Service function chaining (SFC) rearrangement method and apparatus based on user intent, and related devices

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a user-intention-based service function chain (SFC) rearrangement method and device and related equipment, and relates to the technical field of intention networks. The method comprises: obtaining intention service information input by a target user, wherein the intention service information comprises at least one user service requested by the target user and a prerequisite condition required for providing each user service; converting the intention service information into executable SFC information; and rearranging the SFC information according to a pre-constructed prerequisite condition relationship library, a service relationship library and a current network resource allocation of each user service. The present disclosure can flexibly arrange user services according to whether the network resources meet the prerequisite conditions of the user services, the relevance of the prerequisite conditions and the dependency of the user services, so that the user services can be provided more flexibly, and human intervention is not required, so that the services are more intelligent and efficient.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of intent network technology, and in particular to a method, apparatus and related equipment for reordering Service Function Chain (SFC) based on user intent. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of the internet, users' requirements for network services are becoming increasingly personalized. SFC (Sequential Function Chart) is used to describe the logical composition structure of services arranged according to certain relationships, which can be statically configured by the user or dynamically rearranged by the system. However, current SFC research mainly focuses on the SFC topology, without in-depth analysis of service relationships. SFC user service rearrangement management still relies on explicit calls using layered interface technology, lacking fully automated management that supports the entire SFC process from intent description to translation to deployment. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This disclosure provides a method, apparatus, and related equipment for reordering Service Function Chain (SFC) based on user intent, which at least to some extent overcomes the technical problem in related technologies of lacking support for the automated management of the entire process of SFC from intent description to translation to deployment.

[0004] Other features and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, or may be learned in part from practice of this disclosure.

[0005] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a method for reordering Service Function Chain (SFC) based on user intent is provided, comprising:

[0006] Obtain intent service information input by a target user, wherein the intent service information includes: at least one user service requested by the target user and the prerequisites required to provide each user service;

[0007] The intent service information is converted into executable SFC information;

[0008] The SFC information is rearranged based on the pre-built prerequisite relationship database, service relationship database, and the current network resource allocation of each user service. The prerequisite relationship database is used to store the correlation between the prerequisites required for each user service, and the service relationship database is used to store the dependencies between user services.

[0009] In some embodiments, the SFC information is rearranged based on a pre-built prerequisite relational database, a service relational database, and the current network resource allocation for each user service, including:

[0010] Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met.

[0011] When it is determined, according to the preset order of user services, that there are user services whose preconditions are not met before the user services that meet the preconditions, the correlation between the preconditions required for each user service is queried according to the pre-built precondition relationship database.

[0012] When no correlation is found between the prerequisites required for each user service, the dependencies between at least one user service requested by the target user are queried based on a pre-built service relationship database; and

[0013] When it is found that there is no dependency between at least one user service requested by the target user, the SFC information is rearranged.

[0014] In some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0015] Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met.

[0016] When it is determined according to the preset order of user services that there are no user services whose preconditions are not met before the user service whose preconditions are met, the SFC information is not rearranged.

[0017] In some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0018] Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met.

[0019] When it is determined, according to the preset order of user services, that there are user services whose preconditions are not met before the user services that meet the preconditions, the correlation between the preconditions required for each user service is queried according to the pre-built precondition relationship database.

[0020] When a correlation is found between the prerequisites required for each user service, the SFC information is not rearranged.

[0021] In some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0022] Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met.

[0023] When it is determined, according to the preset order of user services, that there are user services whose preconditions are not met before the user services that meet the preconditions, the correlation between the preconditions required for each user service is queried according to the pre-built precondition relationship database.

[0024] When no correlation is found between the prerequisites required for each user service, the dependencies between at least one user service requested by the target user are queried based on a pre-built service relationship database; and

[0025] When it is found that there is a dependency between at least one user service requested by the target user, the SFC information is not rearranged.

[0026] In some embodiments, obtaining intent service information input by the target user includes:

[0027] Determine whether there is a conflict between at least one user service provided by the target user's intent request contained in the intent service information;

[0028] When there is a conflict between at least one user service that the target user intends to request, the at least one user service that the target user intends to request is sent to the user terminal for modification until there is no conflict between at least one user service that the target user intends to request.

[0029] When there is no conflict between at least one user service requested by the target user, the intent service information input by the target user is obtained.

[0030] In some embodiments, before converting the intent service information into executable SFC information, the method further includes:

[0031] Receive intent service information input by the user through the user input interface, and return a permission response to the user input interface;

[0032] Receive intent service information input from the user input interface.

[0033] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a service function chain (SFC) reordering apparatus based on user intent is also provided, comprising:

[0034] The intent service information acquisition module is used to acquire intent service information input by the target user, wherein the intent service information includes: at least one user service requested by the target user and the prerequisites required to provide each user service;

[0035] The intent service information conversion module is used to convert the intent service information into executable SFC information;

[0036] The SFC information rearrangement module is used to rearrange the SFC information according to a pre-built prerequisite relationship database, service relationship database, and the current network resource allocation of each user service. The prerequisite relationship database is used to store the correlation between the prerequisites required for each user service, and the service relationship database is used to store the dependencies between user services.

[0037] According to another aspect of this disclosure, an electronic device is also provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to perform the user intent-based Service Function Chain (SFC) reordering method described above by executing the executable instructions.

