User Equipment (UE) 102”.
[0028] In an embodiment, the UE 102 is one of, but not limited to, any electrical, electronic, electro-mechanical or an equipment and a combination of one or more of the above devices such as a smartphone, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, laptop, a general-purpose computer, desktop, personal digital assistant, tablet computer, mainframe computer, or any other computing device.
[0029] The environment 100 includes the server 104 accessible via the network 106. The server 104 may include, by way of example but not limitation, one or more of a standalone server, a server blade, a server rack, a bank of servers, a server farm, hardware supporting a part of a cloud service or system, a home server, hardware running a virtualized server, one or more processors executing code to function as a server, one or more machines performing server-side functionality as described herein, at least a portion of any of the above, some combination thereof. In an embodiment, the entity may include, but is not limited to, a vendor, a network operator, a company, an organization, a university, a lab facility, a business enterprise side, a defense facility side, or any other facility that provides service.
[0030] The network 106 includes, by way of example but not limitation, one or more of a wireless network, a wired network, an internet, an intranet, a public network, a private network, a packet-switched network, a circuit-switched network, an ad hoc network, an infrastructure network, a Public-Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a cable network, a cellular network, a satellite network, a fiber optic network, or some combination thereof. The network 106 may include, but is not limited to, a Third Generation (3G), a Fourth Generation (4G), a Fifth Generation (5G), a Sixth Generation (6G), a New Radio (NR), a Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN), and the like.
[0031] The network 106 may also include, by way of example but not limitation, at least a portion of one or more networks having one or more nodes that transmit, receive, forward, generate, buffer, store, route, switch, process, or a combination thereof, etc. one or more messages, packets, signals, waves, voltage or current levels, some combination thereof, or so forth. The network 106 may also include, by way of example but not limitation, one or more of a wireless network, a wired network, an internet, an intranet, a public network, a private network, a packet-switched network, a circuit-switched network, an ad hoc network, an infrastructure network, a Public-Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a cable network, a cellular network, a satellite network, a fiber optic network, a VOIP or some combination thereof.
[0032] The environment 100 further includes the system 108 communicably coupled to the server 104 and the UE 102 via the network 106. The system 108 is configured to manage functions of the inventory component 222. As per one or more embodiments, the system 108 is adapted to be embedded within the server 104 or embedded as an individual entity.
[0033] Operational and construction features of the system 108 will be explained in detail with respect to the following figures.
[0034] FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of the system 108 to manage functions of the inventory component 222, according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.
[0035] As per the illustrated embodiment, the system 108 includes one or more processors 202, a memory 204, a user interface 206, and a plurality of databases 208. For the purpose of description and explanation, the description will be explained with respect to one processor 202 and should nowhere be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. In alternate embodiments, the system 108 may include more than one processor 202 as per the requirement of the network 106. The one or more processors 202, hereinafter referred to as the processor 202 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, single board computers, and/or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions.
[0036] As per the illustrated embodiment, the processor 202 is configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 204. The memory 204 may be configured to store one or more computer-readable instructions or routines in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, which may be fetched and executed to create or share data packets over a network service. The memory 204 may include any non-transitory storage device including, for example, volatile memory such as RAM, or non-volatile memory such as disk memory, EPROMs, FLASH memory, unalterable memory, and the like.
[0037] In an embodiment, the user interface 206 includes a variety of interfaces, for example, interfaces for a graphical user interface, a web user interface, a Command Line Interface (CLI), and the like. The user interface 206 facilitates communication of the system 108. In one embodiment, the user interface 206 provides a communication pathway for one or more components of the system 108. Examples of such components include, but are not limited to, the UE 102 and the plurality of database 208.
[0038] The plurality of databases 208 includes one or more databases. The each database of the plurality of database is one of, but not limited to, a centralized database, a cloud-based database, a commercial database, an open-source database, a distributed database, an end-user database, a graphical database, a No-Structured Query Language (NoSQL) database, an object-oriented database, a personal database, an in-memory database, a document-based database, a time series database, a wide column database, a key value database, a search database, a cache databases, and so forth. The foregoing examples of each database of the plurality of databases 208 types are non-limiting and may not be mutually exclusive e.g., a database can be both commercial and cloud-based, or both relational and open-source, etc.
[0039] In order for the system 108 to manage functions of the inventory component 222, the processor 202 includes one or more modules. In one embodiment, the one or more modules includes, but not limited to, a receiving unit 210, an extraction unit 212, an identification unit 214, a storage unit 216, a retrieving unit 218, and a transmitting unit 220 communicably coupled to each other to manage functions of the inventory component 222.
[0040] Each of the one or more modules the receiving unit 210, the extraction unit 212, the identification unit 214, the storage unit 216, the retrieving unit 218, and the transmitting unit 220 can be used in combination or interchangeably to manage functions of the inventory component 222.
[0041] The receiving unit 210, the extraction unit 212, the identification unit 214, the storage unit 216, the retrieving unit 218, and the transmitting unit 220 in an embodiment, may be implemented as a combination of hardware and programming (for example, programmable instructions) to implement one or more functionalities of the processor 202. In the examples described herein, such combinations of hardware and programming may be implemented in several different ways. For example, the programming for the processor 202 may be processor-executable instructions stored on a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium and the hardware for the processor may comprise a processing resource (for example, one or more processors), to execute such instructions. In the present examples, the memory 204 may store instructions that, when executed by the processing resource, implement the processor. In such examples, the system 108 may comprise the memory 204 storing the instructions and the processing resource to execute the instructions, or the memory 204 may be separate but accessible to the system 108 and the processing resource. In other examples, the processor 202 may be implemented by electronic circuitry.
