Network service instance lifecycle management method and related equipment

Abstract

The present invention provides a network service instance lifecycle management method and related equipment, which relates to the field of network technology, wherein the method includes: obtaining multiple virtual network function VNF instances that trigger automatic operation, the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same network service NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority; based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances, the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances are sorted to obtain the VNF instance automatic operation sorting results; the VNF instance automatic operation sorting results are sent to the virtual network function manager VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in turn based on the VNF instance automatic operation sorting results. In this way, the automatic operation of different VNF ​​instances in the same NS instance will not occur at the same time, so that the lifecycle management state of the NS instance can be clarified, which is convenient for operation and maintenance personnel to perform operation and maintenance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of network technology, and in particular to a network service instance lifecycle management method and related equipment. Background Art

[0002] With the development of network technology, Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technology is becoming more and more mature. The management of NFV is implemented by the MANO (Management and Orchestration) system. The MANO system includes NFVO. NFVO (NFV Orchestrator) is responsible for the life cycle management of NS (Network Service), including the instantiation of NS, the termination of NS instances, the manual expansion and reduction of NS instances, etc. An NS instance includes multiple VNF (Virtualized Network Function) instances. The automatic expansion, reduction and self-healing of VNF instances are triggered by VNFM (VNF Manager), which informs NFVO through the event notification interface. Since an NS instance includes multiple VNF instances, different VNFs in the same NS instance may trigger different automatic operations at the same time, which will make the life cycle management status of the NS instance unclear, so that the operation and maintenance personnel cannot determine the life cycle management status of the NS instance, resulting in poor operation and maintenance effects. Summary of the invention

[0003] The embodiments of the present invention provide a network service instance lifecycle management method and related equipment to solve the problem that, because an NS instance includes multiple VNF instances, different VNFs in the same NS instance may trigger different automatic operations within the same time period, which will cause the lifecycle management status of the NS instance to be unclear, thereby making it impossible for operation and maintenance personnel to determine the lifecycle management status of the NS instance, resulting in poor operation and maintenance results.

[0004] To solve the above technical problems, the present invention is achieved as follows:

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a network service instance lifecycle management method, which is applied to a network function virtualization orchestrator NFVO, and the method includes:

[0006] Acquire multiple virtual network function VNF instances that trigger automatic operation, where the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same network service NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority;

[0007] Based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances, sorting the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances to obtain a VNF instance automatic operation sorting result;

[0008] The VNF instance automatic operation ranking result is sent to the virtual network function manager VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in turn based on the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result.

[0009] Optionally, after sending the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result to the VNFM, the method further includes:

[0010] When the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, receiving an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance sent by the VNFM, the first VNF ​​instance being any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance being sorted after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result;

[0011] Send an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request to the VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

[0012] Optionally, after sending an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request to the VNFM, the method further includes:

[0013] Display the lifecycle management status of the NS instance;

[0014] Wherein, if the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is automatic capacity expansion, the lifecycle management state is a state characterizing automatic capacity expansion;

[0015] If the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is automatic scaling down, the lifecycle management state is a state representing automatic scaling down;

[0016] If the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is self-healing, the lifecycle management state is a state representing self-healing.

[0017] Optionally, the multiple VNF instances include at least a third VNF instance and a fourth VNF instance;

[0018] Among them, if the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is higher than the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, then the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is ranked before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance in the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result.

[0019] Optionally, if the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is the same as the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, and the triggering time of the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is earlier than the triggering time of the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance, then in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result, the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is sorted before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance.

[0020] Optionally, each VNF instance in the NS instance is provided with a corresponding VNF instance identifier. If the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is the same as the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, the triggering time of the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is the same as the triggering time of the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance, and the VNF instance identifier of the third VNF instance is smaller than the VNF instance identifier of the fourth VNF instance, then in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result, the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is sorted before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance.

[0021] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a network service instance lifecycle management method, which is applied to VNFM. The method includes:

[0022] Receive the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result sent by NFVO, wherein the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result is obtained by sorting the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances in the NS instance, wherein the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority;

[0023] Based on the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result, the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances is processed in turn.

[0024] Optionally, the processing of the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in sequence based on the automatic operation sorting result of the VNF instances includes:

[0025] When the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, sending an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance to the NFVO, the first VNF ​​instance being any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance being ranked after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result;

[0026] receiving an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request sent by the NFVO;

[0027] Process automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

[0028] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a NFVO, wherein the NFVO includes:

[0029] An acquisition module is used to acquire multiple virtual network function VNF instances that trigger automatic operation, wherein the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same network service NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority;

[0030] A sorting module, used to sort the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances, and obtain the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result;

[0031] The first sending module is used to send the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result to the virtual network function manager VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in turn based on the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result.

[0032] Optionally, the NFVO further includes:

[0033] A receiving module, configured to receive, when the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance sent by the VNFM, wherein the first VNF ​​instance is any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is sorted after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the automatic operation sorting result of the VNF instance;

[0034] The second sending module is used to send an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request to the VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

[0035] Optionally, the NFVO further includes:

[0036] A display module, used to display the life cycle management status of the NS instance;

[0037] Wherein, if the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is automatic capacity expansion, the lifecycle management state is a state characterizing automatic capacity expansion;

[0038] If the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is automatic scaling down, the lifecycle management state is a state representing automatic scaling down;

[0039] If the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is self-healing, the lifecycle management state is a state representing self-healing.

