Message bus data streaming

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to message bus data streaming. According to example embodiments, a network entity may be configured to receive a subscription request from a network element. The subscription request may be a subscription request for an O2 Infrastructure Management Service (O2ims) service, and the O2ims service may include a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) Cloud (O-Cloud) via a message bus. Accordingly, the network entity may be configured to provide the O2ims service to the network element.

Description

MESSAGE BUS DATA STREAMINGCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to the U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 700,801, filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on September 30, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to message bus data streaming.BACKGROUND

[0003] The information disclosed in this background section is only for the enhancement of understanding of the general background of the disclosure and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

[0004] A radio access network (RAN) is an important component in a telecommunications system, as it connects end-user devices (or user equipment) to other parts of the network. The RAN includes a combination of various network entities or network elements (NEs) that connect endusers to a core network. Traditionally, hardware and / or software of a particular RAN is vendorspecific.

[0005] Open RAN (O-RAN) technology has emerged to enable multiple vendors to provide hardware and / or software to a telecommunications system. Since different vendors are involved, the type of hardware and / or software provided may also be different. That is, differenttypes of NEs may be provided by different vendors, and depending on the specific service, the NE could be virtualized in software form, or could be in physical hardware form.SUMMARY

[0006] Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide devices, systems, methods, and the like, that provide or implement RIC-driven energy savings based on spatial and power domain optimizations.

[0007] According to example embodiments, a network entity may be configured to receive a subscription request from a network element. The subscription request may be a subscription request for an 02 Infrastructure Management Service (02ims) service, and the 02ims service may include a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an Open Radio Access Network (0-RAN) Cloud (O-Cloud) via a message bus. Accordingly, the network entity may be configured to provide the 02ims service to the network element.

[0008] According to example embodiments, a method may include receiving a subscription request from a network element. The subscription request may be a subscription request for an 02ims service, and the 02ims service may include a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an O-Cloud via a message bus. The method may further include providing the 02ims service to the network element.

[0009] According to example embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium may have recorded thereon instructions executable by an apparatus to cause the apparatus to perform a method. The method may include receiving a subscription request from a network element. The subscription request may be a subscription request for an 02ims service, and the 02ims service may include a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an O-Cloudvia a message bus. The method may further include providing the 02ims service to the network element.

[0010] According to example embodiments, a network entity may be configured to provide a subscription request to a network element. The subscription request may be a subscription request for an 02ims service, and the 02ims service may include a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an O-Cloud via a message bus. Accordingly, the network entity may be configured to receive the 02ims service from the network element.

[0011] According to example embodiments, a method may include providing a subscription request to a network element. The subscription request may be a subscription request for an 02ims service, and the 02ims service may include a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an O-Cloud via a message bus. The method may further include receiving the 02ims service from the network element.

[0012] According to example embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium may have recorded thereon instructions executable by an apparatus to cause the apparatus to perform a method. The method may include providing a subscription request to a network element. The subscription request may be a subscription request for an 02ims service, and the 02ims service may include a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an O-Cloud via a message bus. The method may further include receiving the 02ims service from the network element.

[0013] Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description that follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be realized by practice of the presented embodiments of the disclosure.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Features, aspects, and advantages of embodiments of the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like elements, and wherein:

[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates a generic Service Based Management Architecture (SBMA), according to one or more example embodiments;

[0016] FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 each illustrates an SBMA of an example use case, according to one or more example embodiments;

[0017] FIG. 4 illustrates an example configuration for implementing one or more example embodiments;

[0018] FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 each illustrates an example method, according to one or more example embodiments;

[0019] FIG. 7 to FIG. 10 each illustrates an example implementation use case that involves a respective data aggregation level, according to one or more example embodiments;

[0020] FIG. 11 illustrates an example use case that involves an 02 IMS data reporting service, according to one or more example embodiments;

[0021] FIG. 12 illustrates an example device for implementing one or more example embodiments; and

[0022] FIG. 13 illustrates an example environment for implementing one or more example embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The following detailed description of example embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings. The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations. Further, one or more features or components of one embodiment may be incorporated into or combined with another embodiment (or one or more features of another embodiment). Additionally, the flowchart and description of operations provided below relate to one of the various embodiments. It should be noted that it is possible to make other embodiments that do not exactly match the flowchart and its description. It is understood that in other embodiments one or more operations may be omitted, one or more operations may be added, one or more operations may be performed simultaneously (at least in part).

[0024] It will be apparent that systems and / or methods, described herein, may be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods is not limited to the described implementations. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and / or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code. It is understood that software and hardware may be designed to implement the systems and / or methods based on the description herein.

[0025] Even though particular combinations of features are disclosed in the claims and / or in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of implementations. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directlydepend on only one claim, the disclosure of implementations includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.

[0026] No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” “include,” “including,” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Furthermore, expressions such as “at least one of [A] and [B]”, “[A] and / or [B]”, or “at least one of [A] or [B]”, are to be understood as including only A, only B, or both A and B.

[0027] Expressions such as “at least one processor,” where configured to implement a plurality of operations, execute a plurality of instructions, etc., are to be understood as a single processor implementing the plurality of operations, etc., or each of plural processors implementing at least some (but not necessarily all) of the plurality of operations, etc. In addition, expressions such as “a processor may be configured to perform an operation,” are to be understood as the processor may be configured to execute computer-executable instructions or programming codes to thereby perform an operation. Namely, the instructions or programming codes may be configured to cause the processor to perform an operation.

[0028] Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “embodiment,” “non-limiting exemplary embodiment,” “example embodiment,” “one or more example embodiments,” “example embodiments,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the indicated embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present solution. Thus, the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in anembodiment,” “in one non-limiting exemplary embodiment,” “according to example embodiments,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

[0029] Further, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the present disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more example embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, in light of the description herein, that the present disclosure can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] Further, it should be noted that, descriptions of example embodiments of the present disclosure may include terms and names defined in one or more standard organizations, such as the Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) Alliance, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard organization, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) standard organization, and the like. For instance, the terms “02,” “IMS,” “O-Cloud,” “SMO,” “PM data,” and the like, as well as the associated features, operations, and messages, are to be interpreted as consistent with those specified in one or more technical specifications, unless being described otherwise.

[0031] As further described below, example embodiments of the present disclosure introduce and specify various example embodiments for implementing message bus technologies for streaming data associated with an O-RAN Cloud (O-Cloud), thereby providing various technical advantages. Amongst others, example embodiments introduce and specify a servicebased architecture that implements a message bus for O-Cloud data streaming, as well as providing various example operations, use cases, and mechanisms for implementing the message bus.Advantageously, example embodiments of the present disclosure specify and supplement several features, mechanisms, and use cases in at least one technical specification associated with the O- RAN Alliance (e.g., O-RAN WG6 specifications, such as WG6 UCR, WG6 GAP, WG6 02 IMS, etc ), thereby introducing clear, specified, and standardized architecture, mechanisms and approaches for implementing the message bus technology for O-Cloud data streaming in 0-RAN- based networks.

