Deployment of network services based on virtualized network functions

Abstract

Embodiments include a method for deploying a network service, NS, based on one or more virtualized network functions (VNFs) available in a communication network. Such a method includes obtaining a first NS descriptor (NSD) of a first NS. The first NSD includes an identifier of a VNF descriptor (VNFD) constituting the VNF of the NS, and a first serving access point descriptor (SAPD) of a first SAP of the NS. The first SAPD includes the following attributes associated with the first SAP: an identifier of the VNFD as a constituent element of the first SAP, an identifier of a first connection point (CP) of the VNFD, and a first mapping between the first CP and a first deployable module (DM) constituting the VNF. Other embodiments include network management functions configured to perform such methods.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates generally to the field of communication networks, and more specifically to techniques for deploying a Network Service (NS) based on virtualized network functions (VNFs) available in a communication network, in particular VNFs containing virtualized deployment units (VDUs) (without requiring these VDUs to be contained in the VNF instantiation). BACKGROUND

[0002] A fifth generation (5G) of cellular systems is being standardized within the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). NR is being developed to support maximum flexibility to support multiple and substantially different use cases. These use cases include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), machine type communication (MTC), ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), and several others.

[0003] At a high level, a 5G system (5GS) consists of an Access Network (AN) and a Core Network (CN). The AN provides connectivity for UEs to the CN, e.g., via base stations such as gNBs or ng-eNBs. As described in more detail below, the CN contains a variety of network functions (NFs) that provide a range of different functionality, such as session management, connection management, charging, authentication, etc.

[0004] Figure 1 A high-level view of an exemplary 5G wireless network 100 is shown, including a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN 199) and a 5G Core (5GC 198). The NG-RAN can include one or more gNodeBs (gNBs, e.g., 100, 150) connected to the 5GC via one or more NG interfaces (e.g., 102, 152). More specifically, a gNB can connect to one or more Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMFs) in the 5GC via a respective NG-C interface, and to one or more User Plane Functions (UPFs) in the 5GC via a respective NG-U interface. Various other network functions (NFs) can be included in the 5GC, as described in more detail below.

[0005] In addition, these gNBs can interface with one another via one or more Xn interfaces (e.g., 140 between gNBs 100 and 150). The radio technology for the NG-RAN is often referred to as “New Radio” (NR). With respect to the NR interface to UEs, each of the gNBs can support frequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TDD), or a combination thereof. Each of the gNBs can serve a geographical coverage area including one or more cells, and in some cases can also provide coverage in a respective cell using various directional beams.

[0006] Figure 1 The NG RAN logical nodes shown include a central unit (CU or gNB-CU) and one or more distributed units (DU or gNB-DU). The CU (e.g., 110) is a logical node that hosts higher-level protocols and performs various gNB functions, such as controlling the operation of the DU. In contrast, the DU (e.g., 120, 130) is a distributed logical node that hosts lower-level protocols and can contain various subsets of gNB functions depending on the function partitioning options. The CU communicates via corresponding F1 logical interfaces (e.g., Figure 1 The F1 interface (122, 132) is connected to one or more DUs. However, the F1 interface is not visible outside the gNB.

[0007] Another change in 5G networks (e.g., in 5GC) is the modification and / or replacement of traditional peer-to-peer interfaces and protocols seen in previous-generation networks with a service-based architecture (SBA). In SBA, network functions (NFs) provide one or more services to one or more service consumers. This can be accomplished, for example, through a Hypertext Transfer Protocol / Representational State Transfer (HTTP / REST) ​​application programming interface (API). Generally, the various services are self-contained functionalities that can be changed and modified in isolation without affecting other services.

[0008] Furthermore, services are composed of various "service operations," which are finer-grained divisions of the overall service functionality. The 5G SBA model is based on the principles of modularity, reusability, and self-containment, including network functions (NFs), which enables network deployments to leverage the latest virtualization and software technologies.

[0009] Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) is a network architecture concept that leverages traditional server virtualization techniques used in enterprise information technology (IT) systems. The goal of NFV is to virtualize functionalities typically deployed in network nodes into NF building blocks, which can be used to create and deliver communication services. Virtual NFs (VNFs) can be implemented within one or more virtual machines (VMs) or containers (e.g., Kubernetes) running different software and processes, on top of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) high-capacity servers, switches, and storage devices, or even on cloud computing infrastructure—in contrast to conventional deployments with custom hardware appliances for each NF. The term "NF Virtualization Infrastructure" (or NFVI) often refers to the collection of hardware and software that builds the environment for deploying VNFs, which can span multiple physical locations.

[0010] The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) includes the Industry Specification Group for NFV (ISG), which has developed standards and specifications for various aspects of NFV, including functional architecture, information models, data models, protocols, application programming interfaces (APIs), testing, reliability, security, and future evolution. In particular, ETSI ISG NFV initiated work on version 5 (Rel-5) of these specifications in May 2021.

[0011] In ETSI terminology, a VNF descriptor (VNFD) is a configuration template that describes a VNF from the perspectives of its deployment and operational behavior. VNFDs can be used during the loading and lifecycle management (LCM) of a VNF instance. A new feature in Rel-5 is "flexible VNF deployment," which introduces "deployable modules" within VNFDs. More specifically, a deployable module (DM) is a collection of one or more Virtualization Deployment Units (VDUs), where each VDU is associated with the deployment and operational behavior of a specific VNF component (VNFC). Unlike regular VNFCs, it is not required that VNFCs based on VDUs (and DMs) be instantiated.

[0012] Furthermore, a VNF Deployment Style (DF) is a configuration that describes a specific deployment of a VNF (or Network Service NS) that meets and / or supports specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as capacity, throughput, latency, reliability, etc. A VNF DF may contain one or more Deployment Modules (DMs), and each DM is associated with a set of one or more VDUs. By using a VNF DF, a single VNF DF can be designed to support different deployment requirements, avoiding the need to create multiple VNF packages. For example, a DF can address requirements for different VNF ​​sizes (e.g., different VNFC scaling ranges and / or different VDU capacities) and topologies for multiple deployment scenarios with different needs. For instance, a VNF may support a high-availability configuration described in a first DF and a basic (or non-high-availability) configuration described in a second DF, where the first DF includes some VNFCs not included in the second DF.

[0013] When a DM is included in a VNF DF, consumers of the VNF LCM interface can choose which DMs are selected for any individual deployment. In such cases, the VNFCs to be instantiated for deployment are only those VDUs that are part of the selected DMs and / or those VNFCs that are based on mandatory VDUs (i.e., without DMs). Summary of the Invention

[0014] However, using DM in a VNF DF can raise various issues, challenges, and / or difficulties. For example, a VNFC may have one or more external connection points (CPs, specifically "VnfExtCp") used to establish external connectivity for the VNF. When the VNFC is included in an NS, VnfExtCp can connect to an NS virtual link (i.e., within the NS) or be exposed as an External Service Access Point (SAP) of the NS.

[0015] A VDU can also have a CP (“VduCp”) that can be used to establish external connectivity to a VNF. In other words, some VnfExtCp can be associated with a DM because they are opening the VduCp corresponding to the VDU. Therefore, the number of VnfExtCp opened by a VNF can be affected by the DM selection made by the VNF LCM consumer. If a VnfExtCp associated with a DM is reopened as an SAP, the entity establishing external connectivity to the NS must understand how the SAP is associated with the DM constituting the VNFC, which may vary depending on the deployment. This is undesirable and, in some cases, even impractical.

[0016] One objective of embodiments of this disclosure is to facilitate flexible VNF deployments using DMs that are selectable based on deployment requirements.

[0017] Some embodiments of this disclosure include methods (e.g., processes) for deploying network services (NS) based on one or more virtualized network functions (VNFs) available in a communication network (e.g., 5GC). 。

[0018] These exemplary methods include obtaining a first NSD for a first NS. The first NSD includes the following: an identifier of a VNF descriptor (VNFD) constituting a VNF of the NS, and a first Service Access Point Descriptor (SAPD) for a first SAP of the NS. The first SAPD includes the following attributes associated with the first SAP: an identifier of a VNFD that is a constituent element of the first SAP, an identifier of a first connection point (CP) of the VNFD, and a first mapping between the first CP and a first deployable module (DM) constituting the VNF.