[0040] Optionally, the multiple VNF instances include at least a third VNF instance and a fourth VNF instance;

[0041] Among them, if the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is higher than the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, then the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is ranked before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance in the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result.

[0042] Optionally, if the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is the same as the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, and the triggering time of the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is earlier than the triggering time of the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance, then in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result, the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is sorted before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance.

[0043] Optionally, each VNF instance in the NS instance is provided with a corresponding VNF instance identifier. If the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is the same as the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, the triggering time of the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is the same as the triggering time of the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance, and the VNF instance identifier of the third VNF instance is smaller than the VNF instance identifier of the fourth VNF instance, then in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result, the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is sorted before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance.

[0044] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a VNFM, wherein the VNFM includes:

[0045] A receiving module, configured to receive a VNF instance automatic operation sorting result sent by NFVO, wherein the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result is obtained by sorting the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances in the NS instance, wherein the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority;

[0046] A processing module is used to process the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in sequence based on the automatic operation sorting result of the VNF instance.

[0047] Optionally, the processing module is specifically used for:

[0048] When the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, sending an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance to the NFVO, the first VNF ​​instance being any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance being ranked after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result;

[0049] receiving an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request sent by the NFVO;

[0050] Process automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

[0051] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a NFVO, including a transceiver and a processor.

[0052] The processor is used to obtain multiple virtual network function VNF instances that trigger automatic operation, where the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same network service NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority;

[0053] The processor is further configured to sort the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances, and obtain the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result;

[0054] The transceiver is used to send the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result to the virtual network function manager VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in turn based on the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result.

[0055] Optionally, the transceiver is further configured to receive, when the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, an operation authorization request for automatic operation of a second VNF instance sent by the VNFM, the first VNF ​​instance being any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance being sorted after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result;

[0056] The transceiver is also used to send an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request to the VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

[0057] Optionally, the processor is further used to display the lifecycle management status of the NS instance;

[0058] Wherein, if the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is automatic capacity expansion, the lifecycle management state is a state characterizing automatic capacity expansion;

[0059] If the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is automatic scaling down, the lifecycle management state is a state representing automatic scaling down;

[0060] If the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is self-healing, the lifecycle management state is a state representing self-healing.

[0061] Optionally, the multiple VNF instances include at least a third VNF instance and a fourth VNF instance;

[0062] Among them, if the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is higher than the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, then the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is ranked before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance in the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result.

[0063] Optionally, if the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is the same as the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, and the triggering time of the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is earlier than the triggering time of the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance, then in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result, the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is sorted before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance.

[0064] Optionally, each VNF instance in the NS instance is provided with a corresponding VNF instance identifier. If the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is the same as the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, the triggering time of the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is the same as the triggering time of the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance, and the VNF instance identifier of the third VNF instance is smaller than the VNF instance identifier of the fourth VNF instance, then in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result, the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is sorted before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance.

[0065] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a VNFM, including a transceiver and a processor.

[0066] The transceiver is used to receive the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result sent by the NFVO, wherein the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result is obtained by sorting the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances in the NS instance, and the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority;

[0067] The processor is used to process the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in sequence based on the automatic operation sorting result of the VNF instances.

[0068] Optionally, the transceiver is further configured to, when the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, send an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance to the NFVO, the first VNF ​​instance being any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance being sorted after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result;

[0069] The transceiver is further configured to receive an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request sent by the NFVO;

[0070] The processor is also used to process automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

[0071] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an NFVO, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein when the program is executed by the processor, the steps of the network service instance lifecycle management method described in the first aspect are implemented.

[0072] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a VNFM, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein when the program is executed by the processor, the steps of the network service instance lifecycle management method described in the second aspect are implemented.

[0073] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the network service instance lifecycle management method described in the first aspect are implemented; or when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the network service instance lifecycle management method described in the second aspect are implemented.

[0074] In the embodiment of the present invention, NFVO sorts the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances to obtain the automatic operation sorting results of the VNF instances, and VNFM processes the automatic operations of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in turn based on the automatic operation sorting results of the VNF instances, so that there is only automatic operation of one VNF instance in the same NS instance at the same time, and there will be no automatic operations of different VNF ​​instances in the same NS instance at the same time, so that the life cycle management status of the NS instance can be clarified, which is convenient for operation and maintenance personnel to perform operation and maintenance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0075] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without paying creative labor.

