FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 OF 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10 and rule 13)
“METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PERFORMING
CORRECTIVE ACTIONS ON ONE OR MORE NETWORK
FUNCTIONS”
We, Jio Platforms Limited, an Indian National, of Office - 101, Saffron, Nr.
Centre Point, Panchwati 5 Rasta, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad - 380006, Gujarat, India.
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in
which it is to be performed.
2
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PERFORMING CORRECTIVE ACTIONS
ON ONE OR MORE NETWORK FUNCTIONS
FIELD OF DISCLOSURE
5
[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of
wireless communication systems. More particularly, embodiments of the present
disclosure relate to a method and a system for performing one or more corrective
actions on one or more Network Functions (NFs).
10
BACKGROUND
[0002] The following description of related art is intended to provide
background information pertaining to the field of the disclosure. This section may
15 include certain aspects of the art that may be related to various features of the
present disclosure. However, it should be appreciated that this section be used only
to enhance the understanding of the reader with respect to the present disclosure,
and not as admissions of prior art.
20 [0003] In communication networks such as 5G communication networks,
different microservices perform different services, jobs and tasks in the network.
Different microservices have to perform their jobs in such a way based on
operational parameters and policies, that it does not affect microservices’ own
operations and service network operations. However, during service operations, for
25 fulfilling the requirements of policies and operational parameters, it is not possible
to manage the virtual network functions (VNF/VNFC) and/or containerized
functions (CNF/CNFC) component instances to handle bulk service requests
coming in the network to manage the network service load. Further, this condition
becomes more challenging, when any virtual network functions and/or
3
containerized functions component instances’ health status is not in operational
condition. The existing available solutions are not efficient for handling service
requests load and managing health alarm conditions of virtual network functions
and/or containerized functions component instances.
5
[0004] Thus, there exists an imperative need in the art to provide an efficient
system and method for auto scaling and healing of virtual and containerized
network function component instances.
10 SUMMARY
[0005] This section is provided to introduce certain aspects of the present
disclosure in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed
description. This summary is not intended to identify the key features or the scope
15 of the claimed subject matter.
[0006] An aspect of the present disclosure may relate to a method for
performing one or more corrective actions on one or more Network Functions
(NFs). The method includes receiving, by a transceiver unit at a Policy Execution
20 Engine (PEEGN), an invoke policy request from a network functions virtualization
platform decision analytics (NPDA) module. Next, the method includes sending,
by the transceiver unit at the PEEGN, a request, wherein the request is for fetching
details of the one or more NFs from one or more NF components. Next, the method
includes storing, by a storing unit at the PEEGN, a response received for the request
25 comprising the details into a database. Next, the method includes analysing, by a
processing unit at the PEEGN, an availability of resources through a physical and
virtual infrastructure manager (PVIM) for the one or more NF components based
on at least one of the invoke policy request and the response. Next, the method
includes determining, by a determination unit at the PEEGN, one or more corrective
4
actions based on at least one of the invoke policy request and the analysed resource
availability. Thereafter, the method includes triggering, by the processing unit at
the PEEGN, a network function lifecycle manager to perform the one or more
corrective actions at the one or more NF components based on the analysed resource
availability and one or more predefined 5 corrective policies associated with the one
or more corrective actions.
[0007] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the one or more
corrective actions comprises one of at least a scaling action and a healing action.
10
[0008] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the invoke policy
request is associated with at least one of the one or more NF components is received
at least one of the PEEGN and the NPDA module.
15 [0009] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the one or more NFs
is at least one of virtual network functions (VNFs) and containerized network
functions (CNFs), and the one or more NF components is at least one of virtual
network function components (VNFCs) and containerized network function
components (CNFCs).
20
[0010] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the network function
lifecycle manager is at least one of a VNF lifecycle manager (VLM) and a CNF
lifecycle manager (CNFLM).
25 [0011] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the method further
comprises triggering the one or more corrective actions associated with at least one
of the VNF and the VNFC comprises: automatic monitoring, at a capacity manager
platform (CMP), performance metrics associated with at least one of one or more
VNF instances and one or more VNFC instances and sending a trigger to the NPDA
5
module for executing a hysteresis analysis based on the one or more predefined
corrective policies for a threshold breach event; triggering, by the NPDA module at
the PEEGN, an action for executing the one or more predefined corrective policies;
checking, by the PEEGN, from the PVIM available resources and one or more
resource quota associated with the available 5 resources; reserving one or more
resources from the available resources based on the one or more resource quota;
receiving, by the PEEGN, a response associated with reserving the one or more
resources from the PVIM; instructing, by the PEEGN, to a VNF Lifecycle Manager
(VLM) to trigger the corrective action based on the received response from the
10 PVIM; and sending, by the PEEGN, a corrective action response associated with
least one of the VNF and the VNFC to the NPDA module.
[0012] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the NPDA module is
configured for instructing the PEEGN to execute the one or more predefined
15 corrective policies for the VNF, the one or more corrective actions using the invoke
policy request with a policy action parameter.
[0013] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the method further
comprises instructing, by the PEEGN, based on the one or more predefined
20 corrective policies to the VLM to perform the one or more corrective actions to
execute at least one of a restart action and a migrate action associated with the
VNFC instance to a healthy host; and forwarding a healing response to the NPDA
MODULE after receiving a response associated with the executed action from the
VLM.
25
[0014] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the method further
comprises triggering the one or more corrective actions associated with the CNFC
comprises: automatic monitoring, by a capacity manager platform (CMP), a
performance metrics associated with one or more CNFC instances and sending a
30 trigger to the NPDA module for executing a container analysis based on the one or
6
more predefined corrective policies for a threshold breach event; triggering, by the
NPDA module at the PEEGN, an action for executing at least one of the one or
more predefined corrective policies; checking, by the PEEGN, from the PVIM, a
set of available resources and a resource quota and instructing for reserving at least
one available resource from the set of available 5 resources based on the resource
quota; receiving, by the PEEGN, a response associated with reserving the at least
one available resource from the PVIM; instructing, by the PEEGN, to a CNF
Lifecycle Manager (CNFLM) to perform the one or more corrective actions at the
CNFC based on the received response; and sending, by the PEEGN, a CNFC
10 corrective action response to the NPDA module based on performing the one or
more corrective actions at the CNFC.
[0015] Another aspect of the present disclosure may relate to a system for
performing one or more corrective actions on one or more Network Functions
15 (NFs). The system comprising: a transceiver unit configured to: receive, at a Policy
Execution Engine (PEEGN), an invoke policy request from a network functions
virtualization platform decision analytics (NPDA) module; and send, at the
PEEGN, a request, wherein the request is for fetching details of the one or more
NFs from one or more NF components; a storing unit configured to store, at the
20 PEEGN, a response received for the request comprising the details into a database;
a processing unit configured to analyse, at the PEEGN, an availability of resources
through a physical and virtual inventory manager (PVIM) for the one or more NF
components based on at least one of the invoke policy request and the response; a
determination unit configured to determine, at the PEEGN, one or more corrective
25 actions based on at least one of the invoke policy request and the analysed resource
availability; and the processing unit configured to trigger, at the PEEGN, a network
function lifecycle manager to perform the one or more corrective actions at the one
or more NF components based on the analysed resource availability and one or
more predefined corrective policies associated with the one or more corrective
30 actions.
7
[0016] Yet another aspect of the present disclosure may relate to a nontransitory
computer readable storage medium storing instructions for performing
one or more corrective actions on one or more Network Functions (NFs), the
instructions include executable code which, 5 when executed by one or more units of
a system, causes: a transceiver unit of the system to: receive, at a Policy Execution
Engine (PEEGN), an invoke policy request from a network functions virtualization
platform decision analytics (NPDA) module; and send, at the PEEGN, a request,
wherein the request is for fetching details of the one or more NFs from one or more
10 NF components; a storing unit of the system to store, at the PEEGN, a response
received for the request comprising the details into a database; a processing unit of
the system to analyse, at the PEEGN, an availability of resources through a physical
and virtual inventory manager (PVIM) for the one or more NF components based
on at least one of the invoke policy request and the response; a determination unit
15 of the system to determine, at the PEEGN, one or more corrective actions based on
at least one of the invoke policy request and the analysed resource availability; and
the processing unit of the system to trigger, at the PEEGN, a network function
lifecycle manager to perform the one or more corrective actions at the one or more
NF components based on the analysed resource availability and one or more
20 predefined corrective policies associated with the one or more corrective actions.
OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0017] Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one
25 embodiment disclosed herein satisfies are listed herein below.
[0018] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a system and a method
for scaling and healing of virtual and containerized functions component instances.
8
[0019] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a system and a
method for auto scaling/healing of VNF/VNFC and scaling of CNF/CNFC via
PE_NA interface based on scaling/healing policies of VNF/VNFC and CNF/CNFC
defined/created at PEEGN.
5
[0020] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a system and a
method for enabling PEEGN to calculate required resources for any VNF/VNFC,
do quota check and assign virtual inventory manager (VIM) based on affinity/antiaffinity
and other policies which are defined at PEEGN.
10
[0021] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a system and a
method for enabling PEEGN to calculate required resources for any CNF/CNFC,
do quota check, and assign nodes based on affinity/anti-affinity and other policies
which are defined at PEEGN.
15
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and
constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the
20 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. Also, the embodiments shown in the figures are
not to be construed as limiting the disclosure, but the possible variants of the method
25 and system according to the disclosure are illustrated herein to highlight the
advantages of the disclosure. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that
disclosure of such drawings includes disclosure of electrical components or
circuitry commonly used to implement such components.
9
[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a management and
orchestration (MANO) architecture.
[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a computing device
upon which the features 5 of the present disclosure may be implemented in
accordance with exemplary implementation of the present disclosure.
[0025] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a system for
performing one or more corrective actions on one or more Network Functions
10 (NFs), in accordance with exemplary implementations of the present disclosure.
[0026] FIG. 4 illustrates a method flow diagram for performing one or more
corrective actions on one or more Network Functions (NFs), in accordance with
exemplary implementations of the present disclosure.
15
[0027] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary system architecture for performing one
or more corrective actions on one or more Network Functions (NFs), in accordance
with exemplary implementations of the present disclosure.
20 [0028] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an auto scaling of
VNF/VNFC, in accordance with the exemplary implementations of the present
disclosure.
[0029] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a healing of
25 VNF/VNFC, in accordance with the exemplary implementations of the present
disclosure.
10
[0030] FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an auto scaling of
CNF/CNFC, in accordance with the exemplary implementations of the present
disclosure.
[0031] The foregoing shall 5 be more apparent from the following more detailed
description of the disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
10 [0032] In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, various
specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of
embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, that
embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific
details. Several features described hereafter may each be used independently of one
15 another or with any combination of other features. An individual feature may not
address any of the problems discussed above or might address only some of the
problems discussed above.
[0033] The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only, and is
20 not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure.
Rather, the ensuing description of the exemplary embodiments will provide those
skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing an exemplary
embodiment. It should be understood that various changes may be made in the
function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope
25 of the disclosure as set forth.
[0034] Specific details are given in the following description to provide a
thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one
of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these
11
specific details. For example, circuits, systems, processes, and other components
may be shown as components in block diagram form in order not to obscure the
embodiments in unnecessary detail.
[0035] Also, it is noted that 5 individual embodiments may be described as a
process which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, a
structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the
operations as a sequential process, many of the operations may be performed in
parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged.
10 A process is terminated when its operations are completed but could have additional
steps not included in a figure.
[0036] The word “exemplary” and/or “demonstrative” is used herein to mean
serving as an example, instance, or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the
15 subject matter disclosed herein is not limited by such examples. In addition, any
aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” and/or “demonstrative” is not
necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or
designs, nor is it meant to preclude equivalent exemplary structures and techniques
known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms
20 “includes,” “has,” “contains,” and other similar words are used in either the detailed
description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive—in a manner
similar to the term “comprising” as an open transition word—without precluding
any additional or other elements.
25 [0037] As used herein, a “processing unit” or “processor” or “operating
processor” includes one or more processors, wherein processor refers to any logic
circuitry for processing instructions. A processor may be a general-purpose
processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal
processor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in
30 association with a (Digital Signal Processing) DSP core, a controller, a
12
microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits, Field Programmable
Gate Array circuits, any other type of integrated circuits, etc. The processor may
perform signal coding data processing, input/output processing, and/or any other
functionality that enables the working of the system according to the present
disclosure. More specifically, the processor 5 or processing unit is a hardware
processor.
[0038] As used herein, “a user equipment”, “a user device”, “a smart-userdevice”,
“a smart-device”, “an electronic device”, “a mobile device”, “a handheld
10 device”, “a wireless communication device”, “a mobile communication device”, “a
communication device” may be any electrical, electronic and/or computing device
or equipment, capable of implementing the features of the present disclosure. The
user equipment/device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, smart
phone, laptop, a general-purpose computer, desktop, personal digital assistant,
15 tablet computer, wearable device or any other computing device which is capable
of implementing the features of the present disclosure. Also, the user device may
contain at least one input means configured to receive an input from at least one of
a transceiver unit, a processing unit, a storage unit, a detection unit and any other
such unit(s) which are required to implement the features of the present disclosure.
20
[0039] As used herein, “storage unit” or “memory unit” refers to a machine or
computer-readable medium including any mechanism for storing information in a
form readable by a computer or similar machine. For example, a computer-readable
medium includes read-only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”),
25 magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices or other
types of machine-accessible storage media. The storage unit stores at least the data
that may be required by one or more units of the system to perform their respective
functions.
13
[0040] As used herein “interface” or “user interface” refers to a shared
boundary across which two or more separate components of a system exchange
information or data. The interface may also refer to a set of rules or protocols that
define communication or interaction of one or more modules or one or more units
with each other, which 5 also includes the methods, functions, or procedures that may
be called.
[0041] All modules, units, components used herein, unless explicitly excluded
herein, may be software modules or hardware processors, the processors being a
10 general-purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor,
a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more
microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller,
Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Array
circuits (FPGA), any other type of integrated circuits, etc.
15
[0042] As used herein the transceiver unit includes at least one receiver and at
least one transmitter configured respectively for receiving and transmitting data,
signals, information or a combination thereof between units/components within the
system and/or connected with the system.
20
[0043] As used herein, Physical and Virtual Inventory Manager (PVIM)
module maintains the inventory and its resources. After getting a request to reserve
resources from PEEGN, PVIM adds up the resources consumed by particular
network function as used resources and removes them from free resources. Further,
25 the PVIM updates this in the NoSQL database.
[0044] As used herein, Container Network Function (CNF) Life Cycle
Manager (CNF-LM) may capture the details of vendors, CNFs, and Container
Network Function Components (CNFCs) via create, read, and update APIs exposed
14
by the service itself. The captured details are stored in a database and can be further
used by DSA service. CNF-LM may create CNF or individual CNFC instances.
CNFLM may scale-out the CNFs or individual CNFCs.
[0045] As used herein, Policy 5 Execution Engine (PEEGN) module provides a
network function virtualisation (NFV) software defined network (SDN) platform
functionality to support dynamic requirements of resource management and
network service orchestration in the virtualized network. Further, the PEEGN is
involved during CNF instantiation flow to check for CNF policy and to reserve
10 resources required to instantiate CNF at PVIM. PEEGN supports scaling policy for
CNFC.
[0046] As used herein, Capacity Manager Platform (CMP) creates a task to
monitor the performance metrics data received for that VNF, VNFC and CNFC.
15 Wherever there is a threshold breach, CMP sends a trigger to NFV Platform and
Decision Analytics (NPDA module).
[0047] As discussed in the background section, the current known solutions
have several shortcomings. The present disclosure aims to overcome the above20
mentioned and other existing problems in this field of technology by providing a
method and a system for performing one or more corrective actions on one or more
Network Functions (NFs).