[0019] In some embodiments, a VNF comprises multiple Virtualization Deployment Units (VDUs), but it is not required that the VDUs be included in the instantiation constituting the VNF. A VNFD indicates a first VDU associated with a first DM constituting the VNF. The first VDU contains a first CP, which the VNFD indicates as an external CP used to constitut the VNF.

[0020] In some embodiments, these exemplary methods further include determining one or more of the following first information based on a first SAPD of a first NSD: that a first DM has been instantiated, that a first CP has been instantiated, and that external connectivity is required for a first SAP. In some embodiments of these embodiments, the first information is determined based on the first SAPD without accessing the VNFD constituting the VNF.

[0021] In some embodiments, the first NSD further includes an identifier of a first DM constituting the VNF. In some of these embodiments, the identifier of the first DM (i.e., in the first NSD) includes a qualifier associated with the VNFD constituting the VNF.

[0022] In some embodiments, these exemplary methods also include deploying a first NS in the communication network based on the obtained first NSD.

[0023] In other embodiments, the first NS is nested within a composite NS, and the first NSD is obtained as part of a second NSD used in the composite NS. The second NSD includes an identifier of the first NSD and a second SAPD of the second SAP of the composite NS. The second SAPD includes the following attributes associated with the second SAP: an identifier of the first NSD as a constituent element, an identifier of the first SAPD, and a second mapping between the first SAPD and the first DM.

[0024] In some embodiments of these examples, these exemplary methods further include determining one or more of the following second information based on a second SAPD in the second NSD: that the first DM has been instantiated, that the first SAP has been instantiated, and that external connectivity is required for the second SAP. In some variations of these embodiments, the second information is determined based on the second SAPD without accessing the first NSD.

[0025] In some embodiments of these embodiments, the second NSD also includes an identifier of the first DM constituting the VNF. In some variations of these embodiments, the identifier of the first DM (i.e., in the second NSD) includes a qualifier associated with the VNFD constituting the VNF and the first NSD.

[0026] In some of these embodiments, these exemplary methods also include deploying a second NS in the communication network based on the obtained second NSD.

[0027] In some embodiments, the method is performed by one of the following associated with the communication network: NFV management and orchestration (MANO) function, operations support system (OSS), and services support system (BSS).

[0028] Other embodiments include network management functions configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein, and network devices arranged to implement such network management functions. Other embodiments also include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry associated with such network management functions, configure such network management functions to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein.

[0029] The embodiments and other embodiments described herein can provide various benefits and / or advantages. For example, embodiments can enable the entity responsible for establishing the external connectivity of the NS to understand the SAPs exposed by the NS based on the selected DMs of the NS constituent parts in a particular deployment, without having to access the descriptors of the NS constituent parts. In other words, in order to compile the mapping information of the SAPs of the NS constituent parts, the NSD designer only needs to have access to the descriptors of the direct children of the NS. This can be particularly advantageous because, in general, accessing the descriptors of the NSD constituent parts may not be possible or feasible. Therefore, embodiments can facilitate flexible VNF deployments by using DMs that can be selected according to deployment requirements.

[0030] These and other objects, features, and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are briefly described below. Attached Figure Description

[0031] Figures 1-2 Various aspects of an exemplary 5G network architecture are shown.

[0032] Figure 3 A block diagram representation of a typical Network Service Descriptor (NSD) structure is shown.

[0033] Figure 4 An exemplary VNF DF is shown, which contains different VDUs associated with various VNFCs of the VNF.

[0034] Figure 5 Example VNFD is shown, which contains Figure 4 The specific VDU shown.

[0035] Figures 6-7 Show how to Figure 5 The VNFD shown includes two examples from NSD.

[0036] Figure 8 This illustrates some embodiments according to the present disclosure, which can be used to... Figure 7 An example of an NSD nested within a composite NSD.

[0037] Figure 9Exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) for deploying an NS based on one or more VNFs available in a communication network, according to various embodiments of this disclosure.

[0038] Figure 10 Communication systems according to various embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.

[0039] Figure 11 Network nodes according to various embodiments of this disclosure are shown.

[0040] Figure 12 A host computing system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0041] Figure 13 This is a block diagram of a virtualized environment in which the functionality implemented in some embodiments of this disclosure can be virtualized. Detailed Implementation

[0042] The embodiments briefly outlined above will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. These descriptions are provided by way of example to illustrate the subject matter to those skilled in the art and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the subject matter to the embodiments described herein. More specifically, examples illustrating the operation of various embodiments in accordance with the advantages discussed above are provided below.

[0043] Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their common meaning in the relevant art, unless the context in which the term is used clearly gives and / or implies a different meaning. Unless otherwise expressly stated, all references to an element, device, component, part, step, etc., are openly interpreted as referring to at least one instance of said element, device, component, part, step, operation, etc. Unless an operation is explicitly described as occurring after or before another operation and / or implied that an operation must occur after or before another operation, the operation of any methods and / or processes disclosed herein is not necessarily performed in the exact order disclosed. Where appropriate, any feature of any embodiment of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any embodiment of the disclosed embodiments may be applied to any other disclosed embodiment. Other objects, features, and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will become apparent from the following description.

[0044] Figure 2 An exemplary non-roaming reference architecture (200) for 5G networks is shown. These include the following NFs and service-based interfaces defined by 3GPP: • The Application Function (AF, with a Naf interface) interacts with the 5GC to supply information to the network operator and subscribe to certain events occurring within the operator's network. The AF provides services to applications, delivering them at a different layer (i.e., the transport layer) than the layer used when requesting services (i.e., the signaling layer), controlling flow resources based on the results negotiated with the network. The AF (via the N5 interface) transmits dynamic session information to the PCF, including a description of the media to be delivered by the transport layer. The Policy Control Function (PCF, with an NPCF interface) supports a unified policy framework to manage network behavior by providing the SMF with PCC rules (e.g., regarding the processing of each service data flow under PCC control) via the N7 reference point. The PCF provides the SMF with policy control decisions and flow-based charging control, including service data flow detection, gating, QoS, and flow-based charging (excluding credit management). The PCF receives session and media-related information from the AF and notifies the AF of service (or user) plane events. • User Plane Function (UPF) – Supports the handling of user plane traffic based on rules received from the SMF, including packet inspection and various execution actions (e.g., event detection and reporting). The UPF communicates with the RAN (e.g., NG-RAN) via reference point N3, with the SMF (discussed below) via reference point N4, and with the external Packet Data Network (PDN) via reference point N6. Reference point N9 is used for communication between two UPFs. • The Session Management Function (SMF, with an NSMF interface) interacts with the decoupled business (or user) plane, including creating, updating, and removing Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions, and managing session context with User Plane Functions (UPF) (e.g., for event reporting). For example, the SMF performs data flow inspection (based on filter definitions contained in PCC rules), online and offline billing interactions, and policy enforcement. The Billing Function (CHF, with an Nchf interface) is responsible for the converged online and offline billing functionality. It provides quota management (for online billing), reauthorization triggering, pricing conditions, and receives usage report notifications from the SMF. Quota management involves specifying the exact number of service-granted units (e.g., bytes, seconds). The CHF also interacts with the billing system. The Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF, with a Namf interface) terminates at the RAN CP interface and handles all mobility and connectivity management for the UE (similar to the MME in the EPC). The AMF communicates with the UE via the N1 reference point and with the RAN (e.g., NG-RAN) via the N2 reference point. • Network Open Function (NEF), with Nnef interface – acts as an entry point into the operator's network by securely opening up network capabilities and events provided by the 3GPP NF to the AF, and by providing the AF with a secure means of providing information to the 3GPP network. For example, NEF provides services that allow the AF to feed specific subscription data (e.g., expected UE behavior) to various UEs. • Network Repository Function (NRF 210), with Nnrf interface – provides service registration and discovery, enabling NFs to identify appropriate services available from other NFs. • Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), with NNSSF interface – A “network slice” is a logical partition of a 5G network that provides specific network capabilities and features, such as supporting specific services. A network slice instance is a collection of NF instances and the network resources (e.g., compute, storage, communication) required to provide the capabilities and features of a network slice. NSSF enables other NFs (e.g., AMFs) to identify network slice instances suitable for the UE's desired services. • Authentication Server Function (AUSF), with Nausf interface – based on the user’s home network (HPLMN), performs user authentication and calculates security key material for various purposes. • Network Data Analysis Function (NWDAF), with Nnwdaf interface – provides network analysis information (e.g., statistics and / or predictions of past events) to other NFs at the network slice instance level. • Location Management Function (LMF) with Nlmf interface – supports various functions related to determining UE location, including UE location determination and obtaining any of the following: DL location measurement or location estimate from the UE; UL location measurement from the NGRAN; and non-UE associated auxiliary data from the NGRAN. • Unified Data Management (UDM) functionality, with a Nudm interface—supports the generation of 3GPP authentication credentials, user identity processing, access authorization based on subscription data, and other subscriber-related functions. To provide this functionality, UDM uses subscription data (including authentication data) stored in the 5GC Unified Data Repository (UDR). In addition to UDM, UDR also supports PCF for storing and retrieving policy data, and NEF for storing and retrieving application data.