[0038] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, on which a computer program is stored, which, when executed by a processor, implements the user intent-based service function chain (SFC) reordering method described in any of the preceding claims.

[0039] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a computer program product is also provided, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the user intent-based service function chain (SFC) reordering method of any of the above.

[0040] The Service Function Chain (SFC) rearrangement method based on user intent provided in the embodiments of this disclosure can flexibly orchestrate user services according to whether network resources meet the preconditions of user services, the relevance of the preconditions and the dependency of user services, so as to provide services to users more flexibly and without much manual intervention, making the service more intelligent and efficient.

[0041] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0042] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this disclosure. It is obvious that the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of this disclosure, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any inventive effort.

[0043] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a user intent-based SFC reordering system architecture is shown in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0044] Figure 2This illustration shows the interaction between the various sub-modules of the intent orchestration layer and the interaction between the intent orchestration layer and the SDN controller and user input interface in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0045] Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating the interaction flow between the intent orchestration layer, the SDN controller, and the user input interface in an embodiment of this disclosure is shown.

[0046] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating another intent-based SFC rearrangement method in this embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0047] Figure 5 A schematic diagram illustrating the interaction flow between the intent orchestration layer, the SDN controller, and the user input interface in an embodiment of this disclosure is shown.

[0048] Figure 6 This illustration shows a schematic diagram of a QoS guarantee submodule rearrangement model in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0049] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating an example of the SFC rearrangement method based on user intent in this disclosure is shown;

[0050] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a service function chain (SFC) rearrangement device based on user intent is shown in an embodiment of this disclosure.

[0051] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0052] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of a computer-readable storage medium according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0053] Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, these exemplary embodiments can be implemented in many forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, they are provided so that this disclosure will be more comprehensive and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the exemplary embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0054] Furthermore, the accompanying drawings are merely illustrative of this disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar parts, and therefore repeated descriptions of them will be omitted. Some block diagrams shown in the drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically independent entities. These functional entities may be implemented in software, in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different network and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices.

[0055] To facilitate understanding, before introducing the embodiments of this disclosure, the following explanations are provided for several terms involved in the embodiments of this disclosure:

[0056] SFC: Service Function Chain;

[0057] QoS: Quality of Service;

[0058] QoE: Quality of Experience;

[0059] SDN: Software Defined Network;

[0060] The specific implementation methods of the embodiments of this disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0061] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a user intent-based SFC rearrangement system architecture is shown in an embodiment of this disclosure, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the SFC reordering system architecture based on user intent may include a user input interface 101, an intent orchestration layer 102, an SDN controller 103, and an underlying network 104. The intent orchestration layer 102 may include an intent parsing module 10 and an intent implementation module 20.

[0062] The user inputs intent service information in the user input interface 101, and sends this intent service information to the intent parsing module 10 in the intent orchestration layer 102. The intent parsing module 10 parses the intent service information, converts it into executable SFC information, and sends the conflict-free intent reconstructed from the conflict-free user services in the executable SFC information to the intent implementation module 20. The intent implementation module 20 determines whether to perform SFC reordering based on the network resources collected from the underlying network 104 by the SDN controller 103. When the intent implementation module 20 determines to perform SFC reordering, it sends the service effect simulated by the SFC reordering to the user input interface 101 for user confirmation. After user confirmation, the user input interface 101 sends a notification to the intent implementation module 20, causing the intent implementation module 20 to issue the aforementioned network scheme to the SDN controller 103. The SDN controller 103 issues device control information to the execution device according to the network scheme to control the execution device to perform SFC reordering.

[0063] It should be noted that the user input interface can be the screen of the user's terminal device. In some embodiments, the user's terminal device may include a laptop, desktop computer, mobile phone, etc. The user can choose a suitable terminal device according to actual needs and input the intended service information through the user input interface of the terminal device. This disclosure does not limit the type of user's terminal device.

[0064] In addition, intent service information can be the service information that the user wants to achieve, and it needs to be converted into executable SFC information in order to perform subsequent SFC reordering operations.

[0065] The above Figure 1 The specific functions and interaction methods of the intent parsing module and intent enforcement module of the intent orchestration layer are defined, as well as the interaction process between the intent orchestration layer and the SDN controller and user input interface. The interaction process between the various sub-modules of the intent orchestration layer is described below. Figure 2 The diagram illustrates the interactions between the various sub-modules of the intent orchestration layer and the interactions between the intent orchestration layer and the SDN controller and user input interface in embodiments of this disclosure.

[0066] like Figure 2 As shown, the intent parsing module 10 may include an intent service message conversion submodule 30, a conflict determination module 40, and an intent service message modification submodule 50. The intent implementation module 20 may include a network resource allocation submodule 60, a QoS guarantee submodule 70, and a user intent maintenance submodule 80.

