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 AN AUDIT OF
A SET OF NETWORK RESOURCES”
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 AN AUDIT OF A SET OF
NETWORK RESOURCES
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
5
[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to network
performance management systems. More particularly, embodiments of the present
disclosure relate to methods and systems for performing an audit of a set of network
resources.
10
BACKGROUND
[0002] The following description of the 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 is used only
to enhance the understanding of the reader with respect to the present disclosure,
and not as admissions of the prior art.
20 [0003] In communication networks, such as 5G networks, a plurality of
microservices are responsible for performing one or more services, tasks, and jobs
within the communication network. Further, one such microservice is an Auditor
Service Unit (ASU) microservice which is responsible for auditing resources,
including physical memory, RAM, and CPU, at the Inventory Manager (IM)
25 microservice. The ASU ensures that the IM remains closely synchronized with the
real-time available or utilized resources, which further minimizes any discrepancies
between the data maintained by the IM and the actual resources. Furthermore, the
ASU communicates to verify data accuracy primarily through the Service Adaptor
(SA) and the IM. The ASU detects whether the hosts contain fewer or more
30 containers than those reflected in the inventory managed by the IM. Based on these
3
detections, the ASU transmits an API request to the IM to update its inventory. In
addition, the AU interacts with the microservices to retrieve real-time data using
various APIs.
[0004] However, there 5 exists no mechanism to identify which of the hosts
contains fewer/more containers than the amount present in inventory managed by
IM. There is, therefore, a requirement in the art for a means to overcome the above
stated limitation.
10 OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0005] Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one
embodiment disclosed herein satisfies are listed herein below.
15 [0006] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a system and a method
for performing an audit of a set of network resources.
[0007] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a solution for
auditing the actual and allocated resources utilized by Container Network Function
20 Components (CNFCs) within a network for identifying any discrepancies in
resource utilization.
[0008] It is yet another object of the present disclosure to provide a solution
that ensures high availability during the auditing process, where, in case of failure
25 of an auditor service instance, another instance may continue the audit without
interruption.
4
SUMMARY
[0009] 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 5 the key features or the scope
of the claimed subject matter.
[0010] An aspect of the present disclosure may relate to a method for
performing an audit of a set of network resources. The method comprises receiving,
10 by a transceiver unit at an Auditor Service Unit (ASU) from a user interface (UI),
a request for fetching an audit report of one or more actual resources utilised by one
or more Container Network Function Components (CNFCs) and one or more
allocated resources utilized by the one or more CNFCs. Thereafter, the method
comprises fetching, by the processing unit at the ASU, the one or more actual
15 resources utilised by the one or more CNFCs and the one or more allocated
resources utilized by the one or more CNFCs based on the request. Thereafter, the
method comprises comparing, by the processing unit at the ASU, the one or more
actual resources and the one or more allocated resources to detect one or more
discrepancies in resource utilisation at the one or more CNFCs. Thereafter, the
20 method comprises transmitting, from the transceiver unit at the ASU to the UI, the
audit report comprising the detected one or more discrepancies.
[0011] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, each of the one or
more allocated resources comprise a physical memory, a random access memory
25 (RAM) and a central processing unit (CPU) at an inventory manager (IM).
[0012] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the UI is one of a
Graphical User Interface (GUI), and a Command Line Interface (CLI).
5
[0013] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the ASU and the UI
are connected through an auditor service user interface (AU_UI).
[0014] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the one or more
CNFCs are configured 5 at one or more network nodes present in a region.
[0015] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, each of the request
and the audit report comprises at least one of an information related to the one or
more CNFCs and an information related to the one or more network nodes.
10
[0016] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the AU_UI works in
a high availability mode, and wherein in the high availability mode if one auditor
service instance unit goes down during processing of the request, then a next
available auditor service instance unit processes the request.
15
[0017] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, a communication
between the ASU and the UI through the AU_UI is provided via a REST API using
a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) protocol.
20 [0018] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, an information
exchanged between the ASU and the UI through the AU_UI is in a JavaScript
Object Notation (JSON) format.
[0019] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the detected one or
25 more discrepancies comprises an information related to at least one of one or more
over utilized allocated resources from the one or more allocated resources and one
or more underutilized allocated resources from the one or more allocated resources.
[0020] Another aspect of the present disclosure may relate to a system for
30 performing an audit of a set of network resources. The system comprises a
6
transceiver unit at an Auditor Service Unit (ASU), configured to receive from a user
interface (UI), a request for fetching an audit report of one or more actual resources
utilised by one or more Container Network Function Components (CNFCs) and one
or more allocated resources utilized by the one or more CNFCs. Further, a
processing unit connected to the transceiver 5 unit. Herein, the processing unit is
configured to fetch at the ASU, the one or more actual resources utilised by the one
or more CNFCs and the one or more allocated resources utilized by the one or more
CNFCs based on the request. Thereafter, the processing unit is configured to
compare at the ASU, the one or more actual resources and the one or more allocated
10 resources to detect one or more discrepancies in resource utilisation at the one or
more CNFCs. Further, the transceiver unit is configured to transmit from the ASU
to the UI, the audit report comprising the detected one or more discrepancies.
