1. A netw o r k fun ct io n s virt u a l i z a t io n m an ag ement an d o r c h e s t ra ti on method comprising: a step of receiving information o f a template from a storage unit; 5 and a st ep o f creati n g an in st an ce b as e d o n t he i nform at io n of t he t e m pl at e, wherei n an in f orm at i on ele m en t t hat a ll ow s a n in s ta nce cre at ed b a se d on t h e i nfo r ma t io n of t he temp la te to b e di s t i n gu i sh ed b y n ame is pro vi ded 10 i n th e t em p l a t e th at i s st ore d i n th e st orag e u ni t.

2. T he n etwork f un c t i on s v i r t u a l iz at io n m an ag e me nt and orch est r at i on m et h od acco r di n g t o cl ai m 1, wh e r ei n th e in f ormati on el ement th at all ow s th e i n s t a n c e t o be d is ti ngui s he d b y name in cl ud es an i n fo rma ti on elemen t t ha t gi ves a n ami ng r ul e fo r a na me of t he i n s t a n c e . 15 3. A netw o r k fun ct io n s virt u a l i z a t io n m an ag ement an d o r c h e s t ra ti on m e t ho d, c om p r i s in g: prov id in g, i n a V NF (Vi r tu al iz e d Netw ork Fu n c t i on ) descr ip to r (VNFD), an information element that gives a naming rule for a name of an i ns ta nc e , t o all ow an i ns t a n c e c r e at ed ba sed o n i nform at io n o f th e 20 VNFD to be distinguished by name .

4. T he netw ork f un ct io ns v i r tu al iz at io n ma na ge ment a nd orch est r at i on meth od accord in g to cl a im 3, co mp r i s in g: providing an information element of a VM name that describes a na m in g ru le fo r a v i r t ual m ac hi ne (V M ) o n a s am e la yer as i nfo rmati on 25 el ement s of an ID ( Id en ti fie r ) and a V DU (Virt ua l iz e d Depl o y m en t U ni t ) of the VNFD, to allow a pluralit y of instances created based on the VNFD to be distinguished by name .

5. A netw o r k fun ct io n s vi r t u a l i z a ti on m an ag em en t an d o r ch es t r a t i on system, comprising: 30 i np ut me an s th at r ec e iv e s i nfo rmati on of a te m pl a te fro m a s t o r a g e un i t ; and creati on me ans t ha t cre at e s a n i ns t a n c e ba s ed o n t he in fo rmati on of t he t em pl at e, wherei n t he t em p l a t e i nc lu des an i nform at io n elemen t th at all ow s 25 an i ns ta nc e cr eat ed ba sed o n th e in form at i on o f th e templ at e to b e d i s t i n g u i s h e d b y name .

6. T he netw ork f un ct io ns v i r tu al iz at io n ma na ge ment a nd orch est r at i on s ys t em accord in g to claim 5, w he r e in t he in f ormati on 5 el ement t hat all ow s th e i n s t a n c e t o be d is ti ngui s he d b y name in cl ud es an i n fo rma ti on eleme nt t h at gi ve s a n ami ng rul e for t h e name of t he i n s t a n c e.

7. A netw o r k fun ct io n s virt u a l i z a t io n m an ag ement an d o r c h e s t ra ti on s yst em c omp r i s i ng : 10 m e a n s th at r ec ei v e s a VN F (Vi r t u al i zed Ne tw ork Fu nc ti on ) de s c r ip to r ( VNF D ) in cl udin g an i nfo rma ti on eleme nt t hat giv es a naming rule for a name of an i n s t a n c e ; and m e a n s th at cr ea t e s an i nst ance b a s ed on in f orm at i on o f t he VNFD .

8. T he netw ork f un ct io ns v i r tu al iz at io n ma na ge ment a nd 15 orch est r at i on s ys te m ac co rdi ng to cl ai m 7, wher e in an in f orm at i on el ement o f a VM na me th at d e sc r i bes a n am i ng r ul e f or a vi r tu al m ac hi ne (VM) is provided in the VNFD on a same layer as information elements of an ID (Ide nt ifi e r ) a nd a VD U (Vi r t u a l i z e d D epl o ym en t U n i t ) of t he VNFD, to allow a p l u r a l i t y of instances created based on the VNFD to 20 be d i s t i ngu i s hed b y n ame .

9. A program causing a computer to execute: a p r o c e s s i n g of recei vi n g, from a s to r a g e u n it , a te m pl at e i n clu din g an i nfo r m at i on ele me nt t ha t a ll ow s an in s ta nce cre a te d bas ed on information of the received template to be distinguished by name ; 25 and a pro ce s s i ng o f cr ea t in g an i nst ance b a se d on t he i nfo rmati on of t h e recei ve d temp l at e. 10 . T he p ro gr am a c c ordi ng to claim 9, w he r e in th e i nform at ion el ement th at all ow s th e i n s t a n c e t o be d is ti ngui s he d b y name in cl ud es an 30 i n fo rma ti on eleme nt t h at gi ve s a n ami ng rul e for t h e name of t he i n s t a n c e. 1 1 . A program causing a computer to execute: a p ro ces s i ng of r ecei vi ng a VNF (Vi r t u a l i z e d N etwork Fu nc t io n) de s c r ip to r ( VN FD) wi th an i nfo r m at io n e l e me nt t hat gi ve s a nami ng rul e 26 for a name of an instance; and a processing of creating an instance based on information of the VNFD.

12. The program according to claim 11, wherein an information 5 element of a VM name that describes a naming rule for a virtual machine (VM) is provided in the VNFD on a same layer as information elements of an ID and a VDU (Virtualized Deployment Unit), to allow the instance created based on the VNFD to be distinguished by name.

FIELD
[ 000 1]
(CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS)
10 T he pres en t in ven t io n i s b a se d u pon a nd c l ai ms th e benefi t of t he
prio r i t y of J apan ese P at en t A pp l i c a t i on No. 2 0 1 5 - 0 11 8 1 1 (fi le d o n
J anu ar y 2 3 , 2 0 1 5 ) , t he di s cl o s u r e of wh i ch is i nc orpo ra te d h e r e i n i n i t s
e n t i r e t y by reference.
T he p r e s e nt i nv ent io n rel at es t o a n et wo r k m an a gem ent an d
15 orch est r at i on t ech no log y. Mo r e s p e c i f i ca l l y, th e in ve n t i on re l at es t o a
m e t ho d, a s ys tem, an d a p r ogra m s u i t a b l e for b ei n g ap p l i ed to n et wo r k
f u n c t i on s virt u a l i z a ti on (N et w ork Fu nc ti o n s Vi r tu al iz at i on )
management and o r c h e s t r a t i o n.
BACKGROUND
20 [0002]
There is known NFV (Network Functions Virtualization) or the
l i ke co n f i gu r ed to im plement a netw o r k a p p a r a t u s an d s o on in so ftw are ,
using a v i r t u a l i z a t i o n technology that virtualizes hardware resources
( com pu ti n g , st ora ge , n et wo r k f un ct io ns a nd s o on ) of a ser ve r b y a
25 vi rt ual ma chi ne ( V M : Virt ual Ma chi n e) i mp l em en te d o n a v i r t ua l iz at io n
l a yer ( Vi r t u a l i z at io n La ye r ) su ch as a h ype rvi s or ( H yperVi s o r ) o n th e
server. The NFV is implemented, based on a MANO (Management &
Orch est r at i on ) arc h i te ctu r e , fo r ex a mpl e. F I G . 1 i s a di agra m ci te d
from Figure 5.1 (The NFV-MANO architectural framework with
30 r efer en ce po i nt s ) o n p age 23 of No n - Pa te nt Lit era tu r e 1 .
[ 000 3]
R e f e r r i n g t o F I G. 1 , VN F (Vi rt u al iz ed Netw ork Fu n c t i on )
co r r e s po nd s t o an a pp l i c a t io n o r t he lik e run ni ng o n a vi r tu al mach in e
(VM) on a server, and implements a network function in software. As
2
VNF, MME (Mobility Management Entity), S -GW (S e r v i ng Gateway),
P-GW (PDN Gateway), and so forth on EPC (Evolved Packet Core) that
is a core network of LTE (Long Term Evolution) network may be
implemented by software ( v i r t u a l machine). In the example of FIG. 1,
5 a management function referred to as EM (Element Manager: element
management) is provided for each VNF, for example.