[0067] The Intent Service Message Conversion Submodule 30 receives the intent service message input by the user, converts it into executable SFC information, and sends the executable SFC information to the Conflict Determination Submodule 40. The Conflict Determination Submodule 40 determines whether there are conflicts between user services in the executable SFC information. When conflicts exist (or user services cannot be satisfied), the conflicting user services are sent to the Intent Service Message Modification Submodule 50, which modifies / supplements the conflicting user services until the conflicts disappear. Then, the conflicting user services return to the Intent Service Message Conversion Submodule 10 to participate in the next round of SFC reordering. When there are no conflicts between user services, the conflict-free user services are reassembled into a conflict-free intent and sent to the Network Resource Allocation Submodule 40. Module 620, the network resource allocation submodule 60, sends the conflict-free intent and the network resources uploaded by the SDN controller 103 to the QoS assurance submodule 70. The QoS assurance submodule 70 simulates the SFC reordering process based on the user intent according to the conflict-free intent and network resources, and sends the simulated service effect after SFC reordering to the intent service message modification submodule 50 for user confirmation. After the user confirms that the simulated service effect is acceptable, the intent service message modification submodule 50 sends a user confirmation notification to the QoS assurance submodule 70. The QoS assurance submodule 70 then distributes the above network scheme to the SDN controller 103. The SDN controller 103 sends the network scheme to the execution device that performs the SFC reordering, and the execution device performs the final SFC reordering based on the user intent.

[0068] It should be noted that whether a conflict exists between user services depends on whether there are contradictory user services. In some embodiments, for example, user service A might upgrade its bandwidth to 100M when the bandwidth utilization reaches a certain threshold, while user service B might have purchased 50M bandwidth. Since it only purchased 50M bandwidth, it cannot upgrade to 100M when the bandwidth utilization reaches the threshold. In this case, a conflict exists between user service A and user service B. When there is a conflict between user services included in the intent service information, a prompt message can be displayed on the user terminal: "Conflicting user services exist." After the conflicting user services are modified, the modified, conflict-free user services can continue to participate in the next SFC reordering based on user intent. Furthermore, if the user services included in the intent service information cannot be determined, these user services also need to be sent to the user input interface for modification.

[0069] First, this disclosure provides a service function chain (SFC) reordering method based on user intent. This method can be implemented interactively by the user input interface 101, intent orchestration layer 102, and SDN controller 103 in the aforementioned system architecture. To provide a detailed explanation of the user intent-based service function chain (SFC) reordering method, this disclosure further details... Figure 3 The diagram illustrates a flowchart of a service function chain (SFC) reordering method based on user intent, as shown in an embodiment of this disclosure. Figure 3 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0070] S302: Obtain intent service information input by the target user, wherein the intent service information includes: at least one user service requested by the target user and the prerequisites required to provide each user service.

[0071] It should be noted that the intent service information can be information input by the target user through the user input interface, reflecting the user's intention. In some embodiments, the intent service information may be wanting to order a certain electronic product and allocate 50M bandwidth to that electronic product, upgrade bandwidth when the bandwidth occupancy rate of traffic using the product exceeds 70% and the proportion of traffic accessing the local area network exceeds 80%, or limit the local area network access volume, etc. The user can input intent service information as needed, and this disclosure does not limit the categories of information contained in the intent service information. User services can be various events in the user service information. For example, the four events in the intent service information mentioned above—ordering a certain electronic product, allocating 50M bandwidth to the electronic product, upgrading bandwidth, and limiting local area network access volume—are all user services included in the intent service information. Each user service requires certain prerequisites for providing the service. For example, in the above intent service information, the prerequisite for providing the bandwidth upgrade user service is that the bandwidth utilization rate of the product exceeds 70% and the traffic accessing the local area network accounts for more than 80% of that traffic. In this case, the bandwidth utilization rate of the product exceeding 70% and the traffic accessing the local area network accounting for more than 80% are the prerequisites for the bandwidth upgrade user service.

[0072] S304: Convert intent service information into executable SFC information.

[0073] It should be noted that this disclosure transforms the intent service information into executable SFC information consisting of user services and the prerequisites for each user service. The executable SFC information can be in the form of a string of user services arranged in a preset order, with or without preset prerequisites for each user service. In some embodiments, for example, the executable SFC information can be (a∩b)A---cB---C, where A, B, and C are user services arranged in a preset order, a∩b are the prerequisites for user service A, c are the prerequisites for user service B, and user service C has no preset prerequisites. That is, when user service C is reached in the preset order, no conditions need to be met before user service C can be executed directly.

[0074] S306: Rearrange the SFC information according to the pre-built prerequisite relation database, service relation database, and the current network resource allocation of each user service. The prerequisite relation database is used to store the correlation between the prerequisites required for each user service, and the service relation database is used to store the dependencies between user services.

[0075] The Service Function Chain (SFC) rearrangement method based on user intent provided in the embodiments of this disclosure can flexibly orchestrate user services according to whether network resources meet the preconditions of user services, the relevance of the preconditions and the dependency of user services, so as to provide services to users more flexibly and without much manual intervention, making the service more intelligent and efficient.

[0076] To further decompose and explain the intent-based SFC rearrangement method, this invention... Figure 4 The diagram illustrates a flowchart of another intent-based SFC rearrangement method according to an embodiment of this disclosure. Figure 4 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0077] S402: Obtain intent service information input by the target user, wherein the intent service information includes: at least one user service requested by the target user and the prerequisites required to provide each user service.

[0078] S404: Convert intent service information into executable SFC information.

[0079] S406: Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met.

[0080] S408: When it is determined, according to the preset order of user services, that there are user services whose prerequisites are not met before the user services that meet the prerequisites, query the correlation between the prerequisites required for each user service based on the pre-built prerequisite relational database.