[0021] Yet another aspect of the present disclosure may relate to a user
15 equipment (UE) for performing an audit of a set of network resources. The UE
comprises a memory and a processor connected to the memory. Herein, the
processor is configured to transmit from a user interface (UI) to an Auditor Service
Unit (ASU), a request for fetching an audit report. Further, the processor is
configured to receive from the ASU at the UI, the audit report comprising one or
20 more discrepancies, wherein the one or more discrepancies are detected at the ASU
based on: fetching one or more actual resources utilised by one or more CNFCs and
one or more allocated resources utilized by the one or more CNFCs based on the
request, and comparing the one or more actual resources and the one or more
allocated resources to detect the one or more discrepancies in resource utilisation at
25 the one or more CNFCs.
[0022] Yet another aspect of the present disclosure may relate to a nontransitory
computer-readable storage medium, storing instructions for performing
an audit of a set of network resources, the storage medium comprising executable
30 code which, when executed by one or more units of a system, causes: a transceiver
unit at an Auditor Service Unit (ASU), to receive from a user interface (UI), a
7
request for fetching an audit report of one or more actual resources utilised by one
or more Container Network Function Components (CNFCs) and one or more
allocated resources utilized by the one or more CNFCs; and a processing unit to:
fetch at the ASU, the one or more actual resources utilised by the one or more
CNFCs and the one or more allocated resources 5 utilized by the one or more CNFCs
based on the request, and compare at the ASU, the one or more actual resources and
the one or more allocated resources to detect one or more discrepancies in resource
utilisation at the one or more CNFCs, and the transceiver unit to further transmit
from the ASU to the UI, the audit report comprising the detected one or more
10 discrepancies.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and
15 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. Also, the embodiments shown in the figures are
20 not to be construed as limiting the disclosure, but the possible variants of the method
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.
25
[0024] FIG.1 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a manifestation and
orchestration (MANO) architecture.
8
[0025] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a computing device
upon which the features of the present disclosure may be implemented, in
accordance with exemplary implementations of the present disclosure.
[0026] FIG. 3 illustrates an 5 exemplary block diagram of a system for
performing an audit of a set of network resources, in accordance with exemplary
implementations of the present disclosure.
[0027] FIG. 4 illustrates a method flow diagram for performing an audit of a
10 set of network resources, in accordance with exemplary implementations of the
present disclosure.
[0028] The foregoing shall be more apparent from the following more detailed
description of the disclosure.
15
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0029] In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, various
specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of
20 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
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
25 problems discussed above.
[0030] The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only, and is
not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure.
Rather, the ensuing description of the exemplary embodiments will provide those
30 skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing an exemplary
9
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
of the disclosure as set forth.
[0031] Specific 5 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
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
10 embodiments in unnecessary detail.
[0032] Also, it is noted that 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
15 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.
A process is terminated when its operations are completed but could have additional
steps not included in a figure.
20 [0033] The word “exemplary” and/or “demonstrative” is used herein to mean
serving as an example, instance, or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the
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
25 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
“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
30 any additional or other elements.
10
[0034] 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 5 processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal
processor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in
association with a Digital Signal Processing (DSP) core, a controller, a
microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits, Field Programmable
Gate Array circuits, any other type of integrated circuits, etc. The processor may
10 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 or processing unit is a hardware
processor.
15 [0035] As used herein, “a user equipment”, “a user device”, “a smart-userdevice”,
“a smart-device”, “an electronic device”, “a mobile device”, “a handheld
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
20 user equipment/device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, smart
phone, laptop, a general-purpose computer, desktop, personal digital assistant,
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 unit(s) which
25 are required to implement the features of the present disclosure.
[0036] 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
30 medium includes read-only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”),
11
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.
5
[0037] 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
10 with each other, which also includes the methods, functions, or procedures that may
be called.
[0038] All modules, units, components used herein, unless explicitly excluded
herein, may be software modules or hardware processors, the processors being a
15 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.
20
[0039] 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.
25
[0040] As discussed in the background section, the current known solutions
have several shortcomings. The present disclosure aims to overcome the abovementioned
and other existing problems in this field of technology by providing a
method and a system of performing an audit of a set of network resources. The
30 present disclosure fetches an information on the actual resources used by CNFCs
12
and the resources allocated to said CNFCs, and compares the actual resources and
the allocated resources to detect any discrepancies such as over-utilization or
underutilization of the resources. Further, the detected discrepancies are mentioned
in an audit report, which is then transmitted to the user interface (UI) in view of
performing a necessary action to timely 5 fix the over-utilization or underutilization
of the resources.
[0041] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary block diagram representation of a
management and orchestration (MANO) architecture [100], in accordance with
10 exemplary implementations of the present disclosure. The MANO architecture
[100] is developed for managing telecom cloud infrastructure automatically,
managing design or deployment design, managing instantiation of a network
node(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
15 (CNF). The system may comprise one or more components of the MANO
architecture. The MANO architecture [100] is 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. In an
implementation, the system comprises a NFV Platform Decision Analytics (NPDA)
20 [1096] component.
[0042] As shown in FIG. 1, the MANO architecture [100] comprises a user
interface layer [102], a network function virtualization (NFV) and software defined
network (SDN) design function module [104], a platforms foundation services
25 module [106], a platform core services module [108] and a platform resource
adapters and utilities module [112], wherein all the components are assumed to be
connected to each other in a manner as obvious to the person skilled in the art for
implementing features of the present disclosure.