[0032] It is contemplated that features, advantages, and significances of example embodiments described herein are merely a portion of the present disclosure, and are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Further descriptions of the features, components, configuration, operations, and implementations of the example embodiments of the present disclosure, as well as the technical advantages provided thereby, are provided in the following.Example System Architecture and Configurations

[0033] FIG. 1 illustrates a Service Based Management Architecture (SBMA) 100, according to one or more example embodiments. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the SBMA 100 is constituted of at least two components, i.e., a first network entity or network element 110 that serves as a Management Service (MnS) producer and a second network entity or network element 120 that serves as an MnS consumer. In this regard, an MnS is a set of services or capabilities for the management and orchestration of network and services. An “MnS producer” is a network entity (or a network element) that produces an MnS, while an “MnS consumer” is a network entity (or a network element) that consumes an MnS. Herein, the terms “network entity” and “network element” may be used interchangeably, unless being described otherwise. For instance, the “first networkentity” may also be referred to as the “first network element”, while the “second network entity” may also be referred to as the “second network element”.

[0034] The first network entity 110 may refer to any suitable entity / element that implements the MnS producer, while the second network entity 120 may refer to any suitable entity / element that implements the MnS consumer. For instance, the first network entity 110 and / or the second network entity 120 may include a logical entity (e.g., a Network Function (NF), a Management Function (MnF), etc.) that plays the role of the MnS producer and / or MnS consumer, a physical entity (e.g., a server, a device, etc.) that implements the operations of the MnS producer and / or MnS consumer, or a combination thereof. Thus, it can be understood that the “first network entity” and “second network entity” described herein may refer to the respective logical entity and / or the underlying hardware component.

[0035] According to example embodiments, the first network entity 110 may produce or provide management services (e.g., performance management services, configuration management services, fault supervision services, etc.) to the second network entity 120. The second network entity 120 may consume the management services, and may in turn produce or expose the management services to other network entities. The first entity 110 and the second entity 120 may interact and communicate with each other in various ways. For instance, in a “request-response” approach, the second network entity 120 may send a request to the first network entity 110 to invoke or request for an operation (e.g., a request to perform an action, a request to provide information, etc.), and the first network entity 110 may then provide a response based on the request. In a “subscribe-notify” approach, the second network entity 120 may send a subscription request to the first network entity 110 to establish a subscription to receive service or information (e.g., network events, performance data, etc.) from the first network entity (e g., uponestablishing the subscription, the first network entity 110 may provide the association information to the second network entity 120 when an associated condition is met). In a “connect-streaming” approach, the first network entity 110 may be first be provided with the information (e.g., address, etc.) of the second network entity 120, and then establish a connection with the second network entity 120 for data streaming (e.g., the first network entity 110 may send the data to the second network entity via the established connection when the data are ready).

[0036] In the related art, when the first network entity 110 includes an entity associated with an 0-RAN Cloud (O-Cloud), the data communication among the first network entity 110 and the second network entity 120 is performed via WebSocket-based data streaming and / or File Transfer Protocol (FTP) file transfer. For instance, the first network entity 110 may include an Infrastructure Management Service (IMS) of the O-Cloud that may provide performance management reporting to the second network entity 120 via the 02 interface (“02-IMS PM data reporting” herein), by utilizing WebSocket-based data streaming and / or FTP -based file transfer. Nevertheless, as described below, the WebSocket-based data streaming and FTP -based file transfer in the related art are no longer suitable and optimal for handling the data transmission among the O-Cloud and other network entities.

[0037] To begin with, in cloud native deployment, a network entity (e.g., a NF, etc.) is implemented in many micro-services and the associated workload instances are running in parallel, dynamically scaled in and out, and may be distributed across multiple server nodes and cloud sites. In this regard, due to the large scale cloud native deployment, the number of network entities hosted within the O-Cloud is significantly increasing, leading to a massive amount of data transmitted among the O-Cloud and other network entities (e.g., SMO). Thus, a data streamingframework with high efficiency, high availability, high throughput, high scalability, and high faulttolerance, is desired for sharing data between O-Cloud and other network entities (e.g., SMO, etc.).

[0038] In this regard, Web Socket-based data streaming and FTP -based file transfer in the related art were designed for point-to-point traffic, i.e., each data communication from the O-Cloud establishes a single point-to-point connection to each of the associated network entities for data communication. When the amount of data communication increases, the point-to-point connection protocol becomes a bottleneck and the network load increases drastically.

[0039] Further, the traffic aggregation point of Web Socket-based data streaming and FTPbased file transfer in the related art is difficult to scale dynamically and is inefficient for a cloudnative environment. In addition, there are no data sharing mechanisms in Web Socket-based data streaming and FTP -based file transfer in the related art. For instance, if three network entities desire the same data stream from the O-Cloud, the O-Cloud may send the data stream three times, leading to inefficient resource (e.g., computing power, bandwidth, etc.) utilization.

[0040] Furthermore, WebSocket-based data streaming and FTP -based file transfer in the related art also have limited transport resiliency and fault tolerance (e.g., when a network entity is restarted due to a fault, the data in communication may be lost). Additionally, WebSocket-based data streaming and FTP-based file transfer in the related art also maintain a persistent connection with keep-alive messages overhead, which may increase the network load and result in suboptimal network resource utilization (e.g., a significant amount of bandwidth may be used to carry the keep-alive messages, which reduces the bandwidth for carrying user data, etc.).

[0041] Last but not least, since WebSocket-based data streaming and FTP -based file transfer in the related art are managed by application layer, i.e., all connection aspects such as connection establishments, parallel streaming, scaling, resiliency, load balancing, and the like,have to be developed and deployed in the application layer, leading to huge development timeline and high maintenance cost for adapting the Web Socket-based data streaming and FTP -based file transfer to cloud environment.

[0042] In this regard, example embodiments of the present disclosure implement message bus technologies to transmit data between a network entity associated with an O-Cloud (e.g., the first network entity 110) and another network entity / network element (e.g., the second network entity 120). Specifically, a message bus is a logical entity that utilizes a publish-and-subscribe approach for data communication and may be constituted of one or more message brokers (or one or more clusters of message brokers), which are the hardware components (e.g., servers, computing devices, etc.) and / or software components (e.g., virtual machines, software applications, etc.) that implement the operations of the message bus (e.g., storing topic’s data, replicating messages for a topic, routing the data to subscribers, etc.). Each of the message brokers may maintain or manage an append-only log for every topic it hosts (e.g., when a message broker receives a message for “CPU usage” topic, the message broker may simply write that message to the end of the topic’s ongoing log, thereby adding the new entries / contexts without changing the earlier entries / contexts). Further descriptions associated with message bus and message broker are provided below with reference to FIG. 4.