[0045] The services provided by various Service Providers (NFs) consist of "service operations," which are finer-grained divisions of the overall service functionality. The interaction between service consumers and producers can be of the "request / response" or "subscription / notification" type. In the latter type, the service consumer NF (or equivalently, "service consumer NF") requests the service producer NF (or equivalently, "service producer NF") to establish a subscription so that the service consumer NF can receive notifications from the service producer NF under the conditions specified in this subscription.

[0046] Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) is expected to be a key enabler of 5G SBA deployments. As mentioned above, NFV leverages traditional server virtualization technologies used in enterprise IT systems, aiming to virtualize functionalities typically deployed in network nodes into NF building blocks that can be used to create and deliver communication services. Virtual NFs (VNFs) can be implemented within one or more virtual machines (VMs) or containers (e.g., Kubernetes) running different software and processes, on top of COTS high-capacity servers, switches, and storage devices, or even on cloud computing infrastructure—in contrast to conventional deployments with custom hardware appliances for each NF. The term "NF Virtualization Infrastructure" (or NFVI) often refers to the collection of hardware and software that builds the environment for deploying VNFs, which can span multiple physical locations.

[0047] The ETSI NFV ISG develops standards and specifications for various aspects of NFV, including functional architecture, information model, data model, protocols, APIs, testing, reliability, security, and future evolution. The ETSI NFV ISG initiated work on Rel-5 of these specifications in May 2021.

[0048] In ETSI terminology, a Network Service (NS) is a combination of one or more Network Functions (NFs) and / or one or more other network services, defined by their functional and behavioral specifications. NSs facilitate the behavior of higher-level services operating on top of them, which can be characterized in terms of performance, reliability, and security. End-to-end NS behavior is the result of a combination of individual NF behavior and the behavior of the network infrastructure.

[0049] In other words, an NS is a combination of several NFs arranged as a set of functions without specifying the connectivity between them (e.g., according to one or more forwarding diagrams). A Network Service Descriptor (NSD) is a deployment template containing information that can be used by an NFV orchestrator (NFVO) for lifecycle management (LCM) of NS instances in a communication network. For example, NFV management and orchestration (MANO) functions (including NFVO) can use an NSD to deploy instances of the described NS. At a high level, the NSD contains service topology and characteristics, including any relevant Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and / or other information necessary for NS loading and LCM of NS instances.

[0050] Figure 3 A block diagram representation of a typical NSD structure is shown, which includes the following constituent objects: • Zero or one VNF descriptors (VNFDs), which are configuration templates that describe the corresponding deployment and operational behavior of the VNF and are used during the loading and LCM of the VNF instance; • NFVO uses zero or more Virtual Link Descriptors (VLDs) to deploy Virtual Links (VLs) within a NS. • NFVO determines the zero or one physical network function descriptors (PNFDs) used to connect the PNF to the VL in the NS; • Zero or more nested NSDs; and • Zero or more VNF forwarding graph descriptors (VNFFGDs), each of which describes the topology of an NS or a portion thereof by referencing a pool of connection points and service access points (SAPs), the descriptors that constitute VNFs, PNFs and VLs that connect them, and optionally one or more network forwarding path (NFP) descriptors.

[0051] Note that the information in the PNFD is limited to a description of the connectivity requirements for integrating PNFs in the NS. Furthermore, the NSD must reference at least one VNFD or at least one nested NSD. Moreover, an NSD may contain different VNFFGDs, where each VNFFGD uses a subset of the VLDs, VNFDs, and PNFDs contained in the NSD. These different VNFFGDs may result in packets / frames traversing the same sequence of (V)NFs, depending on the NFP descriptors contained in the VNFFGD. Within each VNFFGD, the connectivity topology represents how those (V)NFs that packets / frames can exchange between are connected to each other. Network Connectivity Topology (NCT) represents a higher logical level of connectivity and may be a global view of the combined connectivity of different VNFFGDs from a given NS.

[0052] As noted above, NSs can be nested. An SAP nested NS can connect to the NS virtual link of a composite NS, or it can also be exposed as an SAP of the composite NS to establish external connectivity of the composite NS.

[0053] A new feature in Rel-5 is "flexible VNF deployment," which introduces "deployable modules" into VNFD. More specifically, a deployable module (DM) is a collection of one or more Virtualization Deployment Units (VDUs), where each VDU is associated with the deployment and operational behavior of a specific VNF component (VNFC). Unlike regular VNFC, it is not required that VNFCs based on VDUs (and DMs) be instantiated.

[0054] A VNF deployment style (DF) is a configuration that describes the specific deployment of a VNF that meets / supports specific key performance indicators (KPIs) such as capacity, throughput, latency, and reliability. The deployment of an optional set of VNFCs within the complete set that constitutes a VNF can be achieved through an intermediate marshalling level between the VNF DF level and the VDU level. The optional set of VNFCs has the following characteristics: • Each VNF DF specifies a set in the VNFD, i.e., as a design-time decision; • A set consisting of one or more VNFCs; Each VNFC is part of zero, one or more sets; • Sets are independent, which makes any decision to deploy a set independent of other sets; From the perspective of VNF, a decision is made at runtime whether to deploy an optional collection.

[0055] More specifically, a VNF DF can contain one or more DMs, where each DM is associated with a set of one or more VDUs. By using a VNF DF, a single VNF DF can be designed to support different deployment requirements and avoid the need to create multiple VNF packages. For example, a VNF DF can support requirements for different VNF ​​sizes (e.g., different VNFC scaling ranges and / or different VDU capacities) and topologies for multiple deployment scenarios with different needs. As a more specific example, a VNF can support a high-availability configuration described in a first DF and a basic (non-high-availability) configuration described in a second DF, where the first DF contains some VNFCs not included in the second DF.

[0056] When a DM is included in a VNF DF, consumers of the VNF LCM interface can choose which DMs are selected for any individual deployment. In such cases, the VNFCs to be instantiated for deployment are only those VDUs that are part of the selected DMs and / or those VNFCs that are based on mandatory VDUs (i.e., without DMs).

[0057] Figure 4 An exemplary VNF DF is shown, which contains different VDUs associated with various VNFCs of the VNF. Specifically, Vdu1 and Vdu2 are mandatory, causing VNFCs based on these VDUs to be instantiated in all deployments of the VNF in the NS (with possible exceptions when a scaling level with 0 instances is defined for that VNFC). Selecting DM1 results in the instantiation of NF1, which includes Vdu3, Vdu4, and Vdu5, while selecting DM2 results in the instantiation of NF2, which includes Vdu4, Vdu5, Vdu6, and Vdu7. Similarly, selecting DM3 results in the instantiation of Vdu8 and Vdu9, while selecting DM4 results in the instantiation of Vdu10. Figure 4 In this context, Vdu4 and Vdu5 are associated with multiple DMs, while each of the other VDUs is associated with only one DM.