13
[0043] The NFV and SDN design function module [104] further comprises a
VNF lifecycle manager (compute) [1042], a VNF catalogue [1044], a network
services catalog [1046], a network slicing and service chaining manager [1048], a
physical and virtual resource manager [1050] and a CNF lifecycle manager [1052].
The VNF lifecycle manager (compute) 5 [1042] is responsible for on which server of
the network the microservice will be instantiated. The VNF lifecycle manager
(compute) [1042] will manage the overall flow of incoming/ outgoing requests
during interaction with the user. The VNF lifecycle manager (compute) [1042] is
responsible for determining which sequence to be followed for executing the
10 process. For e.g. in an AMF network function of the 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 catalog [1046] stores the information of the services that need to be run.
The network slicing and service chaining manager [1048] manages the slicing (an
15 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 (compute) [1042], the CNF lifecycle manager
[1052] is similarly used for the CNFs lifecycle management.
20
[0044] The platforms foundation services module [106] further comprises a
microservices elastic load balancer [1062], an identify and access manager [1064],
a command line interface (CLI) [1066], a central logging manager [1068], and an
event routing manager [1070]. The microservices elastic load balancer [1062] is
25 used for maintaining the load balancing of the request for the services. The identify
and access manager [1064] is used for logging purposes. The command line
interface (CLI) [1066] is used to provide commands to execute certain processes
which require changes during the run time. The central logging manager [1068] is
responsible for keeping the logs of every service. These logs are generated by the
30 MANO platform [100]. These logs are used for debugging purposes. The event
14
routing manager [1070] is responsible for routing the events i.e., the application
programming interface (API) hits to the corresponding services.
[0045] The platforms core services module [108] further comprises NFV
infrastructure monitoring 5 manager [1082], an assure manager [1084], a
performance manager [1086], a policy execution engine [1088], a capacity
monitoring manager [1090], a release management (mgmt.) repository [1092], a
configuration manager and GCT [1094], an NFV platform decision analytics
[1096], a platform NoSQL DB [1098], a platform schedulers and cron jobs [1100],
10 a VNF backup and upgrade manager [1102], a micro service auditor [1104], and a
platform operations, administration and maintenance manager [1106]. The NFV
infrastructure monitoring manager [1082] monitors the infrastructure part of the
NFs. For e.g., any metrics such as CPU utilization by the VNF. The assure manager
[1084] is responsible for supervising the alarms the vendor is generating. The
15 performance manager [1086] is responsible for manging the performance counters.
The policy execution engine (PEEGN) [1088] is responsible for all the managing
the policies. The capacity monitoring manager (CMM) [1090] is responsible for
sending the request to the PEEGN [1088]. The release management (mgmt.)
repository (RMR) [1092] is responsible for managing the releases and the images
20 of all the vendor network node. The configuration manager and GCT [1094]
manages the configuration and GCT of all the vendors. The NFV platform decision
analytics (NPDA) [1096] helps in deciding the priority of using the network
resources. It is further noted that the policy execution engine (PEEGN) [1088], the
configuration manager and GCT [1094] and the (NPDA) [1096] work together. The
25 platform NoSQL DB [1098] is a platform database for storing all the inventory
(both physical and logical) as well as the metadata of the VNFs and CNF. It may
be noted that the platform NoSQL DB [1098] may be just a narrow implementation
of the present disclosure, and any other kind of structure for the database may be
implemented for the platform database such as relational or non-relational database.
30 The platform schedulers and cron jobs [1100] schedules the task such as but not
limited to triggering of an event, traversing the network graph etc. The VNF backup
15
and 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
micro service auditor [1104] audits the microservices. For e.g., in a hypothetical
case, instances not being instantiated by the MANO architecture [100] using the
network resources then the micro 5 service auditor [1104] audits and informs the
same so that resources can be released for services running in the MANO
architecture [100], thereby assuring the services only run on the MANO platform
[100]. The platform operations, administration and maintenance manager [1106] is
used for newer instances that are spawning.
10
[0046] The platform resource adapters and utilities module [112] further
comprises a platform external API adapter and gateway [1122], a generic decoder
and indexer (XML, CSV, JSON) [1124], a service adapter [1126], an API adapter
[1128], and a NFV gateway [1130]. The platform external API adapter and gateway
15 [1122] may be responsible for handling the external services (to the MANO
platform [100]) that require the network resources. The generic decoder and indexer
(XML, CSV, JSON) [1124] gets directly the data of the vendor system in the XML,
CSV, JSON format. The service adapter [1126] may be the interface provided
between the telecom cloud and the MANO architecture [100] for communication.
20 The API adapter [1128] may be used to connect with the virtual machines (VMs).
The NFV gateway [1130] may be responsible for providing the path to each service
going to/incoming from the MANO architecture [100].
[0047] The service adapter (SA) [1126] is a microservices-based system
25 designed to deploy and manage Container Network Functions (CNFs) and their
components (CNFCs) across nodes. The SA [1126] offers REST endpoints for key
operations, including uploading container images to a Docker registry, terminating
CNFC instances, and creating volumes and networks. CNFs, which are network
functions packaged as containers, may consist of multiple CNFCs. The SA [1126]
30 facilitates the deployment, configuration, and management of these components by
interacting with API, ensuring proper setup and scalability within a containerized
16
environment. This approach provides a modular and flexible framework for
handling network functions in a virtualized network setup.