[0048] The foregoing shall be more apparent from the following more detailed
25 description of the disclosure.
[0049] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
15
[0050] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary block diagram representation of a
management and orchestration (MANO) architecture/ platform [100], in
accordance with exemplary implementation of the present disclosure. The MANO
architecture [100] may be developed for managing telecom cloud infrastructure
automatically, managing 5 design or deployment design, managing instantiation of
network node(s)/ service(s) etc. The MANO architecture [100] deploys the network
node(s) in the form of Virtual Network Function (VNF) and Cloud-native/
Container Network Function (CNF). The system as provided by the present
disclosure may comprise one or more components of the MANO architecture [100].
10 The MANO architecture [100] may be used to auto-instantiate the VNFs into the
corresponding environment of the present disclosure so that it could help in
onboarding other vendor(s) CNFs and VNFs to the platform.
[0051] As shown in FIG. 1, the MANO architecture [100] comprises a user
15 interface layer [102], a network function virtualization (NFV) and software defined
network (SDN) design function module [104], a platform foundation services
module [106], a Platform Schedulers & Cron Jobs module [108] and a platform
resource adapters and utilities module [112]. All the components are assumed to be
connected to each other in a manner as obvious to the person skilled in the art for
20 implementing features of the present disclosure.
[0052] The NFV and SDN design function module [104] comprises a VNF
lifecycle manager (compute) [1042], a VNF catalogue [1044], a network services
catalogue [1046], a network slicing and service chaining manager [1048], a physical
25 and virtual resource manager [1050] and a CNF lifecycle manager [1052]. The VNF
lifecycle manager (compute) [1042] may be responsible for deciding on which
server of the communication network, and the microservice will be instantiated.
The VNF lifecycle manager (compute) [1042] may manage the overall flow of
incoming/ outgoing requests during interaction with the user. The VNF lifecycle
30 manager (compute) [1042] may be responsible for determining which sequence to
16
be followed for executing the process. For e.g., in an AMF network function of the
communication network (such as a 5G network), sequence for execution of
processes P1 and P2 etc. The VNF catalogue [1044] stores the metadata of all the
VNFs (also CNFs in some cases). The network services catalogue [1046] stores the
information of the services that need to 5 be run. The network slicing and service
chaining manager [1048] manages the slicing (an ordered and connected sequence
of network service/ network functions (NFs)) that must be applied to a specific
networked data packet. The physical and virtual resource manager [1050] stores the
logical and physical inventory of the VNFs. Just like the VNF lifecycle manager
10 (compute) [1042], the CNF lifecycle manager [1052] may be used for the CNFs
lifecycle management.
[0053] The platforms foundation services module [106] comprises a
microservices elastic load balancer [1062], an identity & access manager [1064], a
15 command line interface (CLI) [1066], a central logging manager [1068], and an
event routing manager [1070]. The microservices elastic load balancer [1062] may
be used for maintaining the load balancing of the request for the services. The
identity and access manager [1064] may be used for logging purposes. The
command line interface (CLI) [1066] may be used to provide commands to execute
20 certain processes which require changes during the run time. The central logging
manager [1068] may be responsible for keeping the logs of every service. These
logs are generated by the MANO platform [100]. These logs are used for debugging
purposes. The event routing manager [1070] may be responsible for routing the
events i.e., the application programming interface (API) hits to the corresponding
25 services.
[0054] The platforms core services module [108] comprises NFV
infrastructure monitoring manager [1082], an assure manager [1084], a
performance manager [1086], a policy execution engine [1088], a capacity
30 monitoring manager [1090], a release management (mgmt.) repository [1092], a
17
configuration manager & GCT [1094], an NFV platform decision analytics [1096],
a platform NoSQL DB [1098]; a platform schedulers and cron jobs [1100], a VNF
backup & upgrade manager [1102], a microservice auditor [1104], and a platform
operations, administration and maintenance manager [1106]. The NFV
infrastructure monitoring manager 5 [1082] monitors the infrastructure part of the
NFs. For e.g., any metrics such as CPU utilization by the VNF. The assure manager
[1084] may be responsible for supervising the alarms the vendor may be generating.
The performance manager [1086] may be responsible for managing the
performance counters. The policy execution engine (PEEGN) [1088] may be
10 responsible for managing all of the policies. The capacity monitoring manager
(CMM) [1090] may be responsible for sending the request to the PEEGN [1090].
The release management (mgmt.) repository (RMR) [1092] may be responsible for
managing the releases and the images of all of the vendor's network nodes. The
configuration manager & (GCT) [1094] manages the configuration and GCT of all
15 the vendors. The NFV platform decision analytics (NPDA) [1096] helps in deciding
the priority of using the network resources. It may be further noted that the policy
execution engine (PEEGN) [1088], the configuration manager & GCT [1094] and
the NPDA MODULE [1096] work together. The platform NoSQL DB [1098] may
be a database for storing all the inventory (both physical and logical) as well as the
20 metadata of the VNFs and CNF. The platform schedulers and cron jobs [1100]
schedules the task such as but not limited to triggering of an event, traverse the
network graph etc. The VNF backup & upgrade manager [1102] takes backup of
the images, binaries of the VNFs and the CNFs and produces those backups on
demand in case of server failure. The microservice auditor [1104] audits the
25 microservices. For e.g., in a hypothetical case, instances not being instantiated by
the MANO architecture [100] may be using the network resources. In such cases,
the microservice auditor [1104] audits and informs the same so that resources can
be released for services running in the MANO architecture [100]. The audit assures
that the services only run on the MANO platform [100]. The platform operations,
18
administration and maintenance manager [1106] may be used for newer instances
that are spawning.
[0055] The platform resource adapters and utilities module [112] further
comprises a platform external API adapter 5 and gateway [1122], a generic decoder
and indexer (XML, CSV, JSON) [1124], a docker service adapter [1126], an API
adapter [1128], and a NFV gateway [1130]. The platform external API adapter and
gateway [1122] may be responsible for handling the external services (to the
MANO platform [100]) that require the network resources. The generic decoder
10 and indexer (XML, CSV, JSON) [1124] gets directly the data of the vendor system
in the XML, CSV, JSON format. The docker service adapter [1126] may be the
interface provided between the telecom cloud and the MANO architecture [100] for
communication. The API adapter [1128] may be used to connect with the virtual
machines (VMs). The NFV gateway [1130] may be responsible for providing the
15 path to each service going to/incoming from the MANO architecture [100].
[0056] The docker service adapter (DSA) [1126] is a microservices-based
system designed to deploy and manage Container Network Functions (CNFs) and
their components (CNFCs) across Docker nodes. The DSA [1126] offers REST
20 endpoints for key operations, including uploading container images to a Docker
registry, terminating CNFC instances, and creating Docker volumes and networks.
CNFs, which are network functions packaged as containers, may consist of multiple
CNFCs. The DSA [1126] facilitates the deployment, configuration, and
management of these components by interacting with Docker's API, ensuring
25 proper setup and scalability within a containerized environment. This approach
provides a modular and flexible framework for handling network functions in a
virtualized network setup.
[0057] Referring to FIG. 2, an exemplary block diagram of a computing device
30 [200] (also referred herein as a computer system [200]) upon which the features of
19
the present disclosure may be implemented in accordance with exemplary
implementation of the present disclosure, is shown. In an implementation, the
computing device [200] may also implement a method for performing one or more
corrective actions on one or more Network Functions (NFs) utilising the system. In
another implementation, the computing 5 device [200] itself implements the method
for performing one or more corrective actions on one or more Network Functions
(NFs) using one or more units configured within the computing device [200],
wherein said one or more units are capable of implementing the features as
disclosed in the present disclosure.
10
[0058] The computing device [200] may include a bus [202] or other
communication mechanism for communicating information, and a hardware
processor [204] coupled with the bus [202] for processing information. The
hardware processor [204] may be, for example, a general-purpose microprocessor.