[0058] A VNFC can have one or more external connection points (CPs, specifically "VnfExtCp"), which are used to establish external connectivity for the VNF. A VDU can also have a CP ("VduCp"), which can be used to establish external connectivity for the VNF. Figure 5 Example VNFD "A" is shown, which contains Figure 4 Vdu8. Vdu8 has a VduCpd called Vdu8Cpd, which is opened as a VnfExtCpd called VnfAExt1Cpd. Figure 4 Other VDUs shown may also be included. Figure 5 The VNFD shown in the figure (with VduCp opened in a similar manner) is omitted for brevity and / or simplicity.

[0059] The introduction of DM means that the number of VnfExtCp instances open in a VNF can be affected by the DM selection performed by the NFVO during VNF LCM. The NFVO needs to know about VnfExtCp in order to establish external connectivity for the VNF, for example, by assigning Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to VnfExtCp instances.

[0060] Figure 6 Show Figure 5 How can VNFD A shown be included (such as...) Figure 3This is an example from the NSD shown. Specifically, VNFD A is contained within an NSD called SERV1. In this example, VnfAExt1Cp of VNFD A is connected to an NsVirtualLink specified in a VLD called NSVirvualLinkDesc. This connectivity can be defined, for example, using an Information Element (IE) in an NSD called NsVirtualLinkConnectivity.

[0061] During the LCM of VNF A, the NFVO will select which DMs of VNF A to deploy. This can be based on the selection specified in the NSD of NS SERV1, information provided by the user via the NS LCM interface, or information provided via a user interface in the NFVO. If DM3 is selected, the VNFC based on Vdu8 will be deployed, and VnfAExt1Cp will be instantiated. Since the NFVO has access to VNFD A in the NSD of SERV1, it knows that VnfAExt1Cp will be instantiated, but does not need to establish external connectivity for it.

[0062] However, if VnfAExt1Cp of VNFD A is instead opened as SAP for SERV1, the entity establishing external connectivity to the NS will need to understand how SAP relates to the deployable modules that constitute the NS. Figure 7 Show Figure 5 The following is another example of how VNFD A can be included in the NSD of an NS called SERV1. In this example, VnfAExt1Cp of VNFD A is not connected to NsVirtualLink, but is used to provide external connectivity to the NS. In particular, VnfAExt1Cp of VNFD A is exposed as an external SAP of SERV1 called Serv1aSapd.

[0063] The entity establishing external connectivity for SERV1 will need to understand how SAP relates to the deployable modules of the NS components. This is undesirable because the entity may reside outside of MANO, such as in an Operations Support System (OSS) or Business Support System (BSS), and should not be required to understand the details of the NS components. Furthermore, as mentioned above, SERV1 can be used as a nested NS within a composite NS. In this case, the designer of the composite NSD may not have access to the VNFD of the nested NSD.

[0064] The embodiments of this disclosure address these and other problems, challenges, and / or difficulties by providing novel, flexible, and efficient techniques to open information in the NSD about how SAP maps to the DMs that constitute a VNF, or the DMs of a VNF that are part of a nested NS. This is necessary when SAP is opening VnfExtCp associated with the DM / VDU (either directly or via one or more nested levels). For VnfExtCp opened by SAP associated with mandatory VDUs, such information is not required because it is assumed that these VnfExtCp will always be instantiated.

[0065] Furthermore, when SAP-to-DM mapping information is provided in this manner, NSD will also directly expose DM information about its constituent parts in the NSD IE. In this way, when an NS is used as a nested NS in a composite NS and the SAP of that nested NS is re-exposed as the SAP in the composite NS, the designer of the composite NS understands how the selected DM affects the number of SAPs in the composite NS.

[0066] Embodiments of this disclosure can provide various benefits and / or advantages. For example, embodiments can enable entities responsible for establishing the external connectivity of the NS (e.g., OSS, BSS, other non-MANO entities, the designer of the composite NSD in which the NS is used as a nested NS) to understand the SAP exposed by the NS in a particular deployment based on the selected DM of the NS constituent parts, without having to access and delve into the descriptors of the NS constituent parts. In other words, in order to compile the mapping information of the SAP of the NS constituent parts, the NSD designer only needs to have access to the descriptors of the NS's direct children. This can be particularly advantageous because, in general, accessing the descriptors of the NSD constituent parts may be impossible or infeasible.

[0067] ETSI GS NFV-IFA 014 (v4.4.1) specifies the data structures used for NSD. In particular, it specifies that NSDIE contains the attributes listed in Table 1 below.

[0068] Table 1.

[0069] One of the attributes mentioned above is the Service Access Point Descriptor (SAPD), which provides a descriptor for the SAP of the NS. For each SAP, the SAPD contains the attributes listed in Table 2 below.

[0070] Table 2.

[0071] The associatedCpd property in the table above references the CPD in an SAP-reopened NSD constituent element (e.g., VNFD, nested NSD, or PNFD). Depending on the type of constituent element, SAP may reopen VnfExtCp of a VNF, PnfExtCp of a PNF, or SAP of a nested NS. The associatedCpd property is of type CpdInConstituentElement. Some embodiments of this disclosure include an enhanced CpdInConstituentElement data structure containing available mapping information for the DM of the NS constituent element (represented by the cpToDeployableModuleMapping property in Table 3 below).

[0072] Table 3.

[0073] In some embodiments, the NSD data structure in Table 1 above can be enhanced to include the following attributes: The aforementioned new attribute enables the recursive opening of DM information. For example, it can indicate the DM of a VNF that is a component of a nested NS of an NS, which in turn is also a nested NS of this NS. To populate this attribute, the NSD designer needs to have access to the descriptors of the direct components of the NSD (i.e., VNFDs, nested NSDs), but does not need to have access to the descriptors of the VNFDs that are components of the direct components (or indirect components of the NSD).

[0074] consider Figure 7 The example NSD shown here uses VnfAExt1Cp to provide external connectivity to the NS. Therefore, how VnfAExt1Cp is connected is determined outside the NSD, and in principle, outside the MANO function within the network. When using embodiments of this disclosure, the associatedCpd attribute of Serv1aSapd contains mapping information for DM3, which corresponds to Vdu8 of VNFD A, a component of NSD SERV1. For example, reopening the associatedCpd attribute of VnfAExt1Cpd as SAPD Serv1aSapd includes the following (sub)attributes: ·constituentBaseElementId: VnfProfileId of VNF_A ·constituentCpdId:VnfAExt1Cpd ·cpToDeployableModuleMapping: DM3 Based on this information contained in the NSD, the entity responsible for establishing the external connectivity of the NS can determine which DMs have been selected, whether Serv1aSapd has been instantiated, and whether the connectivity used for the SAP is as expected.

[0075] exist Figure 7 In the example shown, an SAP exists in the NS that is opening a VnfExtCp associated with the DM. According to embodiments of this disclosure, the NSD will also include attributes for the open DM identifier along with the identifier of the VnfProfile. For example, Figure 7 The NSD used for SERV1 contains the following attributes: ·deployableModuleInConstituent: "VnfAProfileId:DM3" Note that this attribute is included only to use SERV1 as a nested NS and reopen SAP as a composite NS in the composite NSD of SAP. Figure 8 An example is shown, where from Figure 7 NSD SERV1 is used as a nested NSD in a composite NSD called COMP, and SAP Serv1Sapd is also reopened as SAP in a composite NS, namely Comp1aSapd.