[0048] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a computing device
[200] (herein, also referred to as 5 a computer system [200]) upon which one or more
features of the present disclosure may be implemented in accordance with an
exemplary implementation of the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be
implemented on a computing device [200] as shown in FIG. 2. The computing
device [200] implements the present disclosure in accordance with the MANO
10 architecture (as shown in FIG. 1).In an implementation, the computing device [200]
may also implement a method for performing an audit of a set of network resources,
utilising a system, or one or more sub-systems, provided in the network. In another
implementation, the computing device [200] itself implements the method for
performing an audit of a set of network resources, using one or more units
15 configured within the computing device [200], wherein said one or more units are
capable of implementing the features as disclosed in the present disclosure.
[0049] The computing device [200] may include a bus [202] or other
communication mechanism(s) for communicating information, and a hardware
20 processor [204] coupled with bus [202] for processing said information. The
hardware processor [204] may be, for example, a general-purpose microprocessor.
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
25 [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
by the processor [204]. Such instructions, when stored in a non-transitory storage
media accessible to the processor [204], render the computing device [200] into a
special purpose device that is customized to perform operations according to the
30 instructions. The computing device [200] further includes a read only memory
17
(ROM) [208] or other static storage device coupled to the bus [202] for storing static
information and instructions for the processor [204].
[0050] A storage device [210], such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, or solidstate
drive is provided 5 and coupled to the bus [202] for storing information and
instructions. The computing device [200] may be coupled via the bus [202] to a
display [212], such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), Liquid crystal Display (LCD),
Light Emitting Diode (LED) display, Organic LED (OLED) display, etc., for
displaying information to a user of the computing device [200]. An input device
10 [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 a cursor
controller [216], such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys, for
communicating direction information and command selections to the processor
15 [204], and for controlling cursor movement on the display [212]. The cursor
controller [216] typically has two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g.,
x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allows the cursor controller [216] to specify
positions in a plane.
20 [0051] 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 or programs the computing device [200] to be a special-purpose device.
According to one implementation, the techniques herein are performed by the
25 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]. The
one or more instructions may be read into the main memory [206] from another
storage medium, such as the storage device [210]. Execution of the one or more
sequences of the one or more instructions contained in the main memory [206]
30 causes the processor [204] to perform the process steps described herein. In
18
alternative implementations of the present disclosure, hard-wired circuitry may be
used in place of, or in combination with, software instructions.
[0052] The computing device [200] also may include a communication
interface [218] coupled to the 5 bus [202]. The communication interface [218]
provides two-way data communication coupling to a network link [220] that is
connected to a local network [222]. For example, the communication interface
[218] may be an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card, cable modem,
satellite modem, or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a
10 corresponding type of telecommunication line. In 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 implementation, the communication interface [218]
sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital
15 data streams representing different types of information.
[0053] The computing device [200] can send and receive data, including
program code, messages, etc. through the network(s), the network link [220] and
the communication interface [218]. In an example, a server [230] might transmit a
20 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, and/or stored
in the storage device [210], or other non-volatile storage for later execution.
25 [0054] Referring to FIG. 3, an exemplary block diagram of a system [300] for
performing an audit of a set of network resources, is shown, in accordance with the
exemplary implementations of the present disclosure. The system [300] comprises
at least one transceiver unit [302], and at least one processing unit [304]. Also, all
of the components/ units of the system [300] are assumed to be connected to each
30 other unless otherwise indicated below. As shown in the figures all units shown
19
within the system [300] should also be assumed to be connected to each other. Also,
in 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. Further, in an
implementation, the system [300] 5 may be present in a user equipment (UE) (e.g., a
user device) to implement the features of the present disclosure. The system [300]
may be a part of the UE or may be independent of but in communication with the
UE. In another 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
10 server/ network entity and partly in the UE.
[0055] The system [300] is configured for performing an audit of a set of
network resources, with the help of the interconnection between the
components/units of the system [300].
15
[0056] Further, in accordance with the present disclosure, it is to be
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
20 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
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
25 of the present disclosure.
[0057] The system [300] comprises the transceiver unit [302] at an Auditor
Service Unit (ASU) [306]. The ASU [306] is responsible for monitoring, evaluating
on operational standards and security protocols for one or more network functions.
30 In one aspect, the ASU [306] may ensure that all network functions are established
20
as per the operational standards in the wireless communication network. In another
aspect, the ASU [306] may monitor efficiency and effectiveness of the one or more
network function components, such as interactions of one or more network function
and their components with other network entities, and the service delivered by the
5 one or more network function and their components.
[0058] The transceiver unit [302] is configured to configured to receive from a
user interface (UI) [308], a request for fetching an audit report of one or more actual
resources utilised by one or more Container Network Function Components
10 (CNFCs) and one or more allocated resources utilized by the one or more CNFCs.
Further, each of the request and the audit report comprises at least one of an
information related to the one or more CNFCs and an information related to the one
or more network nodes. Herein, the ASU [306] is responsible for handling one or
more requests and generating audit reports that are associated with the resources
15 utilized by the CNFCs. The ASU [306] via the transceiver unit [302] may receive
the audit report for fetching the audit report that may provide a detailed information
on the actual resources utilized and allocated resources that are utilised by the one
or more CNFCs.