[ 000 4]
NFV I (N et wo rk Fu nc ti on Vi r tu al i z a t i on In f r a s t ru c tu r e) t ha t
co ns t i t ut es an im p le m e n t a t i on i nfrast r uc t u re o f e a ch VNF i s a n
10 i n fras t ru ct ure th at a l l ow s h ard war e re s ou r c e s of a ph ysi ca l m achi ne
( s erver ) s uc h as c om put in g, st o r a g e , a nd net wo r k fu nct io ns to be
flexibly handled as virtual ized hardware resources such virtualized
co m pu t in g, virt uali z ed st ora ge , v i r t ual iz ed ne t wo r k , an d s o o n w hi ch
ha ve b ee n v i r tu al i z ed usi ng a virt ual iz at i on la yer s u ch as a h yp e r v i s or .
15 [0005]
NFV MANO (Management & Orchestration) includes an
NFV-Orchestrator (NFVO), a VNF-manager (VNFM), and a Virtualized
In f r a s t r uc tur e Man ag er (V IM ) .
[ 000 6]
20 The NFV-Orchestrator (NFVO) performs orchestration of NFVI
r es ou r ce s an d li f ec yc l e m an a gem e nt (su ch as In s ta n ti at io n, S c a l i ng,
Termination, and Update of each NS instance) of NSs (Network
S e r v i c e s ) . The NFV-Orchestrator also performs management of an NS
catalog (NSD/VLD/VNFFGD) and a VNF catalog (VNFD/VM
25 i m a g e s / ma ni fes t fi l e s , et c . ) , a nd i nc lu de s a rep osi t or y of N S i nst an ce s
and a r e p o s i t o r y of the NFVI resources.
[ 000 7]
The VNF-Manager (VNFM) performs VNF lifecycle management
( s uch as in s t an ti a t i on, u pd a te , qu er y, s ca l in g, t e r m in at io n, e t c.) an d
30 ev ent no ti f i c a t i on .
[ 000 8]
T he virt u a l i z e d In fr ast r uct u re Ma na ge r ( V IM ) per for ms c ont rol
of the NFV I (such as computing , s t o r a g e , network resource management,
fault monitoring of the NFVI being the implementation infrastructure of
3
t h e N FV, a nd mo nit ori ng o f r e so urce i nfo r m at io n) t hrou gh t he
vi rt u a l i z a t i on la ye r.
[ 000 9]
OSS (O pe r a t io ns S up po rt S ys te ms) are a generi c t e rm fo r s yst ems
5 ( s uch as a pp ar at use s , so ftw are , an d sc he m e s) nece s s ar y for
telecommunications carr i e r s ( c a r r i e r s ) to construct and manage s e r v i c e s,
f or ex amp le . BS S (Busin ess S u pp ort s yst em s) a r e a gen e r ic t e rm for
i n fo rma ti on s yst e ms (s uch as ap parat use s , so ftw are , an d s ch em es ) t o be
us ed fo r a cc oun ti ng f or and c h argi n g o f a usage c ha rge an d ha ndli ng o f a
10 customer by the telecommunications c a r r i e r s.
[ 0 0 1 0]
The NS Catalogue (NS catalog: an NS Catalogue in FIG. 1)
r e p r e s e n t s repository of network Services. NS Catalogue supports
creation and management of NS deployment templates (Network Service
15 Descriptor (NSD), Virtual Link Descriptor (VLD), and VNF Forwarding
Graph Descriptor (VNFFGD) ).
[ 0011]
The VNF catalog (VNF catalog: a VNF Cata logue in FIG. 1)
r e p r e s e n t s repository of VNF packages . The VNF catalog supports
20 creation and management of each VNF package of a VNF Descriptor
( VNFD), a soft w ar e i ma g e , a mani f es t file an d s o fo r th .
[ 0 0 1 2]
The NFV instance repository (NFV instance Repository: NFV
In st an c es i n F I G . 1 ) ho ld s i nfo r ma t io n o f al l VNF i nst ances a nd
25 Network Service i n s t a n c e s . Each VNF instance and each NS instance are
represented respectivel y by a VNF record and by an NS record. Those
r eco r d s a r e u pdated d u r in g a l ife cyc le of t he res p e ct i ve inst an c e s ,
r eflect in g ch an ge s r es ul ti ng f ro m ex ec ut i o n o f N S l i f ec ycl e m an a gem ent
op erat io ns a nd / or V NF l i f ec ycl e m an ag em en t o p e r a t i on s.
30 [0013]
The NFVI resources repository (NFVI Resources Repository:
NFV I Res ou r c e s i n FIG. 1 ) h old s i nfo r m at io n o n avail ab le
( a v a i l ab le ) / r e s erv e d (reser ve d ) / al lo ca te d (al lo ca te d) res ou r c e s as
ex t r a c t e d b y th e V IM a c ro s s operato r 's i nfras tru ct ure do ma in s .
4
[ 0 0 1 4]
R e f e r r i n g t o F IG . 1, a refer en ce p oi nt Os -N f vo is a re f er ence
point between the OSS (Operation Service Systems)/BSS (Business
Service S ystems) and the NFVO, and is used for forwarding a lifec ycle
5 m a nag em en t req u est of eac h ne t work s e rv ic e, a VN F l i fec yc l e
m a nag em en t requ e s t, st a te i nfo r m at io n asso c i a t ed wi t h NFV, ex ch an ge
of po li c y m anag e me nt info rm at io n , an d s o o n.
[ 0 0 1 5]
A refe r en c e po in t V nfm - Vi i s used f or a res ou r ce all oc at i on
10 request from the VNFM and exchange of virtualized resource
co nfigu r a ti on and s ta t e i nfo r ma t io n.
[ 0 0 1 6]
A reference point Ve -Vnfm-em is used between the EM and the
VNFM for VNF i n s t a n t i a t i o n , VNF instance r e t r i e v a l , VNF instance
15 up dat e, V NF i nst an ce t e rm in at io n, V NF i nst ance s ca l in g-o ut /i n, VNF
i n s t a n c e sc a l i n g - u p / down, f orw a rd in g of c onfi gu r at i on an d ev ent s f r om
t h e EM t o th e V NFM, and no ti fi c a t i on of c onfi gu r a ti on an d e ve nts
regarding the VNF from the VNFM to the VNF, and so on.
[ 0 0 1 7]
20 A reference point Ve -Vnfm-Vnf is used between the VNF and the
VNFM for VNF i n s t a n t i a t i o n , VNF instance r e t r i e v a l , VNF instance
up dat e, V NF i nst an ce t e rm in at io n, V NF i nst ance s ca l in g -o ut /i n, VNF
i n s t a n c e sc a l i n g - u p / down, f orw a rd in g of c onfi gu r at i on an d ev ent s f r om
t h e VN F to t he V NFM , a nd n ot i f i c a t i o n of co nfi gur at io n and e ve nts
25 regarding the VNF from the VNFM to the VNF, and so on.
[ 0 0 1 8]
A refer en c e p oi nt N f - Vi i s used f or VM all oc a t i on w i th ind icat io n
of com pu te /s t o r ag e r es ou r c e , u pd at e of VM res ou r ce s allo ca ti on, VM
m i g r a t i on , VM ter min at i on , cr e at io n a nd r e mo val of co n n e c t i on be t ween
30 VM s , etc . , vi r tu al re so u r c e s al l o c a t i on in resp on s e to a re s ou rce
al l ocat io n requ est , fo rward in g of v i r tu al reso urc e s t a t e i nfo r m at io n,
ex chan ge o f co nfi gu r a t io n an d s t at e i nfo r m at io n of har dw a re r es ou rc e s ,
and so on.
[ 0 0 1 9]
5
A ref ere n ce p oi nt Vn - Nf i ndi c a t e s an ex ec ut io n en vi r on m en t to be
provided to the VNF by the NFVI.
[ 002 0]
A refe r en c e p oi nt Nfv o -V nfm is use d f or a re s ou r ce - r e l a te d
5 r equ est ( of val id at io n, rese r va t io n ( r e s e r v a t i on ) , or all oc at i on , et c.) b y
the VNF-manager (VNFM) and forwarding of configuration information
to the VNFM, and c o l l e c t i o n of VNF state information.
[ 002 1]
A refer en ce po in t N f vo - Vi i s used f or a reso ur ce r e se r va t io n
10 r equ est an d a r e so u r ce all oc at i on re qu est fro m th e N FV O, an d e x ch ang e
of virtual resource configuration and state information (for details,
r efer en ce m a y b e ma de t o No n-P at ent Li te r at ure 1 ) .
[ 002 2]
F I G . 2 i s ci te d fro m Fi gure 6.2 ( In f orm at io n e l em en ts in diffe re nt
15 co ntex t ) on p ag e 4 0 of N on - Pa te nt Li te r at ure 1 . An i n s ta n t i a t i on in pu t
pa ramete r i s in pu t.