[0043] As a non-limiting example, the second network entity 120 (i.e., theMnS Consumer) may send a subscription request (e.g., a request to create a subscription) to the first network entity 110 (i.e., MnS producer) to notify the first network entity 110 of the desired O-Cloud data to stream (e.g., performance measurement (PM) data, fault data, etc.) and the associated message bus parameters (e.g., streaming session identifier (ID), message broker endpoints, target topic name, etc ). Accordingly, the first network entity 1 10 may publish O-Cloud data (e.g., via a message-busclient implemented by the first network entity 110) to the associated message broker(s) whenever the O-Cloud data is ready. The O-Cloud data may be published in a self-contained message (e.g., a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) record, etc.) to an associated topic (e.g., PM data, fault data, etc.) on the associated message broker(s). The associated message broker(s) may then append the message to one or more logs associated with the topic. Accordingly, the second network entity 120 may communicate with the associated message broker(s) (e.g., via a message-bus client implemented by the second network entity 120) and subscribe to the desired topic(s), thereby streaming the O-Cloud data therefrom without any point-to-point interaction with the first network entity 110.

[0044] In some example embodiments, the message bus may be implemented based on any suitable open-source streaming systems, platforms, or approaches, such as Apache Kafka. Specifically, a Kafka-based message bus may divide the message bus operations between a Kafka client and a Kafka broker, where the Kafka client may include a library that utilized by the network entities (e.g., the first network entity 110 may utilize a producer client and the second network entity 120 may utilize a consumer client) and the Kafka broker may be utilized by a message broker. In this regard, when the first network entity 110 publishes the O-Cloud data, the associated Kafka client may communicate with the Kafka broker and provide the O-Cloud data thereto. On the other hand, when the second network entity 120 streams the O-Cloud data, the associated Kafka client may communicate with the Kafka broker and fetch the O-Cloud data therefrom. In other words, the Kafka broker enables a message bus to provide the publish-subscribe data communication while the Kafka client enables the network entities to publish and consume data therefrom.

[0045] Referring still to FIG. 1, there are at least two types of communication between the first network entity 1 10 and the second network entity 120, i.e., a bidirectional control planecommunication and a unidirectional data plane communication, both of which may be implemented via the message bus data communication described above. Specifically, during the control plane communication, the second network entity 120 may provide a subscription request (which may include information specifying the desired O-Cloud data, message bus parameters, etc.) to the first network entity 110 via the 02 interface. On the other hand, during the data plane communication, the first network entity 110 may provide the O-Cloud data (or an associated service) to the second network entity 120 via publishing the O-Cloud data (or information on the associated service) to the associated message broker(s).

[0046] FIG. 2 illustrates an SBMA of a first example use case 200, according to one or more example embodiments. This example use case may illustrate, in the service-layer, the implementation of a message bus for streaming data associated with one or more 02 Infrastructure Management Service (02ims) services, such as services associated with infrastructure inventory (e.g., O-Cloud information query, O-Cloud inventory event notification, etc.), infrastructure monitoring (e.g., resource-health metric monitoring, alarm-event subscription, etc.), infrastructure lifecycle management (e.g., service on-boarding and de-commissioning, etc.), infrastructure software management (e.g., software / firmware update, vulnerability patching, etc.), infrastructure performance (e.g., performance measurement (PM), PM reporting, etc ), and the like.

[0047] In example use case 200, a data streaming service for streaming PM data associated with the O-Cloud is utilized as an example of the 02ims services, although it can be understood that example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be applicable to implement message bus data streaming for data of any other suitable 02ims services. In this regard, an Open Radio Access Network (0-RAN) may refer to a network with disaggregated architecture and open interfaces comply with those defined by the O-RAN Alliance. For instance, 0-RAN disaggregatesthe network functions into various components (e.g., Service Management and Orchestration(SMO) framework, O-RAN Central Unit (O-CU), O-RAN Distributed Unit (O-DU), etc.) that communicate and interoperate with each other via various open interfaces (e.g., Al interface, E2 interface, 01 interface, 02 interface, etc.). In this regard, an O-Cloud may be a cloud-computing platform that comprises a collection of physical infrastructures and network nodes that host the O- RAN components (e.g., SMO, O-CU, O-DU, etc.), the supporting software components (e.g., the operating systems and runtime environments), and the like. According to example embodiments, the PM data may refer to the data that defines the performance metrics or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) associated with the infrastructures or resources of the O-Cloud. For instance, the PM data may include data that defines the utilization of the computing resources (e.g., central processing power (CPU), number of processing cores, etc.), status of the memory and storage (e.g., utilized memory / storage against the installed / available capacity, read / write speed and latency, etc.), the uplink and / or downlink throughput, packet-loss and error rates, energy consumption, and the like.

[0048] Referring to FIG. 2, the SBMA of example use case 200 may involve an 02-IMS producer 210 (i.e., an MnS producer of one or more 02ims services) and an 02-IMS consumer 220 (i.e., an MnS consumer of one or more 02ims services provided or exposed by the 02-IMS producer 210). The 02-IMS producer 210 and 02-IMS consumer 220 may correspond to the first network entity or network element 110 and second network entity or network element 120 in FIG. 1, respectively.

[0049] As illustrated in FIG. 2, similar to the network entities / network elements in FIG. 1, there are two types of communication between the 02-IMS producer 210 and the 02-IMS consumer 220, i.e., a bidirectional communication and a unidirectional communication, both ofwhich may be implemented via the message bus data communication or streaming described above with reference to FIG. 1.

[0050] In example use case 200, the bidirectional communication may refer to a control plane communication where the 02-IMS consumer 220 communicates with the 02-IMS producer 210 via the 02 interface to perform a data subscription to PM data of the O-Cloud. For instance, the 02-IMS consumer 220 may provide a subscription request (e.g., a request to create a subscription) for the PM data streaming service (illustrated as “PM subscription” in FIG. 2) to the 02-IMS producer 210 via the 02 interface, and the 02-IMS producer 210 may respond with an acknowledge message to the 02-IMS consumer 220 via the 02 interface. For instance, the 02- IMS consumer 220 may send a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request (which includes information defining the desired PM metrics or parameters, the message bus / broker parameters, etc.) to the 02-IMS producer 210 via the 02 interface, and the 02-IMS producer 210 may respond to the request with an HTTP response (e g., a success response, an error response, etc.) via the 02 interface. In some example implementations, the 02-IMS consumer 220 may provide (in the subscription request) the message bus information, such as a message broker endpoint (e.g., IP endpoint of a primary message broker, IP endpoint of a candidate message broker, etc.), a streaming session ID (e.g., a topic ID for Kafka, etc ), along with other data subscription parameters (e.g., consumer performance subscription ID, resource and resources types, measurement selection criteria, report format, callback, measurement reporting frequency, remote file location, etc.).