20 [0059] Further, the one or more CNFCs are configured at one or more network
nodes present in a region. Herein, the one or more CNFCs are responsible for
performing one or more microservices at network function level. The CNFCs are
lightweight, scalable, and operate in a containerized environment, implying that the
one or more CNFCs are efficiently deployed across multiple network nodes.
25 Further, the network nodes may represent at least one of a physical location and a
virtual location within the communication network where one or more resources
are consumed by CNFCs. Furthermore, each CNFC from the one or more CNFCs
consumes a portion of the one or more resources that is allocated to said CNFC, at
the specific node. It is to be noted that the one or more resources are allocated to
30 each CNFC by an inventory manager (IM) [310], at their respective nodes.
21
[0060] Further, each of the one or more allocated resources comprise a physical
memory, a random access memory (RAM) and a central processing unit [304]
(CPU) at the IM.
5
[0061] In one example, the one or more allocated resource may comprise the
physical memory that may indicate a storage capacity allocated to a specific CNFCs
at the network node.
10 [0062] In another example, the one or more allocated resource may comprise
the RAM that may refer to a volatile memory allocated to a specific CNFCs for
processing a plurality of data and running one or more applications.
[0063] In yet another example, the one or more allocated resource may
15 comprise the CPU that may refer to a processing power allocated to CNFCs for
executing one or more tasks at the network node.
[0064] Further, the UI [308] is one of a Graphical User Interface (GUI), and a
Command Line Interface (CLI). The UI [308] may provide a point of interaction
20 between the subscribers (such as a user) and the publishers (such as one or more
authorities managing the ASU [306]). Herein, the UI [308] allows users to initiate
one or more requests for audit reports, and may allow the users a plurality of input
methods to specify the CNFCs and network nodes for which the audit report is to
be generated.
25
[0065] In one implementation, the UI [308] can be the GUI. The GUI is a
visual, user-friendly interface that allows users to interact with the ASU [306]
through one or more graphical elements such icons, menus and alike.
22
[0066] In another implementation, the UI [308] can be the CLI. The CLI is a
text-based interface that allows users to interact with the ASU [306] by typing
commands.
[0067] Furthermore, the ASU [306] 5 and the UI [308] are connected through an
auditor service user interface (AU_UI). The AU_UI may further facilitate the
communication between the ASU [306] and the UI [308], allowing the UI [308] to
transmit the request associated with the audit report and may further receive said
audit report comfortably.
10
[0068] It is to be noted that the communication between the ASU [306] and the
UI [308] through the AU_UI is provided via a REST API using a Hypertext
Transfer Protocol (HTTP) protocol. As mentioned, the communication through the
AU_UI is established using the REST API. Herein, the REST API or also known
15 as representational state transfer is preferably utilized for creating web services. The
REST API uses HTTP protocol as the transport protocol for transmitting data
between the ASU [306] and the UI [308]. It is to be noted that REST APIs are
lightweight and stateless, implying that each request from the UI [308] to the ASU
[306] may contains all the information that is required by the ASU [306] to process
20 said request and the ASU [306] may not have to rely on previous interactions.
[0069] For instance, in an event, the user requests an audit report through the
UI [308], the REST API sends an HTTP request to the ASU [306], that may contain
details about the requested CNFCs and network nodes. Further, the ASU [306] may
25 process the request and sends back a response associated with said request, which
the REST API may deliver to the UI [308].
[0070] It is also to be noted that an information exchanged between the ASU
[306] and the UI [308] through the AU_UI is in a JavaScript Object Notation
30 (JSON) format. As mentioned, the information exchanged between the ASU [306]
23
and the UI [308] through the AU_UI is arranged using JSON format. The JSON
format is a lightweight data-interchange format that is easy to read and write for
users, and easy for machines to parse and generate one or more information. The
JSON format may use a standardized format, based on which the report may be
formatted in order to se 5 nd the request sent from the UI [308] to the ASU [306].
[0071] It is also to be noted that an event such as
GET_CNFC_INVENTORY_AUDIT is triggered when the ASU [306] receives the
request for fetching the audit report is received at the transceiver unit [302]. Further,
10 the event GET_CNFC_INVENTORY_AUDIT is routed through Event Routing
Managers (ERMs). Herein, the ERMs are responsible for managing and facilitating
the transmission of events between one or more network entities within the
communication network. The ERMs may ensure that any event is properly directed
from the publisher to the subscribers in an effective manner.
15
[0072] For ease of understanding, the above-mentioned process is explained
via an exemplary step by step process. Firstly, when a user transmits a request for
an audit report, the ASU [306] may trigger the event
GET_CNFC_INVENTORY_AUDIT. This request herein includes all the
20 necessary details such as the CNFC identifiers, network nodes, and the specific
resources (CPU, RAM, etc.) that are to be audited within the audit report.
[0073] Thereafter, post receiving the event, the IM [310] and other network
entity may fetch the requested information associated with the allocated and actual
25 resources used by CNFCs, and post fetching the requested information, the
information is then sent to the ERM which may further transfer the received
information to the ASU [306].
[0074] The system [300] further comprises the processing unit [304] connected
30 to the transceiver unit [302]. Herein, the processing unit [304] is configured to fetch
24
at the ASU [306], the one or more actual resources utilised by the one or more
CNFCs and the one or more allocated resources utilized by the one or more CNFCs
based on the request. Further, as mentioned above, the processing unit [304] may
trigger the event such as the GET_CNFC_INVENTORY_AUDIT for fetching the
one or more actual resources utilised by the 5 one or more CNFCs and the one or
more allocated resources utilized by the one or more CNFCs.