[0076] Figure 1 This is one of the flow charts of a network service instance lifecycle management method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0077] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a NS lifecycle management task state diagram provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0078] Figure 3 This is a second flowchart of a network service instance lifecycle management method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0079] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the automatic expansion and contraction process of an NS instance provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0080] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a VNF self-healing process provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0081] Figure 6 This is one of the structural diagrams of an NFVO provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0082] Figure 7 This is the second structural diagram of an NFVO provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0083] Figure 8 This is a third structural diagram of an NFVO provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0084] Fig. 9 This is one of the structural diagrams of a VNFM provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0085] Fig.10 This is a fourth structural diagram of an NFVO provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0086] Fig.11 This is the second structural diagram of a VNFM provided by an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0087] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0088] In an embodiment of the present invention, a network service instance lifecycle management method and related equipment are proposed to solve the problem that, because an NS instance includes multiple VNF instances, different VNFs in the same NS instance may trigger different automatic operations within the same time period, which will cause the lifecycle management status of the NS instance to be unclear, thereby making it impossible for operation and maintenance personnel to determine the lifecycle management status of the NS instance, resulting in poor operation and maintenance results.

[0089] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 1 is a flowchart of a network service instance lifecycle management method provided by an embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to a network function virtualization orchestrator NFVO, such as Figure 1 As shown, the method comprises the following steps:

[0090] Step 101: Obtain multiple virtual network function VNF instances that trigger automatic operations, where the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same network service NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is set with a corresponding priority.

[0091] Among them, NFVO can obtain multiple VNF instances that trigger automatic operations through the NFVO-VNFM interface. VNFM informs NFVO of the automatic operation of the triggered VNF instance by sending a VNFMEventNotification message to the NFVO-VNFM interface. Automatic operations may include automatic expansion, automatic reduction, or self-healing. A VNF instance priority record table may be provided, and the priority of each VNF instance in the NS instance is recorded in the VNF instance priority record table. For example, the VNF instance priority record table is shown in Table 1:

[0092] Table 1

[0093]

[0094] NS Instance Name: is pre-designed and written in the network planning stage;

[0095] NS Instance ID: The unique identifier of the NS instance, which is automatically written into the VNF instance priority record table by NFVO during the NS instantiation phase;

[0096] VNF Instance Name: The name of the VNF instance contained in the NS instance, which is pre-designed and written in the network planning stage;

[0097] VNF Instance ID: VNF instance ID contained in the NS instance, unique identifier of the VNF instance, automatically written into the VNF instance priority record table by NFVO during the NS instantiation phase;

[0098] VNF Priority: The priority of the VNF instance contained in the NS instance.

[0099] In addition, the automatic expansion of VNF instances is to add VMs (virtual machines) in the VNF instances; the automatic reduction of VNF instances is to reduce VMs in the VNF instances; the self-healing of VNF instances is to automatically trigger VNF self-healing when VNFM detects a fault in the VNF, for example, restarting the VM in the VNF instance.

[0100] Step 102: Based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances, sort the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances to obtain the VNF instance automatic operation sorting results.

[0101] Among them, NFVO obtains the VNF instance ID that has triggered the automatic operation, the NS instance ID to which the VNF instance belongs, and the priority of the VNF instance in the NS instance to which it belongs. NFVO can prioritize the automatic operations triggered by different VNF ​​instances in the same NS instance based on the VNF instance priority record table, and record them in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result. When sorting, the automatic operations of VNF instances with higher priorities can be sorted first. The VNF instance automatic operation sorting result can be presented in the form of a VNF automatic operation sequence table. By way of example, the VNF automatic operation sequence table is shown in Table 2:

[0102] Table 2

[0103]

[0104] NS Instance ID: the unique identifier of the NS instance. When the VNF instance in the NS triggers an automatic operation, the NFVO automatically writes the VNF automatic operation sequence table after sorting the automatic operations of the VNF instance.

[0105] VNF Instance ID: The unique identifier of a VNF instance. When an automatic operation is triggered by a VNF instance, NFVO automatically writes the automatic operations of the VNF instance into the VNF automatic operation sequence table after sorting them.

[0106] VNF Auto-Operation: Automatic operations triggered by VNF instances, including Auto-Scaling-In, Auto-Scaling-Out, and VNF-Healing. After NFVO sorts the automatic operations of VNF instances, it automatically writes them into the VNF automatic operation sequence table.

[0107] VNF Operation Priority: The priority of the automatic operation triggered by each VNF instance. After NFVO sorts the automatic operations of the VNF instances, it automatically writes them into the VNF automatic operation sequence table.

[0108] It should be noted that, when sorting, NFVO can compare the priorities corresponding to the VNF instances, and the automatic operations triggered by the VNF instances with higher priorities will be sorted first; if the priorities corresponding to the VNF instances are the same, they can be sorted according to the time when the automatic operations of the VNF instances are triggered, and the automatic operations of the VNF instances triggered first will be sorted first; if the priorities corresponding to the VNF instances are the same and the triggering time of the automatic operations is the same, they can be sorted according to the VNF instance ID, and the automatic operations of the VNF instances with smaller VNF instance IDs will be sorted first.

[0109] In addition, in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting results, the automatic operation of the VNF instance ranked first has a higher priority than the automatic operation of the VNF instance ranked later, and the automatic operation of the VNF instance ranked first is processed first.

[0110] Step 103: Send the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result to the virtual network function manager VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in turn based on the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result.

[0111] Among them, NFVO can synchronize the automatic operation ranking result of the VNF instance to VNFM. VNFM can process the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in turn based on the automatic operation ranking result of the VNF instance.