[0042] In one embodiment, the receiving unit 210 is configured to receive a request from one or more microservices 224. The request is received at the inventory component 222. The request received from the one or more microservices 224 at the inventory component 222 includes data. The one or more microservices 224 is an independent service designed to perform the task within the system 108. The one or more microservice 224 is responsible for performing a functionality, such as user authentication, data processing, or inventory management. The one or more microservice 224 includes, but not limited to, user authentication service, data processing microservice, inventory management microservice.
[0043] As mentioned earlier, the request received from the one or more microservices 224 at the inventory component 222 includes data. In this regard, the data refers to information or digital content that is being transferred between the one or more microservices 224 and the inventory component 222. The data includes at least one of, but is not limited to, various types of structured or unstructured information such as user details, transaction records, logs, product details, configuration settings, or any other domain-specific data necessary for the functioning of the system 108. The request is at least one of a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request. The HTTP request includes the data required to be stored in at least one of the database of the plurality of databases 208. The request carries the data that the one or more microservice 224 needs to be stored at least in one of the database of the plurality of databases 208.
[0044] Upon receiving the request from the one or more microservices 224, the extraction unit 212 is configured to extract the information of type of the data received from the request at the inventory component 222. The information of the type of the data refers to metadata or a descriptor that categorizes or defines nature of the data being transmitted in the request. The type of the data includes, but is not limited to, data format, data category, data context, data sensitivity. The data format includes, but is not limited to, structured, unstructured, semi-structured. The data category includes, but is not limited to, user data, transaction data, operational data, inventory data. The data context refers to the purpose or role of the data such as configuration data, analytics data or real time event data. The data sensitivity refers to the information regarding the confidentiality or security level of the data.
[0045] Upon extracting the data, the identification unit 214 is configured to identify the database from the plurality of databases 208. The database from the plurality of databases is identified to store the type of data extracted from the request. Upon identifying the database from the plurality of databases 208, the storage unit 216 is configured to store the data received from the request at the inventory component 222 in the identified database. The data stored in the identified database will be used in future.
[0046] Further, in an embodiment, the identification unit 214 is configured to identify the one or more database from the plurality of databases 208 to store the data based on receiving the query event from the one or more microservices 224. The query event is received from the one or more microservices 224. The query event is received for retrieving the data. The query event is an action or request initiated by the one or more microservices 224 to retrieve data from the plurality of databases 208. In an embodiment, the query event is received as an HTTP query event. The query event includes information of the data type and one or more identifiers. The type of data refers to the classification or category of the data being requested. The type of data defines the structure, format, or domain of the data. The data type includes, but is not limited to, user data, transaction data, inventory data, log data, data formats. The user data refers to information related to users such as personal details or login credentials. The transaction data refers to the details about the transactions such as orders or payments. The inventory data refers to the information about the availability. The log data refers to the event tracking information. The data formats refer to specific data formats such as JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), eXtensible Markup Language (XML), Comma-Separated Values (CSV) etc. The data identifiers are unique keys that specify the exact data that needs to be retrieved from the plurality of databases 208. The data identifiers include, but are not limited to, user Identifier (ID), name, date or timestamp. In order to identify the one or more database from the plurality of databases 208, the identification unit 214 is configured to extract the information pertaining to at least one of the type of data and one or more data identifiers from the query event. Subsequently, the extracted information pertaining to the at least one of the type of data and one or more data identifiers is compared with the data stored across the plurality of databases 208. The data stored across the plurality of databases 208 includes different types of data such as user data, transaction data, inventory data, log data etc. Based on comparison, the one or more database is identified from the plurality of databases 208. For instance, when the query event is received, the identification unit 214 extracts the relevant type of data (e.g., transaction data) and data identifiers (e.g., transaction ID), compares them with the data across the plurality of databases 208 and identifies the one or more database from the plurality of databases 208 that contains the requested data.
[0047] Upon identifying the one or more databases form the plurality of databases 208, the retrieving unit 218 is configured to retrieve the data from the identified database. Subsequently, the transmitting unit 220 is configured to transmit the data from the identified database at the inventory component 222 to the one or more microservices 224. The data from the identified database at the inventory component 222 is transmitted as a response to the query event.
[0048] In an embodiment, the request, the query event and the response are communicated between the one or more microservices 224, the inventory component 222 and the plurality of databases 208 via an established communication channel. The communication channel acts as a single interface for performing functions including at least one of, transmit, create, update, delete and retrieve data from the plurality of databases 208. The communication channel acts as a unified pathway that handles all interactions (transmitting, creating, updating, deleting, and retrieving data) between the one or more microservices 224, the inventory component 222, and the plurality of databases 208. The communication channel is based on standard communication protocols such as HTTP, Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interfaces (REST APIs), WebSocket etc. In an embodiment, the single interface is at least one of Inventory Manager_ No SQL database (IM_ NS) interface.
[0049] Therefore, by managing the functions of the inventory component 222, the system 108 minimizes error in the workflow, reduces the operation time and processing time. The system 108 enhances the user experience by providing a fast response to the query event. The system 108 eases the operation by means of a single interface to interact with all types of data.
[0050] FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram of an architecture 300 of the system 108 to manage functions of the inventory component 222, according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.