[0075] It is to be noted that the one or more actual resources utilised by the one
or more CNFCs and the one or more allocated resources utilized by the one or more
10 CNFCs are differentiated by the help of one or more exemplary scenarios.
[0076] In an event, the one or more resources is the physical memory, then the
one or more actual resources utilised by the one or more CNFCs is the storage
capacity that is being utilized to maintain a flow of data by the CNFCs during a
15 specific operation. Similarly, the one or more allocated resources utilized by the
one or more CNFCs is the physical memory assigned to the CNFC for performing
said specific operation.
[0077] In another event, the one or more resources is the RAM, then the one or
20 more actual resources utilised by the one or more CNFCs is the volatile memory
being used by the CNFCs to store and manage an ongoing operation. Similarly, the
one or more allocated resources utilized by the one or more CNFCs is the volatile
memory that was allocated to the CNFCs for handling said ongoing operation.
25 [0078] In another event, the one or more resources is the CPU, then the one or
more actual resources utilised by the one or more CNFCs is the processing power
(preferably in cycles) being actively used by the CNFC for processing a specific
operation. Similarly, the one or more allocated resources utilized by the one or more
CNFCs is the processing power (preferably in cycles) that was reserved for the
30 CNFC at the network node.
25
[0079] Further, the processing unit [304] is configured to compare at the ASU
[306], the one or more actual resources and the one or more allocated resources to
detect one or more discrepancies in resource utilisation at the one or more CNFCs.
The primary purpose for comparing the one 5 or more actual resources and the one
or more allocated resources is to monitor the one or more discrepancies in the
resource utilization at the one or more CNFCs. The processing unit [304] may
further fetch the information from the one or more discrepancies such as if any
resource from the one or more resources are either being overused, or underused by
10 said CNFCs.
[0080] Herein, the detected one or more discrepancies comprises an
information related to at least one of one or more over utilized allocated resources
from the one or more allocated resources and one or more underutilized allocated
15 resources from the one or more allocated resources.
[0081] In one implementation, the detected one or more discrepancies
comprises information related to the over-utilization of the allocated resources from
the one or more allocated resources. In such a scenario, the network may face one
20 or issues which may include but are not limited to an inefficiency of the CNFCs, a
degraded performance of the CNFCs, a network failures if the one or more overutilized
resources are required for other network functions.
[0082] For ease of understanding, explaining the following with the help of an
25 example, in an event, a specific CNFC is allotted with 1 giga-bytes (GB) of volatile
memory for performing an operation (suppose operation X), but the processing unit
[304] may detect that said CNFC is using 1.3 GB of the volatile memory, which
may indicate an over-utilization of the resources and may further lead to at least one
of above mentioned issues.
30
26
[0083] In another implementation, the detected one or more discrepancies
comprises information related to the under-utilization of the allocated resources
from the one or more allocated resources. In such scenario, the network may face
one or more issues, which may include inefficient resource management, which
may increase 5 the operating costs at the network node.
[0084] For ease of understanding, explaining the following with the help of an
example, in an event, a specific CNFC is allotted with a 4 CPU cores for performing
an operation (suppose operation Z), but the processing unit [304] may detect that
10 said CNFC is using only 2 CPU cores, which may indicate an under-utilization of
the resources and may further lead to at least one of above mentioned issues.
[0085] Further, the transceiver unit [302] is further configured to transmit from
the ASU [306] to the UI [308], the audit report comprising the detected one or more
15 discrepancies. Post detecting the one or more discrepancies by the processing unit
[304], the transceiver unit [302] at the ASU [306] is configured to transmit the audit
report to the UI [308], enabling the user using the UI [308] to monitor the one or
more discrepancies, and may accordingly perform one or more action.
20 [0086] In an example, the one or more discrepancies may assist in reallocation
of the one or more resources. Such as one or more underutilized resources are freed
and may be allocated to other CNFCs or network functions that may need the one
or more resources. Similarly, the one or more over-utilized CNFCs are provided by
additional one or more resources to handle their one or more operations in a more
25 effective manner.
[0087] In another example, the reallocation of the one and more resources may
further assist in analysing a usage patterns of the one or more resources at the
CNFC, that may further be utilized in an overall optimization of the one or more
30 network nodes.
27
[0088] In another example, the reallocation of the one and more resources may
further affect the cost management for one or more operations of the CNFCs at their
corresponding network node.
5
[0089] Further, it is to be noted that the AU_UI works in a high availability
mode, and in the high availability mode if one auditor service instance unit goes
down during processing of the request, then a next available auditor service instance
unit processes the request. Herein, the AU_UI is operated in a clustered
10 communication network, where a plurality of auditor service instance units (or
ASUs) [306] are deployed in parallel. The plurality of ASUs [306] are configured
to provide redundancy, implying that if one ASU [306] becomes unavailable (due
to failure or maintenance), another ASU [306] is immediately available to continue
processing any ongoing requests.
15
[0090] Further, being in the high availability mode, in a scenario of failure of
a specific ASU [306], said ASU [306] may trigger an event, that the one or more
ongoing request at said specific ASU [306] is rerouted to another ASU [306]. The
another ASU [306] may instantly pick the one or more ongoing requests, and may
20 further process said one or more ongoing requests, ensuring minimal delay and no
data loss.