[0051] Upon accepting the subscription request from the 02-IMS consumer 220 and responding thereto, the 02-IMS producer 210 may create the subscription based on the information provided by the 02-IMS consumer 220. For instance, the 02-IMS producer 210 may store thestreaming session ID(s) and the message broker endpoint(s), alongside with the information of the desired PM data (e.g., topic name, etc.). Further, the 02-IMS consumer 220 may also update the associated filter criteria, such that non-desirable data may be filtered out when required. Accordingly, the 02-IMS producer 210 may monitor the O-Cloud resources (or the associated entities such as the O-Cloud inventory, fault buffers, performance data collectors, etc.) for PM data that matches the subscription (e.g., PM data that matches the topic ID or topic name of the desired PM data, etc ). Upon determining PM data that matches the subscription, the 02-IMS producer 210 may collect the PM data and publish the PM data to the associated message broker(s). For instance, the 02-IMS producer 210 may compile or batch the PM data in a message (e.g., a JSON message), attaching the streaming session ID to the message, and route the message to a message broker specified by the message broker endpoint.

[0052] According to example embodiments, the 02-IMS producer 210 may serialize the collected data into one or more formats, before publishing the data to the message bus. For instance, the 02-IMS producer 210 may support one or more of the following serialization formats: Prometheus, Remote Procedure Call (RPC) / gRPC, JSON, Extensible Markup Language (XML), Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN. l), and any other suitable O-RAN-specific serialization format. Advantageously, the serialization of the data may convert the data into a standardized format that is suitable for storage and transmission, thereby increasing the implementation flexibility. In addition to or in alternative to data serialization, the 02-IMS producer 210 may also compress the collected / serialized data, thereby optimizing the bandwidth for publishing the data. In this regard, the 02-IMS producer 210 may support one or more of the following compression algorithms: Zstandard (zstd), GNU zip (gzip), Lempel-Ziv (LZ) 4, Snappy, and the like. The serialization format and compression algorithm may be negotiated and decided between the O-Cloud and the management system / entity (e g., SMO, etc.) in runtime. According to example implementations where Prometheus is utilized as the data collector or aggregator, the data collected / aggregated by Prometheus would be in simple text-based syntax which, when being combined with the gzip / zstd compression, provides an efficient and effective compression result. Thus, when Prometheus is utilized, the 02-IMS producer 210 may not perform data serialization to convert the data and may directly compress the data aggregated / collected by Prometheus.

[0053] The 02-IMS producer 210 may include any suitable network entity / network element associated with an O-Cloud and is capable of producing and providing one or more 02ims services to the 02-IMS consumer 220. On the other hand, the 02-IMS consumer 220 may include any suitable network entity / network element that may consume the one or more O2ims services provided by the 02-IMS producer 210.

[0054] FIG. 3 illustrates an SBMA of a second example use case 300, according to one or more example embodiments. In example use case 300, an Infrastructure Management Service (IMS) 311 of an O-Cloud 310 is utilized as an example of the 02-IMS producer, and a Federated O-Cloud Orchestration and Management (FOCOM) 321 of an SMO 320 is utilized as an example of the 02-IMS consumer. It is contemplated that, in the actual implementation, the 02-IMS producer may include any other suitable entities / elements capable of providing 02ims service(s) and the 02-IMS consumer may include any other entities / elements in the O-RAN architecture that may consume the 02ims service(s).

[0055] The SMO 320 may refer to the automation layer or framework within an O-RAN architecture, which may apply intelligence and closed-loop control to manage, configure, and optimize the underlying O-RAN components (e.g., O-CU, O-DU, O-RAN Radio Unit (O-RU), etc ). On the other hand, as described above with reference to FIG. 2, the O-Cloud may be acollection of physical network nodes that host the O-RAN components (e.g., SMO, O-CU, O-DU, etc.), the supporting software components (e.g., the operating systems and runtime environments), and the like. The O-Cloud 310 (and the IMS 311 associated therewith) may communicate with the SMO 320 (and the FOCOM 321 associated therewith) via the 02 interface.

[0056] The IMS 311 may refer to the network entity / network element that acts as the management-service endpoint within the O-Cloud 310. For instance, the IMS 311 may expose one or more 02ims services to the SMO 320 / FOCOM 321 (via one or more Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), etc.), such that the SMO 320 / FOCOM 321 may subscribe to the 02ims service(s), query the O-Cloud inventory, perform lifecycle management (e.g., power-on, software update, etc.) to the underlying O-Cloud resources, and the like.

[0057] The FOCOM 321 may refer to the network entity / network element that acts as the endpoint within the SMO 320 that communicates with the IMS 311. For instance, the FOCOM 321 may communicate with multiple O-Clouds via interacting with the associated IMS, while abstracting each IMS into a single federated view (e.g., aggregating and unifying data from different O-Clouds into a single inventory, presenting the aggregated data as a common set of resource types, etc.), thereby enabling the SMO’s higher-level network functions (e.g., RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), etc.) to control the O-Clouds without being tied to any specific cloud vendor.

[0058] The SMO 320 may obtain data from the O-Cloud 310 by implementing the FOCOM 321 (i.e., the 02-IMS consumer within the SMO 320), and then provide management to the O-Cloud 310 based on the obtained data. For instance, the FOCOM 321 may communicate with the IMS 311 via the 02 interface, subscribe to an 02ims service (e.g., message bus-based PM data streaming service, etc ), and consume the subscribed 02ims service (e.g., streaming the PMdata via a message bus, etc.). Accordingly, the FOCOM 321 may process the obtained data (e.g., standardize the terminologies in the data, etc.) and provide the processed data to other entities or network functions of the SMO 320 (e.g., RIC, etc.) for further utilization. Accordingly, when said other entities / network functions of the SMO 320 would like to perform a management action on the O-Cloud 310, the FOCOM 321 may again communicate with the IMS 311 via the 02 interface, thereby enabling the SMO 320 to communicate with the O-Cloud 310 and manage the O-Cloud 310 accordingly.

[0059] The FOCOM 321 may provide, to the IMS 311 via the 02 interface, a subscription request for an 02ims service (e.g., a data streaming service for streaming data associated with the O-Cloud 310 via a message bus), and the IMS 311 may provide the 02ims service to the FOCOM 321 via the message bus (according to the subscription request). The operations for providing and consuming an 02ims service via a message bus have been described above with reference to at least FIG. 2, thus further descriptions associated therewith may be omitted below for conciseness.

[0060] FIG. 4 illustrates an example configuration 400 for implementing one or more example embodiments. Specifically, the example configuration 400 illustrates a multipoint-to- multipoint data communication via implementing a message bus, according to one or more example embodiments.

[0061] As illustrated in FIG. 4, example configuration 400 may include a plurality of O- Cloud data producers 410, a plurality of O-Cloud data consumers 420, and at least one message bus 430. The O-Cloud data producers 410 may include a plurality of 02-IMS producers 410-1 to 410-N (where N is any suitable natural number), each of which may be similar to the first network entity / network element or 02-IMS producer described above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3. The O-Cloud data consumers 420 may include a plurality of 02-IMS consumers 420-1 to 420-N(where N is any suitable natural number), each of which may be similar to the second network entity / network element or 02-IMS consumer described above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3.