[0051] The architecture 300 includes the one or more microservice 224, and an inventory cluster 302. The inventory cluster includes the inventory component 222 and the plurality of databases 208 communicably coupled to each other. In an embodiment, the inventory component 222 is at least one of Physical and Virtual Inventory Manager (PVIM). The PVIM is a component responsible for maintaining and managing the inventory of both physical and virtual network resources. The physical and virtual network resources refer to tangible and intangible components that make up a network infrastructure, providing connectivity and communication capabilities. The physical network resources include, but are not limited to, routers and switches, cables and fiber optics, servers, base stations, data centers. The virtual network resources include, but are not limited to, virtual machines, virtual network functions, cloud-based services, network slices.
[0052] In an embodiment, the request is received at the inventory component 222 from the one or more microservices 224. The request received from the one or more microservices 224 includes data. The request is at least one of the HTTP requests which includes the data required to be stored in one of the database from the plurality of databases 208.
[0053] Upon receiving the request, the inventory component 222 extracts the information of type of the data to identify the database from the plurality of databases 208. The inventory component 222 identifies the database form the plurality of databases 208 to store the type of data extracted from the request.
[0054] Upon identifying the database from the plurality of databases 208, the data at the inventory component 222 is stored in the identified database from the plurality of databases 208.
[0055] In an embodiment, the inventory component 222 receives the query event from the one or more microservices 224. The query event is received for retrieving the data. The query event is received as the HTTP query event. The query event includes information of the type of data and one or more data identifiers which are required to be retrieved from the plurality of databases 208.
[0056] Upon receiving the query event, the inventory component 222 identifies the one or more databases from the plurality of databases 208. The one or more database from the plurality of databases 208 is identified to store the data based on receiving the query event. In particular, the one or more database from the plurality of databases 208 is identified by extracting the information pertaining to at least one of the type of data and one or more data identifiers. Subsequently, the extracted information pertaining to at least one of the type of data and one or more data identifiers is compared with the data stores across the plurality of databases 208. Based on comparison, the one or more database from the plurality of databases 208 is identified.
[0057] Upon identifying the one or more database from the plurality of databases 208, the inventory component 222 retrieves the data from the identified database. Upon retrieving the data from the identified database, the inventory component 222 transmits the data from the identified database to the one or more microservice 224 as the response to the query event.
[0058] In an embodiment, the request, the query event and the response are communicated between the one or more microservices 224, the inventory component 222 and the plurality of databases 208 via the established communication channel. The communication channel acts as the single interface for performing functions including at least one of, transmit, create, update, delete and retrieve data from the plurality of databases 208. The single interface is at least one of Inventory component_ database (IM_ NS) interface.
[0059] FIG. 4 is a signal flow diagram to manage the functions of the inventory component 222, according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.
[0060] At step 402, the inventory component 222 receives the request from the one or more microservices 224. The request received from the one or more microservices 224 includes data. The request is at least one of the HTTP requests which includes the data required to be stored in one of the database from the plurality of databases 208.
[0061] At step 404, upon receiving the request, the inventory component 222 extracts the information of type of the data to identify the database from the plurality of databases 208.
[0062] At step 406, upon extracting the information of type of the data, the inventory component 222 identifies the database form the plurality of databases 208 to store the type of data extracted from the request.
[0063] At step 408, upon identifying the database from the plurality of databases 208, the data at the inventory component 222 is stored in the identified database from the plurality of databases 208.
[0064] At step 410, in an embodiment, the inventory component 222 receives the query event from the one or more microservices 224 to retrieve the data. The query event is received as the HTTP query event. The query event includes information of the type of data and one or more data identifiers which are required to be retrieved from the plurality of databases 208
[0065] At step 412, upon receiving the query event, the inventory component 222 identifies the one or more databases from the plurality of databases 208. The one or more database from the plurality of databases 208 is identified to store the data based on receiving the query event. In particular, the one or more database from the plurality of databases 208 is identified by extracting the information pertaining to at least one of the type of data and one or more data identifiers. Subsequently, the extracted information pertaining to at least one of the type of data and one or more data identifiers is compared with the data stores across the plurality of databases 208. Based on comparison, the one or more database from the plurality of databases 208 is identified
[0066] At step 414, upon identifying the one or more database from the plurality of databases 208, the inventory component 222 retrieves the data from the identified database.
[0067] At step 416, upon retrieving the data from the identified database, the inventory component 222 transmits the data from the identified database to the one or more microservice 224 as the response to the query event.
[0068] In an embodiment, the request, the query event and the response are communicated between the one or more microservices 224, the inventory component 222 and the plurality of databases 208 via the established communication channel. The communication channel acts as the single interface for performing functions including at least one of, transmit, create, update, delete and retrieve data from the plurality of databases 208. The single interface is at least one of, IM_ NS interface.
[0069] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method 500 to manage the functions of the inventory component 222, according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. For the purpose of description, the method 500 is described with the embodiments as illustrated in FIG. 2 and should nowhere be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.
[0070] At step 502, the method 500 includes the step of receiving the request at the inventory component 222 from the one or more microservice 224 by the receiving unit 210. The request includes data. The request is at least one of the HTTP requests which includes the data required to be stored in the plurality of databases 208.
[0071] At step 504, the method 500 includes the step of extracting the information of type of the data from the request at the inventory component 222 by the extraction unit 212.
[0072] At step 506, the method 500 includes the step of identifying the database from the plurality of databases 208 which stores the type of data extracted from the request by the identification unit 214.
[0073] At step 508, the method 500 includes the step of storing the data received at the inventory component 222 in the identified database by the storage unit 216.