[0112] It should be noted that the manual scaling of NS instances is triggered by the operator on the NS lifecycle management operation page of NFVO. When the operator performs a manual scaling operation on NS, the lifecycle management status of the NS instance is Manual-Scaling-out (manual scaling in), and when the operator performs a manual scaling operation on NS, the lifecycle management status of the NS instance is Manual-Scaling-in (manual scaling in). When the NS instance is in Manual-Scaling-out or Manual-Scaling-in, NFVO will automatically reject the remaining NS lifecycle operations triggered by NFVO.

[0113] The automatic expansion and contraction of the NS instance is triggered by VNFM, which notifies NFVO through the event notification interface, rather than being triggered by NFVO. Since there are multiple VNF instances in one NS instance, there are the following scenarios: Scenario 1: Different VNF ​​instances in the NS instance trigger automatic expansion and automatic contraction respectively. VNFM detects that the performance indicators of the VNF1 network element meet the "VNF expansion policy", and then triggers the automatic expansion of the network element. During this process, VNFM detects that the performance indicators of the VNF2 network element meet the "VNF contraction policy", and then triggers the automatic contraction of the network element. VNF1 network element and VNF2 network element are different VNF ​​instances in the NS instance; Scenario 2: Different VNF ​​instances in the NS instance trigger automatic expansion / contraction and self-healing operations respectively. When VNFM detects that the performance indicators of the VNF1 network element meet the "VNF expansion policy" or "VNF contraction policy", it triggers the automatic expansion / contraction of the network element. During this process, VNFM detects that the VM of the VNF2 network element has a fault, so it triggers the self-healing operation.

[0114] For the above two scenarios, different VNF ​​instances within an NS instance perform different lifecycle management operations in the same time period. At this time, the lifecycle management status of the NS instance on NFVO cannot clearly identify the lifecycle management status of the current NS instance. This will cause the operation and maintenance personnel to be unable to determine the lifecycle management status of the NS instance, which is not conducive to the operation and maintenance work.

[0115] In the embodiment of the present invention, NFVO sorts the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances to obtain the automatic operation sorting results of the VNF instances, and VNFM processes the automatic operations of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in turn based on the automatic operation sorting results of the VNF instances, so that there is only automatic operation of one VNF instance in the same NS instance at the same time, and there will be no automatic operations of different VNF ​​instances in the same NS instance at the same time, so that the life cycle management status of the NS instance can be clarified, which is convenient for operation and maintenance personnel to perform operation and maintenance.

[0116] Optionally, after sending the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result to the VNFM, the method further includes:

[0117] When the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, receiving an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance sent by the VNFM, the first VNF ​​instance being any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance being sorted after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result;

[0118] Send an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request to the VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

[0119] Wherein, when the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, the VNFM sends an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance to the NFVO, the first VNF ​​instance is any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is sorted after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result; the NFVO receives the operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance sent by the VNFM; the NFVO sends an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request to the VNFM; the VNFM receives the operation authorization response to the operation authorization request sent by the NFVO; the VNFM processes the automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

[0120] In this way, VNFM can send operation authorization requests to NFVO in order from high to low priority according to the automatic operation sorting results of the VNF instance. Each time an operation authorization request is sent, after the automatic operation of the previous VNF instance is completed, NFVO can authorize the operation authorization request of VNFM and perform automatic operations on related VNF instances.

[0121] Optionally, after sending an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request to the VNFM, the method further includes:

[0122] Display the lifecycle management status of the NS instance;

[0123] Wherein, if the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is automatic capacity expansion, the lifecycle management state is a state characterizing automatic capacity expansion;

[0124] If the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is automatic scaling down, the lifecycle management state is a state representing automatic scaling down;

[0125] If the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is self-healing, the lifecycle management state is a state representing self-healing.

[0126] Among them, the lifecycle management status of the NS instance may include: the NOTINSTANTIATING state used to characterize the non-instantiated state, the INSTANTIATING state used to characterize the instantiation state, the MANUAL-SCALING state used to characterize the manual scaling, the VNF-AUTO-SCALING state used to characterize the automatic scaling-out state, the VNF-AUTO-SCALING state used to characterize the automatic scaling-in state, the NS-HEALING state used to characterize the self-healing state, and the TERMINATING state used to characterize the NS termination.

[0127] It should be noted that if Figure 2 As shown in the NS lifecycle management task state diagram, NS enters various lifecycle management states in the ACTIVE state. For example, NS instantiation is completed and enters the state representing instantiation; initiates manual expansion and contraction of NS and enters the state representing manual expansion and contraction; triggers automatic expansion and enters the state representing automatic expansion; triggers automatic contraction and enters the state representing automatic contraction; triggers self-healing and enters the state representing self-healing; initiates NS termination and enters the state representing NS termination; NS termination is successful and enters the state representing non-instantiation. In the case of task operation failure, rollback is performed. If the rollback is successful, it returns to the ACTIVE state; if the rollback fails, it enters the FAILED state.

[0128] In this way, by adding the state representing automatic expansion, the state representing automatic reduction, and the state representing self-healing to the NS lifecycle management task state diagram, the correspondence between the VNF lifecycle management state and the NS lifecycle management state is achieved, which makes it convenient for operators to monitor the real-time task state of the NS instance according to the NS lifecycle management state to perform operation and maintenance management operations, which is conducive to the decoupling of abnormal docking between NFVO and VNFM.