[0076] Because SAP reopens nested NS, embodiments of this disclosure can be used to interact with... Figure 7 The NSD COMP is enhanced in a similar manner to the NSD SERV1 enhancement shown in the previous example. Specifically, the associatedCpd property of NS COMP SAP Comp1aSapd will now contain mapping information for the DM of VNF A, which is a component of nested NS SERV1. For example, the associatedCpd property of NSD for COMP can contain the following (sub)properties: ·constituentBaseElementId: NsdProfileId of NSD COMP ·constituentCpdId:Serv1aSapd ·cpToDeployableModuleMapping: VnfAProfileId:DM3 Note that the DM identifier includes the VNF constituent parts as qualifiers. As discussed above, this is defined in the deployableModuleInConstituent property of the NSD nested in NS SERV1. Therefore, the designer of the NSD COMP does not need to have access to VNFD A.

[0077] In some embodiments, the NSD information element in the NSD COMP will also open the associated DM (i.e., DM3) of VNF A, because this DM is associated with VnfExtCpd in VNF A, which is reopened as SAP in the NS COMP. For example, the NSDCOMP may contain the following attributes: · deployableModuleInConstituent: "NsProfileSERV1Id:VnfAProfileId:DM3".

[0078] The various features of the above embodiments correspond to Figure 9 The various operations shown, Figure 9 Exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) for deploying network services (NS) based on one or more virtualized network functions (VNFs) available in a communication network, according to various embodiments of this disclosure, are described. In other words, various features of the operations described below correspond to the various embodiments described above. Although Figure 9 The specific boxes are shown in a particular order, but the operations of this exemplary method may be performed in a different order than shown, and may be combined and / or split into boxes with different functionalities than those shown. Optional boxes or operations are indicated by dashed lines.

[0079] The following description is an exemplary method performed based on network management functions associated with a communication network. For example, network management functions may be implemented in a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) system for a RAN, in an NFV Management and Orchestration (MANO) function, in one or more network management nodes in an OAM / OSS / BSS system, or in an application running on a host computing system (e.g., a public or private cloud environment) outside the network.

[0080] This exemplary method includes the operation of block 910, wherein a network management function obtains a first NSD of a first NS. The first NSD includes the following items: an identifier of a VNF descriptor (VNFD) constituting a VNF of the NS, and a first Service Access Point Descriptor (SAPD) of a first SAP of the NS. The first SAPPD includes the following attributes associated with the first SAP: an identifier of a VNFD that is a constituent element of the first SAP, an identifier of a first connection point (CP) of the VNFD, and a first mapping between the first CP and a first deployable module (DM) constituting the VNF.

[0081] In some embodiments, a VNF comprises multiple Virtualization Deployment Units (VDUs), but it is not required that the VDUs be included in the instantiation constituting the VNF. A VNFD indicates a first VDU associated with a first DM constituting the VNF. The first VDU contains a first CP, which the VNFD indicates as an external CP used to constitut the VNF.

[0082] In some embodiments, the exemplary method further includes the operation of block 920, wherein the network management function determines one or more of the following first information based on a first SAPD of the first NSD: the first DM has been instantiated, the first CP has been instantiated, and external connectivity is required for the first SAP. In some embodiments of these embodiments, the first information is determined based on the first SAPD without accessing the VNFD constituting the VNF. Figure 7 Examples of these embodiments are shown.

[0083] In some embodiments, the first NSD further includes an identifier of a first DM constituting the VNF. In some of these embodiments, the identifier of the first DM (i.e., in the first NSD) includes a qualifier associated with the VNFD constituting the VNF.

[0084] In some embodiments, the exemplary method further includes the operation of block 930, wherein the network management function deploys a first NS in the communication network based on the obtained first NSD.

[0085] In other embodiments, the first NS is nested within a composite NS, and the first NSD is obtained as part of a second NSD used in the composite NS. The second NSD includes an identifier of the first NSD and a second SAPD of the second SAP of the composite NS. The second SAPD includes the following attributes associated with the second SAP: an identifier of the first NSD as a constituent element, an identifier of the first SAPD, and a second mapping between the first SAPD and the first DM. Figure 8 Examples of these embodiments are shown.

[0086] In some embodiments of these examples, the exemplary method further includes the operation of block 940, wherein the network management function determines one or more of the following second information based on a second SAPD in the second NSD: the first DM has been instantiated, the first SAP has been instantiated, and external connectivity is required for the second SAP. In some variations of these embodiments, the second information is determined based on the second SAPD without accessing the first NSD.

[0087] In some embodiments of these embodiments, the second NSD also includes an identifier of the first DM constituting the VNF. In some variations of these embodiments, the identifier of the first DM (i.e., in the second NSD) includes a qualifier associated with the VNFD constituting the VNF and the first NSD.

[0088] In some of these embodiments, the exemplary method also includes the operation of block 950, wherein the network management function deploys a second NS in the communication network based on the obtained second NSD.

[0089] In some embodiments, the method is performed by one of the following associated with the communication network: NFV management and orchestration (MANO) function, operations support system (OSS), and services support system (BSS).

[0090] Although various embodiments have been described above in terms of methods, apparatus, devices, computer-readable media, and receivers, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that such methods can be implemented by various combinations of hardware and software in various systems, communication devices, computing devices, control devices, devices, non-transitory computer-readable media, etc.

[0091] Figure 10 An example of a communication system 1000 according to some embodiments is shown. In this example, the communication system 1000 includes a telecommunications network 1002, which includes an access network 1004 (e.g., a RAN) and a core network 1006, the core network 1006 including one or more core network nodes 1008. In some embodiments, the telecommunications network 1002 may also include one or more network management (NM) nodes 1018, which may be part of an operations support system (OSS), a services support system (BSS), and / or an operation and maintenance (OAM) system. The NM node can monitor and / or control the operation of other nodes in the access network 1004 and the core network 1006. Although Figure 10 Although not shown in the diagram, NM node 1018 is configured to communicate with other nodes in access network 1004 and core network 1006 for these purposes.

[0092] Access network 1004 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1010a-b (one or more of which may be collectively referred to as network node 1010), or any other similar 3GPP access node or non-3GPP access point. Network node 1010 facilitates direct or indirect connection of UEs, such as by connecting UEs 1012a-d (one or more of which may be collectively referred to as UE1012) to core network 1006 via one or more radio connections.

[0093] Furthermore, as those skilled in the art will appreciate, network nodes are not necessarily limited to implementations in which the radio and baseband portions are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Therefore, it will be understood that network nodes include decomposed implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, telecommunications network 1002 includes one or more Open RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in telecommunications network 1002 that supports ORAN specifications (e.g., specifications published by the O-RAN Alliance or any similar organization) and can operate individually or in conjunction with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in telecommunications network 1002 (including one or more network nodes 1010 and / or core network node 1008).

[0094] Examples of ORAN network nodes include Open Radio Units (O-RUs), Open Distributed Units (O-DUs), Open Central Units (O-CUs) (containing an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP)), RAN intelligent controllers that host software or software plugins such as near real-time control applications (e.g., xApps) or non-real-time control applications (e.g., rApps), or any combination thereof (the adjective "open" indicates support for the ORAN specification). Network nodes can support the specification by, for example, supporting interfaces defined by the ORAN specification (such as A1, F1, W1, E1, E2, X2, Xn interfaces), an Open fronthaul user plane interface, or an Open fronthaul management plane interface. Furthermore, ORAN access nodes can be logical nodes within physical nodes. Additionally, ORAN network nodes can be implemented in a virtualized environment (described further below), where one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualized environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform or equivalent technologies orchestrated by a service management and orchestration framework via the O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Consortium.

[0095] Examples of wireless communication via wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without using wires, cables, or other conductors. Furthermore, in various embodiments, communication system 1000 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that can facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals (whether via wired or wireless connections). Communication system 1000 may include and / or be connected via an interface to any type of communication, telecommunications, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar systems.

[0096] UE 1012 can be any of a variety of communication devices, including wireless devices that are arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network node 1010 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node 1010 is arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UE 1012 and / or with other network nodes or devices in telecommunication network 1002 to enable and / or provide network access (such as wireless network access) and / or perform other functions (such as management in telecommunication network 1002).

[0097] In the depicted example, core network 1006 connects network node 1010 to one or more hosts, such as host 1016. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. Core network 1006 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., 1008) comprised of hardware and software components. The characteristics of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the description generally applies to the corresponding components of core network node 1008. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of the following: Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier Unhiding Function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Secure Edge Protection Agent (SEPP), Network Open Function (NEF), and / or User Plane Function (UPF).