15 The computing device [200] may also include a main memory [206], such as a
random-access memory (RAM), or other dynamic storage device, coupled to the
bus [202] for storing information and instructions to be executed by the processor
[204]. The main memory [206] also may be used for storing temporary variables or
other intermediate information during execution of the instructions to be executed
20 by the processor [204]. Such instructions, when stored in non-transitory storage
media accessible to the processor [204], render the computing device [200] into a
special-purpose machine that is customized to perform the operations specified in
the instructions. The computing device [200] further includes a read only memory
(ROM) [208] or other static storage device coupled to the bus [202] for storing static
25 information and instructions for the processor [204].
[0059] A storage device [210], such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, or solidstate
drive is provided and coupled to the bus [202] for storing information and
instructions. The computing device [200] may be coupled via the bus [202] to a
30 display [212], such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), Liquid crystal Display (LCD),
20
Light Emitting Diode (LED) display, Organic LED (OLED) display, etc. for
displaying information to a computer user. An input device [214], including
alphanumeric and other keys, touch screen input means, etc. may be coupled to the
bus [202] for communicating information and command selections to the processor
[204]. Another type of user input device may be 5 a cursor controller [216], such as
a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys, for communicating direction
information and command selections to the processor [204], and for controlling
cursor movement on the display [212]. The input device typically has two degrees
of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allow
10 the device to specify positions in a plane.
[0060] The computing device [200] may implement the techniques described
herein using customized hard-wired logic, one or more ASICs or FPGAs, firmware
and/or program logic which in combination with the computing device [200] causes
15 or programs the computing device [200] to be a special-purpose machine.
According to one implementation, the techniques herein are performed by the
computing device [200] in response to the processor [204] executing one or more
sequences of one or more instructions contained in the main memory [206]. Such
instructions may be read into the main memory [206] from another storage medium,
20 such as the storage device [210]. Execution of the sequences of instructions
contained in the main memory [206] causes the processor [204] to perform the
process steps described herein. In alternative implementations of the present
disclosure, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with
software instructions.
25
[0061] The computing device [200] also may include a communication
interface [218] coupled to the bus [202]. The communication interface [218]
provides a two-way data communication coupling to a network link [220] that is
connected to a local network [222]. For example, the communication interface
30 [218] may be an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card, cable modem,
21
satellite modem, or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a
corresponding type of telephone line. As another example, the communication
interface [218] may be a local area network (LAN) card to provide a data
communication connection to a compatible LAN. Wireless links may also be
implemented. In any such 5 implementation, the communication interface [218]
sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital
data streams representing various types of information.
[0062] The computing device [200] can send messages and receive data,
10 including program code, through the network(s), the network link [220] and the
communication interface [218]. In the Internet example, a server [230] might
transmit a requested code for an application program through the Internet [228], the
ISP [226], the local network [222], the host [224] and the communication interface
[218]. The received code may be executed by the processor [204] as it is received,
15 and/or stored in the storage device [210], or other non-volatile storage for later
execution.
[0063] Referring to FIG. 3, an exemplary block diagram of a system [300]
performing one or more corrective actions on one or more Network Functions (NFs)
20 is shown, in accordance with the exemplary implementations of the present
disclosure. The system [300] comprises at least one transceiver unit [302], at least
one storing unit [304], at least one processing unit [306] and at least one
determination unit [308]. Also, all of the components/ units of the system [300] are
assumed to be connected to each other unless otherwise indicated below. Also, in
25 FIG. 3 only a few units are shown, however, the system [300] may comprise
multiple such units or the system [300] may comprise any such numbers of said
units, as required to implement the features of the present disclosure. In an
implementation, the system [300] may reside in a server or a network entity. In yet
another implementation, the system [300] may reside partly in the server/ network
30 entity.
22
[0064] The system [300] is configured for performing one or more corrective
actions on one or more Network Functions (NFs), with the help of the
interconnection between the components/units of the system [300].
5
[0065] In an exemplary implementation, the system [300] is configured to
perform the one or more corrective actions such as, but not limited to, a scaling
action and a healing action.
10 [0066] The system [300] comprises a transceiver unit [302]. The transceiver
unit [302] is configured to receive, at a Policy Execution Engine (PEEGN), an
invoke policy request from a network functions virtualization platform decision
analytics (NPDA) module. In an implementation, the invoke policy request is
associated with at least one of the one or more NF components, and is received by
15 at least one of the PEEGN and the NPDA module. The one or more NFs is at least
one of virtual network functions (VNFs) and containerized network functions
(CNFs). The one or more NF components is at least one of virtual network function
components (VNFCs) and containerized network function components (CNFCs).
20 [0067] The transceiver unit [302] of the system [300] is further configured to
send, by at the PEEGN, a request. In response to the invoking policy request, the
transceiver unit [302] at the PEEGN is configured to send the request for fetching
details of the one or more NFs from one or more NF components. In an exemplary
implementation, the details of the one or more NFs may be such as, but not limited
25 to, performance status, workload, capacity and resource consumption.
[0068] The system [300] comprises a storing unit [304]. The storing unit [304]
is configured to store at the PEEGN, a response received for the request comprising
the details into a database. After receiving the response for the request of details
23
associated with the one or more NFs, the storing unit [304] is configured to store at
the PEEGN, the response into the database. The response may comprise
information relating to the status, workload, capacity and resource consumption
associated with the NFs.
5
[0069] The system [300] comprises a processing unit [306]. The processing
unit [306] is configured to analyse at the PEEGN, an availability of resources
through a physical and virtual inventory manager (PVIM) for the one or more NF
components based on at least one of the invoke policy request and the response. In
10 an exemplary implementation, the one or more NF components may be such as, but
not limited to VNFCs and CNFCs. The processing unit [306] is configured to
analyse the availability of resources through the PVIM for the VNFCs and CNFCs
based on at least one of the invoke policy request and the response. The availability
of resources may represent the amount of available, allotted, and reserved resources
15 in the network for the NF components.
[0070] The system [300] comprises a determination unit [308]. The processing
unit [306] is communicatively coupled with the determination unit [308]. After
receiving the analysis from the processing unit [306], the determination unit [308]
20 is configured to determine, at the PEEGN, one or more corrective actions based on
at least one of the invoke policy request and the analysed resource availability. In
an exemplary implementation, the analysed resource availability may be associated
with such as allotted resources and reserve resources for the NF components. The
determination unit [308] is configured to determine the one or more corrective
25 actions based on the at least one of the invoke policy request and analysed resource
availability in the network for the NF components, such as, scaling or healing of
the NF components (e.g., VNFCs and CNFCs). For example, in an implementation,
if the allotted resources of an NF component have been exhausted and the NF shoots
an error, the system [330] is configured to determine and take the corrective action
30 of allocating more resources for managing the services associated with the NF in
24
the network. The allocation of resources would be pulled out from the reserve
resources.
[0071] After determining the one or more corrective actions, the processing
unit [306] of the system [300] is 5 further configured to trigger at the PEEGN, a
network function lifecycle manager to perform the one or more corrective actions
at the one or more NF components based on the analysed resource availability and
one or more predefined corrective policies associated with the one or more
corrective actions. The network function lifecycle manager is at least one of a VNF
10 lifecycle manager (VLM) and a CNF lifecycle manager (CNFLM). In an
implementation, the predefined corrective policies may be defined by such as, but
not limited to, a network administrator, a service provider and an authorised person.
[0072] In an implementation, the processing unit [306] may trigger the one or
15 more corrective actions associated with at least one of the VNF and the VNFC. The
trigger may comprise automatic monitoring, at a capacity manager platform (CMP),
performance metrics associated with at least one of one or more VNF instances and
one or more VNFC instances and send a trigger to the NPDA module for executing
a hysteresis analysis based on the one or more predefined corrective policies for a
20 threshold breach event. In an implementation, the performance metrics may be such
as, but not limited to, request or load handling capacity, uptime, resource utilization
and throughput. Further, the predefined corrective policies and threshold event may
be defined by such as, authorised person for the scaling or healing associated with
the NF components. In an implementation, the threshold event may be such as
25 exhausted usage of the reserve resources and larger throughput.