[0129] Optionally, the multiple VNF instances include at least a third VNF instance and a fourth VNF instance;

[0130] Among them, if the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is higher than the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, then the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is ranked before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance in the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result.

[0131] Optionally, if the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is the same as the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, and the triggering time of the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is earlier than the triggering time of the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance, then in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result, the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is sorted before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance.

[0132] In this way, if the priorities corresponding to the VNF instances are the same, they can be sorted according to the time when the automatic operations of the VNF instances are triggered, and the automatic operations of the VNF instances that are triggered first are sorted first.

[0133] Optionally, each VNF instance in the NS instance is provided with a corresponding VNF instance identifier. If the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is the same as the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, the triggering time of the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is the same as the triggering time of the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance, and the VNF instance identifier of the third VNF instance is smaller than the VNF instance identifier of the fourth VNF instance, then in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result, the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is sorted before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance.

[0134] It should be noted that if the priorities corresponding to the VNF instances are the same and the triggering time of the automatic operations is the same, they can be sorted according to the VNF instance ID, and the automatic operations of the VNF instances with smaller VNF instance IDs are sorted first.

[0135] In this way, by adding a new VNF automatic operation priority sorting mechanism, the VNF automatic operations triggered in the same time period are prioritized to ensure that only one VNF automatic operation can be performed in the same NS in the same time period, avoiding the problem that multiple VNF automatic operations are triggered at the same time, resulting in the NS instance lifecycle management state cannot be reasonably represented.

[0136] See also Figure 3 , Figure 3 is a flow chart of a network service instance lifecycle management method provided by an embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to VNFM, such as Figure 3 As shown, the method comprises the following steps:

[0137] Step 201: Receive the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result sent by NFVO, wherein the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result is obtained by sorting the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances in the NS instance, wherein the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority;

[0138] Step 202: Based on the automatic operation sorting result of the VNF instances, the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances is processed in turn.

[0139] Optionally, the processing of the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in sequence based on the automatic operation sorting result of the VNF instances includes:

[0140] When the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, sending an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance to the NFVO, the first VNF ​​instance being any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance being ranked after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result;

[0141] receiving an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request sent by the NFVO;

[0142] Process automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

[0143] It should be noted that this embodiment is Figure 1 The corresponding VNFM implementation in the embodiment shown in the figure can be found in the specific implementation. Figure 1 To avoid repeated description, the relevant descriptions in the illustrated embodiment will not be repeated in this embodiment.

[0144] In actual use, the automatic expansion and contraction of NS instances depends on the automatic expansion and contraction policy of VNF. After the automatic expansion and contraction policy of VNF is uploaded by the operator to NFVO, NFVO sends the relevant policy to VNFM. VNFM interacts with VNF network elements through signaling to monitor VNF performance indicators in real time. Based on the automatic expansion and contraction policy, such as the cooling period, expansion and contraction threshold and other parameters, VNFM automatically triggers the expansion and contraction operation of VNF network elements.

[0145] As a specific implementation method, the automatic expansion and contraction process of NS instances involves the interaction between NFVO, VNFM, VNF, VIM (Virtualized Infrastructure Manager) and OMC (Operation and Maintenance Center), such as Figure 4 As shown:

[0146] S301, the automatic expansion and contraction policy has been activated on VNFM;

[0147] S302, VNFM monitors VNF performance;

[0148] S303, VNFM triggers capacity expansion / reduction;

[0149] S304, VNFM sends a VNF event notification message VNFMEventNotification Req to NFVO;

[0150] S305, NFVO returns a response message VNFMEventNotification Resp to the VNF event notification message;

[0151] S306. The NFVO determines the priority of the automatic operation of the VNF.

[0152] Among them, NFVO prioritizes VNF automatic operations based on the VNF automatic operation priority judgment mechanism and updates the VNF automatic operation sequence table.

[0153] S307, NFVO synchronizes the automatic operation sorting results of the VNF instances;

[0154] S308. VNFM sends an authorization request GrantLifecycle Req to NFVO.

[0155] Among them, VNFM requests relevant operation authorization from NFVO in sequence based on the VNF automatic operation sequence table.

[0156] S309, NFVO returns an authorization response GrantLifecycle Resp;

[0157] S310. VNFM sends a capacity expansion / reduction pre-notification to OMC.

[0158] S311, OMC returns a response to the capacity expansion / reduction pre-notification;

[0159] S312, VNFM and NFVO interact to create / delete resources;

[0160] S313, NFVO interacts with VIM to create / delete resources;

[0161] S314, NFVO sends a resource change notification PushVmChanges Req to VIM;

[0162] S315, VIM returns a response PushVmChanges Resp to the resource change notification;

[0163] S316. VNFM configures deployment parameters for resources of the VNF instance;

[0164] S317, VNFM checks VNF and confirms that the expansion / reduction is successful;

[0165] S318, VNFM sends a VNF lifecycle change notification VNFLifecycleChangesNotificationReq to NFVO;

[0166] S319, NFVO returns a response to the VNF lifecycle change notification VNFLifecycleChangesNotification Resp;

[0167] S320, VNFM sends a capacity expansion / reduction result notification to OMC;

[0168] S321, OMC returns a response to the capacity expansion / reduction result notification;

[0169] S322, OMC updates the management object;

[0170] S323. OMC configures application parameters for the VNF instance.