[0081] In some embodiments, for example, the executable SFC information can be (a∩b)A---cB---C. According to the preset order of user services, the order of user services is A---B---C. When a and c are satisfied, the prerequisite a∩b for user service A is not satisfied, but the prerequisite c for user service B is satisfied. At this time, user service B, whose prerequisite is satisfied, was preceded by user service A, whose prerequisite is not satisfied. Therefore, it is confirmed that the SFC information needs to be rearranged and subsequent operations are performed. When a, b, and c are satisfied, the prerequisite a∩b for user service A is satisfied, and the prerequisite c for user service B is also satisfied. At this time, user service A is still performed first, followed by user service B. Therefore, it is confirmed that the SFC information does not need to be rearranged, and the process stops.

[0082] S410: When it is found that there is no correlation between the prerequisites required for each user service, query the dependency between at least one user service requested by the target user based on the pre-built service relationship database.

[0083] It should be noted that when a user inputs intent service information through the user input interface, a prerequisite relationship library and a service relationship library are also pre-built to store the prerequisites and the relevance and dependency of the user service contained in the intent service information.

[0084] S412: When it is found that there is no dependency between at least one user service requested by the target user, the SFC information is rearranged.

[0085] Therefore, the SFC information is rearranged if the preconditions of the user services that meet the preconditions are not met, if there are user services that do not meet the preconditions, if there is no correlation between the preconditions required for each user service, and if there is no dependency between at least one user service requested by the target user. If any of these conditions are not met, the SFC information is not rearranged. The following explains the case where the SFC information is not rearranged.

[0086] (1) There were no user services whose preconditions were not met before the user service whose preconditions were met.

[0087] In some embodiments, the intent-based SFC rearrangement method further includes:

[0088] Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met.

[0089] When it is determined according to the preset order of user services that there are no user services whose preconditions are not met before the user service whose preconditions are met, the SFC information is not rearranged.

[0090] (2) There is a correlation between the prerequisites required for each user service.

[0091] In some embodiments, the intent-based SFC rearrangement method further includes:

[0092] Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met.

[0093] When it is determined, according to the preset order of user services, that there are user services whose preconditions are not met before the user services that meet the preconditions, the correlation between the preconditions required for each user service is queried according to the pre-built precondition relationship database.

[0094] When a correlation is found between the prerequisites required for each user service, the SFC information is not rearranged.

[0095] (3) The target user intends to request at least one user service that is dependent on each other.

[0096] In some embodiments, the intent-based SFC rearrangement method further includes:

[0097] Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met.

[0098] When it is determined, according to the preset order of user services, that there are user services whose preconditions are not met before the user services that meet the preconditions, the correlation between the preconditions required for each user service is queried according to the pre-built precondition relationship database.

[0099] When no correlation is found between the prerequisites required for each user service, the dependencies between at least one user service requested by the target user are queried based on a pre-built service relationship database; and

[0100] When it is found that there is a dependency between at least one user service requested by the target user, the SFC information is not rearranged.

[0101] It should be noted that the intent service information obtained in the above-mentioned SFC rearrangement method based on user intent must not conflict with each other. Therefore, in some embodiments, it is determined whether there is a conflict between at least one user service provided by the target user intent request contained in the intent service information; when there is a conflict between at least one user service provided by the target user intent request, the at least one user service provided by the target user intent request is sent to the user terminal for modification until there is no conflict between at least one user service provided by the target user intent request; when there is no conflict between at least one user service provided by the target user intent request, the intent service information input by the target user is obtained.

[0102] In some embodiments, before converting intent service information into executable SFC information, it is also necessary to receive intent service information input by the user through the user input interface and return a license response to the user input interface; receive intent service information input by the user input interface.

[0103] The above-described user intent-based SFC rearrangement method simulates SFC rearrangement through the interaction between the intent orchestration layer, the SDN controller, and the user input interface. Therefore, in Figure 5 The diagram illustrates the interaction flow between the intent orchestration layer, the SDN controller, and the user input interface in an embodiment of this disclosure.

[0104] like Figure 5 As shown, the interaction process includes:

[0105] S502: Intent service message conversion submodule 30 receives intent service messages.

[0106] S504, SDN controller 103 uploads network resources to network resource allocation submodule 60.

[0107] S506: Conflict determination module 40 determines whether there is a conflict between user services.

[0108] When there is a conflict between user services, proceed to step S508; when there is no conflict between user services, proceed to step S510.

[0109] S508: Send conflicting user services to the Intent Service Message Modification Submodule 50 for modification / supplementation.

[0110] S510: Send conflict-free user services to SDN controller 103 and receive network resources from SDN controller 103.

[0111] S512: Send conflict-free user services and network resources allocated for each user service to the QoS assurance submodule 70 so that the QoS assurance submodule 70 can simulate SFC rearrangement based on user intent.

[0112] S514: Upload the simulated service effect to the Intent Service Message Modification Submodule 50.

[0113] S516: The Intent Service Message Modification Submodule 50 sends a user confirmation message to the QoS Assurance Submodule 70.

[0114] S518: Issues network schemes to SDN controller 103.

[0115] S520: The User Intent Maintenance Submodule 80 collects data from the Network Resource Allocation Submodule 60 and monitors the user service experience quality based on the mobile phone data.

[0116] S522: User Intent Maintenance Submodule 80 sends user service experience quality and maintains user intent.