[0074] At step 510, the method 500 includes the step of identifying the one or more database from the plurality of databases 208 to store the data based on receiving the query event from the one or more microservices 224 for retrieving the data by the identification unit 214. The query event is received as the HTTP query event. The query event includes information of the data type and one or more data identifiers which are required to be retrieved from the plurality of databases 208. The identification unit 214 identifies the one or more database from the plurality of databases 208 by extracting the information pertaining to at least one of the type of data and one or more data identifiers. Subsequently, the extracted information pertaining to at least one of the type of data and one or more data identifiers is compared with the data stores across the plurality of databases 208. Based on comparison, the one or more database from the plurality of databases 208 is identified
[0075] At step 512, the method 500 includes the step of retrieving the data from the identified database by the retrieving unit 218.
[0076] At step 514, the method 500 includes the step of transmitting the data from the inventory component 222 to the one or more microservices 224 as the response to the query event by the transmitting unit 220.
[0077] In an embodiment, the request, the query event and the response are communicated between the one or more microservices 224, the inventory component 222 and the plurality of databases 208 via the established communication channel. The communication channel acts as the single interface for performing functions including at least one of, transmit, create, update, delete and retrieve data from the plurality of databases 208. The single interface is at least one of, IM_ NS interface.
[0078] FIG. 6 illustrates an architecture framework 600 (e.g., MANO architecture framework), in which the present invention can be implemented, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention. The system architecture 600 includes the user interface 206, a Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) design function module 602, a platform foundation service module 604, a platform core service module 606, and a platform resource adapter and utilities module 608.
[0079] The NFV and SDN design function module 602 is crucial for modernizing network infrastructure by enabling virtualized, scalable, and programmable network functions and management systems, particularly within the framework of CNFs. The platform foundation service module 604 refers to the underlying services and infrastructure components that support and enable the deployment, operation, and management of containerized network functions. The platform foundation service module 604 provides the essential capabilities and resources required for the CNF environment to function effectively.
[0080] The platform core service module 606 refers to the fundamental services and components that are essential for the core functionality and operation of containerized network functions. These services are critical for the effective deployment, execution, and management of CNFs, providing the necessary support and infrastructure for their operation. The platform resource adapter and utilities module 608 refers to a set of components and tools designed to manage and adapt various resources and services necessary for the operation of CNFs. The platform resource adapter and utilities module 608 plays a crucial role in integrating CNFs with underlying infrastructure and services, providing the necessary support for efficient operation, resource utilization, and interoperability.
[0081] The NFV and SDN design function module 602 includes a Virtual Network Function (VNF) lifecycle manager 602a, a VNF catalog 602b, a network service catalog 602c, a network slicing and service chaining manager 602d, a physical and virtual resource manager 602e, and a CNF lifecycle manager 602f.
[0082] The VNF lifecycle manager 602a is responsible for managing the entire lifecycle of VNFs. The VNF lifecycle manager 602a ensures that VNFs or CNFs are deployed, configured, monitored, scaled, and eventually decommissioned effectively. The VNF catalog 602b (referred to as a CNF catalog) is a repository or registry that stores information about various containerized network functions and their configurations. The VNF catalog 602b serves as a central reference for managing and deploying CNFs, providing details about their capabilities, requirements, and how they can be used within the network environment. The network service catalog 602c is a comprehensive repository that organizes and manages the information related to network services composed of multiple CNFs or other network functions. The network service catalog 602c serves as a central resource for defining, deploying, and managing these services within a containerized network environment.
[0083] The network slicing and service chaining manager 602d is a crucial component responsible for orchestrating and managing network slicing and service chaining functionalities. The network slicing and service chaining functionalities are essential for efficiently utilizing network resources and delivering tailored network services in a dynamic and scalable manner. The physical and virtual resource manager 602e is a critical component responsible for overseeing and managing both physical and virtual resources required to support the deployment, operation, and scaling of CNFs. The physical and virtual resource manager 602e ensures that the necessary resources are allocated efficiently and effectively to meet the performance, availability, and scalability requirements of containerized network functions.
[0084] Further, the CNF lifecycle manager 602f is a component responsible for overseeing the entire lifecycle of containerized network functions. This includes the management of CNFs from their initial deployment through ongoing operation and maintenance, up to their eventual decommissioning. The CNF lifecycle manager 602f ensures that the CNFs are efficiently deployed, monitored, scaled, updated, and removed, facilitating the smooth operation of network services in a containerized environment.
[0085] The platform foundation service module 604 includes a microservice elastic load balancer 604a, an identity and access manager 604b, a command line interface 604c, a central logging manager 604d and an event routing manager 604e.
[0086] The microservice elastic load balancer 604a is a specific type of load balancer designed to dynamically distribute network traffic across a set of microservices running in a containerized environment. The primary purpose of the microservice elastic load balancer 604a is to ensure efficient resource utilization, maintain high availability, and improve the performance of network services by evenly distributing incoming traffic among multiple instances of microservices. The identity and access manager 604b is a critical component responsible for managing and securing access to containerized network functions and their resources. The identity and access manager 604b ensures that only authorized users and systems can access specific resources, and it enforces policies related to identity verification, authentication, authorization, and auditing within the CNF ecosystem.
[0087] The central logging manager 604d is a component responsible for aggregating, managing, and analyzing log data from various containerized network functions and associated infrastructure components. The central logging manager 604d ensures that logs are collected from disparate sources, consolidated into a single repository, and made accessible for monitoring, troubleshooting, and auditing purposes. The event routing manager 604e is a component responsible for handling the distribution and routing of events and notifications generated by various parts of the CNF environment. The event routing manager 604e includes events related to system status, performance metrics, errors, and other operational or application-level events. The event routing manager 604e ensures that these events are efficiently routed to the appropriate consumers, such as monitoring systems, alerting systems, or logging infrastructure, for further processing and action.