[0171] In addition, after the NS instance is successfully expanded or reduced, NFVO can prompt the operator that the NS instance has been successfully expanded or reduced.

[0172] In actual use, VNFM can monitor the status information of VNF instances in NS instances in real time. If a VNF fails, VNFM automatically triggers VNF self-healing. As a specific implementation method, the VNF self-healing process is as follows: Figure 5 As shown:

[0173] S401, VNFM initiates self-healing;

[0174] S402, VNFM sends a VNF event notification message VNFMEventNotification Req to NFVO;

[0175] S403, NFVO returns a response message VNFMEventNotification Resp to the VNF event notification message;

[0176] S404, NFVO determines the priority of the automatic operation of the VNF;

[0177] Among them, NFVO prioritizes VNF automatic operations based on the VNF automatic operation priority judgment mechanism and updates the VNF automatic operation sequence table.

[0178] S405, NFVO synchronizes the automatic operation sorting results of the VNF instances;

[0179] S406. VNFM sends an authorization request GrantLifecycle Req to NFVO.

[0180] Among them, VNFM requests relevant operation authorization from NFVO in sequence based on the VNF automatic operation sequence table.

[0181] S407, NFVO returns an authorization response GrantLifecycle Resp;

[0182] S408, NFVO and VNFM interact to perform self-healing operations;

[0183] S409, NFVO and VIM interact to perform self-healing operations;

[0184] S410, VIM sends a resource change notification PushVmChanges Req to NFVO;

[0185] S411, NFVO returns a response PushVmChanges Resp to the resource change notification;

[0186] S412, VNFM sends a VNF lifecycle change notification VNFLifecycleChangesNotificationReq to NFVO;

[0187] S413, NFVO returns a response VNFLifecycleChangesNotification Resp to the VNF lifecycle change notification;

[0188] S414. VNFM and VNF interact to notify the self-healing operation results.

[0189] See also Figure 6 , Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an NFVO provided by an embodiment of the present invention, such as Figure 6 As shown, NFVO500 includes:

[0190] An acquisition module 501 is used to acquire multiple virtual network function VNF instances that trigger automatic operation, where the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same network service NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority;

[0191] A sorting module 502 is used to sort the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances to obtain a VNF instance automatic operation sorting result;

[0192] The first sending module 503 is used to send the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result to the virtual network function manager VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in turn based on the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result.

[0193] Optional, such as Figure 7 As shown, the NFVO500 further includes:

[0194] The receiving module 504 is used to receive, when the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance sent by the VNFM, wherein the first VNF ​​instance is any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is sorted after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result;

[0195] The second sending module 505 is used to send an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request to the VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

[0196] Optional, such as Figure 8 As shown, the NFVO500 further includes:

[0197] Display module 506, used to display the life cycle management status of the NS instance;

[0198] Wherein, if the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is automatic capacity expansion, the lifecycle management state is a state characterizing automatic capacity expansion;

[0199] If the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is automatic scaling down, the lifecycle management state is a state representing automatic scaling down;

[0200] If the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is self-healing, the lifecycle management state is a state representing self-healing.

[0201] Optionally, the multiple VNF instances include at least a third VNF instance and a fourth VNF instance;

[0202] Among them, if the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is higher than the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, then the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is ranked before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance in the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result.

[0203] Optionally, if the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is the same as the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, and the triggering time of the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is earlier than the triggering time of the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance, then in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result, the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is sorted before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance.

[0204] Optionally, each VNF instance in the NS instance is provided with a corresponding VNF instance identifier. If the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is the same as the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, the triggering time of the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is the same as the triggering time of the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance, and the VNF instance identifier of the third VNF instance is smaller than the VNF instance identifier of the fourth VNF instance, then in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result, the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is sorted before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance.

[0205] NFVO enables Figure 1 The various processes implemented by NFVO in the method embodiment shown can achieve the same beneficial effects, and will not be described again here to avoid repetition.

[0206] See also Fig. 9 , Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a VNFM provided by an embodiment of the present invention, such as Fig. 9 As shown, VNFM600 includes:

[0207] The receiving module 601 is used to receive the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result sent by the NFVO, wherein the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result is obtained by sorting the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances in the NS instance, and the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority;

[0208] The processing module 602 is used to process the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in sequence based on the automatic operation sorting result of the VNF instance.

[0209] Optionally, the processing module 602 is specifically used for:

[0210] When the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, sending an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance to the NFVO, the first VNF ​​instance being any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance being ranked after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result;

[0211] receiving an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request sent by the NFVO;

[0212] Process automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

[0213] VNFM enables Figure 3 The various processes implemented by VNFM in the method embodiment shown can achieve the same beneficial effects, and will not be described again here to avoid repetition.

[0214] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a NFVO, including: a processor, a memory, and a program stored in the memory and executable on the processor. When the program is executed by the processor, each process of the above-mentioned network service instance lifecycle management method embodiment applied to NFVO is implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0215] For details, see Fig.10 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a NFVO, including a bus 701, a transceiver 702, an antenna 703, a bus interface 704, a processor 705 and a memory 706.