[0117] It should be noted that when the user's service experience quality reaches the preset level, the entire system architecture is in a waiting state; when the user's service experience quality does not reach the preset level, the intent service message is re-entered to restart the SFC reordering process based on the user's intent.

[0118] The above simulation process of user intent-based SFC reordering is performed in the QoS guarantee submodule. To gain a further understanding of the user intent-based SFC reordering function of the QoS guarantee submodule, this disclosure... Figure 6 The diagram shows a rearrangement model of a QoS guarantee submodule in an embodiment of this disclosure.

[0119] like Figure 6 As shown, the QoS assurance submodule's reordering model ultimately achieves SFC reordering based on user intent through multiple functional blocks, including resource query functional block 601, prerequisite relational database query functional block 602, service relational database query functional block 603, and prerequisite change functional block 604.

[0120] Resource query function block 601. Its function is to query the network resources allocated for each user service to determine whether the preconditions of each user service are met, so as to determine whether there are user services whose preconditions are not met before the user services whose preconditions are met according to the preset order of user services. When there are user services whose preconditions are not met before the user services whose preconditions are met according to the preset order of user services, the SFC reordering based on user intent continues to function block 602.

[0121] Prerequisite relation database query function block 602. Its function is to query the correlation between the prerequisites required for each user service based on a pre-built prerequisite relation database. When the query based on the pre-built prerequisite relation database finds that there is no correlation between the prerequisites required for each user service, the SFC rearrangement based on user intent continues to function block 603.

[0122] Service relation database query function block 603. Its function is to query the dependency status between at least one user service based on a pre-built service relation database. When the query based on the pre-built service relation database shows that there is no dependency between at least one user service, the SFC rearrangement based on user intent continues to function block 604.

[0123] Precondition modification function block 604. Its function can be to modify unmet preconditions to make them satisfied. As executable SFC information of intent service message transformation in the previous embodiment: (a∩b)A---cB---C, when the precondition (a∩b) only satisfies a and not b, service A cannot be executed, but service B can be executed first to improve the user experience at this moment. When the conditions in 601, 602, and 603 are all satisfied and the operation of entering the next function block is performed, (a∩b) is changed to (a∪b). At the same time, the QoS guarantee submodule performs a simulation process of SFC rearrangement based on user intent.

[0124] To illustrate how the user intent-based SFC reordering method of this disclosure can be applied in practice, the following examples illustrate application scenarios of the user intent-based service function chain SFC reordering method for several application scenarios.

[0125] The Service Function Chain (SFC) rearrangement method based on user intent provided in the embodiments of this disclosure can flexibly orchestrate user services according to whether network resources meet the preconditions of user services, the relevance of the preconditions and the dependency of user services, so as to provide services to users more flexibly and without much manual intervention, making the service more intelligent and efficient.

[0126] To illustrate how the user intent-based SFC reordering method of this disclosure can be applied in practice, the following examples illustrate application scenarios of the user intent-based service function chain SFC reordering method for several application scenarios. Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating an example of the SFC rearrangement method based on user intent in an embodiment of this disclosure is shown.

[0127] Application Scenario 1: There are no conflicts between user services, and there is no difference between existing network resources and intent service requests.

[0128] like Figure 7As shown, an intent service request could be: I want to order a product and be allocated 50M of bandwidth. When the bandwidth usage of traffic using this product exceeds 70% and the traffic accessing the local area network exceeds 80%, upgrade the bandwidth and appropriately limit the local area network access (100M bandwidth has already been purchased).

[0129] The entire process is as follows: The intent service request entered by the user through the user input interface is converted into executable SFC information. The preset order of user services included in the executable SFC information can be: product ordering - DPI deep packet inspection - bandwidth upgrade - LAN access traffic limiting, and the conflict status between these user services is determined. The SDN controller collects network resources and allocates network resources to user services without conflicts. For user services with conflicts, they need to be uploaded to the user input interface for modification / supplementation. When the SDN controller allocates network resources for user services without conflicts and finds that the existing network resources are identical to the intent service request, it is determined that SFC rearrangement is not necessary, and the simulated service effect is presented to the user. After a successful product order, DPI deep packet inspection is performed periodically. When the bandwidth utilization reaches a preset threshold, resulting in a poor user service experience, the bandwidth is upgraded, and a bandwidth upgrade plan is issued to the SDN controller so that the SDN controller can collect the corresponding network resources.

[0130] Application Scenario 2: There is no conflict between user services, but there is no difference between existing network resources and intended service requests.

[0131] like Figure 7 As shown, an intent service request could be: I want to order a product and be allocated 50M of bandwidth. When the bandwidth usage of traffic using this product exceeds 70% and the traffic accessing the local area network exceeds 80%, upgrade the bandwidth and appropriately limit the local area network access (100M bandwidth has already been purchased).

[0132] Current network resources: The bandwidth utilization rate of traffic using this product is less than 70%, but the traffic accessing the local area network accounts for 100%.