[0062] As described above with reference to FIG. 1, the message bus 430 may be a logical entity that is constituted of a plurality of message brokers 430-1 to 430-N (where N is any suitable natural number). Each of the message brokers 430-1 to 430-N may include one or more hardware components (e.g., servers, computing devices, etc.) and / or one or more software components (e.g., virtual machines, software applications, etc.) that implement the operations of the message bus 430 (e.g., storing topic’ s data, replicating messages for a topic, routing the data to subscribers, etc.). Each of the message brokers 430-1 to 430-N may maintain or manage an append-only log for every topic it hosts.

[0063] Further, as illustrated in FIG. 4, each of the plurality of 02-IMS producers 410-1 to 410-N and / or each of the plurality of 02-IMS consumers 420-1 to 420-N may communicate with the plurality of message brokers 430-1 to 430-N in parallel. In this regard, one or more of the plurality of 02-IMS producers 410-1 to 410-N may send data to multiple message brokers simultaneously. For instance, the 02-IMS producer 410-1 may simultaneously send data to the message brokers 430-1 and 430-N. Similarly, a message broker may also receive data from multiple 02-IMS producers simultaneously. For instance, the message broker 430-1 may simultaneously receive data from the 02-IMS producers 410-1 and 410-N. In addition, one or more of the plurality of 02-IMS consumers 420-1 to 420-N may receive or stream data from multiple message brokers simultaneously. For instance, the 02-IMS consumer 420-1 may simultaneously receive or stream data from the message brokers 430-1 and 430-N. Descriptions of the operations and data (e.g., subscription request form the 02-IMS consumer that includes the message bus parameters and intended data, message from the O2-IMS producer that includes thecollected data and streaming session ID, etc.) have been provided above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3. Thus, further descriptions associated therewith may be omitted below for conciseness.

[0064] According to example embodiments, the plurality of message brokers 430-1 to 430- N may be the same type of message brokers (e.g., all message brokers are Kafka-based message brokers, etc.) or different types of message brokers (e.g., the message broker 430-1 may be a Kafka-based message broker while the message broker 430-N may include a message broker based on another technology, etc.).

[0065] According to example embodiments, one or more data collectors may be implemented to collect data and forward the same to the message bus 430. The data collector(s) may be implemented as a data exposure network function in software form (e.g., a virtualized or containerized network function), in hardware form (e.g., a device or apparatus that implements the data exposure network function), or a combination thereof. Further, the data collector(s) may be hosted in the O-Cloud (or an O-Cloud node), in a network entity / node located between the O- Cloud data producers 410 and the message bus 430, or a combination thereof. In addition, the data collector(s) may include a data log or a data collection tool that is based on any suitable technology (e.g., Prometheus, Zabbix, etc.). Further, the message bus streaming operations may also involve data collection / aggregation, with or without the data collector(s), according to various data hierarchy options (e.g., site-level data aggregation, cluster-level data aggregation, node group- level data aggregation, node-level data aggregation, etc.). Several example use cases associated with message bus streaming that involve data aggregation according to various data hierarchy options are described below with reference to FIG. 7 to FIG. 10.

[0066] Further, example embodiments also introduce various data streaming modes via the message bus 430 (or the message brokers 430-1 to 430-N). For instance, by implementing themessage bus data streaming, the example embodiments enable periodic data streaming and eventbased data streaming, without requiring persistent connection or periodic reconnection between the data / service producer (e.g., one or more of O2-IMS producer 410-1 to 410-N) and the data / service consumer (e.g., one or more of 02-IMS consumer 420-1 to 420-N). Specifically, since the message bus data streaming may utilize file-based reporting, the data / service producer may upload or publish the data to the message bus whenever the data is ready and the data / service consumer may download or stream the data from the message bus (based on periodic polling and / or in response to an event notification) whenever the data is available or is needed.

[0067] Advantageously, by implementing the message bus 430, multiple message brokers 430-1 to 430-N can exist simultaneously with parallel connections to the O-Cloud data producers 410 and the O-Cloud data consumers 420 to scale up the transport capacity. Further, the number of parallel streaming connections with the message broker may be scaled in and out dynamically depending on the real-time demand. Furthermore, additional redundant message brokers and connections may be implemented to provide fault protection and resiliency.

[0068] To this end, example embodiments introduce various system configurations for implementing message bus data streaming for data communication between cloud native network functions (e.g., network functions implemented by the O-Cloud) and any other suitable network entities / network elements (e.g., SMO, etc.), thereby providing various technical advantages. To begin with, by implementing the message bus, example embodiments enable a network entity associated with an O-Cloud (e.g., an 02-IMS producer) to stream the O-Cloud data (e.g., PM data, etc.) to the message bus whenever the data is ready, while also enabling another network entity that subscribes to the O-Cloud data (e.g., an 02-IMS consumer) to stream the O-Cloud data from the message bus whenever the data is desired. Further, example embodiments also decouple theproduction of O-Cloud data from the consumption of O-Cloud data. Accordingly, the O-Cloud data may be published (by the 02-IMS producer) once, and any number of network entities (e.g., multiple 02-IMS consumers) may subscribe to the same data. Advantageously, example embodiments may enable multipoint-to-multipoint streaming with data sharing, removing the performance bottleneck (as in the WebSocket-based data streaming and FTP -based file transfer in the prior art).

[0069] As yet another additional technical advantage, since the number of message buses (or the message brokers associated therewith) may be scaled dynamically according to the realtime (or near-real-time) demand, example embodiments may improve the scalability and flexibility of the data streaming framework for O-Cloud data communication. Further, as yet another technical advantage, since the message bus may support any type of message broker implementation (e.g., Kafka, vendor-specific, etc.), the message bus (or the message broker associated therewith) may be highly distributed. Furthermore, as yet another technical advantage, a redundant message bus (or redundant message broker) may be easily added to provide redundancy for improving fault-tolerance and resiliency to protect against streaming failures. Further still, as yet another technical advantage, since the example embodiments support both periodic streaming and event-based streaming without requiring persistent connection / reconnection between the data producer and consumer nor a keep-alive message, example embodiments may enable effective and efficient streaming of a large amount of O-Cloud data. In addition, as yet another technical advantage, example embodiments also support multiple data hierarchy options for aggregating and publishing the data, thereby improving the implementation flexibility.

[0070] To this end, example embodiments introduce several mechanisms and approaches to effectively and efficiently implement the message bus-based O-cloud data streaming. It is contemplated that the operations and features described above are merely examples, and the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited thereto.Example Methods and Operations

[0071] Several example methods and operations for implementing message bus-based O- cloud data streaming, according to one or more example embodiments, are described below with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. One or more features, parameters, and operations associated with FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 may be similar to or involve one or more features, parameters, and operations described above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, thus redundant descriptions associated therewith may be omitted below for conciseness.