[0098] Host 1016 may be owned or controlled by a service provider that is different from the operator or provider of access network 1004 and / or telecommunications network 1002, and may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. Host 1016 may take over various applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services (such as retrieving and compiling data on various environmental conditions detected by multiple UEs), analytics functionality, social media, functionality for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functionality for alarm and monitoring centers, or any other such functionality performed by a server.

[0099] In some embodiments, access network 1004 may include a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) system or node 1020, which can monitor and / or control the operation of access network node 1010. For example, this arrangement can be used when access network 1004 utilizes an Open RAN (O-RAN) architecture. Figure 10 As shown, the SMO system 1020 can be configured to communicate with the core network 1006 and / or the host 1016.

[0100] In some embodiments, one or more of the host 1016, network management node 1018, and SMO system 1020 may be configured to perform various operations of an exemplary method (e.g., process) for deploying network services (NS) based on one or more virtualized network functions (VNFs) available in a communication network, such as those described above. Figure 9 As stated above.

[0101] Overall, Figure 10 The communication system 1000 enables connectivity between the UE, network nodes, and hosts. In this sense, the communication system can be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards, including but not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (WiFi); and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards, such as WiMax, Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards (such as LoRa and Sigfox).

[0102] In some examples, telecommunications network 1002 is a cellular network implementing 3GPP standardized features. Therefore, telecommunications network 1002 can support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to it. For example, telecommunications network 1002 can provide ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or massive machine-type communication (mMTC) / massive IoT services to yet another UE.

[0103] In some examples, UE 1012 is configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to transmit information to access network 1004 according to a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from access network 1004. Additionally, the UE may be configured to operate in single RAT, multi-RAT, or multi-standard modes. For example, the UE may operate using any one or a combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio), and LTE, i.e., configured for multiple radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) NR-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0104] like Figure 10 As shown, hub 1014 communicates with access network 1004 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1012c and / or 1012d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1010b). In some examples, hub 1014 may be a controller, router, content source and analysis device, or any other communication device described herein with respect to a UE. For example, hub 1014 may be a broadband router that enables UEs to access core network 1006. As another example, hub 1014 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in a UE.

[0105] Figure 11 A network node 1100 is shown according to some embodiments. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (e.g., radio access points) and base stations (e.g., radio base stations, node B, eNB, and gNB).

[0106] Base stations can be classified based on the coverage they provide (or in other words, their transmit power level), and therefore, depending on the coverage provided, they can be called femtocells, picocells, microcells, or macrocells. A base station can be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. Network nodes can also include one or more (or all) portions of a distributed radio base station, such as centralized digital units and / or remote radio units (RRUs) (sometimes called remote radio headends (RRHs)). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as antenna-integrated radios. A portion of a distributed radio base station can also be referred to as a node in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0107] Other examples of network nodes include multi-transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment (such as MSR BS), network controllers (such as radio network controllers (RNC) or base station controllers (BSC)), base transceiver stations (BTS), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCE), operations and maintenance (O&M) nodes, operations support system (OSS) nodes, self-organizing network (SON) nodes, location nodes (e.g., evolved servicing mobile location centers (E-SMLC)), and / or minimized drive tests (MDT).

[0108] In some embodiments, network node 1100 may be configured to perform various operations of exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) for deploying network services (NS) based on one or more virtualized network functions (VNFs) available in a communication network, such as those described above. Figure 9 As stated above.

[0109] Network node 1100 includes processing circuitry 1102, memory 1104, communication interface 1106, and power supply 1108. Network node 1100 may consist of multiple physically separate components (e.g., node B components and RNC components, or BTS components and BSC components, etc.), each of which may have its own corresponding components. In some scenarios where network node 1100 includes multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of these separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple node Bs. In such scenarios, each unique node B and RNC pair may be considered a single separate network node in some instances. In some embodiments, network node 1100 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1104 for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 1110 may be shared by different RATs). Network node 1100 may also include multiple sets of various components shown for integration into different wireless technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, RFID, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within network node 1100.

[0110] The processing circuitry 1102 may include one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or coding logic operable to provide functionality of the network node 1100, alone or in combination with other network node 1100 components (such as memory 1104).

[0111] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1102 includes a system-on-a-chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1102 includes one or more of a radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1112 and a baseband processing circuitry 1114. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 1112 and the baseband processing circuitry 1114 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units (such as radio units and digital units). In alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 1112 and the baseband processing circuitry 1114 may be on the same chip or chipset, board, or unit.

[0112] Memory 1104 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including but not limited to: persistent storage devices, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drives, compact discs (CDs), or digital video discs (DVDs)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory that stores information, data, and / or instructions usable by processing circuitry 1102. Memory 1104 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including computer programs, software, applications (including one or more of logic, rules, codes, tables, etc.) and / or other instructions executable by processing circuitry 1102 and usable by network node 1100 (collectively, computer program product 1104a). Memory 1104 may be used to store any calculations performed by processing circuitry 1102 and / or any data received via communication interface 1106. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1102 and the memory 1104 are integrated.

[0113] Communication interface 1106 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks, and / or UEs. As shown, communication interface 1106 includes one or more ports / terminals 1116 for transmitting and receiving data to and from the network, for example, via a wired connection. Communication interface 1106 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1118, which may be coupled to antenna 1110 or, in some embodiments, is part of antenna 1110. Radio front-end circuitry 1118 includes filter 1120 and amplifier 1122. Radio front-end circuitry 1118 may be connected to antenna 1110 and processing circuitry 1102. Radio front-end circuitry 1118 may be configured to modulate the signal transmitted between antenna 1110 and processing circuitry 1102. Radio front-end circuitry 1118 may receive digital data to be transmitted to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. Radio front-end circuitry 1118 may use a combination of filter 1120 and / or amplifier 1122 to convert digital data into radio signals with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. Radio signals can then be transmitted via antenna 1110. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1110 can collect radio signals, which are then converted into digital data by radio front-end circuitry 1118. The digital data can then be passed to processing circuitry 1102. In other embodiments, the communication interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0114] In some alternative embodiments, network node 1100 does not include a separate radio front-end circuitry 1118; instead, processing circuitry 1102 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to antenna 1110. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or part of RF transceiver circuitry 1112 is part of communication interface 1106. In other embodiments, communication interface 1106 includes one or more ports or terminals 1116, radio front-end circuitry 1118, and RF transceiver circuitry 1112 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and communication interface 1106 communicates with baseband processing circuitry 1114 as part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0115] Antenna 1110 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1110 may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 1118 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 1110 is separate from network node 1100 and may be connected to network node 1100 via an interface or port.

[0116] Antenna 1110, communication interface 1106, and / or processing circuitry 1102 may be configured to perform any receive operation and / or certain acquire operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from the UE, another network node, and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 1110, communication interface 1106, and / or processing circuitry 1102 may be configured to perform any transmit operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to the UE, another network node, and / or any other network device.

[0117] Power supply 1108 provides power to the various components of network node 1100 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each respective component). Power supply 1108 may further include or be coupled to power management circuitry to power the components of network node 1100 for performing the functionality described herein. For example, network node 1100 may be connected to an external power source (e.g., mains, electrical outlet) via input circuitry or an interface (such as a cable), whereby the external power source supplies power to the power circuitry of power supply 1108. As a further example, power supply 1108 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated into the power circuitry. The battery can provide backup power if the external power source fails.

[0118] Apart from Figure 11In addition to the components shown herein, embodiments of network node 1100 may also include additional components to provide certain aspects of the functionality of the network node, including any of the functionalities described herein and / or any functionality required to support the topics described herein. For example, network node 1100 may include a user interface device to allow information to be input into and output from network node 1100. This allows users to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other management functions for network node 1100.