[0133] The entire process is as follows: The intent service request entered by the user through the user input interface is converted into executable SFC information. The executable SFC information contains the following preset order of user services: product ordering --- DPI deep packet inspection --- bandwidth upgrade --- LAN access traffic limiting. The SDN controller collects network resources and allocates network resources to user services that do not conflict. The system found that although the current bandwidth utilization of this product is not exceeding 70%, the traffic accessing the LAN has reached 100%, which will cause packet loss. Although the default order of user services in the SFC information could be product ordering - DPI deep packet inspection - bandwidth upgrade - LAN access traffic limiting, and the bandwidth utilization rate of the traffic using this product is less than 70%, and the network resources confirm that they cannot support upgrading the user's bandwidth to 100M, the system finds no correlation between the two preconditions: the bandwidth utilization rate of the product exceeds 70% and the proportion of traffic accessing the LAN exceeds 80%. Furthermore, there is no dependency between the two user services: bandwidth upgrade and LAN access traffic limiting. Therefore, to ensure the quality of user service experience, LAN access traffic limiting must be implemented first. Simultaneously, the service effect of the rearranged user services is simulated and presented to the user. The simulated service effect includes: the maximum available bandwidth; the user service experience quality guaranteed by LAN access traffic limiting under this maximum bandwidth; and the specific time when the bandwidth is expected to reach 50M. The user re-enters the intended service information or chooses to terminate the service. When the user re-enters the intended service information, the system queries the bandwidth within a predetermined time to determine whether to increase the bandwidth to 50M within that time, and collects bandwidth utilization information intermittently.

[0134] Application Scenario 3: Conflict between intent service requests and actual purchases.

[0135] like Figure 7 As shown, an intent service request could be: I want to order a product and be allocated 50M of bandwidth. When the bandwidth usage of traffic using this product exceeds 70% and the traffic accessing the local area network exceeds 80%, the bandwidth will be upgraded to 100M when the bandwidth usage reaches a preset threshold, while appropriately limiting the amount of local area network access (if 100M bandwidth has not been purchased).

[0136] The entire process is as follows: The intent service request entered by the user through the user input interface is converted into executable SFC information. The preset order of user services contained in the executable SFC information can be: product ordering - DPI deep packet inspection - bandwidth upgrade - LAN access traffic limiting. The SDN controller collects network resources and allocates network resources for user services that do not conflict. When determining the type of service required by the user based on the executable SFC information, it is found that the user wants to upgrade the bandwidth to 100M when the bandwidth utilization reaches a preset threshold, but has only purchased 50M bandwidth instead of 100M. This conflicts with the intent service request, similar to conflicts between user services. In this case, the intent service request needs to be returned to the user for modification, and the service will be re-executed upon receiving a new intent service request.

[0137] It should be noted that the preset threshold can be set by the user according to their needs, and this disclosure does not limit the specific value of the preset threshold. Furthermore, the repeated rearrangement operation ensures that the user's service experience quality score is higher than the preset threshold, achieving a user service experience quality acceptable to the user and thus achieving the technical effect of maintaining the user's intended experience.

[0138] The Service Function Chain (SFC) rearrangement method based on user intent provided in the embodiments of this disclosure can flexibly orchestrate user services according to whether network resources meet the preconditions of user services, the relevance of the preconditions and the dependency of user services, so as to provide services to users more flexibly and without much manual intervention, making the service more intelligent and efficient.

[0139] Based on the same inventive concept, this disclosure also provides a service function chain (SFC) reordering device based on user intent, as described in the following embodiments. Since the principle by which this device embodiment solves the problem is similar to that of the above method embodiments, the implementation of this device embodiment can refer to the implementation of the above method embodiments, and repeated details will not be elaborated further.

[0140] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a service function chain (SFC) reordering apparatus based on user intent is shown in an embodiment of this disclosure, as follows: Figure 8 As shown, the service function chain (SFC) reordering device based on user intent includes:

[0141] The intent service information acquisition module 801 is used to acquire intent service information input by the target user, wherein the intent service information includes: at least one user service requested by the target user and the prerequisites required to provide each user service;

[0142] The intent service information conversion module 802 is used to convert intent service information into executable SFC information;

[0143] The SFC information rearrangement module 803 is used to rearrange SFC information according to the pre-built prerequisite relationship database, service relationship database and the current network resource allocation of each user service. The prerequisite relationship database is used to store the correlation between the prerequisites required for each user service, and the service relationship database is used to store the dependencies between user services.

[0144] The Service Function Chain (SFC) rearrangement device based on user intent provided in the embodiments of this disclosure can flexibly arrange user services according to whether network resources meet the preconditions of user services, the relevance of the preconditions and the dependency of user services, so as to provide services to users more flexibly and without much manual intervention, making the service more intelligent and efficient.

[0145] In some embodiments, the SFC information rearrangement module 803 is used for:

[0146] Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met.

[0147] When it is determined, according to the preset order of user services, that there are user services whose preconditions are not met before the user services that meet the preconditions, the correlation between the preconditions required for each user service is queried according to the pre-built precondition relationship database.

[0148] When no correlation is found between the prerequisites required for each user service, the dependencies between at least one user service requested by the target user are queried based on a pre-built service relationship database; and

[0149] When it is found that there is no dependency between at least one user service requested by the target user, the SFC information is rearranged.

[0150] In some embodiments, the apparatus is further configured to:

[0151] Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met.

[0152] When it is determined according to the preset order of user services that there are no user services whose preconditions are not met before the user service whose preconditions are met, the SFC information is not rearranged.

[0153] In some embodiments, the apparatus is further configured to:

[0154] Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met.

[0155] When it is determined, according to the preset order of user services, that there are user services whose preconditions are not met before the user services that meet the preconditions, the correlation between the preconditions required for each user service is queried according to the pre-built precondition relationship database.