[0072] For descriptive purposes, the methods and operations may be mainly described as being performed by one or more specific network entities, elements or components, although it can be understood that, in actual implementations, another related network entity(s) may perform similar / related operations, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For instance, an operation of a network entity providing a data to a message broker may suggest or indicate an operation of the message broker receiving the data from the network entity, and the like.

[0073] According to example embodiments, one or more operations of described herein may be implemented in one or more devices or hardware components. For instance, the network entity or network element, such as the IMS of O-Cloud or FOCOM of SMO (or one or more associated operations), may be implemented in an apparatus or a device that includes a processor and a memory storage (or any other suitable storage mediums), wherein the memory storage mayinclude computer-executable instructions which, when being executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform one or more operations associated therewith.

[0074] FIG. 5 illustrates a first example method 500, according to one or more example embodiments. One or more operations in method 500 may be implemented by a network entity or network element that implements an 02ims producer, such as the first network entity (in FIG. 1), the 02-IMS producer (in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4), the IMS (in FIG. 3), and the like. According to example embodiments, the network entity / network element may include an IMS of an O-Cloud.

[0075] Referring to FIG. 5, at operation S510, the network entity may be configured to receive, from another network entity / network element, a subscription request (e.g., a request to create a subscription, etc.) for an 02ims service. The 02ims service may include a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an O-Cloud via a message bus, and / or any other suitable 02ims services described above with reference to FIG. 2. Assuming that the 02ims service includes the data streaming service, the data associated with the O-Cloud may include, for example, performance measurement (PM) data on the O-Cloud (e.g., PM data on one or more O-Cloud resources, etc.). According to example embodiments, the data streaming service may include or perform at least one of: a periodic data streaming or an event-based streaming.

[0076] According to example embodiments, the another network entity or network element may implement an 02ims consumer, such as the second network entity or network element (in FIG. 1), the 02-IMS consumer (in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4), the FOCOM of an SMO (in FIG. 3), and the like. In this regard, the network entity may receive the subscription request from the another network entity via an 02 interface. Further, the subscription request may include information on a streaming session identifier (ID) (e.g., topic ID for Kafka, etc.) and a message broker endpoint(e g., an endpoint of a primary message broker, an endpoint of a candidate message broker, etc.).

[0077] Referring still to FIG. 5, upon receiving the subscription request from the another network entity / network element, at operation S520, the network entity / network element may be configured to provide the 02ims service to the another network entity / network element (according to the subscription). As illustrated in FIG. 5, operation S520 may further include operations S521 and S522, i.e., the network entity may be configured to provide the 02ims service by performing operations S521 and S522.

[0078] At operation S521, the network entity / network element may be configured to obtain the data from one or more nodes associated with the O-Cloud. As described above, in some example embodiments, the network entity / network element may (but not necessarily) implement a data collector / aggregator to obtain or aggregate the data. According to example embodiments, the network entity / network element may be configured to obtain the data by aggregating the data according to at least one of: a cloud site level, a node cluster level, a node group level, or a node level.

[0079] According to example embodiments, the network entity / network element may be configured to obtain or collect the data for a streaming session identified by the streaming session ID (included in the subscription request received at operation S510). Specifically, the network entity / network element may collect data that is relevant to a specific active subscription (that is identified and tracked by the network entity based on the streaming session ID). For instance, the network entity / network element may collect the data from the O-Cloud nodes and evaluate the collected data against the active subscription associated with the streaming session ID. If the collected data matches the criteria of a given session in the active subscription, the network entity / network element may associate the collected data with the corresponding streaming session ID (e.g., compile or batch the collected data in a message and then attach the streaming session IDto the message, etc.). In this way, the network entity may / network element may ensure that only the data associated with the subscription is published to the associated message broker and enable the another network entity / network element (e.g., the service consumer) to track, obtain, and utilize the data from the message broker as part of the specific active subscription.

[0080] Upon obtaining the data, at operation S522, the network entity / network element may be configured to provide the data to a message broker. For instance, the network entity / network element may publish the collected data to a message broker specified by the message broker endpoint (included in the subscription received at operation S510). The message broker endpoint may include information (e.g., network address, topic name, etc.) specifying the message broker where the another network entity / network element expects to receive or stream the data. By utilizing the message broker endpoint, the network entity / network element may ensure that the data (or the message that includes the data) is routed to the correct message broker and topic.

[0081] FIG. 6 illustrates a second example method 600, according to one or more example embodiments. One or more operations in method 600 may be implemented by a network entity or network element that implements an 02ims consumer, such as the second network entity or network element (in FIG. 1), the 02-IMS consumer (in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4), the FOCOM of an SMO (in FIG. 3), and the like. According to example embodiments, the network entity / network element may include a FOCOM of an SMO. Further, one or more operations in method 600 may be implemented by the “another network entity / network element ” described above with reference to FIG. 5, along with one or more operations in FIG. 5 in any suitable sequential manner. For instance, operation S610 in method 600 may be implemented prior to operation S510 in method500, operation S620 in method 600 may be implemented subsequent to operation S520 in method500, and the like.

[0082] Referring to FIG. 6, at operation S610, the network entity or network element may be configured to provide, to another network entity or network element, a subscription request (e.g., a request to create a subscription, etc.) for an 02ims service. The 02ims service may include a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an O-Cloud via a message bus, and / or any other suitable 02ims services described above with reference to FIG. 2. Assuming that the 02ims service includes the data streaming service, the data associated with the O-Cloud may include, for example, performance measurement (PM) data on the O-Cloud (e.g., PM data on one or more O-Cloud resources, etc.). According to example embodiments, the data streaming service may include or perform at least one of a periodic data streaming or an event-based streaming.

[0083] According to example embodiments, the another network entity or network element may implement an 02ims producer, such as the first network entity or network element (in FIG. 1), the 02-IMS producer (in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4), the IMS (in FIG. 3), and the like. In this regard, the network entity may provide the subscription request to the another network entity or network element via an 02 interface. Further, the subscription request may include information on a streaming session identifier (ID) (e.g., topic ID for Kafka, etc.) and a message broker endpoint (e.g., an endpoint of a primary message broker, an endpoint of a candidate message broker, etc.).

[0084] Referring still to FIG. 6, upon providing the subscription request to the another network entity or network element, at operation S620, the network entity or network element may be configured to receive the 02ims service from the another network entity / network element (according to the subscription). As illustrated in FIG. 6, operation S620 may further includeoperations S621 and S622, i.e., the network entity / network element may be configured to receive the 02ims service by performing operations S621 and S622.

[0085] At operation S621 , the network entity / network element may be configured to access a message broker specified by the message broker endpoint (included in the subscription request provided at operation S610). Specifically, since the another network entity / network element (i.e., the 02-IMS producer) may publish the data to the message broker based on the message broker endpoint (e.g., network address, topic name, etc.) provided by the network entity / network element (i.e., 02-IMS consumer), the network entity / network element may expect that the data of the subscribed O2ims service can be received or streamed from the message broker specified by the provided message broker endpoint.