[0088] The platform core service module 606 includes an NFV infrastructure monitoring manager 606a, an assurance manager 606b, a performance manager 606c, a policy execution engine 606d, a capacity monitoring manager 606e, a release management repository 606f, a configuration manager and GCT 606g, a NFV platform decision analytics unit 606h, a platform NoSQL DB 606i, a platform scheduler and Cron Jobs module 606j, a VNF backup & upgrade manager 606k, a micro service auditor 606l, and a platform operation, administration and maintenance manager 606m.
[0089] The NFV infrastructure monitoring manager 606a monitors the underlying infrastructure of NFV environments, including computing, storage, and network resources. The NFV infrastructure monitoring manager 606a provides real-time visibility into resource health, performance, and utilization. Further, the NFV infrastructure monitoring manager 606a detects and alerts infrastructure issues. Further, the NFV infrastructure monitoring manager 606a integrates with monitoring tools to ensure reliable operation of CNFs.
[0090] The assurance manager 606b manages the quality and reliability of network services by ensuring compliance with service level agreements (SLAs) and operational standards. The performance manager 606c optimizes the performance of CNFs by tracking and analyzing key performance indicators (KPIs). The policy execution engine 606d enforces and applies policies within the CNF environment to manage operations and access. Further, the policy execution engine 606d executes policies related to security, resource allocation, and service quality. Further, the policy execution engine 606d executes policies, translates policy rules into actionable configurations and enforces compliance across CNFs.
[0091] The capacity monitoring manager 606e monitors and manages the capacity of resources within the CNF environment to ensure optimal usage and avoid resource shortages. The release management repository 606f stores and manages software releases, configurations, and versions of CNFs. Further, the release management repository 606f keeps track of different versions of CNFs.
[0092] The configuration manager and Generic Configuration Tool (GCT) 606g manages the configuration of CNFs and related infrastructure components. The NFV platform decision analytics unit 606h analyzes data from a NFV platform to support decision-making and strategic planning.
[0093] The platform NoSQL database (DB) 606i is used for storing and managing large volumes of unstructured or semi-structured data within the CNF environment. The platform scheduler and Cron Jobs module 606j manage scheduled tasks and periodic operations within the CNF environment. The VNF backup & upgrade manager 606k oversees the backup and upgrade processes for VNFs within the CNF environment.
[0094] The micro service auditor 606l monitors and audits microservices to ensure compliance with operational and security standards. The platform operation, administration and maintenance manager 606m manages the overall operation, administration, and maintenance of the CNF platform.
[0095] The platform resource adapter and utilities module 608 includes a platform external API adaptor and gateway 608a, a generic decoder and indexer 608b, a swarm adaptor 608c, an OpenStack API adaptor 608d and a NFV gateway 608e.
[0096] The platform external API adaptor and gateway 608a facilitates communication between the CNF platform and external systems or services by providing an interface for API interactions. The generic decoder and indexer 608b decode and indexes various types of data and logs within the CNF environment. The swarm adaptor 608c facilitates communication between a swarm cluster and the CNF environment, including container deployment, scaling, and management.
[0097] The OpenStack API adaptor 608d provides an interface for the CNF platform to interact with OpenStack APIs, enabling operations such as provisioning, scaling, and managing virtual resources. The NFV gateway 608e manages and facilitates communication between NFV (Network Functions Virtualization) components and external networks or services.
[0098] In an embodiment, the IM_ NS interface is the interface between the physical and virtual resource manager 602e and the platform NoSQL database (DB) 606i. The interface IM_NS acts as a unified pathway that handles all interactions (transmitting, creating, updating, deleting, and retrieving data) between the one or more microservices 224, the inventory component 222, and the plurality of databases 208.
[0099] The present invention further discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-readable instructions. The computer-readable instructions are executed by the processor 202. The processor 202 is configured to receive the request from one or more microservices 224 at the inventory component 222. The request includes data. The processor 202 is further configured to extract information of type of data from the request. The processor 202 is further configured to identify the database from the plurality of databases 208 which stores the type of data extracted from the request. The processor 202 is further configured to store the data received at the inventory in the identified database. The processor 202 is further configured to identify one or more databases from the plurality of databases 208 which stores the data based on receiving a query event from the one or more microservices 224 for retrieving the data. The processor 202 is further configured to retrieve the data from the identified database. The processor 202 is further configured to transmit the data from the inventory component 222 to the one or more microservices 224 as the response to the query event.
[00100] A person of ordinary skill in the art will readily ascertain that the illustrated embodiments and steps in description and drawings (FIG.1-6) are set out to explain the exemplary embodiments shown, and it should be anticipated that ongoing technological development will change the manner in which particular functions are performed. These examples are presented herein for purposes of illustration, and not limitation. Further, the boundaries of the functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of the description. Alternative boundaries can be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships thereof are appropriately performed. Alternatives (including equivalents, extensions, variations, deviations, etc., of those described herein) will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachings contained herein. Such alternatives fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments.
[00101] The present disclosure incorporates technical advancement of reducing manual intervention by minimizing the error in the workflow and reducing the operation time and processing time. The present invention enhances the user experience by providing a fast response to the query event. Further, the present invention eases the operation by means of a single interface to interact with all types of data. The present invention ensures that data is stored in the most suitable database, potentially improving performance and organization. The present invention efficiently identifies and retrieves data from the relevant database, which can enhance the speed and accuracy of data retrieval operations. The ability to handle multiple types of requests and queries and to interact with a plurality of databases provides scalability and flexibility, making the present invention adaptable to various data management scenarios and evolving requirements.
[00102] The present invention offers multiple advantages over the prior art and the above listed are a few examples to emphasize on some of the advantageous features. The listed advantages are to be read in a non-limiting manner.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