[0091] Referring to FIG. 4, an exemplary method flow diagram [400] for
performing an audit of a set of network resources, in accordance with exemplary
25 implementations of the present disclosure is shown. In an implementation the
method [400] is performed by the system [300]. Further, in an implementation, the
system [300] may be present in a server device to implement the features of the
present disclosure.
30 [0092] Also, as shown in FIG. 4, the method [400] initially starts at step [402].
28
[0093] At step [404], the method [400] comprises receiving, by the transceiver
unit [302] at the Auditor Service Unit (ASU) [306] from the user interface (UI)
[308], the request for fetching the audit report of one or more actual resources
utilised by the one or more 5 Container Network Function Components (CNFCs) and
the one or more allocated resources utilized by the one or more CNFCs. Herein,
each of the request and the audit report comprises at least one of an information
related to the one or more CNFCs and an information related to the one or more
network nodes.
10
[0094] The method [400] further explains that the one or more CNFCs are
configured at one or more network nodes present in a region. Furthermore, each of
the one or more allocated resources comprise a physical memory, a random-access
memory (RAM) and a central processing unit [304] (CPU) at an inventory manager
15 (IM) [310].
[0095] The method [400] further explains that the UI [308] is one of the
Graphical User Interface (GUI), and the Command Line Interface (CLI).
Furthermore, the ASU [306] and the UI [308] are connected through the auditor
20 service user interface (AU_UI). It is to be noted that the communication between
the ASU [306] and the UI [308] through the AU_UI is provided via the REST API
using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) protocol. It is to be further noted that
the information exchanged between the ASU [306] and the UI [308] through the
AU_UI is in a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format.
25
[0096] At step [406], the method [400] comprises fetching, by the processing
unit [304] at the ASU [306], the one or more actual resources utilised by the one or
more CNFCs and the one or more allocated resources utilized by the one or more
CNFCs based on the request.
30
29
[0097] At step [408], the method [400] comprises comparing, by the
processing unit [304] at the ASU [306], the one or more actual resources and the
one or more allocated resources to detect one or more discrepancies in resource
utilisation at the one or more CNFCs. Herein, the detected one or more
discrepancies 5 comprises the information related to at least one of one or more over
utilized allocated resources from the one or more allocated resources and one or
more underutilized allocated resources from the one or more allocated resources.
[0098] At step [410], the method [400] comprises transmitting, from the
10 transceiver unit [302] at the ASU [306] to the UI [308], the audit report comprising
the detected one or more discrepancies.
[0099] The method [400] further explains that the AU_UI works in a high
availability mode, and wherein in the high availability mode if one auditor service
15 instance unit goes down during processing of the request, then a next available
auditor service instance unit processes the request.
[0100] The method [400] herein terminates at step [412].
20 [0101] The present disclosure further discloses a user equipment (UE) for
performing an audit of a set of network resources. The UE comprises a memory and
a processor connected to the memory. Herein, the processor is configured to
transmit from a user interface (UI) [308] to an Auditor Service Unit (ASU) [306],
a request for fetching an audit report. Further, the processor is configured to receive
25 from the ASU [306] at the UI [308], the audit report comprising one or more
discrepancies, wherein the one or more discrepancies are detected at the ASU [306]
based on: fetching one or more actual resources utilised by one or more CNFCs and
one or more allocated resources utilized by the one or more CNFCs based on the
request, and comparing the one or more actual resources and the one or more
30
allocated resources to detect the one or more discrepancies in resource utilisation at
the one or more CNFCs.
[0102] The present disclosure further provides a non-transitory computerreadable
storage medium, storing instructions 5 for performing an audit of a set of
network resources, the storage medium comprising executable code which, when
executed by one or more units of a system [300], causes: a transceiver unit [302] at
an Auditor Service Unit (ASU) [306], to receive from a user interface (UI) [308], a
request for fetching an audit report of one or more actual resources utilised by one
10 or more Container Network Function Components (CNFCs) and one or more
allocated resources utilized by the one or more CNFCs; and a processing unit [304]
to: fetch at the ASU [306], the one or more actual resources utilised by the one or
more CNFCs and the one or more allocated resources utilized by the one or more
CNFCs based on the request, and compare at the ASU [306], the one or more actual
15 resources and the one or more allocated resources to detect one or more
discrepancies in resource utilisation at the one or more CNFCs, and the transceiver
unit [302] to further transmit from the ASU [306] to the UI [308], the audit report
comprising the detected one or more discrepancies.
20 [0103] As is evident from the above, the present disclosure provides a
technically advanced solution for performing an audit of a set of network resources.
The present disclosure provides a solution to users to investigate discrepancies
between resource utilization at the server level and the resources recorded in the
inventory database. In addition, the present disclosure facilitates a user interface for
25 displaying the status of the resources in a concise and user friendly manner.
[0104] While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the disclosed
implementations, it will be appreciated that many implementations can be made and
that many changes can be made to the implementations without departing from the
30 principles of the present disclosure. These and other changes in the implementations
31
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
and non-limiting.