[ 002 3]
R e f e r r i n g t o F IG . 2 , a netw ork s e r v i ce de s c r i pt or (N etwork
S e rv i ce D es c r ip to r : NS D) is a ne tw ork s e rv ic e d ep lo ym ent temp la t e fo r
20 r efer en ci n g ot her d e sc ri pt o r s t h at d e sc r i b e co mp on en t s con s ti t u t i ng a
network service (NS).
[ 002 4]
A VNF descriptor (VNF Descriptor: VNFD) is a deployment
t e m pl at e t hat describ es a VNF in t e rm s o f de pl o ym ent an d operat io na l
25 be hav io r r eq u i r em en t s .
[ 002 5]
The VNFD is mainly used by the VNFM in VNF i n s t a n t i a t i on
( i n s t a n t i a t i o n ) and VNF instance lifecycle management. The VNFD is
us ed fo r a netw ork se r v i c e an d manageme nt an d o r ch est r a t i on of
30 vi rt u a l i z e d res o u rc es on t he NF VI (au tom a t i on of
deployment/setting/management of a computer
system/middleware/service) b y the NFVO. The VNFD also contains
co nnect iv it y, in te rfa ce a nd KP Is r eq ui rement s th at can be us ed b y
NFV-MANO fu n ct i on al b lo ck s t o e s ta b l i sh ap p ro pri at e Virt ua l Lin ks
6
within the NFVI between its VNFC instances, or between a VNF
i n s t a n c e an d th e e n dp oint i nt erface to t he ot he r ne tw or k fu ncti on s .
[ 002 6]
A VNF Forwarding Graph Descriptor (VNFFGD) is a deployment
5 template that describes a network ser v i c e topology or a part of the
t o p o lo g y b y refe r r i ng t o th e VN F s , P NFs, and Virt ua l L in ks co nnect in g
those VNFs and PNFs.
[ 002 7]
A v i r t ua l l in k de sc r i pt or ( Vi r t ual Lin k D es c r i pt o r : VLD ) is a
10 de p lo yme nt t em pl at e t hat des c r i bes res ou r ce r eq ui r em en ts nece s s a r y fo r
links between the VNFs, between the PNFs, and between NS endpoints
( end po in t s ) th at ca n b e used b y th e NFV I.
[ 002 8]
A p h ysi c al netw o r k f u n c t i on d e s c r i pt or ( P h ysi ca l N etwork
15 F u n c t i on D es c r i p to r : P NFD) de s c r i bes c on ne c t i vi ty (con ne c t iv it y) ,
i n t e r fa ce and K P I s re qu i r em en ts o f a vi r t ua l l ink , fo r a fu ncti on of an
attached physical network. The PNFD is needed when a physical
de v i c e i s incorp ora te d in to a n N S , an d fa c i l it at es a ddi t io n o f a ne tw ork.
[ 002 9]
20 The NSD, the VNFFGD, and the VLD are included in the NS
catalog (Network Service Catalogue in FIG. 2), and the VNFD is
included in the VNF catalogue (VNF Catalogue in FIG. 2) as the VNF
pa ckage .
[ 003 0]
25 An NS or a VNF i n s t a n t i a t i o n operation is performed from the
OSS/BSS or the VNFM to the NFVO. As a result of the i n s t a n t i a t i on
op erat io n, each r e c ord in di ca ti ng a newl y creat ed in s ta nce i s c r e a t e d .
Each record to be created based on information to be given by each
descriptor and additional runtime information related to a compo nent
30 i n s t a n c e p r ov i des d at a for m od el i ng a n et wo r k s e rv i ce ( NS) i nst an ce
s t a t e , for example.
[ 003 1]
As t yp es o f t he i nst ance re co rd s (o f NFV In s t a n c e s ) t o b e c r eat ed ,
t h e re m a y be l i s t ed th e fol lo wi ng t ypes , f or ex amp le :
7
- Network Service Record (NSR);
- VNFFG Record (VNFFGR);
- Virtual Link Record (VLR);
- VNF (Virtualized Network Function) Record (VNFR); and
5 - PNF (Physical Network Function) Record (PNFR).
[ 003 2]
Information elements of the NSR, the VNFR, the VNFFGR, and
the VVLR provide a data item gr oup necessary for mode ling states of an
NS instance, a VNF instance, a VNFFG instance, and a VL instance.
10 [0033]
The PNF Record (PNFR) indicates an instance related to a
pre - ex isti ng P N F wh ic h i s part of a n N S a nd con ta in s a s et of run ti me
at t rib ut es rega r din g P NF i nfo rma ti o n ( in cl udin g co n ne cti vi t y r elevant
to the NFVO ). An overview of each element of the NFV is summarized
15 as li st s in Tab les 1 an d 2 .
8
[ 003 4]
[ Tab le 1]
F u n c t i on al E n t i t y D e sc ri pt io n
OSS/BSS
Orch est r at or
VNF-Manager
Vi rt u a l i z e d
In f r a s t r uc tur e
Manager (VIM)
Comprehensivel y performs operations/business
su pp ort .
A p l u r a l i t y of EMSs and Orchestrator are deplo yed
on a low-order layer of OSS/BSS.
- O r c h e s t r a t i o n across a p l u r a l i t y of VIMs
- Management of NS(Network Service) deployment
templates and VNF packages
- M an a gement of i nst an t ia t io n an d l ife c ycle
management of NSs
- Management of i n s t a n t i a t i o n of VNFM
- M an a gement o f VNF in s ta n t i at io n in co ord in at i on
with VNFM
- Va li da t io n a nd a u th o r iz a ti on o f N F V I res ou r c e
request from VNFM
- M an ag ement of in te g r i t y a nd v i si b i l it y of N S
i nst an ces t h ro ugh t he ir li fecyc le
- Management of r e l a t i o n s h i p between NS instances
and VNF i n s t a n c e s , using NFV instances Repository
- Topology management of NS instances
- Automated management of NS instances
Performs VNF lifecycle management * and event
n o t i fi c a t i on m an a geme nt .
* In s t an ti at io n, Au to - Sc al i n g , Au to -Heali ng,
Update, and so on
Performs resource management and control of
N F V i nfr as t ru ct ur e as fo ll ow s:
- Management of computing, storage, and network
re s ources
- Re s o u r c e a ll oc at io n in r es po nse to a requ est
- Mo ni t o r in g o f a f aul t st at e of NFV Infras tru ct ure
- Monitoring of resource information of NFV
Inf r as t ru ct ur e
9
[ 003 5]
[ Tab le 2]
F u n c t i on al E n t i t y D e sc ri pt io n
Service VND and
In f r a s t r uc tur e
De s c r ip ti on
NS Catalogue
VNF Catalogue
NFV Instances
Repository
NFVI Resources
Repository
VNF
EMS
NFVI
D efi nes in f orm a t i on te mp l at es t ha t b ecom e
necessary for deploying each Network Service
and each VNF
- NS D: a t em pl at e t hat d e s c r i bes re qu ireme nt s an d
c on s t r a i nt c on d i t i on s n eces s ar y fo r depl o ym ent o f
the NS
- V LD : des c r ib es re s ou r ce re qu ir em en ts o f a
l ogi cal l in k con nect in g V N F s or con ne ct i ng
P NFs th at co n s t i t ut e N S
- VN F GD: a t em p l at e th at describ e s a lo g ic al
topology for and assignment of NS
- VN F D : a t em pl a t e th at d es c r i be s r equ ireme nt s
a nd co nst r ai nt co n d i t i o ns necessa r y fo r d ep l o yi n g
VNF
- P NFD : des c r i b es , for a ph ysi cal ne tw ork
fu nc t io n, c on nect ivi t y, e x te r nal in te r f ac e , and
KP Is requirements of aVL.
- Repository of NSs
- Management of NS deployment templates (NSD,
VLD, VNFFGD)
- D e sc ri bes r ep os it or y of e a ch V NF.
- Management of each VNF package (VNFD,
so f t ware i ma ge s, ma ni f es t fi le s , e t c . )
- H ol ds in st an ce i n form at i on of a ll t he VN Fs and
all the NSs.
- In f ormati on on each in s t an ce is de s c r ib ed in
Record.
- Record is updated according to lifecycl e of each
i nst an c e .
- Holds information of NFVI resources (NFVI
re s o u r c e s a s a bst r act ed b y V IM ac r os s
o pe r a to r 's Infras tru ct ure D om ai ns ) th at a r e
a v a i l a b l e / r e s e r v e d / a l l o c a t e d , for abstraction
Re f e r s to a v i r tu al iz ed Net wo r k F u n c t i on a nd
refers to a VM ( e . g . , MME, SGW, PGW or the
li ke ) i n whi ch an EP C app l ic at i on i s i nst al l e d,
being configured with VNF.