[00103] Environment- 100
[00104] User Equipment (UE)- 102
[00105] Server- 104
[00106] Network- 106
[00107] System -108
[00108] Processor- 202
[00109] Memory- 204
[00110] User Interface- 206
[00111] Plurality of Databases- 208
[00112] Receiving Unit- 210
[00113] Extraction Unit- 212
[00114] Identification unit- 214
[00115] Storage Unit- 216
[00116] Retrieving Unit- 218
[00117] Transmitting – 220
[00118] Inventory Component- 222
[00119] One or microservices- 224
[00120] Inventory cluster- 302
[00121] NFV and SDN design function module -602
[00122] Virtual Network Function (VNF) lifecycle manager -602a,
[00123] VNF catalog -602b,
[00124] Network service catalog -602c,
[00125] Network slicing and service chaining manager -602d,
[00126] Physical and virtual resource manager -602e,
[00127] CNF lifecycle manager -602f
[00128] Platform foundation service module -604
[00129] Microservice elastic load balancer -604a
[00130] Identity and access manager -604b
[00131] Command line interface -604c
[00132] Central logging manager -604d
[00133] Event routing manager -604e
[00134] Platform core service module -606
[00135] NFV infrastructure monitoring manager -606a,
[00136] Assurance manager -606b,
[00137] Performance manager -606c,
[00138] Policy execution engine -606d,
[00139] Capacity monitoring manager -606e
[00140] Release management repository -606f
[00141] Configuration manager and GCT -606g
[00142] NFV platform decision analytics unit -606h
[00143] Platform NoSQL DB -606i
[00144] Platform scheduler and Cron Jobs module -606j
[00145] VNF backup & upgrade manager -606k
[00146] Micro service auditor -606l
[00147] Platform operation, administration and maintenance manager -606m
[00148] Platform resource adapter and utilities module 608
[00149] Platform external API adaptor and gateway -608a
[00150] Generic decoder and indexer -608b
[00151] Swarm adaptor -608c
[00152] OpenStack API adaptor -608d
[00153] NFV gateway -608e