[0216] The processor 705 is used to obtain multiple virtual network function VNF instances that trigger automatic operation, where the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same network service NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority;

[0217] The processor 705 is further configured to sort the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances, and obtain a VNF instance automatic operation sorting result;

[0218] The transceiver 702 is used to send the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result to the virtual network function manager VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in turn based on the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result.

[0219] Optionally, the transceiver 702 is further configured to receive, when the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, an operation authorization request for automatic operation of a second VNF instance sent by the VNFM, the first VNF ​​instance being any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance being sorted after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result;

[0220] The transceiver 702 is also used to send an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request to the VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

[0221] Optionally, the processor 705 is further configured to display the lifecycle management status of the NS instance;

[0222] Wherein, if the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is automatic capacity expansion, the lifecycle management state is a state characterizing automatic capacity expansion;

[0223] If the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is automatic scaling down, the lifecycle management state is a state representing automatic scaling down;

[0224] If the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is self-healing, the lifecycle management state is a state representing self-healing.

[0225] Optionally, the multiple VNF instances include at least a third VNF instance and a fourth VNF instance;

[0226] Among them, if the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is higher than the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, then the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is ranked before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance in the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result.

[0227] Optionally, if the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is the same as the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, and the triggering time of the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is earlier than the triggering time of the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance, then in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result, the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is sorted before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance.

[0228] Optionally, each VNF instance in the NS instance is provided with a corresponding VNF instance identifier. If the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is the same as the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, the triggering time of the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is the same as the triggering time of the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance, and the VNF instance identifier of the third VNF instance is smaller than the VNF instance identifier of the fourth VNF instance, then in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result, the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is sorted before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance.

[0229] exist Fig.10 In the embodiment, the bus architecture (represented by bus 701) may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, and bus 701 links various circuits including one or more processors represented by processor 705 and memory represented by memory 706. Bus 701 may also link various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and are therefore not further described herein. Bus interface 704 provides an interface between bus 701 and transceiver 702. Transceiver 702 may be one element or multiple elements, such as multiple receivers and transmitters, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices on a transmission medium. Data processed by processor 705 is transmitted on a wireless medium via antenna 703, and further, antenna 703 also receives data and transmits the data to processor 705.

[0230] The processor 705 is responsible for managing the bus 701 and general processing, and can also provide various functions, including timing, peripheral interfaces, voltage regulation, power management and other control functions. The memory 707 can be used to store data used by the processor 705 when performing operations.

[0231] Optionally, the processor 705 may be a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA or a CPLD.

[0232] The embodiment of the present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, each process of the network service instance lifecycle management method embodiment applied to NFVO is implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, it is not repeated here. The computer-readable storage medium is, for example, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0233] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a VNFM, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a program stored in the memory and executable on the processor. When the program is executed by the processor, each process of the above-mentioned network service instance lifecycle management method embodiment applied to the VNFM is implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0234] For details, see Fig.11 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a VNFM, including a bus 801, a transceiver 802, an antenna 803, a bus interface 804, a processor 805 and a memory 806.

[0235] The transceiver 802 is used to receive the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result sent by the NFVO, wherein the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result is obtained by sorting the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances in the NS instance, and the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority;

[0236] The processor 805 is used to process the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in sequence based on the automatic operation sorting result of the VNF instances.

[0237] Optionally, the transceiver 802 is further configured to, when the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, send an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance to the NFVO, the first VNF ​​instance being any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance being sorted after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result;

[0238] The transceiver 802 is further configured to receive an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request sent by the NFVO;

[0239] The processor 805 is also used to process the automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

[0240] exist Fig.11In the embodiment, the bus architecture (represented by bus 801) is shown, and bus 801 may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, and bus 801 links various circuits including one or more processors represented by processor 805 and memory represented by memory 806. Bus 801 may also link various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and are therefore not further described herein. Bus interface 804 provides an interface between bus 801 and transceiver 802. Transceiver 802 may be one element or multiple elements, such as multiple receivers and transmitters, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices on a transmission medium. Data processed by processor 805 is transmitted on a wireless medium via antenna 803, and further, antenna 803 also receives data and transmits the data to processor 805.

[0241] The processor 805 is responsible for managing the bus 801 and general processing, and can also provide various functions, including timing, peripheral interfaces, voltage regulation, power management and other control functions. The memory 808 can be used to store data used by the processor 805 when performing operations.

[0242] Optionally, the processor 805 may be a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA or a CPLD.

[0243] The embodiment of the present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, each process of the network service instance lifecycle management method embodiment applied to VNFM is implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, it is not repeated here. The computer-readable storage medium is, for example, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0244] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." does not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element.

[0245] Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk), and includes a number of instructions for enabling a terminal (which can be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present invention.