Performs management of FCAPS (FCAPS: Fault,
Co nfigu rat io n, A ccou nt in g, Pe r fo rmance an d
Security) of VNF.
A r e so ur ce i nfra s t ru ct ure i n w hi ch VN F is
ex e cut ed . Co mp r i s e s c om puti ng, a st orage , an d
a ne t wo r k . Ph ys i cal re s ou r c e s a r e abst rac te d b y
h ype rv i so r an d ab st r act ed r e so urc es are m an a ged
and controlled by VIM and are provided to VNF.
10
CITATION LIST
NON-PATENT LITERATURE
[ 003 6]
NON-PATENT LITERATURE 1
5 ETSI GS NFV-MAN 001 V1.1.1 (2014 -12) Network Functions
Vi rt u a l i s a t io n (N FV ) ; M an a gem en t a nd Orc hest rat i on
http :/ /w ww. e t s i . o rg/ de l iv er/ et s i _ g s / N FV- M AN /0 0 1 _ 09 9 /0 01/0 1.0 1.0 1_ 6
0/gs_NFV-MAN001v010101p.pdf
SUMMARY
10 TECHNICAL PROBLEM
[ 003 7]
An an al ys is b y t he i nvent or of t he p r e se nt i nv en ti on w i l l be gi ve n
be l ow.
[ 003 8]
15 An example of a relationship among VNF, VNFCs (VNF
Components) and VDU (Virtualization Deployment Unit) will be
de s c r ib ed , wit h re fe r en ce to F IG . 3. FIG. 3 s ch emati c al l y il lu s t ra t es
an example where VNFC is set for each logical interface in a VNF
obtained by v i r t u a l i z i n g an S -GW (Serving gateway). Each VDU is an
20 en t it y us ed for an in fo rmati on m od el c on f i gur ed t o s upp ort d e sc r ip t io n
of p a r t ia l or wh ol e dep lo yme nt an d op era t i onal be ha v io rs o f t he VNF.
VNFI configured to provide an implementation infrastructure of the
VN F i n c lu de s a v i r t ual c om puti ng , a vi r t ual st ora g e , and a vi r tu al
ne t wo rk , each virt u a l i z e d on a vi r t u a l i z at io n l a yer su ch as a h yp ervi s or.
25 T h e r e i s p r ovi ded a v i r tu al m ac hin e o n a virt ua l iz a t io n la ye r (wh ere t he
vi rt ual ma ch i ne in cl ud es a vi rt ual CP U (Cent r al P r o c e s s i ng Un it ) , a
vi rt ual m em ory, a vi r t ual sto r a g e , an d a gues t O S (Op e r a t in g S yst em ) ) ,
wi t h an a pp l i c a t i o n b e in g e x ec uted o n t he gue s t OS . C omp u t e , St ora ge,
an d Netw ork belo w t he v i r t ua l iz a t io n l a ye r s ch em at i cal l y r ep r es en t
30 ha r dw a re re s ou r c e s s uc h as a CP U, a s to r a g e , and a n et work i nt erfa ce
co n t ro ll er (Netw o r k Int erf ac e C o n t r oll e r : NIC ) . Vn -Nf r ep r e sent s an
execution environment to be provided to the VNF b y the NFVI.
[ 003 9]
In FIG. 3, where SGW is c o n s t i t u t e d by VNF, VNFC is configured
11
f or each lo g i c a l in te rfac e, l ogi cal in te r faces S 11 , Gx , a nd S5 /S 8 -C w it h
r es pect t o C -P l an e ( C on t r o l Pl an e) are c ol le c t i vel y d efi ned as one VD U
( VM ) , and l o gi cal i nt erfaces S 1 U, S5/ S 8 - U, an d S 12 w it h res pe ct t o
U-Plane are collectively def ined as one VDU (VM). C in S5/S8-C
5 r e p r e s en ts a c ont ro l p la ne (C on t ro l Pl an e ) . U in th e S1 U a nd S5 / S8 -U
r e p r e s e n t s a user plane ( U s e r - p l a n e ).
[ 004 0]
In EPC, S11 is a control plane interface between MME and SGW,
S5/S8 is a user plane interface between SGW and PGW, S1U is an
10 interface between eNodeB (evolved NodeB) and Core Network, Gx is an
interface between PGW and PCRF (Policy and Charging Rules Function),
S11 is an i n t e r f a c e between MME and S -GW, S12 is an interface between
UTRAN (Universal Terrestri al Radio Access Network) and S-GW.
[ 004 1]
15 When congestion of control signals oc c u r s , VMs corresponding to
S 11 , Gx , an d S 5 / S 8 - C ( i n whi ch C repres en ts a co nt r ol pla ne ( Co nt r ol
P l a n e ) ) , for example, are added (increased) ( S c a l e d - o u t ).
[ 004 2]
When congestion of data signals occurs, a VM corresponding to
20 S1U, and S5/S8-U (in which U r e p r e s e n t s a user plane (User-Plane)) are
ad ded ( in c re ased ) (S c a l e d - ou t ) .
[ 004 3]
F I G . 4 i s a d ia gr am il lu s t r a t in g a l ogi cal r el a t i on s hi p am on g
r es pect iv e descrip t o r s (ci te d f ro m FIG. 6.4 o n p age 6 0 of Non - P a t e nt
25 Li t e r a tu r e 1). F I G . 4 il l ust r at es rel at io n s h ip s b et we e n i n te r na l v i r t ua l
l i nk s (i nt ernal Virt ua l Lin ks) a nd ext ern al vi r tu al l in ks ( ex t e rn al
Vi rt ual Lin ks ) . FIG. 4 a l s o i ll ust r a t e s r el at i on s hi ps o f con ne c ti on
points (Connection Points) among VNFs, VNFCs, and VLs (Virtual
Li nks) i n a net wo r k s e r v i ce ( NS ) .
30 [0044]
F I G . 5 i s a di agr am sc he m at i c a l l y i ll ust r at i ng a s t ru ctu re
( h i e r a r ch ic al st r uc t u re , or a tree s t ru ct u r e ) of a VNF de sc ri pt or (V N FD)
i n Non -P atent Lit e r a tu r e 1 wi t h res pe ct to a st an dard sp ec i f i c a t i on o f
NFV-MANO (reference mat be made to Non-Patent Literature 1). FIG.
12
6 is a d i ag ram ob ta i ned b y ci t in g 6 . 3 .1 . 1 (v nfd b as e in f orm a t i on
el ement s ) on pag e 4 4 of N on - Pa te nt Lit er at ure 1 , an d i s a di a gram
i l lu s t ra t i ng b as ic i nf orm a t i on el em e n t s o f t he VNF d e s c r ip to r (V NFD )
t h at is t he depl o yme nt temp la te d escr ib in g a V N F i n t e rm s o f
5 de p lo yme nt and op e r at i on al be ha v io r re qu i r em en ts ( r eq u i r em en ts ) .
[ 004 5]
An ent r y ( e l em en t ) wh os e t ype i s a l e af ( Leaf) i n FIG. 6 and s o on
de si gna te s a lea f ( en d n od e) i n a t em pl at e o f a tree s t r u c tu r e
( h i e r a r ch ic al st r uc tu r e ) , an d i ndi cat es a n el em en t i n c lu di ng n o ot he r
10 el ement . Ge ner al l y, t he le af e l em en t is a n e m pt y el em en t or a tex t.
E l em en t (El ement Tr ee ) in cl ud es a ch ild no de (h av in g an ID ) .
[ 004 6]
Regarding VNFD that is a root (root) element of the template , the
t h e re ar e de fi ned o n th e sa me la yer a s V N F D f ol lo wi ng in f ormati on
15 items that define requirements and constraint conditions for VNF:
VDU (Virtualized Deployment Unit );
vi rt ual l i nk ( Vi r tu al Lin k ) (0 t o N ) ;
co nnect io n p o i nt s ( C on n e c t i on P oi n t s ) (1 to N); a nd
de p lo yme nt flavo r ( De p lo yment F l av o r) (1 t o N), wh er e N is an in t e g e r
20 no t l e s s t han 1.
[ 004 7]
F I G . 7 (A) is a d ia gram ill us t r a t i ng VDU bas e e l em en t s ( vd u b ase
elements) defi ned in a form of a table ( 6 . 3 . 1 . 2 . 1 in Non-Patent
L i t e r a t u r e 1). VDU includes one or more VNFCs as child nodes, as
25 i n fo rma ti on d efi ni ng requ i re me n ts and co nst r a in t c o nd i t io ns for t he
VDU c o n s t i t u t i n g VNF. Information elements of VNFC are i l l u s t r a t ed
in FIG. 7(B) (reference may be made to 6 . 3 . 1 . 2 . 1 . 1 in Non-Patent
Li t e r a tu r e 1). V NFC i n c lu de s one o r m or e co nn ec ti on po in ts
( C onn ec ti on po in t ) as l eaf el em e n t s . In f ormati o n el ement s o f
30 co nnect io n poi nt (Co nn ect io n po i nt ) ar e i ll ust r at e d i n FIG. 7(C)
(reference may be made to 6 . 3 . 1 . 2 . 1 . 2 in Non-Patent Literature 1).