,CLAIMS:CLAIMS
We Claim:
1. A method (500) to manage functions of an inventory component (222), the method (500) comprising the steps of:
receiving, by one or more processors (202), at the inventory component (222), a request from one or more microservices (224), the request includes data;
extracting, by the one or more processors (202), at the inventory component (222), information of type of the data from the request;
identifying, by the one or more processors (202), a database from a plurality of databases (208) which stores the type of data extracted from the request;
storing, by the one or more processors (202), the data received at the inventory component (222) in the identified database;
identifying, by the one or more processors (202), one or more databases from the plurality of databases (208) which stores the data based on receiving a query event from the one or more microservices (224) for retrieving the data;
retrieving, by the one or more processors (202), the data from the identified database; and
transmitting, by the one or more processors (202), the data from the inventory component (222) to the one or more microservices (224) as a response to the query event.

2. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the request is at least one of, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request which includes the data required to be stored in the plurality of databases (208).

3. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the query event is received as the HTTP query event, the query event includes information of the data type and one or more data identifiers which are required to be retrieved from the database.

4. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of, identifying, one or more databases from the plurality of databases (208) which stores the data based on receiving a query event from the one or more microservices (224), includes the steps of:
extracting, by the one or more processors (202), from the query event, information pertaining to at least one of, the type of data, and one or more data identifiers;
comparing, by the one or more processors (202), the extracted information pertaining to the at least one of, the type of data, and the one or more data identifiers with data stored across the plurality of databases (208); and
identifying, by the one or more processors (202), the one or more databases based on the comparison.

5. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more processors (202) communicates with the one or more microservices (224), the inventory component (222) and the plurality of databases (208) via a communication channel.

6. The method (500) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the communication channel is an interface between the inventory component (222) and the plurality of databases (208), for performing functions including at least one of, transmit, create, update, delete and retrieve data from the plurality of databases (208).

7. The method (500) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the single interface is at least one of, Inventory component _database (IM_NS) interface.

8. A system (108) to manage functions of an inventory component (222), the system (108) comprising:
a receiving unit (210), configured to, receive, at the inventory component (222), a request from one or more microservices (224), the request includes data;
an extraction unit (212), configured to, extract, at the inventory component (222), information of type of the data from the request;
an identification unit (214), configured to, identify, a database from a plurality of databases (208) which stores the type of data extracted from the request;
a storage unit (216), configured to, store, the data received at the inventory component (222) in the identified database;
the identification unit (214), configured to, identify, one or more databases from the plurality of databases (208) which stores the data based on receiving a query event from the one or more microservices (224) for retrieving the data;
a retrieving unit (218), configured to, retrieve, the data from the identified database; and
a transmitting unit (220), configured to, transmit, the data from the inventory component (222) to the one or more microservices (224) as a response to the query event.

9. The system (108) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the request is at least one of, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request which includes the data required to be stored in the plurality of databases (208).

10. The system (108) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the query event is received as the HTTP query event, the query event includes information of the type of data and one or more data identifiers which are required to be retrieved from the database.

11. The system (108) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the identification unit (214), is configured to, identify, one or more databases from the plurality of databases which stores the data, by:
extracting, from the query event, information pertaining to at least one of, the type of data, and one or more data identifiers;
comparing, the extracted information pertaining to the at least one of, the type of data, and the one or more data identifiers with data stored across the plurality of databases (208); and
identifying, the one or more databases based on the comparison.

12. The system (108) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the system (108) communicates with the one or more microservices (224), the inventory component (222) and the plurality of databases (208) via a communication channel.

13. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the communication channel is an interface between the inventory component (222) and the plurality of databases (208), for performing functions including at least one of, transmit, create, update, delete and retrieve data from the plurality of databases (208).

14. The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the single interface is at least one of, Inventory component _database (IM_NS) interface.