[0246] The embodiments of the present invention are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation modes, which are merely illustrative rather than restrictive. Under the guidance of the present invention, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention and the claims, all of which are within the protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A network service instance lifecycle management method, characterized in that: Applied to a network function virtualization orchestrator NFVO, the method comprises: Acquire multiple virtual network function VNF instances that trigger automatic operation, where the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same network service NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority; Based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances, sorting the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances to obtain a VNF instance automatic operation sorting result; Sending the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result to the virtual network function manager VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in sequence based on the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result; After sending the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result to the VNFM, the method further includes: When the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, receiving an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance sent by the VNFM, the first VNF ​​instance being any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance being sorted after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result; Send an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request to the VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: After sending the operation authorization response to the operation authorization request to the VNFM, the method further includes: Display the lifecycle management status of the NS instance; Wherein, if the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is automatic capacity expansion, the lifecycle management state is a state characterizing automatic capacity expansion; If the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is automatic scaling down, the lifecycle management state is a state representing automatic scaling down; If the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is self-healing, the lifecycle management state is a state representing self-healing.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The multiple VNF instances include at least a third VNF instance and a fourth VNF instance; Among them, if the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is higher than the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, then the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is ranked before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance in the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that If the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is the same as the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, and the triggering time of the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is earlier than the triggering time of the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance, then in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result, the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is sorted before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that Each VNF instance in the NS instance is provided with a corresponding VNF instance identifier. If the priority corresponding to the third VNF instance is the same as the priority corresponding to the fourth VNF instance, the triggering time of the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is the same as the triggering time of the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance, and the VNF instance identifier of the third VNF instance is smaller than the VNF instance identifier of the fourth VNF instance, then in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result, the automatic operation of the third VNF instance is sorted before the automatic operation of the fourth VNF instance.

6. A network service instance lifecycle management method, characterized in that: Applied to VNFM, the method comprises: Receive the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result sent by NFVO, wherein the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result is obtained by sorting the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances in the NS instance, wherein the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority; Processing the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in sequence based on the automatic operation ranking result of the VNF instances; The processing of the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in sequence based on the automatic operation sorting result of the VNF instances includes: When the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, sending an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance to the NFVO, the first VNF ​​instance being any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance being ranked after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result; receiving an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request sent by the NFVO; Process automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

7. A NFVO, characterized in that: The NFVO includes: An acquisition module is used to acquire multiple virtual network function VNF instances that trigger automatic operation, wherein the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same network service NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority; A sorting module, used to sort the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances, and obtain the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result; A first sending module is used to send the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result to the virtual network function manager VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in turn based on the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result; The NFVO also includes: A receiving module, configured to receive, when the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance sent by the VNFM, wherein the first VNF ​​instance is any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is sorted after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the automatic operation sorting result of the VNF instance; The second sending module is used to send an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request to the VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

8. A VNFM, characterized in that: The VNFM includes: A receiving module, configured to receive a VNF instance automatic operation sorting result sent by NFVO, wherein the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result is obtained by sorting the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances in the NS instance, wherein the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority; A processing module, configured to sequentially process the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances based on the automatic operation sorting result of the VNF instance; The processing module is specifically used for: When the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, sending an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance to the NFVO, the first VNF ​​instance being any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance being ranked after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result; receiving an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request sent by the NFVO; Process automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

9. A NFVO, characterized in that: Including transceiver and processor, The processor is used to obtain multiple virtual network function VNF instances that trigger automatic operation, where the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same network service NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority; The processor is further configured to sort the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances, and obtain the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result; The transceiver is used to send the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result to the virtual network function manager VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in sequence based on the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result; The transceiver is further configured to receive, when the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance sent by the VNFM, wherein the first VNF ​​instance is any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance is sorted after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result; The transceiver is also used to send an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request to the VNFM, so that the VNFM processes the automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

10. A VNFM, characterized in that: Including transceiver and processor, The transceiver is used to receive the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result sent by the NFVO, wherein the VNF instance automatic operation sorting result is obtained by sorting the automatic operations of the multiple VNF instances based on the priorities corresponding to the multiple VNF instances in the NS instance, and the multiple VNF instances are different VNF ​​instances in the same NS instance, and each VNF instance in the NS instance is correspondingly set with a priority; The processor is used to process the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in sequence based on the automatic operation sorting result of the VNF instance; The processor processes the automatic operation of each VNF instance in the multiple VNF instances in sequence based on the automatic operation sorting result of the VNF instances, including: When the automatic operation processing of the first VNF ​​instance is completed, sending an operation authorization request for the automatic operation of the second VNF instance to the NFVO, the first VNF ​​instance being any one of the multiple VNF instances, and the automatic operation of the second VNF instance being ranked after the automatic operation of the first VNF ​​instance in the VNF instance automatic operation ranking result; receiving an operation authorization response to the operation authorization request sent by the NFVO; Process automatic operation of the second VNF instance based on the operation authorization response.

11. A NFVO, characterized in that: include: A processor, a memory, and a program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the program, when executed by the processor, implements the steps of the network service instance lifecycle management method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5.

12. A VNFM, characterized in that: include: A processor, a memory, and a program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the program, when executed by the processor, implements the steps of the network service instance lifecycle management method as claimed in claim 6.

13. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the network service instance lifecycle management method as described in any one of claims 1 to 5; or, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the network service instance lifecycle management method as described in claim 6.

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