[ 004 8]
F or V DU, re qu i re me nt s an d con s t r a i nt c on di t io ns f o r v a r i ou s
resources to be used by VDU (VDU information on CPUs, virtual
13
s wit ch e s, s ec uri t y, h yp erv i s or, P C Ie (PC I e x p r e s s ) , re li abi l i t y a nd
av a i l ab il it y (r e l i ab i l i t y and av a il abil it y) , a nd st ora ge (se e F IG . 8 (A ) :
r efer en ce m a y be m ad e t o 6 .3 . 1 . 2 . 1 0 i n N on - Pa te nt Lit er at ure 1),
network interface, and so on, for example) are defined. As i l l u s t r a t ed
5 in FIG. 9(A), the template ( d e s c r i p t o r ) of the storage includes a storage
requirement (storage requirement), an rdma (Remote Direct Memory
Ac c e s s ) - s up po r t - ba nd wid th , an d so o n, a s leaf el e m en t s . He r e in ,
information elements of the storage are i l l u s t r a t e d , as an examp l e .
Wit h resp ec t t o i nfo r m at io n el ement s su ch as CP Us, v i r t ua l s wi t ch e s ,
10 s ecu r i t y, h yperv i s or, PC Ie (P C E ex p r e s s ) , an d reli ab il it y and
av a i l ab i l it y, Non - Pa te nt Lit era t u re 1 ma y b e r e f e r red to as neces s ar y.
[ 004 9]
Tem pl at es f or v i r t ual li nk (Vi r tu al Li n k ) , con ne c ti on p oi nt
( C onn ec ti on P oi nt ) , d ep l o ym en t f l avo r (D ep lo ym en t Fla v o r ) , an d
15 Constituent VDU in the VNF descriptor (VNFD) in FIG. 5 are
r es pect iv el y i ll ust r a t ed i n F IG . 8( B ) , FIG. 8 ( C ) , FIG . 9 ( A ) , and FIG.
9(B ) . Rega r di ng th e v i r t ual l in k (Vi r tu al Lin k ) , co nn ec ti on poi nt
(Connection Point), deployment flavor (Deployment Flavor), and
Constituent VDU, reference ma y be made respectively to 6 . 3 . 1 . 3 . in
20 No n-P atent Li te r at ure 1, 6 .3 . 1.4 in No n-P at en t Li te r a tu re 1, 6 . 3 .1 .5 in
No n-P atent Li te r at ure 1, a nd 6 . 3 .1 . 5 .1 i n N on - Pa te nt Lit era tu re 1 .
[ 005 0]
In c a r r i er 's o pe rat i on s sin g a d ed ic at ed ha r dw a re -b ase d netw ork
apparatus (Network Appliance) , name mapping and management may be
25 pe rfo rme d f or ea c h h ardwar e ap pa ra tu s s o t hat t he fo l lo wi ng da t a, f or
ex amp l e , ma y be i mm ed ia t el y d et e rm in ed , i n order t o s t reaml in e
op erat io n a nd man ag em ent an d to i de n t i fy a co r r e sp on di ng po r t i on o f a
fault at a time of the fault:
- wh i ch stati on h ouse (b ui l d in g ) ;
30 - communication node; and
- f u n c t i on .
[ 005 1]
To take an example, a name "Osaka SGW001-U-Plane001"
as s i gn ed t o a h a r d wa r e app ar at us o f a ga t ewa y, a n et wo rk ap parat u s , or
14
t h e l ik e in di c a t e s a U -P la ne (Us er- Pl an e) fun ct io n "0 0 1 " of a s e r vice
gateway (SGW) "SGW001" of "Osaka building".
[ 005 2]
T h e r e is a si mil ar ne ed fo r an NFV ar ch it ect ure as w el l . It is
5 important to manage which type of VNF/VNFC (VNF Component)
i n s t a n c e ( VM : Vir tu al Mach in e) i s r u nn i ng on wh i ch ha r dw a re th at is
separated from software b y v i r t u a l i z a t i o n (findings by the invent ors of
t h e pres en t in vent io n ) .
[ 005 3]
10 In t he stand ard sp ecifi ca ti on for N FV d es c r i be d wit h r efe r e nce t o
FIG. 6 and so on, for example, with respect to VNF descriptor (VNFD),
VDU, and VNFC, an ID can be given for each VNFD, for each VDU, and
f or each VN F C, a s i ll us t ra te d i n F IG . 6 , F IG . 7(A ) , and F IG . 7( B),
r es pect iv el y.
15 [0054]
Howev er, i n t e rm s of th e st an da rd s pe ci f i c a t i on f or NFV, a n ame
(VM Name) cannot be gi ven for each VM (instance). In VNF
de s c r ip to r ( VNFD ) ac c ordi n g to t h e st and ard sp eci fi ca ti on for NFV
described with reference to FIG. 6 and so on, for example, it is possible
20 i n c o rp ora te u p to th e f ol l owin g:
- VNF ID, such as "SGW", may be given for VNF; and
- VNFC ID may be given as VNFC.
[ 005 5]
However, which node of SGWs or which instance of a GWU
25 ( gat ew a y u ni t ) can no t be sp ec i f i ed (ac c ordi n g t o fi ndi ngs b y th e
inventors of the present invention).
[ 005 6]
With respect to the VNF descriptor in the above -mentioned
s t an dar d sp eci fi ca ti on, when a pl ur a l i t y o f v i r t ua l m ach in es (VMs) are
30 gen e r a t e d a t a t im e of a ddi ti on (c r e a t i on ) o f vi r tu al m achi ne s V M on a
s erver fo r aut o sc a li ng (s c al in g - ou t ) , for ex am p l e , a s am e VN FC ID i s
gi ven t o t he p l u r a l i t y o f v i r tu al ma chi nes ( VMs), th us le adi n g to a
s i t u a t i on w h e r e d i s ti n c t i on a mo ng i n s ta nc es can no t be m ad e, in t e rm s of
m a nag em en t (fin di ngs b y t he in ve n to rs o f th e pres en t i nv en ti on ) .
15
[ 005 7]
Accord in gl y, t he pre s ent in ve nt i on h as b een devi s ed i n vi e w of
t h e abo ve -m ent io ne d prob l em , an d it is an ob j e c t of t he p r e se nt
i n ven t io n t o pro vi de a netw ork fun ct io ns vi r tu al i z a t i on ma na gem en t and
5 orch est r at i on met ho d, a n et wo r k fu n ct io ns vi r tu a l i z a t i on ma na gem en t
an d orche s t r a t i on s ys t e m, an d a p r o gr am th at all ow di st i n c t i on of an
i n s t a n c e cre at ed b a se d on a de s c r ip t or, in ter ms o f m an ag em ent .
SOLUTION TO PROBLEM
[ 005 8]
10 Accord in g t o on e asp ect of t he p r e s e n t in ven ti on , t h e r e i s
prov id ed a meth o d c om p r i s i n g : a s t ep o f r e ce i vi ng i n f ormati on o f a
template from a storage unit ; and a step of creating an instance based on
t h e in f orm at i on o f t he te mp l at e, wh erei n an i nform ati on e l em en t tha t
allows the instance to be distinguished by name is provided in the
15 t e m pl at e th at is st ored in t he sto ra ge u n i t . T he i n fo rma ti on el em en t
that allows the instance to be distinguished b y name includes an
i n fo rma t i on el em e nt t ha t gi ves a n ami ng r ul e fo r a na me of t he i n s t a n c e .
Ac cord in g t o th e pre s ent in ve n t i on , t he re i s p r ov i ded a ne t wo rk
f u n c t i on s virt uali z a t io n (NFV ) man a g em en t and o r ch es t r a t i on m et ho d
20 co m p r i s in g: prov id in g, i n a V NF ( Virt ua li z ed Ne tw ork Fu nct io n)
de s c r ip to r (VNFD ) , f or ex ampl e, an i nfo r m a t io n el em ent t ha t gi ves a
na m in g ru le for a n am e o f an i n s t a n c e , to a l l ow an i nst an ce t ha t i s
created based on information of the VNFD to be d i s t i n g u i s h e d b y name .