32
We Claim:
1. A method [400] for performing an audit of a set of network resources, the
method [400] comprising:
- receiving, by a transceiver 5 unit [302] at an Auditor Service Unit (ASU)
[306] from a user interface (UI) [308], a request for fetching an audit
report of one or more actual resources utilised by one or more Container
Network Function Components (CNFCs) and one or more allocated
resources utilized by the one or more CNFCs;
10 - fetching, by the processing unit [304] at the ASU [306], the one or more
actual resources utilised by the one or more CNFCs and the one or more
allocated resources utilized by the one or more CNFCs based on the
request;
- comparing, by the processing unit [304] at the ASU [306], the one or
15 more actual resources and the one or more allocated resources to detect
one or more discrepancies in resource utilisation at the one or more
CNFCs; and
- transmitting, from the transceiver unit [302] at the ASU [306] to the UI
[308], the audit report comprising the detected one or more
20 discrepancies.
2. The method [400] as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the one or more
allocated resources comprise a physical memory, a random-access memory
(RAM) and a central processing unit [304] (CPU) at an inventory manager
25 (IM) [310].
3. The method [400] as claimed in claim 1, wherein the UI [308] is one of a
Graphical User Interface (GUI), and a Command Line Interface (CLI).
33
4. The method [400] as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ASU [306] and the UI
[308] are connected through an auditor service user interface (AU_UI).
5. The method [400] as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more CNFCs
are configured 5 at one or more network nodes present in a region.
6. The method [400] as claimed in claim 5, wherein each of the request and
the audit report comprises at least one of an information related to the one
or more CNFCs and an information related to the one or more network
10 nodes.
7. The method [400] as claimed in claim 4, wherein the AU_UI works in a
high availability mode, and wherein in the high availability mode, if one
auditor service instance unit goes down during processing of the request,
15 then a next available auditor service instance unit processes the request.
8. The method [400] as claimed in claim 4, wherein a communication between
the ASU [306] and the UI [308] through the AU_UI is provided via a REST
API using a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) protocol.
20
9. The method [400] as claimed in claim 4, wherein an information exchanged
between the ASU [306] and the UI [308] through the AU_UI is in a
JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format.
25 10. The method [400] as claimed in claim 1, wherein the detected one or more
discrepancies comprises an information related to at least one of one or more
over utilized allocated resources from the one or more allocated resources
and one or more underutilized allocated resources from the one or more
allocated resources.
30
34
11. A system [300] for performing an audit of a set of network resources, the
system [300] comprising:
- a transceiver unit [302] at an Auditor Service Unit (ASU) [306],
configured to receive from a user interface (UI) [308], a request for
fetching an audit report of one 5 or more actual resources utilised by one
or more Container Network Function Components (CNFCs) and one or
more allocated resources utilized by the one or more CNFCs; and
- a processing unit [304] connected to the transceiver unit [302], the
processing unit [304] is configured to:
10 - fetch at the ASU [306], the one or more actual resources utilised
by the one or more CNFCs and the one or more allocated
resources utilized by the one or more CNFCs based on the
request; and
- compare at the ASU [306], the one or more actual resources and
15 the one or more allocated resources to detect one or more
discrepancies in resource utilisation at the one or more CNFCs;
and
- the transceiver unit [302] is further configured to transmit from the ASU
[306] to the UI [308], the audit report comprising the detected one or
20 more discrepancies.
12. The system [300] as claimed in claim 11, wherein each of the one or more
allocated resources comprise a physical memory, a random-access memory
(RAM) and a central processing unit [304] (CPU) at an inventory manager
25 (IM) [310].
13. The system [300] as claimed in claim 11, wherein the UI [308] is one of a
Graphical User Interface (GUI), and a Command Line Interface (CLI).
35
14. The system [300] as claimed in claim 11, wherein the ASU [306] and the
UI [308] are connected through an auditor service user interface (AU_UI).
15. The system [300] as claimed in claim 11, wherein the one or more CNFCs
are configured 5 at one or more network nodes present in a region.
16. The system [300] as claimed in claim 15, wherein each of the request and
the audit report comprises at least one of an information related to the one
or more CNFCs and an information related to the one or more network
10 nodes.
17. The system [300] as claimed in claim 14, wherein the AU_UI works in a
high availability mode, and wherein in the high availability mode, if one
auditor service instance unit goes down during processing of the request,
15 then a next available auditor service instance unit processes the request.
18. The system [300] as claimed in claim 14, wherein a communication between
the ASU [306] and the UI [308] through the AU_UI is provided via a REST
API using a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) protocol.
20
19. The system [300] as claimed in claim 14, wherein an information exchanged
between the ASU [306] and the UI [308] through the AU_UI is in a
JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format.
25 20. The system [300] as claimed in claim 11, wherein the detected one or more
discrepancies comprises an information related to at least one of one or more
over utilized allocated resources from the one or more allocated resources
and one or more underutilized allocated resources from the one or more
allocated resources.
30
36
21. A user device comprising:
- a memory; and
- a processor connected to the memory, wherein the processor is
configured to:
5 transmit from a user interface (UI) [308] to an Auditor Service Unit
(ASU) [306], a request for fetching an audit report,
receive from the ASU [306] at the UI [308], the audit report
comprising one or more discrepancies, wherein the one or more
discrepancies are detected at the ASU [306] based on:
10 fetching one or more actual resources utilised by one or more
CNFCs and one or more allocated resources utilized by the
one or more CNFCs based on the request,
comparing the one or more actual resources and the one or
more allocated resources to detect the one or more
15 discrepancies in resource utilisation at the one or more
CNFCs.