[0086] According to example embodiments, the network entity / network element may communicate with the message broker (specified by the message broker endpoint) in various ways. For instance, the network entity / network element may actively communicate with the message broker on a pull-based basis, i.e., the network entity / network element (i.e., the 02ims consumer) may periodically poll the message broker to check for new data (e.g., new messages published by the 02ims producer that include the desired data). As a non-limiting example, the network entity / network element may send requests / queries to the message broker at regular intervals, and the message broker may then respond with information on the available data. Additionally or alternatively, the network entity / network element may (but not necessarily) communicate with the message broker on a push-based basis, i.e., when new data is available, the message broker may pushes the new data to the network entity / network element (or provide a notification to inform the network entity that new data is available).

[0087] Upon accessing the message broker, at operation S622, the network entity / network element may be configured to obtain, from the message broker, data associated with the streaming session ID (included in the subscription request provided at operation S610). For instance, the network entity / network element may retrieves data (or messages) associated with one or more active subscriptions, and then filter the data based on the streaming session ID, thereby ensuring that only the data relevant to the specific subscription (e.g., data associated with the O-Cloud produced via the 02ims service subscribed based on the subscription request provided at operation S610, etc.) are retrieved / streamed.

[0088] In view of the above, example embodiments provide methods and operations for effectively implementing the message bus-based O-Cloud data streaming, thereby providing various technical advantages. To begin with, operations of method 500 in FIG. 5 may be implemented by a network entity or network element (that acts as an 02-IMS producer) to effectively and efficiently receive one or more subscription requests from another network entity or network element (that acts as an 02-IMS consumer) and provide the associated 02ims service to the another network entity / network element according to the one or more subscription requests. On the other hand, operations of method 600 in FIG. 6 may be implemented by a network entity or network element (that acts as an 02-IMS consumer) to effectively and efficiently provide one or more subscription requests to another network entity / network element (that acts as an 02-IMS producer) and receive the associated 02ims service from the another network entity or network element according to the one or more subscription requests. Further technical advantages of implementing message bus data streaming have been described above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, and it is contemplated that similar technical advantages may be applicable by implementing the methods and operations of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6.

[0089] It is contemplated that the methods and operations described above with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, as well as the technical advantages associated therewith, are merely examples, and the example embodiments may be applicable to any other suitable operations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.Example Implementation Use Cases

[0090] Several example use cases for implementing one or more example embodiments are described below with reference to FIG. 7 to FIG. 11. One or more example use cases described below may involve one or more components, entities, operations, parameters, and / or configurations described above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4. Additionally or alternatively, one or more example use cases described below may involve one or more methods described above with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. Thus, it is contemplated that the example use cases in FIG. 7 to FIG. 11 may achieve one or more technical advantages described above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 6.

[0091] FIG. 7 to FIG. 10 each illustrates an example implementation use case that involves a respective data aggregation level, according to one or more example embodiments. For descriptive and illustrative purposes, FIG. 7 to FIG. 10 each includes (1) a message bus-based implementation configuration (illustrated in solid lines) that shows the interaction between the 02- IMS service producer and 02-IMS service consumer via the message bus, and (2) a service-based implementation configuration (illustrated in dotted lines) that shows the direct, service-layer interaction between the 02-IMS service producer and 02-IMS service consumer over the 02 interface.

[0092] FIG. 7 illustrates an example implementation use case 700 that involves site-level data aggregation, according to one or more example embodiments. As shown in FIG. 7, exampleuse case 700 may involve an O-Cloud 710 that includes an IMS service producer 711 (which may be similar to the 02-IMS producer described above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 6) in the service-based configuration level. The IMS service producer 711 may include an IMS of the O- Cloud 710. The O-Cloud 710 may communicate with an SMO 720 that includes a FOCOM 721 (via 02 interface). The FOCOM 721 may play the role of an IMS service consumer (which may be similar to the 02-IMS consumer described above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 6). The IMS service producer 711 may provide an 02ims service to the FOCOM 721.

[0093] In example use case 700, the O-Cloud may be constituted of a plurality of O-Cloud sites 730-1 to 730-N (where N is any suitable natural number). Each of the O-Cloud sites 730-1 to 730-N may include a plurality of node groups 740-1 to 740-N (where N is any suitable natural number) and may implement a data exposure function 750, while each of the node groups 740-1 to 740-N may include a plurality of nodes 741-1 to 741-N (where N is any suitable natural number). The plurality of nodes 741-1 to 741-N may include any suitable O-Cloud nodes, such as computing devices (e.g., servers equipped with CPUs, memory, and storages, devices that host virtualized / containerized network functions like O-CU, 0-DU, SMO, etc.), accelerator devices (e.g., graphic processing units (GPUs), etc.), and the like.

[0094] The data exposure function 750 may include a software component (e.g., virtualized / containerized network functions, a software application, etc.), a hardware component (e g., a computing device that hosts or executes the software-based data exposure function, etc.), or a combination thereof, that may be configured to aggregate and collect data from each node within the associated O-Cloud site and then publish the collected data to the plurality of message brokers 760. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the data exposure function 750 may include a data collector 751 and a message broker client 752.

[0095] The data collector 751 may be configured to communicate with the nodes within the O-Cloud site 730-1 and collect data (e.g., PM data, fault data, etc.) therefrom. According to example embodiments, the data collector 751 may also be configured to process the collected data (e.g., serialize the collected data, compress the collected / serialized data, etc.). In some example implementations, the data collector 751 may include a data logging tool / device or an open-source monitoring tool like Prometheus. Assuming that Prometheus is used as the data collector 751, the data collector 751 may be configured to collect the data (based on a pull model over HTTP) and aggregate the data.

[0096] The message broker client 752 may be configured to receive data / messages from the data collector 751 and forward the same to the associated message broker(s) 760. In this regard, the message broker client 752 may include a software client that interacts with the associated message broker(s) 760 to provide data / messages thereto and receive data / messages therefrom. In example use case 700, the message broker client 752 is configured to provide data / messages to a plurality of message brokers 760 (e.g., in parallel, in a sequential manner, etc.). In some example implementations, the message broker may include Kafka and the message broker client 752 may include a Kafka client. In this case, the message broker client 752 may provide the data / message to the message broker(s) via performing Kafka remote write.

[0097] Referring still to FIG. 7, the plurality of message brokers 760 may constitute a message bus that aggregates data from the plurality of O-Cloud sites 730-1 to 730-N. Specifically, each of the plurality of message brokers 760 may communicate with the data exposure function (or the associated message broker client) in one or more of the O-Cloud sites 730-1 to 730-N, and then provide the data to the SMO 720 (or the associated FOCOM 721) when required. In view of the above, the message brokers 760 in example use case 700 may effectively and efficientlyimplement cloud site-level data aggregation and enable the SMO 720 (or the associated FOCOM 721) to stream the aggregated data therefrom. Specifically, the SMO 720 (i.e., the MnS consumer) may only provide the subscription information, such as the streaming session ID (e.g. topic ID in Kafka case) and broker end point information, to the O-Cloud 710 (or the associated IMS service producer 711), and then stream the aggregated, cloud site-level data from the message broker(s) 760.