[ 005 9]
25 Accord in g t o an ot h er asp e ct of th e pr e s en t in vent io n, th e re is
prov id ed a s ys t em i nc l ud in g i np ut m eans th at re ce i v e s in f orm at i on o f a
template from a storage unit ; and creation means that creates an
i n s t a n c e based on th e i nfo r ma t io n of t he t em pl a t e , w he re i n th e temp la te
i n clu des an i nfo r m at io n e l em en t th at al lo ws an in s ta nce cre at ed bas ed
30 on t he in f ormati on of th e t em pl a te to be dist in gui s he d b y n am e . Th e
i n fo rm a t i on el em ent th at al lo ws an in s t an ce to be d i s t in gui sh ed b y na m e
i n clu des a n i nfo r m at ion ele me nt th at giv es a n ami n g r ul e fo r t he n am e
of th e i n s t an c e . A cc ordi n g to t he pre s en t in vent io n, t her e i s p rov id ed
a system (NFV-MANO) including means that receives, for example, a
16
VNF (Virtualized Network Function) descriptor (VNFD) with an
information element that gives a naming rule for a nam e of an instance
an d mean s t hat cr e at es a n i nst ance b a s ed o n i nfo r m at io n o f t he VN FD.
[ 006 0]
5 Accord in g t o yet an ot her as pe ct o f t he pre s ent i nv en ti on , t he r e is
provided a program causing a computer to execute
a p r o c e s s i n g o f re ce i vi n g, fro m a s to r a ge u ni t, a temp la te
i n clu din g an i nfo r m at i on ele me nt t ha t a ll ow s an in s ta nce cre a te d bas ed
on information of the received template to be distinguished by name ;
10 and
a p r o c e s s i ng of c r e a t i ng th e i ns t a n c e b a se d o n t he i nfo rmati on of
t h e recei ve d temp l at e.
T he i nfo r ma t io n e le me nt t ha t al lo ws an i ns t a n c e to be
di s t i ngu i sh ed b y n am e i nc l ud es a n in fo rmati on element that giv es a
15 na m in g ru le for th e nam e of t he in s t a n c e. Acco rd in g to th e present
i n ven t io n, t h e r e is p r ov i ded a pro gram ca u s in g a co m p ut er to e xecu te a
process i ng o f rece iv in g, f or ex amp le , a VN F (Virt u al i zed Ne tw ork
Function) descriptor (VNFD) with an information el ement that gives a
na m in g ru le fo r a n am e o f an i n s t a n c e an d a pro c e s s in g of creat in g t he
20 i n s t a n c e based o n i nf orm a t i on o f th e VN FD. A cco rd in g t o th e p r e s e nt
i n ven t io n, t h e r e is prov id ed a non -t r an s i to ry co mp uter re ad a b le
recording medium, such as a magnetic disk or a semiconductor memory
s t o r i ng t he com pu te r pro gram th e r e in .
ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION
25 [0061]
Accord in g t o th e p r esen t in ve n t i on , d i s t in ct io n o f an i nst an ce
created b a s ed o n t he t em pl at e (des cr ipt o r ) is m ad e po s s i b l e, in ter ms o f
management.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
30 [0062]
[ F IG. 1 ]
FIG. 1 is a diagram i l l u s t r a t i n g NFV-MANO of an NFV architecture
( c i t ed from FIG. 5.1 in Non-Patent Literature 1).
[ F IG. 2 ]
17
F I G . 2 is a dia gram ill us t r a t i ng t em pl a t e s a nd i nst an ce re co rds
ac cord in g t o Non - Pa te nt Li te ra t u re ( c it ed fro m FIG. 6 . 2 i n Non - P a t e nt
Li t e r a tu r e 1 ) .
[ F IG. 3 ]
5 F I G . 3 i s a d ia gra m il lu s t r a t i ng a r e l at io nshi p am on g a VNF, V N FC s ,
and VDUs.
[ F IG. 4 ]
F I G . 4 i s a di agram s ch em a t i c a l l y il l ust r at in g a lo gi ca l rel at io nshi p
am ong d e sc ri p to rs ( ci t ed fr om F IG . 6 . 4 in N on -P at en t Lit era tu r e 1 ) .
10 [ F I G . 5]
FIG. 5 is a diagram sch e m a t i c a l l y i l l u s t r a t i n g a structure of a VNF
de s c r ip to r ( vnfd ) .
[ F I G . 6]
F I G . 6 is a diagram i l lu st rat in g i nfo rmati on el ement s i n a t ab le o f t he
15 VN F d e sc ri pt or ( v nfd ) (cit ed f r om 6 . 3 . 1.1 in N on - Pa te n t Li te r at ure 1 ) .
[ F IG. 7 ]
F I G . 7 (A ) i s a diagram i l lu st rat in g i nfo rma ti on el em en ts of VDU , F IG .
7(B ) i s a d i agr am ill us t r a t i ng i nfo rm at io n e l em en ts of VNFC, an d F IG .
7(C ) i s a di a gr am il lu s t ra t in g i nfo rm at io n el ement s of C on nect io n p oi nt
20 (respectivel y cited from 6 . 3 . 1 . 2 . 1 , 6 . 3 . 1 . 2 . 1 . 1 , and 6.3.1.2.1.2 in
No n-P atent Li te r at ure 1).
[ F IG. 8 ]
F I G . 8 (A ) i s a d i a g r am il lu st rat in g V D U in form at io n el eme nt s r e l a t e d t o
s t o r a g e , F I G . 8 ( B ) i s a d ia gram il lu st rat in g in f ormat io n el ement s o f
25 ea ch V N F in t e rn al Virt ual Li nk , and FIG. 8 ( C ) is a di agr am il lu s t ra ti n g
i n fo rma ti on elemen ts of C on n e c t i o n p oi nt s (re s pe ct iv el y ci te d f r om
6 . 3 . 1 . 2 . 1 0 in Non-Patent Literature 1).
[ F IG. 9 ]
F I G . 9 ( A) i s a diagr am il lu st rat in g i nfo r m at io n el emen ts of d epl o ym en t
30 f l av or ( De pl oym e nt F l a v o r ) an d F I G. 9(B) i s a di agr am il lu s t ra t in g
i n fo rmati on e l em e nt s o f each co n s t i tu en t VDU ( r e sp e ct i vel y ci t e d from
6 . 3 . 1 .5 and 6 . 3 . 1 . 5 . 1 in Non-Patent Literature 1).
[FIG. 10]
F I G . 10 i s a di a gr a m i ll ust rat in g i nfo r m at io n el ement s o f a VNF
18
de s c r ip to r ( vnfd ) i n a n ex empl ar y em bo dim ent .
[ F I G . 11 ]
F I G . 11 is a d ia gr am s ch emati ca ll y il lu s t r a t in g a s t ru ct ure of th e V NF
de s c r ip to r ( vnfd ) i n t he ex e mp la r y e mb odi m en t.
5 [FIG. 12]
F I G . 12 is a diagr am i l lu st rat in g an examp le o f s c a l i n g -ou t of VM s i n
the exemplary embodiment.
[FIG. 13]
FIG. 13 is a diagram i l l u s t r a t i n g NFV-MANO configured to process the
10 de s c r ip to r i n t he ex em p l a ry e mb odi ment .
MODES
[ 006 3]
According to one of some exemplary embodiments, a VNF
( Virt ua l iz e d Net w ork Fun ct io n) des c r i pt or (VN FD) i nc l ud es an e n t r y
15 ( i nfo rma ti on eleme nt ) of a V M nam e th at des c r i be s a n am in g ru le fo r a
v i r t u a l machine (VM) on the same layer (immediately below a VNFD
r oot ) as i nfo r m a ti on e le m e n t s of an id en t i f i er ( ID) an d a VDU
( Virt ua l iz e d Dep lo yme nt Un it ) , for ex am pl e . A n i nst an ce (v i r tu al
m a chi ne ( VM) or t he l i k e ) t ha t is cre a t ed b a se d o n t he d escr ip to r m a y b e
20 di s t i ngu i sh ed b y n am e . Th is en a bl es di s ti nct io n am on g i nst an ce s
(VMs or the like) in terms of management.
[ 006 4]
As d e sc r ib ed abo v e, i n th e st an da rd sp ec i ficat io n f or N FV, with
respect to VNFD, VDU, and VN FC, an ID can be given for VNFD, for
25 VD U, an d fo r V NFC, as i l l ust r at ed i n FIG. 6 , FIG. 7 ( A ) , and F IG . 7(B) ,
r es pect iv el y. Ho w ev er, a na me can n ot b e gi v en fo r V M ( i nst an ce ) , fo r
ex amp le , a s a res ult of whi ch , w hen con ge s t io n ( p ro ce s s i ng c on gest io n
du e to a l oad t ha t has ex ce ed ed c ap a bi l i t y o f VM), a faul t, o r t he li ke
oc c u r s a nd s cal in g -o ut (su ch as a dd i t i on of a V M ) is perform ed , fo r
30 example, distinction cannot be made among of VMs (instances) , in
terms of management. A similar pro blem may occur in the case of VNF
or VDU as well.