[0073] After receiving the trigger, the NPDA module is configured to trigger
at the PEEGN an action for executing the one or more predefined corrective
policies. In an implementation, the NPDA module is configured for instructing the
30 PEEGN to execute the one or more predefined corrective policies for the VNF, the
25
one or more corrective actions using the invoke policy request with a policy action
parameter. The policy action parameter may be such as, but not limited to, one or
more thresholds associated with time, resources, etc.
[0074] Further, the PEEGN is configured to check 5 from the PVIM available
resources and one or more resource quota associated with the available resources.
In an implementation, the resource quota associated with the available resources
may be predefined for the NF components based on the reserve resource, type of
service, workload, and time. In response to this, the PVIM is configured to reserve
10 the one or more resources from the available resources based on the one or more
resource quota. For example, the PVIM may reserve such as, the number of
resources and servers for the NF components. Thereafter, the PEEGN is configured
to receive a response associated with reserving the one or more resources from the
PVIM. In an exemplary implementation, the response may comprise an
15 acknowledgement. In an implementation, the response may comprise information
associated with reserved resources.
[0075] After receiving the response, the PEEGN is configured to instruct a
VNF Lifecycle Manager (VLM) to trigger the corrective action based on the
20 received response from the PVIM. The corrective action may be such as, scaling
action and healing action. After performing the corrective action, the VLM is
configured to send the PEEGN the corrective action response. Thereafter, the
PEEGN is configured to send the corrective action response associated with at least
one of the VNF and the VNFC to the NPDA module.
25
[0076] In an implementation, the PEEGN is configured to instruct based on the
one or more predefined corrective policies to the VLM to perform the one or more
corrective actions to execute at least one of a restart action and a migrate action
associated with the VNFC instance to a healthy host. Thereafter, the PEEGN is
26
configured to forward a healing or scaling response to the NPDA module after
receiving a response associated with the executed action from the VLM.
[0077] In an exemplary implementation, the processing unit [306] may trigger
the one or more corrective actions 5 associated with the CNFC. The trigger may
comprise automatic monitoring, by a capacity manager platform (CMP), of
performance metrics associated with one or more CNFC instances and send a
trigger to the NPDA module for executing a container analysis based on the one or
more predefined corrective policies for a threshold breach event. In an
10 implementation, the performance metrics may be such as, but not limited to, request
or load handling capacity, uptime, resource utilization and throughput. Further, the
predefined corrective policies and threshold event may be defined by such as,
authorised person for the scaling or healing associated with the NF components. In
an implementation, the threshold event may be such as exhausted usage of the
15 reserve resources and larger throughput.
[0078] Further, the NPDA module is configured to trigger at the PEEGN, an
action for executing at least one of the one or more predefined corrective policies.
In an implementation, the NPDA module is configured for instructing the PEEGN
20 to execute the at least one of the one or more predefined corrective policies for the
CNFC. In an implementation, the one or more corrective actions may be based on
the invoke policy request with a policy action parameter. The policy action
parameter may be such as, but not limited to, one or more thresholds associated
with time, resources, etc.
25
[0079] Further, the PEEGN is configured to check from the PVIM a set of
available resources and a resource quota. In an implementation, the resource quota
associated with the available resources may be predefined for the NF components
based on the reserve resource, type of service, workload, and time. Further, the
30 PEEGN is configured to instruct the PVIM for reserving at least one available
27
resource from the set of available resources based on the resource quota. For
example, the PVIM may reserve such as, the number of resources and servers for
the NF components. Thereafter, the PEEGN is configured to receive a response
associated with reserving the at least one available resource from the PVIM. In an
exemplary implementation, the response 5 may comprise an acknowledgement. In an
implementation, the response may comprise information associated with reserved
resources.
[0080] Further, after receiving the response the PEEGN is configured to
10 instruct a CNF Lifecycle Manager (CNFLM) to perform the one or more corrective
actions at the CNFC based on the received response from the PVIM. The one or
more corrective response may be such as scaling action and healing action. After
performing the corrective action, the CNFLM is configured to send the PEEGN the
corrective action response. Thereafter, the PEEGN is configured to send a CNFC
15 corrective action response to the NPDA module based on performing the one or
more corrective actions at the CNFC such as, but not limited to scaling, healing,
restart and migration.
[0081] Further, in accordance with the present disclosure, it is to be
20 acknowledged that the functionality described for the various components/units can
be implemented interchangeably. While specific embodiments may disclose a
particular functionality of these units for clarity, it is recognized that various
configurations and combinations thereof are within the scope of the disclosure. The
functionality of specific units as disclosed in the disclosure should not be construed
25 as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Consequently, alternative
arrangements and substitutions of units, provided they achieve the intended
functionality described herein, are considered to be encompassed within the scope
of the present disclosure.
28
[0082] Referring to FIG. 4 an exemplary method flow diagram [400], for
performing one or more corrective actions on one or more Network Functions
(NFs), in accordance with exemplary implementations of the present disclosure is
shown. In an implementation the method [400] is performed by the system [300].
5 As shown in FIG. 4, the method [400] starts at step [402].
[0083] At step [404], the method [400] as disclosed by the present disclosure
comprises receiving, by a transceiver unit [302] at a Policy Execution Engine
(PEEGN), an invoke policy request from a network functions virtualization
10 platform decision analytics (NPDA) module. In an implementation, the invoke
policy request is associated with at least one of the one or more NF components,
and is received by at least one of the PEEGN and the NPDA module. The one or
more NFs is at least one of virtual network functions (VNFs) and containerized
network functions (CNFs). The one or more NF components is at least one of virtual
15 network function components (VNFCs) and containerized network function
components (CNFCs).
[0084] Next, at step [406], the method [400] as disclosed by the present
disclosure comprises sending, by the transceiver unit [302] at the PEEGN, a request,
20 wherein the request is for fetching details of the one or more NFs from one or more
NF components. In an exemplary implementation, the details of the one or more
NFs may be such as, but not limited to, performance status, workload, capacity and
resource consumption.
25 [0085] Next, at step [408], the method [400] as disclosed by the present
disclosure comprises storing, by a storing unit [304] at the PEEGN, a response
received for the request comprising the details into a database. After receiving the
response for the request of details associated with the one or more NFs, the storing
unit [304] may store at the PEEGN, the response into the database. The response
29
may comprise information relating to the status, workload, capacity and resource
consumption associated with the NFs.
[0086] Next, at step [410], the method [400] as disclosed by the present
disclosure comprises analysing, by a 5 processing unit [306] at the PEEGN, an
availability of resources through a physical and virtual inventory manager (PVIM)
for the one or more NF components based on at least one of the invoke policy
request and the response. In an exemplary implementation, the one or more NF
components may be such as, but not limited to VNFCs and CNFCs. The processing
10 unit [306] may analyse the availability of resources through the PVIM for the
VNFCs and CNFCs based on at least one of the invoke policy request and the
response. The availability of resources may represent the amount of available,
allotted and reserved resources in the network for the NF components.
15 [0087] Next, at step [412], the method [400] as disclosed by the present
disclosure comprises determining, by a determination unit [308] at the PEEGN, one
or more corrective actions based on at least one of the invoke policy request and the
analysed resource availability. In an exemplary implementation, the analysed
resource availability may be associated with such as allotted resources and reserve
20 resources for the NF components. The determination unit [308] may determine the
one or more corrective actions based on the at least one of the invoke policy request
and analysed resource availability in the network for the NF components, such as,
scaling or healing of the NF components (e.g., VNFCs and CNFCs). For example,
in an implementation, if the allotted resources of an NF component have been
25 exhausted and the NF shoots an error, the system [330] may determine to take the
corrective action of allocating more resources for managing the services associated
with the NF in the network. The allocation of resources would be pulled out from
the reserve resources.