[0156] When a correlation is found between the prerequisites required for each user service, the SFC information is not rearranged.

[0157] In some embodiments, the apparatus is further configured to:

[0158] Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met.

[0159] When it is determined, according to the preset order of user services, that there are user services whose preconditions are not met before the user services that meet the preconditions, the correlation between the preconditions required for each user service is queried according to the pre-built precondition relationship database.

[0160] When no correlation is found between the prerequisites required for each user service, the dependencies between at least one user service requested by the target user are queried based on a pre-built service relationship database; and

[0161] When it is found that there is a dependency between at least one user service requested by the target user, the SFC information is not rearranged.

[0162] In some embodiments, the intent service information acquisition module 801 is used for:

[0163] Determine whether there is a conflict between at least one user service provided by the target user's intent request contained in the intent service information;

[0164] When there is a conflict between at least one user service that the target user intends to request, the at least one user service that the target user intends to request is sent to the user terminal for modification until there is no conflict between at least one user service that the target user intends to request.

[0165] When there is no conflict between at least one user service requested by the target user, obtain the intent service information input by the target user.

[0166] In some embodiments, before converting the intent service information into executable SFC information, the apparatus is further configured to:

[0167] Receive intent service information input by the user through the user input interface, and return a permission response to the user input interface;

[0168] Receive intent service information input from the user input interface.

[0169] It should be noted that the examples and application scenarios implemented by the above modules and corresponding steps are the same, but are not limited to the content disclosed in the above method embodiments. It should also be noted that the above modules, as part of an apparatus, can be executed in a computer system such as a set of computer-executable instructions.

[0170] Those skilled in the art will understand that various aspects of this disclosure can be implemented as a system, method, or program product. Therefore, various aspects of this disclosure can be specifically implemented in the following forms: a completely hardware implementation, a completely software implementation (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software aspects, collectively referred to herein as a "circuit," "module," or "system."

[0171] The following reference Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 9 The electronic device 900 shown is merely an example and should not impose any limitation on the functionality and scope of use of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0172] like Figure 9 As shown, the electronic device 900 is manifested in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The components of the electronic device 900 may include, but are not limited to: at least one processing unit 910, at least one storage unit 920, and a bus 930 connecting different system components (including the storage unit 920 and the processing unit 910).

[0173] The storage unit stores program code, which can be executed by the processing unit 910, causing the processing unit 910 to perform the steps described in the "Exemplary Methods" section of this specification according to various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. For example, the processing unit 910 can perform the following steps of the above method embodiment: when it is determined that the user terminal is in a mobile state, the BBU currently connected to the user terminal reports the current state data of the user terminal to the intelligent controller; the intelligent controller generates the access point-user terminal AP-UE association decision result of the user terminal based on a pre-trained artificial intelligence / machine learning AI / ML model and the current state data of the user terminal, and reports it to the mobility management network element; and the mobility management network element updates the BBU connected to the user terminal according to the AP-UE association decision result of the user terminal.

[0174] Storage unit 920 may include readable media in the form of volatile storage units, such as random access memory (RAM) 9201 and / or cache memory 9202, and may further include read-only memory (ROM) 9203.

[0175] Storage unit 920 may also include a program / utility 9204 having a set (at least one) program module 9205, such program module 9205 including but not limited to: operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules and program data, each or some combination of these examples may include an implementation of a network environment.

[0176] Bus 930 can represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory cell bus or memory cell controller, a peripheral bus, a graphics acceleration port, a processing unit, or a local bus using any of the various bus structures.

[0177] Electronic device 900 can also communicate with one or more external devices 940 (e.g., keyboard, pointing device, Bluetooth device, etc.), and with one or more devices that enable a user to interact with electronic device 900, and / or with any device that enables electronic device 900 to communicate with one or more other computing devices (e.g., router, modem, etc.). This communication can be performed via input / output (I / O) interface 950. Furthermore, electronic device 900 can also communicate with one or more networks (e.g., local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), and / or public networks, such as the Internet) via network adapter 960. As shown, network adapter 960 communicates with other modules of electronic device 900 via bus 930. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figures, other hardware and / or software modules can be used in conjunction with electronic device 900, including but not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems.

[0178] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the exemplary embodiments described herein can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of this disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, external hard drive, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to cause a computing device (such as a personal computer, server, terminal device, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods according to the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0179] In particular, according to embodiments of this disclosure, the process described above with reference to the flowchart can be implemented as a computer program product, which includes a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the above-described service function chain SFC reordering method based on user intent.

[0180] In exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, which may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. Figure 10 This illustration shows a schematic diagram of a computer-readable storage medium according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, such as... Figure 10 As shown, the computer-readable storage medium 1000 stores a program product capable of implementing the methods described above. In some possible embodiments, various aspects of this disclosure may also be implemented as a program product comprising program code that, when the program product is run on a terminal, causes the terminal to perform the steps described in the "Exemplary Methods" section of this specification according to various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[0181] More specific examples of computer-readable storage media in this disclosure may include, but are not limited to: electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0182] In this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium may include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, carrying readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take various forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. A readable signal medium may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium, capable of transmitting, propagating, or transmitting a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0183] Optionally, the program code contained on the computer-readable storage medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical fiber, RF, etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0184] In practical implementation, program code for performing the operations of this disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java and C++, and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as C or similar languages. The program code can execute entirely on the user's computing device, partially on the user's computing device, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In cases involving remote computing devices, the remote computing device can be connected to the user's computing device via any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or it can be connected to an external computing device (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0185] It should be noted that although several modules or units for the device used to perform actions have been mentioned in the detailed description above, this division is not mandatory. In fact, according to embodiments of this disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above can be embodied in one module or unit. Conversely, the features and functions of one module or unit described above can be further divided and embodied by multiple modules or units.