[ 006 5]
In order to solve this type of problem, according to the present
19
ex emp la r y e m bo di me nt , as i ll us t r a t ed i n FIG. 1 0 , fo r ex am p l e , an
information element (VM name) that gives a naming rule for a VM name
is provided as a type of leaf (Leaf), for example, on the same la yer as
en t r i e s s uc h as a n i de n t i fie r ( ID ( id en ti fi e r ) ) , a v en do r ( Vend or ) , a
5 version (Version), and a VDU located on a layer immediately below a
root, for example, in a VDN descriptor (VNFD).
[ 006 6]
F I G . 11 i s a di a gr am i l lu st rat in g a s t r u c tu r e o f a VN F d e sc ri pt or
i n t he e xemp la r y e mb odi me nt i ll u s t r at ed i n F I G . 1 0 an d corr espo nd s to
10 F I G . 5 d e sc ri be d a bo ve .
[ 006 7]
R e f e r r i n g t o F IG . 11 , th e VN F d es c r i pt or (v nfd ) i nc l ud es
i n fo rma ti on element s (ent r ie s ) of on e to N ( N b ei ng an in te ger equ al t o
1 or more) virtual machine names (VM names) on the same layer as a
15 vd u, a Virt ual Li nk , C on nect io n Po int s , an d a D ep l o ym ent Fla vo r.
These information elements (VM names) are connec ted as end nodes
(Leaves) in a s t r u c t u r e of the VNF descriptor. NNFV-MANO (see FIG.
2) generates each VM name based on the naming rule of the VM name
for the VM in the descriptor, using an i n s t a n t i a t i o n operation.
20 [0068]
F I G . 1 2 is a diagr a m ill us t r a t i ng a sp e c i f i c ex a m pl e of th e p r e s e nt
ex emp la r y emb od im en t . F I G . 12 i l lu s t ra t es resp e c t iv e na me s (a
physical server name, a VDU name, and a logical node name) of a
physical machine PM (Physical Machine), a virtual machine VM
25 ( Virt ua l Ma chi ne) , an d an app li cat i on ( AP L) o n t h e virt ua l m ac hin e,
co r r e s po nd i n g to s e rv ers befo r e and aft er s c al in g -ou t (w he re tw o
servers are added). The following describes a case where NFV-MANO
ex ecu te s a u to sca le - o u t , as a r esu lt o f de te c t i on of a faul t, co ngest io n,
or the l i k e , in a server apparatus having
30 a physical server name: PM01,
a VDU name: OsakaSGW001 U-Plane001, and
a logical node name: OsakaSGW001 U-Plane001.
[ 006 9]
One o f t h e t wo s e rv e r s to be ad de d is on e ha vin g a p h ys i ca l serve r
20
name: PM02 and a VM name (VDU name) of OsakaSGW001 U-Plane002.
The other of the two servers to be added is the one ha ving
a physical server name : PM03 and
a VM name (VDU name) of OsakaSGW001 U-Plane003.
5 These VM names are each created as an instance name (VD U
name) by i n s t a n t i a t i o n by NFV-MANO according to the description of
the information element of the VM name (VM names) that has defined
the naming rule for the VM.
[ 007 0]
10 To take an example, the naming rule for the VM set in the
information element of the VM name (VM name) of the VNF descriptor
is set to "Os akaSGW001 U-Plane" && " + + i n t e g e r - v a l u e " . Then, the
i n i t i a l value of the i n t e g e r - v a l u e is set to 0. At a time of i n s t a n t i a t i o n,
f or ex amp le , t h e "i nt eger-v a lu e" fo ll owi ng t he chara ct er stri n g
15 ( charact er s t r i n g) o f t he "Osa k a SG W00 1 U -P la ne " i s a u to -i ncr em en te d
( a u t o m a t i c a l l y incremented by 1) due to " + + i n t e g e r - v a l u e " in the r u l e , a
r es ul ti ng i nteger v al ue i s co nv e r t ed to a ch a r a c te r s t r i ng o f t hree
decimal digits (such as "002 " ) , and the character string of "002 " is
co n c a t e na te d t o th e c har a c t e r st ri n g of "O s ak a S GW0 0 1 U -P l a n e ) u si ng
20 an operator "&&", thereby generating the VDU name of "OsakaSGW001
U-P l an e0 02 " or t he l ik e.
[ 007 1]
Therefore, the names of "OsakaSGW001 U-Plane002" and
"OsakaSGW001 U-Plane003" are respectively assigned to second and
25 third, VMs added by auto scaling (auto-scale V-MANO). That is,
ac cord in g t h i s ex e mpl ar y emb od im ent , d i s t in ct io n c an b e m ad e, in t e rm s
of management.
[ 007 2]
An op era to r ++ i n th e "+ +i n t e g e r - va l ue " of th e i nst r uc t io n ru le i s
30 given as the simplest example among exam p l e s of naming rule for the
au t o - i ncrem en t (i n w hi ch on s ynt a x of th e n ami ng ru le is arbi t ra r y ) .
Na t u r a l l y, t he pre s en t i nv en ti on is no t l imi t ed to su ch a na min g rul e.
To take an example, in place of the "OsakaSGW001 U-Plane"
++ i nt eg er- v alu e " " , a n i nst r uc ti on of in s e r t i ng a te xt cod e of a "bu il di ng
21
name" in place of a field of "Osaka" as an argument (variable) of the
naming rule may be embedded. When orchestration is performed,
NFVO ma y select a building or the like with sufficient resources
( r es ou r c e s ) , for e xa mp l e . In t hat case , i t m a y be s o arran g ed t hat a n
5 i n s t ru ct io n o f au to ma ti cal l y i n se r t i ng "b ui ld i ng na me " is s pe ci fied as
the naming rule, and NFVO gives VM name (VDU name) by referring to
r e p o s i t o r y information of NFVI and VNF that NFVO manages at the time
of th e o r ch es t r a t i o n.
[ 007 3]
10 FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating NFV-MANO (in FIG. 2)
configured to execute a process of loading t he VNF descriptor (vnfd) in
t h i s e xemp lar y em bo dim en t describ e d w i th re f e r e n c e t o FIGs. 10 an d 11
and generating an NFV i n s t a n c e . The pr ocess may be implemented in
NFVO, VFNM, or the like of NFV-MANO as a program. In this case, a
15 processor (CPU (Central Processing Unit)), n ot shown, which
c o n s t i t u t e s NFVO, VNFM, or the l i ke of the NFV-MANO loads the
program stored in a semiconductor memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive),
or th e l ik e in to a ma i n m em or y, an d ex ec u t e s th e p ro gr am , th er eb y
implementing a VNF descriptor loading process from the storage unit
20 an d an NF V i nst an ce cr eat io n p r oc es s.
[ 007 4]
NFV-MANO 100 includes a descriptor input unit 101 configured
t o recei ve t he VN F d e s c r i pt or ( vn f d) (in cl ud i ng an i nf ormati on e le m en t
of a VM name) in this exemplary embodiment i l l u s t r a t e d in FIG. 10 and
25 s o on , an i n s t a n t ia ti on in pu t pa r am et er i np ut u n i t 10 2 co nfi gur ed t o
r e c e iv e an i nst an ti at i on inp ut p ara m e t e r , an i nst an ti at i on ex ec ut i on un it
10 3 con f i gu r ed t o ex ec u te an in s t an ti at io n o per at io n, and a n i nst an ce
r eco rd ou tp ut un it 10 4 co nfi gu r ed to o u tp ut an in s t a nce re co rd . Th e
i n s t a n c e r e cord an d d a ta ar e s t o red in an i n s ta nce rec o r d sto ra ge un i t
30 112.
[ 007 5]
For example, from OSS/BSS or VNFM to NFVO, NS (Network
S e rv i c e ) o r VNF i n s t an t i a t i o n o perat io n is ex ecut ed . The in s ta nt i at io n
input parameter is used to customize network service NS or VNF to
22
s pecifi c i ns tant ia ti o n , for ex a m pl e . A s t he in st an ti at io n i np ut
pa ramete r, i nfor ma ti on fo r i de ntif yi n g a dep lo ym e nt flavo r
(Deployment Fl avor) to be used, and VNF and PNF to be incorporated by
the i n s t a n t i a t i o n operation are referred to. T he i n s t a n t i a t i o n execution
5 unit 103 creates records (NSR, VNFR, VLR, VNFFGR and so forth)
i n di c a t i n g a newl y c r e a t ed in s ta nc e . Ea ch r ecord created b a s ed o n
i n fo rma ti on giv e n b y ea ch des c r ip t or an d ad d i t i on al run t im e
i n fo rma ti on relate d t o a co mp on ent i ns ta nce , p r ov i d es a da ta grou p
necessary for model ing a s t a t e of a network service (NS) i n s t a n c e , VNF
10 i n s t a n c e, V NFFG i nst a n c e , o r V L ( Vi r tu al Li nk) i nst an c e . Di s ti nct ion
among instances such as a p l u r a l i t y of VMs (VDUs) that have been
created can be made by names (such as VDU names).