30
[0088] Next, at step [414], the method [400] as disclosed by the present
disclosure comprises triggering, by the processing unit [306] at the PEEGN, a
network function lifecycle manager to perform the one or more corrective actions
at the one or more NF components based on the analysed resource availability and
one or more predefined corrective 5 policies associated with the one or more
corrective actions. The network function lifecycle manager is at least one of a VNF
lifecycle manager (VLM) and a CNF lifecycle manager (CNFLM). In an
implementation, the predefined corrective policies may be defined by such as, but
not limited to, a network administrator, a service provider and an authorised person.
10
[0089] In an implementation, the processing unit [306] may trigger the one or
more corrective actions associated with at least one of the VNF and the VNFC. The
trigger may comprise automatic monitoring, at a capacity manager platform (CMP),
performance metrics associated with at least one of one or more VNF instances and
15 one or more VNFC instances and send a trigger to the NPDA module for executing
a hysteresis analysis based on the one or more predefined corrective policies for a
threshold breach event. In an implementation, the performance metrics may be such
as, but not limited to, request or load handling capacity, uptime, resource utilization
and throughput. Further, the predefined corrective policies and threshold event may
20 be defined by such as, authorised person for the scaling or healing associated with
the NF components. In an implementation, the threshold event may be such as
exhausted usage of the reserve resources and larger throughput.
[0090] After receiving the trigger, the NPDA module may trigger at the
25 PEEGN an action for executing the one or more predefined corrective policies. In
an implementation, the NPDA module may instruct the PEEGN to execute the one
or more predefined corrective policies for the VNF, the one or more corrective
actions using the invoke policy request with a policy action parameter. The policy
action parameter may be such as, but not limited to, one or more thresholds
30 associated with time, resources, etc.
31
[0091] Further, the PEEGN may check from the PVIM available resources, and
one or more resource quota associated with the available resources. In an
implementation, the resource quota associated with the available resources may be
predefined for the NF components based on the 5 reserve resource, type of service,
workload, and time. In response to this, the PVIM may reserve the one or more
resources from the available resources based on the one or more resource quota.
For example, the PVIM may reserve such as, the number of resources and servers
for the NF components. Thereafter, the PEEGN may receive a response associated
10 with reserving the one or more resources from the PVIM. In an exemplary
implementation, the response may comprise an acknowledgement. In an
implementation, the response may comprise information associated with reserved
resources.
15 [0092] After receiving the response, the PEEGN may instruct a VNF Lifecycle
Manager (VLM) to trigger the corrective action based on the received response
from the PVIM. The corrective action may be such as, scaling action and healing
action. After performing the corrective action, the VLM may send the PEEGN the
corrective action response. Thereafter, the PEEGN may send the corrective action
20 response associated with least one of the VNF and the VNFC to the NPDA module.
[0093] In an implementation, the PEEGN may instruct based on the one or
more predefined corrective policies to the VLM to perform the one or more
corrective actions to execute at least one of a restart action and a migrate action
25 associated with the VNFC instance to a healthy host. Thereafter, the PEEGN may
forward a healing or scaling response to the NPDA module after receiving a
response associated with the executed action from the VLM.
[0094] In an exemplary implementation, the processing unit [306] may trigger
30 the one or more corrective actions associated with the CNFC. The trigger may
32
comprise automatic monitoring, by a capacity manager platform (CMP), of
performance metrics associated with one or more CNFC instances and send a
trigger to the NPDA module for executing a container analysis based on the one or
more predefined corrective policies for a threshold breach event. In an
implementation, the performance metrics 5 may be such as, but not limited to, request
or load handling capacity, uptime, resource utilization and throughput. Further, the
predefined corrective policies and threshold event may be defined by such as,
authorised person for the scaling or healing associated with the NF components. In
an implementation, the threshold event may be such as exhausted usage of the
10 reserve resources and larger throughput.
[0095] Further, the NPDA module may trigger at the PEEGN, an action for
executing at least one of the one or more predefined corrective policies. In an
implementation, the NPDA module may instruct the PEEGN to execute the at least
15 one of the one or more predefined corrective policies for the CNFC. In an
implementation, the one or more corrective actions may be based on the invoke
policy request with a policy action parameter. The policy action parameter may be
such as, but not limited to, one or more thresholds associated with time, resources,
etc.
20
[0096] Further, the PEEGN may check from the PVIM a set of available
resources and a resource quota. In an implementation, the resource quota associated
with the available resources may be predefined for the NF components based on the
reserve resource, type of service, workload, and time. Further, the PEEGN may
25 instruct the PVIM for reserving at least one available resource from the set of
available resources based on the resource quota. For example, the PVIM may
reserve such as, the number of resources and servers for the NF components.
Thereafter, the PEEGN may receive a response associated with reserving the at least
one available resource from the PVIM. In an exemplary implementation, the
33
response may comprise an acknowledgement. In an implementation, the response
may comprise information associated with reserved resources.
[0097] Further, after receiving the response the PEEGN may instruct a CNF
Lifecycle Manager (CNFLM) to perform the one or 5 more corrective actions at the
CNFC based on the received response from the PVIM. The one or more corrective
response may be such as scaling action and healing action. After performing the
corrective action, the CNFLM may send the PEEGN the corrective action response.
Thereafter, the PEEGN may send a CNFC corrective action response to the NPDA
10 module based on performing the one or more corrective actions at the CNFC such
as, but not limited to scaling, healing, restart and migration.
[0098] Thereafter, the method [400] terminates at step [416].
15 [0099] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary system architecture [500] for
performing one or more corrective actions on one or more Network Functions
(NFs), in accordance with exemplary implementations of the present disclosure. As
shown in FIG. 5, the system [500] is configured for auto scaling and healing of
virtual and containerized functions via PE_NA interface. Referring to FIG. 5, the
20 system [500] comprises various sub-systems/units such as: at least one NFV
Platform Decision Analytics (NPDA) module [502], at least one processing unit
[504], at least one Policy Execution Engine (PEEGN) [506], at least one database
(DB) [508], at least one VNF Lifecycle Manager (VLM)/CNF Life Cycle Manager
(CNFLM) [510], at least one Physical and Virtual Inventory Manager (PVIM) [512]
25 and at least one storage unit [508a].
[0100] The PE_NA interface may connect PEEGN [506] and NPDA module
[502]. The PE_NA interface allows for bidirectional communication between the
PEEGN [506], and the NPDA module [502]. In an embodiment, the PE_NA
34
interface is configured to facilitate exchange of information using hypertext transfer
protocol (http) rest application programming interface (API). In an embodiment,
the http rest API is used in conjunction with JSON and/or XML communication
media. In another embodiment, the PE_NA interface is configured to facilitate
exchange of information by establishing a 5 web-socket connection between the
PEEGN [506], and the NPDA module [502]. A web-socket connection may involve
establishing a persistent connectivity between the PEEGN [506], and the NPDA
module [502]. An example of the web-socket based communication includes,
without limitation, a transmission control protocol (TCP) connection. In such a
10 connection, information, such as operational status, health, etc. of different
components may be exchanged through the interface using a ping-pong based
communication.
[0101] As shown in FIG. 5, the Invoke Policy request for VNF/VNFC and
15 CNFC both come at the PE_NA interface between PEEGN [506] and NPDA
module [502]. The policies, such as affinity/anti affinity/scaling/healing are defined
initially at design time. The NPDA module [502] sends/instructs async request for
policy engine PEEGN [506] to execute the policy for scaling/healing using
INVOKE_POLICY event to VNF/VNFC and scaling using
20 INVOKE_CNF_POLICY event to CNF/CNFC. The PEEGN [506] sends response
to the NPDA module [502] based on operation and stores related data on the
database (DB) [508]. In another embodiment, the policies may also define on the
fly at run time before instantiation/scaling. The modification of policies may be
visible from next or upcoming instantiation/scaling event. The processing unit [504]
25 may perform processing and analysing actions in the system [500] and storage unit
[508a] may store operational information and data in the system [500]. The PVIM
[512] maintains inventory information for the VNF, VNFC and CNFC.