[0186] Furthermore, although the steps of the method in this disclosure are described in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this does not require or imply that the steps must be performed in that specific order, or that all the steps shown must be performed to achieve the desired result. Additional or alternative steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step, and / or a step may be broken down into multiple steps.

[0187] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the exemplary embodiments described herein can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of this disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, external hard drive, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to cause a computing device (such as a personal computer, server, mobile terminal, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods according to the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0188] Other embodiments of this disclosure will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this disclosure that follow the general principles of this disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The specification and examples are to be considered exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of this disclosure are indicated by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for reordering Service Function Chain (SFC) based on user intent, characterized in that, The method includes: Obtain intent service information input by a target user, wherein the intent service information includes: at least one user service requested by the target user and the prerequisites required to provide each user service; The intent service information is converted into executable SFC information; The SFC information is rearranged based on the pre-built prerequisite relationship database, service relationship database, and the current network resource allocation of each user service. The prerequisite relationship database is used to store the correlation between the prerequisites required by each user service, and the service relationship database is used to store the dependencies between user services. Specifically, the SFC information is rearranged based on a pre-built prerequisite relationship database, service relationship database, and the current network resource allocation for each user service, including: Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met. When it is determined, according to the preset order of user services, that there are user services whose preconditions are not met before the user services that meet the preconditions, the correlation between the preconditions required for each user service is queried according to the pre-built precondition relationship database. When no correlation is found between the prerequisites required for each user service, the dependencies between at least one user service requested by the target user are queried based on a pre-built service relationship database; and When it is found that there is no dependency between at least one user service requested by the target user, the SFC information is rearranged.

2. The service function chain (SFC) reordering method based on user intent according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met. When it is determined according to the preset order of user services that there are no user services whose preconditions are not met before the user service whose preconditions are met, the SFC information is not rearranged.

3. The service function chain (SFC) reordering method based on user intent according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met. When it is determined, according to the preset order of user services, that there are user services whose preconditions are not met before the user services that meet the preconditions, the correlation between the preconditions required for each user service is queried according to the pre-built precondition relationship database. When a correlation is found between the prerequisites required for each user service, the SFC information is not rearranged.

4. The service function chain (SFC) reordering method based on user intent according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met. When it is determined, according to the preset order of user services, that there are user services whose preconditions are not met before the user services that meet the preconditions, the correlation between the preconditions required for each user service is queried according to the pre-built precondition relationship database. When no correlation is found between the prerequisites required for each user service, the dependencies between at least one user service requested by the target user are queried based on a pre-built service relationship database; and When it is found that there is a dependency between at least one user service requested by the target user, the SFC information is not rearranged.

5. The service function chain (SFC) reordering method based on user intent according to claim 1, characterized in that, Obtain the intent service information input by the target user, including: Determine whether there is a conflict between at least one user service provided by the target user's intent request contained in the intent service information; When there is a conflict between at least one user service that the target user intends to request, the at least one user service that the target user intends to request is sent to the user terminal for modification until there is no conflict between at least one user service that the target user intends to request. When there is no conflict between at least one user service requested by the target user, the intent service information input by the target user is obtained.

6. The service function chain (SFC) reordering method based on user intent according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before converting the intent service information into executable SFC information, the method further includes: Receive intent service information input by the user through the user input interface, and return a permission response to the user input interface; Receive intent service information input from the user input interface.

7. A service function chain (SFC) rearrangement device based on user intent, characterized in that, include: The intent service information acquisition module is used to acquire intent service information input by the target user, wherein the intent service information includes: at least one user service requested by the target user and the prerequisites required to provide each user service; The intent service information conversion module is used to convert the intent service information into executable SFC information; The SFC information rearrangement module is used to rearrange the SFC information according to the pre-built prerequisite relationship database, service relationship database and the current network resource allocation of each user service. The prerequisite relationship database is used to store the correlation between the prerequisites required by each user service, and the service relationship database is used to store the dependencies between user services. The SFC information rearrangement module is further used for: Based on the current network resource allocation for each user service, determine whether the prerequisites for providing each user service are met. When it is determined, according to the preset order of user services, that there are user services whose preconditions are not met before the user services that meet the preconditions, the correlation between the preconditions required for each user service is queried according to the pre-built precondition relationship database. When no correlation is found between the prerequisites required for each user service, the dependencies between at least one user service requested by the target user are queried based on a pre-built service relationship database; and When it is found that there is no dependency between at least one user service requested by the target user, the SFC information is rearranged.

8. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: processor; as well as Memory for storing the executable instructions of the processor; The processor is configured to execute the Service Function Chain (SFC) rearrangement method based on user intent as described in any one of claims 1 to 6 by executing the executable instructions.

9. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the Service Function Chain (SFC) rearrangement method based on user intent as described in any one of claims 1 to 6.

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