[ 007 6]
In th e ab ov e - me nt io ned ex em p l a ry e m bo di ment , th e d e sc r ip t io n
15 ha s been gi ven, u s in g, as a n e xamp le , vi r tu al m ac hi ne s (VMs)
i n s t a n t ia te d b ased o n in f ormati on o n t he d e sc r ip t or o r t he l ik e . With
respect to VNF, VNFC, and VDU as well, by including an information
el ement f or s e t t in g a nam e ( na m i ng rul e) t o b e a s so c i a t ed w it h an
i n s t a n c e t o b e c r e at ed , d i s t i n c t i on am on g i nst ance s ( V NF, VNFC, an d
20 VD U) cre at ed bas ed o n t he de s c r ip t or i s made p o s s i bl e, i n te rm s o f
management.
[0077]
Each disclosure of the above - l i s t e d Non-Patent Literature is
i n c o rp ora te d h er ei n b y refer en c e . M od ifi cat io n an d adj ustm en t o f eac h
25 exemplar y embodiment or each example are possible within the scope of
t h e o ve r al l d i s c lo su r e (i nclu di ng th e c la i ms) of th e p r e s e nt in vent io n
an d b a se d on th e b a s i c t echn ic al con ce pt o f th e p r e se nt i nv en ti on .
Vario us co m b i n a t i on s a nd s el e ct i on s o f v a r io us di s c l osed el em ent s
( i n c lu di ng each el e me nt in ea ch cl ai m , ea ch el e me nt in eac h ex am p l e ,
30 ea ch ele me nt in e a ch d rawi n g, a nd s o o n) ar e p o s s i bl e wi t h i n th e scop e
of th e c la i m s of t he present in ven ti on . T hat i s , t h e pres en t in vent io n
na t u r a l l y i n clu de s v a r i ous v a r i at i on s an d m odifi ca ti ons th at co uld be
made by those skilled in the art according to the overall disclosure
i n cl udin g th e clai ms a nd th e tech ni ca l co ncep t.
23
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
[ 007 8]
100 NFV-MANO
101 descriptor input unit
5 1 0 2 i nst an ti at i on in put paramete r i npu t u nit
1 0 3 i nst an ti at i on ex ec ut i on un it
10 4 inst an ce r e co r d ou tp ut u ni t
111 des c r i p to r s to r a ge un it
112 in st an ce reco r d sto rag e u ni t
10
24

WE CLAIM:
1. A netw o r k fun ct io n s virt u a l i z a t io n m an ag ement an d o r c h e s t ra ti on
method comprising:
a step of receiving information o f a template from a storage unit;
5 and
a st ep o f creati n g an in st an ce b as e d o n t he i nform at io n of t he
t e m pl at e, wherei n
an in f orm at i on ele m en t t hat a ll ow s a n in s ta nce cre at ed b a se d on
t h e i nfo r ma t io n of t he temp la te to b e di s t i n gu i sh ed b y n ame is pro vi ded
10 i n th e t em p l a t e th at i s st ore d i n th e st orag e u ni t.
2. T he n etwork f un c t i on s v i r t u a l iz at io n m an ag e me nt and
orch est r at i on m et h od acco r di n g t o cl ai m 1, wh e r ei n th e in f ormati on
el ement th at all ow s th e i n s t a n c e t o be d is ti ngui s he d b y name in cl ud es an
i n fo rma ti on elemen t t ha t gi ves a n ami ng r ul e fo r a na me of t he i n s t a n c e .
15 3. A netw o r k fun ct io n s virt u a l i z a t io n m an ag ement an d o r c h e s t ra ti on
m e t ho d, c om p r i s in g:
prov id in g, i n a V NF (Vi r tu al iz e d Netw ork Fu n c t i on ) descr ip to r
(VNFD), an information element that gives a naming rule for a name of
an i ns ta nc e , t o all ow an i ns t a n c e c r e at ed ba sed o n i nform at io n o f th e
20 VNFD to be distinguished by name .
4. T he netw ork f un ct io ns v i r tu al iz at io n ma na ge ment a nd
orch est r at i on meth od accord in g to cl a im 3, co mp r i s in g:
providing an information element of a VM name that describes a
na m in g ru le fo r a v i r t ual m ac hi ne (V M ) o n a s am e la yer as i nfo rmati on
25 el ement s of an ID ( Id en ti fie r ) and a V DU (Virt ua l iz e d Depl o y m en t U ni t )
of the VNFD, to allow a pluralit y of instances created based on the
VNFD to be distinguished by name .
5. A netw o r k fun ct io n s vi r t u a l i z a ti on m an ag em en t an d o r ch es t r a t i on
system, comprising:
30 i np ut me an s th at r ec e iv e s i nfo rmati on of a te m pl a te fro m a
s t o r a g e un i t ; and
creati on me ans t ha t cre at e s a n i ns t a n c e ba s ed o n t he in fo rmati on
of t he t em pl at e,
wherei n t he t em p l a t e i nc lu des an i nform at io n elemen t th at all ow s
25
an i ns ta nc e cr eat ed ba sed o n th e in form at i on o f th e templ at e to b e
d i s t i n g u i s h e d b y name .
6. T he netw ork f un ct io ns v i r tu al iz at io n ma na ge ment a nd
orch est r at i on s ys t em accord in g to claim 5, w he r e in t he in f ormati on
5 el ement t hat all ow s th e i n s t a n c e t o be d is ti ngui s he d b y name in cl ud es an
i n fo rma ti on eleme nt t h at gi ve s a n ami ng rul e for t h e name of t he
i n s t a n c e.
7. A netw o r k fun ct io n s virt u a l i z a t io n m an ag ement an d o r c h e s t ra ti on
s yst em c omp r i s i ng :
10 m e a n s th at r ec ei v e s a VN F (Vi r t u al i zed Ne tw ork Fu nc ti on )
de s c r ip to r ( VNF D ) in cl udin g an i nfo rma ti on eleme nt t hat giv es a
naming rule for a name of an i n s t a n c e ; and
m e a n s th at cr ea t e s an i nst ance b a s ed on in f orm at i on o f t he VNFD .
8. T he netw ork f un ct io ns v i r tu al iz at io n ma na ge ment a nd
15 orch est r at i on s ys te m ac co rdi ng to cl ai m 7, wher e in an in f orm at i on
el ement o f a VM na me th at d e sc r i bes a n am i ng r ul e f or a vi r tu al m ac hi ne
(VM) is provided in the VNFD on a same layer as information elements
of an ID (Ide nt ifi e r ) a nd a VD U (Vi r t u a l i z e d D epl o ym en t U n i t ) of t he
VNFD, to allow a p l u r a l i t y of instances created based on the VNFD to
20 be d i s t i ngu i s hed b y n ame .
9. A program causing a computer to execute:
a p r o c e s s i n g of recei vi n g, from a s to r a g e u n it , a te m pl at e
i n clu din g an i nfo r m at i on ele me nt t ha t a ll ow s an in s ta nce cre a te d bas ed
on information of the received template to be distinguished by name ;
25 and
a pro ce s s i ng o f cr ea t in g an i nst ance b a se d on t he i nfo rmati on of
t h e recei ve d temp l at e.
10 . T he p ro gr am a c c ordi ng to claim 9, w he r e in th e i nform at ion
el ement th at all ow s th e i n s t a n c e t o be d is ti ngui s he d b y name in cl ud es an
30 i n fo rma ti on eleme nt t h at gi ve s a n ami ng rul e for t h e name of t he
i n s t a n c e.
1 1 . A program causing a computer to execute:
a p ro ces s i ng of r ecei vi ng a VNF (Vi r t u a l i z e d N etwork Fu nc t io n)
de s c r ip to r ( VN FD) wi th an i nfo r m at io n e l e me nt t hat gi ve s a nami ng rul e
26
for a name of an instance; and
a processing of creating an instance based on information of the
VNFD.
12. The program according to claim 11, wherein an information
5 element of a VM name that describes a naming rule for a virtual machine
(VM) is provided in the VNFD on a same layer as information elements
of an ID and a VDU (Virtualized Deployment Unit), to allow the
instance created based on the VNFD to be distinguished by name.