[0102] Referring to FIG. 6 an exemplary block diagram [600] of an auto
30 scaling of VNF/VNFC, in accordance with the exemplary implementations of the
35
present disclosure. NPDA module [502] based on the scaling policy of the
VNF/VNFC for which the threshold breach event is received, executes a hysteresis.
If the hysteresis meets the criteria. The following process flows, but not limited to,
are performed during auto scaling of VNF/VNFC:
• NPDA module [502] instructs 5 the PEEGN [506] to execute the policy for
scaling using INVOKE_POLICY event.
• PEEGN [506] sends GET_VNF_DETAIL event to VNFC [602] for
fetching VNF and its components information.
• After receiving response of GET_VNF_DETAIL, PEEGN [506] saves the
10 response at their end for further processing.
• The PEEGN [506] may consult PVIM [512] to check the current used
resources against the total allocated quota. For this PEEGN [506] sends
PROVIDE_VIM_AZ_HA_DETAIL to PVIM [512] to provide available
resources at particular VIM against each Availability Zone (AZ) and Host
15 Aggregate (HA) and used resources of VNF.
• After receiving response from PVIM [512] and analysing that there are
enough resources for VNF/VNFC based on scaling/dependent
VNFC/affinity/anti-affinity policies and deployment to scale, PEEGN [506]
may trigger PVIM [512] to reserve the resources in its inventory using
20 RESERVE_RESOURCES_IN_VIM_AZ_HA event.
• On receiving acknowledgement from PVIM [512], the PEEGN [506] may
trigger VNF Lifecycle Manager (VLM) [604] to scale VNF/VNFC using
TRIGGER_VNF_SCALING/TRIGGER_VNFC_SCALING event.
• After receiving a response from the VLM [604], the PEEGN [506] sends a
25 response to the NPDA module [502].
[0103] Referring to FIG. 7 an exemplary block diagram [700] of a healing of
VNF/VNFC, in accordance with the exemplary implementations of the present
36
disclosure. The following process flows, but not limited to, are performed during
healing of VNF/VNFC:
• NPDA module [502] instructs the policy execution engine (PEEGN) [506]
to execute the policy for VNF healing using INVOKE_POLICY event with
5 policyAction parameter with value “healing”.
• PEEGN [506] based on the Healing policy may suggest the VLM [604] to
either RESTART / Migrate the VNFC instance to a healthy host by sending
UPDATE_VNF_INSTANCE_STATUS event to VLM [604].
• VLM [604] performs required action and sends a response to PEEGN [506].
10 • PEEGN [506] sends this response to the NPDA module [502].
[0104] FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary block diagram [800] of an auto scaling
of CNF/CNFC, in accordance with the exemplary implementations of the present
disclosure. The following process flows, but not limited to, are performed during
15 auto scaling of CNF/CNFC:
• NPDA module [502] may validate the condition (trigger relations) which
may be provided during CNFC policy creation in design time. Once the
trigger condition matches, NPDA module [502] instructs policy execution
engine (PEEGN) [506] to execute the policy for scaling using
20 INVOKE_CNF_POLICY event.
• PEEGN [506] sends GET_CNF_DETAIL request to CNFLM [802] to get
CNF information which was stored at CNFLM [802].
• After getting a response from the CNFLM [802], the PEEGN [506] checks
for resource quota at both CNF and CNFC level and stores this information
25 in its database.
• PEEGN [506] sends PROVIDE_CNF_RESOURCES request to the PVIM
[512] to fetch available resources at a particular site.
• After receiving response from the PVIM [512], the PEEGN [506] calculates
resource for CNFC based on policies (Scaling/affinity/anti-affinity policies)
37
defined at the PEEGN [506] and sends
RES_AND_PROVIDE_CNFC_TOKEN to the PVIM [512] to reserve
resource for particular CNFC.
• After receiving a successful response from the PVIM [512], the PEEGN
[506] sends 5 TRIGGER_CNFC_SCALING to CNFLM [802].
• CNFLM [802] initiates to spawn the new CNFC, after spawning the new
CNFC, PVIM [512] updates the inventory.
• After receiving Ack from CNFLM [802], the PEEGN [506] sends a
response to the NPDA module [502].
10
[0105] In an embodiment, there may be another microservices, such as, but not
limited to, Capacity Manager Platform (CMP), Platform Scheduler and Cron Job
(PSC) and Assurance Manager, may communicate with NPDA module, PEEGN
and PVIM during/before in any manner for scaling/healing of virtual and
15 containerized functions.
[0106] The present disclosure may relate to a non-transitory computer readable
storage medium storing instructions for performing one or more corrective actions
on one or more Network Functions (NFs), the instructions include executable code
20 which, when executed by one or more units of a system, causes: a transceiver unit
[302] of the system to receive at a Policy Execution Engine (PEEGN), an invoke
policy request from a network functions virtualization platform decision analytics
(NPDA) module; the transceiver unit [302] of the system to send at the PEEGN, a
request, wherein the request is for fetching details of the one or more NFs from one
25 or more NF components; a storing unit [304] of the system at the PEEGN to store,
a response received for the request comprising the details into a database; a
processing unit [306] of the system at the PEEGN, to analyse an availability of
resources through a physical and virtual inventory manager (PVIM) for the one or
more NF components based on at least one of the invoke policy request and the
38
response; a determination unit [308] of the system at the PEEGN, to determine one
or more corrective actions based on at least one of the invoke policy request and the
analysed resource availability; and the processing unit [306] of the system at the
PEEGN, to trigger a network function lifecycle manager to perform the one or more
corrective actions at the one or more NF components 5 based on the analysed resource
availability and one or more predefined corrective policies associated with the one
or more corrective actions.
[0107] As is evident from the above, the present disclosure provides a
10 technically advanced solution of efficient system and method for auto scaling and
healing of virtual and containerized functions component instances. The present
method and system provide a solution, which enables Policy Execution Engine
(PEEGN) and NFV Platform Decision Analytics (NPDA) module microservices to
support dynamic requirements of resource management and network service
15 orchestration in the virtualized and containerized network. The PEEGN stores and
provides policies for resource, security, availability, and scalability of VNFs. It
executes automatic scaling and healing functionality of VNF and automatic scaling
of CNF. The present method and system provide a solution, which uses interface
PE_NA between PEEGN and NPDA module for dealing with resource allocation
20 during VNF/VNFC scaling/healing for a VNF and CNFC scaling for CNFC, if
certain conditions are meet during runtime. The present method and system provide
a solution, which enables the PEEGN to suggest to the VNF Lifecycle Manager
(VLM), based on the healing policy, to either RESTART / Migrate the VNFC
instance to a healthy host. NPDA module microservice fetches the data from elastic
25 server and evaluates the scale out/in conditions. If the conditions pass, an event is
sent to PEEGN microservice. The present method and system provide async eventbased
implementation to utilize the interface efficiently. The present method and
system enable fault tolerance for any event failure, this interface works in a high
availability mode and if one PEEGN instance went down during request processing
39
then the next available instance may take care of this request. PEEGN also supports
a zero data loss policy.
[0108] While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the disclosed
embodiments, it will be appreciated 5 that many embodiments can be made and that
many changes can be made to the embodiments without departing from the
principles of the present disclosure. These and other changes in the embodiments
of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, whereby it is to
be understood that the foregoing descriptive matter to be implemented is illustrative
10 and non-limiting.
40
We Claim:
1. A method [400] for performing one or more corrective actions on one or
more Network Functions (NFs), the method [400] comprising:
- receiving, by a transceiver 5 unit [302] at a Policy Execution Engine
(PEEGN), an invoke policy request from a network functions
virtualization platform decision analytics (NPDA) module;
- sending, by the transceiver unit [302] at the PEEGN, a request,
wherein the request is for fetching details of the one or more NFs from
10 one or more NF components;
- storing, by a storing unit [304] at the PEEGN, a response received for
the request comprising the details into a database;
- analysing, by a processing unit [306] at the PEEGN, an availability of
resources through a physical and virtual inventory manager (PVIM)
15 for the one or more NF components based on at least one of the invoke
policy request and the response;
- determining, by a determination unit [308] at the PEEGN, one or more
corrective actions based on at least one of the invoke policy request
and the analysed resource availability; and
20 - triggering, by the processing unit [306] at the PEEGN, a network
function lifecycle manager to perform the one or more corrective
actions at the one or more NF components based on the analysed
resource availability and one or more predefined corrective policies
associated with the one or more corrective actions.