[0119] Figure 12 Based on the block diagram of host 1200 described in this document, host 1200 can be... Figure 10 An embodiment of host 1016. As used herein, host 1200 can be or include various combinations of hardware and / or software, including standalone servers, blade servers, cloud-implemented servers, distributed servers, virtual machines, containers, or processing resources in a server farm. Host 1200 can provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0120] Host 1200 includes processing circuitry 1202, which is operatively coupled via bus 1204 to input / output interface 1206, network interface 1208, power supply 1210, and memory 1212. Other components may be included in other embodiments. These components may be characterized substantially similarly to those shown in the previous figures (such as...). Figure 11 The features described in the device make its description generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host 1200.

[0121] Memory 1212 may include one or more computer programs containing one or more host applications 1214 and data 1216, the data including user data, such as data generated by the UE for the host 1200 or data generated by the host 1200 for the UE. Embodiments of the host 1200 may utilize some or all of the components shown. The host application 1214 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Universal Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different categories, types, or implementations of the UE (e.g., handheld devices, desktop computers, wearable display systems, head-up display systems). The host application 1214 may also provide user authentication and authorization checks and may periodically report health status, routing, and content availability to a central node (such as a device in the core network or at its edge). Therefore, host 1200 can select and / or specify different hosts for the UE to use for overhead services. Host application 1214 can support various protocols, such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), Real-time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), HTTP-based Dynamic Adaptive Streaming (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0122] In some embodiments, host 1200 may be configured to perform various operations of exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) for deploying network services (NS) based on one or more virtualized network functions (VNFs) available in a communication network, such as those described above. Figure 9 As stated above.

[0123] Figure 13 This is a block diagram illustrating a virtualized environment 1300 in which functionality implemented in some embodiments can be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of a device or apparatus, which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any apparatus or component thereof described herein and involves at least a portion of its functionality being implemented as an implementation of one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functionality described herein can be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) in one or more virtual environments 1300 taken over by one or more hardware nodes, such as hardware computing devices operating as network nodes, UEs, core network nodes, or hosts. Furthermore, in embodiments in which virtual nodes do not require radio connectivity (e.g., core network nodes or hosts), the nodes can be fully virtualized.

[0124] Application 1302 (which may alternatively be referred to as a software instance, virtual appliance, network function, virtual node, virtual network function, etc.) runs in virtualization environment 1300 to implement some of the features, functions and / or benefits of some embodiments disclosed herein.

[0125] Hardware 1304 includes processing circuitry, memory storing software and / or instructions executable by the hardware processing circuitry (collectively, computer program product 1304a), and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as network interfaces, input / output interfaces, etc. The software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1306 (also referred to as a hypervisor or virtual machine monitor (VMM)), provide VMs 1308a-b (one or more of which may generally be referred to as VM 1308), and / or perform any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described with respect to some embodiments described herein. Virtualization layer 1306 may present a virtual operating platform to VM 1308 that appears to be networked hardware.

[0126] VM 1308 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and can be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1306. Different embodiments of instances of virtual appliances 1302 can be implemented on one or more VMs in VM 1308, and these implementations can be performed in different ways. In some contexts, hardware virtualization is referred to as Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to consolidate many types of network devices into industry-standard high-capacity server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage devices, which can reside in data centers and client devices.

[0127] In the context of NFV, VM 1308 can be a software implementation of a physical machine, whose programs run as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each VM 1308, and the portion of hardware 1304 that executes that VM (whether it is hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM and other VMs), forms a separate virtual network element. Still within the context of NFV, the virtual network function is responsible for handling the specific network functions running on one or more VMs 1308 above hardware 1304, and corresponds to application 1302.

[0128] Hardware 1304 can be implemented in a standalone network node with general-purpose or dedicated components. Hardware 1304 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1304 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE), in which many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration function 1310, which, among other things, oversees the lifecycle management of application 1302. In some embodiments, management and orchestration function 1310 may be configured to perform various operations of exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) for deploying network services (NS) based on one or more virtualized network functions (VNFs) available in the communication network, such as those described above. Figure 9 As stated above.

[0129] In some embodiments, hardware 1304 is coupled to one or more radio units, each including one or more receivers and one or more transmitters that can be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio units can communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more suitable network interfaces and can be used in combination with virtual components to provide a radio-capable virtual node, such as a radio access node or base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided using control system 1312, which can alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes and the radio units.

[0130] The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of this disclosure. In light of the teachings herein, those skilled in the art will recognize various modifications and variations to the described embodiments. Therefore, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to conceive of numerous systems, arrangements, and processes that, while not expressly shown or described herein, implement the principles of this disclosure and thus fall within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the various embodiments can be used together and interchangeably with each other.

[0131] As used herein, the term “unit” may have its conventional meaning in the field of electronic, electrical and / or electronic devices, and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid-state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for performing corresponding tasks, processes, calculations, outputs and / or display functions, and so on, as described herein.

[0132] Any suitable steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed by one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual devices. Each virtual device may include multiple such functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry (which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers) and other digital hardware (which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific digital logic, etc.). The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. The program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols and instructions for implementing one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause corresponding functional units to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of this disclosure.

[0133] As described herein, devices and / or apparatuses may be represented by semiconductor chips, chipsets, or (hardware) modules comprising such chips or chipsets; however, this does not preclude the possibility that the functionality of a device or apparatus may not be implemented in hardware, but rather as a software module, such as a computer program or computer program product comprising executable software code for execution or running on a processor. Furthermore, the functionality of a device or apparatus may be implemented by any combination of hardware and software. A device or apparatus may also be viewed as an assembly of multiple devices and / or apparatuses, whether functionally cooperative or independent of each other. Moreover, devices and apparatuses may be implemented in a distributed manner throughout a system, provided that the functionality of the device or apparatus is preserved. Such and similar principles are considered known to those skilled in the art.

[0134] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) shall have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. It will be further understood that the terms used herein shall be interpreted as having the same meaning as they have in the context of this specification and related art, and shall not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly defined herein.

[0135] Additionally, in some cases, certain terms used in this disclosure (including the specification and drawings) are used synonymously (e.g., "data" and "information"). It should be understood that while these terms (and / or other terms that are synonymous with each other) may be used synonymously herein, there may be situations where such terms may not be intended to be used synonymously. Furthermore, all prior art knowledge not expressly incorporated herein by reference is fully and explicitly incorporated herein. All cited publications are fully incorporated herein by reference.

[0136] Embodiments of the technologies and devices described herein also include, but are not limited to, the examples listed below: A1. A method for deploying network services (NS) based on one or more virtualized network functions (VNFs) available in a communication network, the method comprising: Obtain the first NS descriptor (NSD) of the first NS, wherein the first NSD contains the following items: The identifier of the VNF descriptor (VNFD) constituting the NS, and the first SAP first service access point descriptor (SAPD) of the NS, wherein: A VNF consists of multiple Virtualization Deployment Units (VDUs), but it is not required that the VDUs be included in the instantiation that constitutes the VNF. VNFD indicates the first VDU associated with the first deployable module (DM) constituting the VNF. The first VDU includes a first connection point (CP), and the VNFD designates the first CP as an external CP for constituting the VNF. The first SAPD includes the following attributes associated with the first SAP: an identifier for the VNFD that is a constituent element, an identifier for the first CP, and a first mapping between the first CP and the first DM.

[0137] A2. The method of embodiment A1 further includes determining one or more of the following first information based on a first SAPD in a first NSD: a first DM has been instantiated, a first CP has been instantiated, and external connectivity is required for a first SAP.

[0138] A3. The method of embodiment A2, wherein first information is determined based on a first SAPD without accessing the VNFD constituting the VNF.

[0139] A4. The method of any one of embodiments A1-A3, wherein the first NSD further includes an identifier of the first DM constituting the VNF.

[0140] A5. The method of embodiment A4, wherein the identifier of the first DM included in the first NSD contains a qualifier associated with the VNFD constituting the VNF.

[0141] A6. The method of any one of embodiments A1-A5, further comprising deploying a first NS in a communication network based on the obtained first NSD.