25
2. The method [400] as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more corrective
actions comprises one of at least a scaling action and a healing action.
41
3. The method [400] as claimed in claim 1, wherein the invoke policy request
is associated with at least one of the one or more NF components is received
at least one of the PEEGN and the NPDA module.
4. The method [400] as c 5 laimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more NFs is at
least one of virtual network functions (VNFs) and containerized network
functions (CNFs), and wherein the one or more NF components is at least
one of virtual network function components (VNFCs) and containerized
network function components (CNFCs).
10
5. The method [400] as claimed in claim 1, wherein the network function
lifecycle manager is at least one of a VNF lifecycle manager (VLM) and a
CNF lifecycle manager (CNFLM).
15 6. The method [400] as claimed in claim 4, wherein triggering the one or more
corrective actions associated with at least one of the VNF and the VNFC
comprises:
- automatic monitoring, at a capacity manager platform (CMP),
performance metrics associated with at least one of one or more VNF
20 instances and one or more VNFC instances and sending a trigger to
the NPDA module for executing a hysteresis analysis based on the one
or more predefined corrective policies for a threshold breach event;
- triggering, by the NPDA module at the PEEGN, an action for
executing the one or more predefined corrective policies;
25 - checking, by the PEEGN, from the PVIM available resources and one
or more resource quota associated with the available resources;
- reserving one or more resources from the available resources based on
the one or more resource quota;
42
- receiving, by the PEEGN, a response associated with reserving the
one or more resources from the PVIM;
- instructing, by the PEEGN, to a VNF Lifecycle Manager (VLM) to
trigger the corrective action based on the received response from the
5 PVIM; and
- sending, by the PEEGN, a corrective action response associated with
at least one of the VNF and the VNFC to the NPDA module.
7. The method [400] as claimed in claim 6, wherein the NPDA module is
10 configured for instructing the PEEGN to execute the one or more predefined
corrective policies for the VNF, the one or more corrective actions using the
invoke policy request with a policy action parameter.
8. The method [400] as claimed in claim 1, wherein instructing, by the
15 PEEGN, based on the one or more predefined corrective policies to the
VLM to perform the one or more corrective actions to execute at least one
of a restart action and a migrate action associated with the VNFC instance
to a healthy host; and forwarding a healing response to the NPDA module
after receiving a response associated with the executed action from the
20 VLM.
9. The method [400] as claimed in claim 4, wherein triggering the one or more
corrective actions associated with the CNFC comprises:
- automatic monitoring, by a capacity manager platform (CMP), a
25 performance metrics associated with one or more CNFC instances and
sending a trigger to the NPDA module for executing a container
analysis based on the one or more predefined corrective policies for a
threshold breach event;
43
- triggering, by the NPDA module at the PEEGN, an action for
executing at least one of the one or more predefined corrective
policies;
- checking, by the PEEGN, from the PVIM, a set of available resources
and a resource 5 quota and instructing for reserving at least one
available resource from the set of available resources based on the
resource quota;
- receiving, by the PEEGN, a response associated with reserving the at
least one available resource from the PVIM;
10 - instructing, by the PEEGN, to a CNF Lifecycle Manager (CNFLM) to
perform the one or more corrective actions at the CNFC based on the
received response; and
- sending, by the PEEGN, a CNFC corrective action response to the
NPDA module based on performing the one or more corrective
15 actions at the CNFC.
10. A system [300] for performing one or more corrective actions on one or
more Network Functions (NFs), the system [300] comprising:
- a transceiver unit [302] configured to:
20 - receive, at a Policy Execution Engine (PEEGN), an invoke
policy request from a network functions virtualization platform
decision analytics (NPDA) module; and
- send, at the PEEGN, a request, wherein the request is for
fetching details of the one or more NFs from one or more NF
25 components;
- a storing unit [304] configured to store, at the PEEGN, a response
received for the request comprising the details into a database;
- a processing unit [306] configured to analyse, at the PEEGN, an
availability of resources through a physical and virtual inventory
44
manager (PVIM) for the one or more NF components based on at least
one of the invoke policy request and the response;
- a determination unit [308] configured to determine, at the PEEGN,
one or more corrective actions based on at least one of the invoke
policy request and the 5 analysed resource availability; and
- the processing unit [306] configured to trigger, at the PEEGN, a
network function lifecycle manager to perform the one or more
corrective actions at the one or more NF components based on the
analysed resource availability and one or more predefined corrective
10 policies associated with the one or more corrective actions.
11. The system [300] as claimed in claim 10, wherein the one or more corrective
actions comprises one of at least a scaling action and a healing action.
15 12. The system [300] as claimed in claim 10, wherein the invoke policy request
is associated with at least one of the one or more NF components is received
by at least one of the PEEGN and the NPDA module.
13. The system [300] as claimed in claim 10, wherein the one or more NFs is at
20 least one of virtual network functions (VNFs) and containerized network
functions (CNFs), and wherein the one or more NF components is at least
one of virtual network function components (VNFCs) and containerized
network function components (CNFCs).
25 14. The system [300] as claimed in claim 10, wherein the network function
lifecycle manager is at least one of a VNF lifecycle manager (VLM) and a
CNF lifecycle manager (CNFLM).
45
15. The system [300] as claimed in claim 13, wherein, to trigger the one or more
corrective actions associated with at least one of the VNF and the VNFC:
- a capacity manager platform (CMP) is configured to automatically
monitor performance metrics associated with at least one of one or
more VNF instances and one 5 or more VNFC instances and sending a
trigger to the NPDA module for executing a hysteresis analysis based
on the one or more predefined corrective policies for a threshold
breach event;
- the NPDA module is configured to trigger, at the PEEGN, an action
10 for executing the one or more predefined corrective policies; and
- the PEEGN is configured to:
- check, from the PVIM available resources and one or more
resource quota associated with the available resources;
- reserve one or more resources from the available resources
15 based on the one or more resource quota;
- receive a response associated with reserving the one or more
resources from the PVIM;
- instruct, to a VNF Lifecycle Manager (VLM) to trigger the
corrective action based on the received response from the
20 PVIM; and
- send a corrective action response associated with at least one of
the VNF and the VNFC to the NPDA module.
16. The system [300] as claimed in claim 15, wherein the NPDA module is
25 configured for instructing the PEEGN to execute the one or more predefined
corrective policies for the VNF, the one or more corrective actions using the invoke policy request with a policy action parameter.
17. The system [300] as claimed in claim 10, wherein instructing, by the PEEGN, based on the one or more predefined corrective policies to the VLM to perform the one or more corrective actions to execute at least one of a restart action and a migrate action associated with the VNFC instance to a healthy host; and 5 forwarding a healing response to the NPDA module after receiving a response associated with the executed action from the VLM.
18. The system [300] as claimed in claim 13, wherein, to trigger the one or more 10 corrective actions associated with the CNFC:
- a capacity manager platform (CMP) is configured to automatically
monitor a performance metrics associated with one or more CNFC
instances and sending a trigger to the NPDA module for executing a
container analysis based on the one or more predefined corrective
15 policies for a threshold breach event;
- the NPDA module is configured to trigger, at the PEEGN, an action
for executing at least one of the one or more predefined corrective
policies; and - the PEEGN is configured to:
20 - check, from the PVIM, a set of available resources and a
resource quota and instructing for reserving at least one
available resource from the set of available resources based on
the resource quota; - receive a response associated with reserving the at least one 25 available resource from the PVIM;
- instruct to a CNF Lifecycle Manager (CNFLM) to perform the
one or more corrective actions at the CNFC based on the
received response; and - send a CNFC corrective action response to the NPDA module based on performing the one or more corrective actions at the CNFC.