[0142] A7. The method of any one of embodiments A1-A5, wherein: The first NS is nested within a composite NS; The first NSD was obtained as part of a second NSD used for composite NS; The second NSD includes the identifier of the first NSD and the second SAPD of the second SAP, which is a composite NS; and The second SAPD includes the following attributes associated with the second SAP: an identifier of the first NSD as a constituent element, an identifier of the first SAPD, and a second mapping between the first SAPD and the first DM.

[0143] A8. The method of embodiment A7 further includes determining one or more of the following second information based on the second SAPD in the second NSD: the first DM has been instantiated, the first SAP has been instantiated, and external connectivity is required for the second SAP.

[0144] A9. The method of embodiment A8, wherein second information is determined based on a second SAPD without accessing a first NSD.

[0145] A10. The method of any one of embodiments A7-A9, wherein the second NSD further includes an identifier of the first DM constituting the VNF.

[0146] A11. The method of embodiment A10, wherein the identifier of the first DM included in the second NSD contains qualifiers associated with the following: the VNFD constituting the VNF, and the first NSD.

[0147] A12. The method of any one of embodiments A7-A11, further comprising deploying a second NS in the communication network based on the obtained second NSD.

[0148] A13. A method of any one of embodiments A1-A12, wherein the method is performed by one of the following associated with a communication network: NFV management and orchestration (MANO) function, operations support system (OSS), and services support system (BSS).

[0149] B1. A network management function configured to deploy network services (NS) based on one or more virtualized network functions (VNFs) available in a communication network, wherein: Network management functions are implemented by operably coupled communication interface circuitry and processing circuitry, and The processing circuitry and communication interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods in embodiments A1-A13.

[0150] B2. A network management function configured to deploy network services (NS) based on one or more virtualized network functions (VNFs) available in a communication network, wherein a network analysis system is further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods in embodiments A1-A13.

[0151] B3. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry associated with a network management function configured to deploy network services (NS) based on one or more virtualized network functions (VNFs) available in a communication network, configure a network management system to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods in embodiments A1-A13.

[0152] B4. A computer program product including computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry associated with a network management function configured to deploy network services (NS) based on one or more virtualized network functions (VNFs) available in a communication network, configure a network management system to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods in embodiments A1-A13.

Claims

1. A method for deploying a network service NS based on one or more Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) available in a communication network, the method comprising: Obtain the first NS descriptor NSD of the first NS (910), where: The first NSD includes the following: an identifier of the VNF descriptor (VNFD) constituting the VNF of the NS; and a first service access point descriptor (SAPD) of the first SAP of the NS; and The first SAPD includes the following attributes associated with the first SAP: an identifier of the VNFD that is a constituent element of the first SAP; an identifier of the first connection point CP of the VNFD; and a first mapping between the first CP and the first deployable module DM that constitutes the VNF.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein: The VNF comprises multiple Virtualization Deployment Units (VDUs), but it is not required that the VDUs be included in the instantiation of the VNF. The VNFD indicates the first VDU associated with the first DM constituting the VNF, and The first VDU includes the first CP, and the VNFD indicates the first CP as an external CP constituting the VNF.

3. The method of any one of claims 1-2, further comprising determining (920) one or more of the following first information based on the first SAPD of the first NSD: the first DM has been instantiated, the first CP has been instantiated, and external connectivity is required for the first SAP.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The first information is determined based on the first SAPD without accessing the VNFD that constitutes the VNF.

5. The method as described in any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The first NSD also includes the identifier of the first DM constituting the VNF.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The identifier of the first DM included in the first NSD contains a qualifier associated with the VNFD constituting the VNF.

7. The method of any one of claims 1-6, further comprising: The first NS is deployed (930) in the communication network according to the obtained first NSD.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein: The first NS is nested within a composite NS; The first NSD is obtained as part of a second NSD used for the composite NS; The second NSD includes the identifier of the first NSD and the second SAPD of the second SAPD of the composite NS; and The second SAPD includes the following attributes associated with the second SAP: an identifier of the first NSD as a constituent element, an identifier of the first SAPD, and a second mapping between the first SAPD and the first DM.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising determining (940) one or more of the following second information based on the second SAPD in the second NSD: the first DM has been instantiated, the first SAP has been instantiated, and external connectivity is required for the second SAP.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The second information is determined based on the second SAPD without accessing the first NSD.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8-10, wherein, The second NSD also includes the identifier of the first DM constituting the VNF.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The identifier of the first DM included in the second NSD contains qualifiers associated with the following: the VNFD constituting the VNF, and the first NSD.

13. The method of any one of claims 8-12, further comprising: The second NS is deployed (950) in the communication network according to the obtained second NSD.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1-13, wherein, The method is performed by one of the following associated with the communication network: NFV management and orchestration MANO functions; Operations Support System (OSS); and Business Support System (BSS).

15. A network device (1100, 1200, 1300) configured to implement network management functions (1016, 1018, 1020, 1310) configured to deploy network services NS based on one or more virtualized network functions (VNFs) (1302) available in a communication network (198, 200, 1002), the network device including processing circuitry (1102, 1202, 1304) configured to: Obtain the first NS descriptor NSD of the first NS, where: The first NSD includes the following: an identifier of the VNF descriptor (VNFD) constituting the VNF of the NS; and a first service access point descriptor (SAPD) of the first SAP of the NS; and The first SAPD includes the following attributes associated with the first SAP: an identifier of the VNFD that is a constituent element of the first SAP; an identifier of the first connection point CP of the VNFD; and a first mapping between the first CP and the first deployable module DM that constitutes the VNF.

16. The network device as claimed in claim 15, wherein, The processing circuit and the communication interface circuit are further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods in claims 2-14.

17. A network device (1100, 1200, 1300), said network device being configured to implement network management functions (1016, 1018, 1020, 1310), said network management functions being configured to deploy network services NS based on one or more Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) (1302) available in a communication network (198, 200, 1002), said network device being further configured to: Obtain the first NS descriptor NSD of the first NS, where: The first NSD includes the following: an identifier of the VNF descriptor (VNFD) constituting the VNF of the NS; and a first service access point descriptor (SAPD) of the first SAP of the NS; and The first SAPD includes the following attributes associated with the first SAP: an identifier of the VNFD that is a constituent element of the first SAP; an identifier of the first connection point CP of the VNFD; and a first mapping between the first CP and the first deployable module DM that constitutes the VNF.

18. The network device of claim 17, further configured to perform an operation corresponding to any one of the methods of claims 2-14.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium (1104, 1212, 1304) storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by processing circuitry (1102, 1202, 1304) associated with a network management function (1016, 1018, 1020, 1310) configured to perform an operation corresponding to any one of the methods of claims 1-14, based on one or more virtualized network functions (VNFs) (1302) available in a communication network (198, 200, 1002) to deploy a network service NS.

20. A computer program product (1104a, 1214, 1304a) comprising computer-executable instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by processing circuitry (1102, 1202, 1304) associated with a network management function (1016, 1018, 1020, 1310) configured to perform an operation corresponding to any one of the methods of claims 1-14, based on one or more virtualized network functions (VNFs) (1302) available in a communication network (198, 200, 1002) to deploy a network service NS.

21. A communication network (198, 200, 1002), comprising: A virtualized environment (1300) is configured to host a virtualized network function (VNF) (1302). as well as Network management functions (1016, 1018, 1020, 1310), which are configured to deploy network services NS based on the VNF hosted in the virtualization environment, wherein the network management functions are further configured to: Obtain the first NS descriptor NSD of the first NS, where: The first NSD includes the following: an identifier of the VNF descriptor (VNFD) constituting the VNF of the NS; and a first service access point descriptor (SAPD) of the first SAP of the NS; and The first SAPD includes the following attributes associated with the first SAP: an identifier of the VNFD that is a constituent element of the first SAP, an identifier of the first connection point (CP) of the VNFD, and a first mapping between the first CP and the first deployable module (DM) constituting the VNFD; and Based on the obtained first NSD, the first NS is deployed in the communication network.

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