[0098] FIG. 8 illustrates an example implementation use case 800 that involves clusterlevel data aggregation, according to one or more example embodiments. Example use case 800 may involve one or more components similar to those in example use case 700 of FIG. 7. For example, example use case 800 has a similar service-based configuration (i.e., involve an O-Cloud 810 that includes an IMS service producer 811 and an SMO 820 that includes a FOCOM 821) as the example use case 700, a similar data exposure function 850 (that includes a data collector 851 and message bus client 852), and a plurality of message brokers 860 that constitute a message bus. Thus, it may be understood that one or more operations, configurations, and parameters described above with reference to example use case 700 may be similarly applied to example use case 800. For instance, example use case 800 may still include an IMS as the IMS service producer 811 and the FOCOM 821 as the service consumer. Similarly, the SMO 820 (i.e., the MnS consumer) may only provide the subscription information (e.g.„ the streaming session ID such as topic ID in Kafka case, broker end point information, etc.) to the O-Cloud 810 and obtain and stream data of the subscribed 02ims service from the associated message broker(s), Prometheus can be used to collect (based on pull model over HTTP) and aggregate data first before forwarding to the message bus, and the like.

[0099] Example use case 800 is different from example use case 700 in that, the data exposure function 850 is implemented in each of the plurality of node clusters 830-1 to 830-N (where N is any suitable natural number) to collect, aggregate, and provide data associated with the plurality of nodes 840-1 to 840-N (where N is any suitable natural number) to the associated message broker(s). Accordingly, the message brokers 860 in example use case 800 may effectively and efficiently implement node cluster-level data aggregation and enable the SMO 820 (or the associated FOCOM 821) to stream the aggregated, node cluster-level data therefrom.

[0100] FIG. 9 illustrates an example implementation use case 900 that involves group- level data aggregation, according to one or more example embodiments. Example use case 900 may involve one or more components similar to those in example use case 700 of FIG. 7. For example, example use case 900 has a similar service-based configuration (i.e., involve an O-Cloud 910 that includes an IMS service producer 911 and an SMO 920 that includes a FOCOM 921) as the example use case 700, a plurality of data exposure function 950-1 to 950-N (where N is any suitable natural number) each of which similarly include a data collector and a message bus client, a plurality of O-Cloud sites 930-1 to 930-N (where N is any suitable natural number), a plurality of node groups 940-1 to 940-N (where N is any suitable natural number), a plurality of nodes 941- 1 to 941-N (where N is any suitable natural number), and a plurality of message brokers 960 that constitute a message bus. Thus, it may be understood that one or more operations, configurations, and parameters described above with reference to example use case 700 may be similarly applied to example use case 900. For instance, example use case 900 may still include an IMS as the IMS service producer 911 and the FOCOM 921 as the service consumer. Similarly, the SMO 920 (i.e., the MnS consumer) may only provide the subscription information (e.g.„ the streaming session ID such as topic ID in Kafka case, broker end point information, etc.) to the O-Cloud 910 and obtainand stream data of the subscribed 02ims service from the associated message broker(s),Prometheus can be used to collect (based on pull model over HTTP) and aggregate data first before forwarding to the message bus, and the like.

[0101] Example use case 900 is different from example use case 700 in that, instead of implementing one data exposure function in each O-Cloud site to aggregate the data in cloud sitelevel, each of the O-Cloud sites 930-1 to 930-N in example use case 900 may implement a plurality of data exposure functions 950-1 to 950N, each of which may be configured to collect, aggregate, and provide data associated with the nodes of a respective node group to the associated message broker(s). Accordingly, the message brokers 960 in example use case 900 may effectively and efficiently implement node group-level data aggregation and enable the SMO 920 (or the associated FOCOM 921) to stream the aggregated, node group-level data therefrom.

[0102] FIG. 10 illustrates an example implementation use case 1000 that involves nodelevel data aggregation, according to one or more example embodiments. Example use case 1000 may involve one or more components similar to those in example use case 700 of FIG. 7. For example, example use case 1000 has a similar service-based configuration (i.e., involve an O- Cloud 1010 that includes an IMS service producer 1011 and an SMO 1020 that includes a FOCOM 1021) as the example use case 700, a plurality of data exposure function 1050-1 to 1050-N (where N is any suitable natural number) each of which similarly include a data collector and a message bus client, a plurality of O-Cloud sites 1030-1 to 1030-N (where N is any suitable natural number), a plurality of node groups 1040-1 to 1040-N (where N is any suitable natural number), a plurality of nodes 1041-1 to 1041-N (where N is any suitable natural number), and a plurality of message brokers 1060 that constitute a message bus. Thus, it may be understood that one or more operations, configurations, and parameters described above with reference to example use case 700 may besimilarly applied to example use case 1000. For instance, example use case 1000 may still include an IMS as the IMS service producer 1011 and the FOCOM 1021 as the service consumer. Similarly, the SMO 1020 (i.e., the MnS consumer) may only provide the subscription information (e.g.„ the streaming session ID such as topic ID in Kafka case, broker end point information, etc.) to the O- Cloud 1010 and obtain and stream data of the subscribed 02ims service from the associated message broker(s), Prometheus can be used to collect (based on pull model over HTTP) and aggregate data first before forwarding to the message bus, and the like.

[0103] Example use case 1000 is different from example use case 1000 in that, instead of implementing one data exposure function in each O-Cloud site to aggregate the data in cloud sitelevel, each of the nodes 1041-1 to 1041-N in example use case 1000 may implement a dedicated data exposure function that may be configured to collect, aggregate, and provide data associated with the node to the associated message broker(s). Accordingly, the message brokers 1060 in example use case 1000 may effectively and efficiently implement node-level data aggregation and enable the SMO 1020 (or the associated FOCOM 1021) to stream the aggregated, node-level data therefrom.

[0104] It is contemplated that example use cases 700 to 1000 are merely examples, and the scope of the present disclosures should not be limited thereto. For instance, more than one data aggregation level may be implemented in the same system configuration (e.g., a site-level aggregation configuration may be combined with a node-level aggregation configuration, etc.) according to the actual demand, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0105] In view of the above, example embodiments introduce various data hierarchy options for implementing the message bus-based O-Cloud data streaming, thereby providing various technical advantages. Specifically, for the same service-based implementationconfigurations, the implementations of the data aggregation and streaming may be of different levels (e.g., site-level, node cluster-level, node group-level, node-level, etc.). Advantageously, example embodiments may enable different data streaming granularities, thereby enhancing the implementation flexibility and scalability of the message bus-based O-Cloud data streaming.

[0106] Next, descriptions of an example use case that involves an 02ims service are provided below with reference to FIG. 11. Specifically, FIG. 11 illustrates an example use case 1100 that involves an 02 IMS data reporting service, according to one or more example embodiments. It can be understood that one or more components, operations, features, technical advantages, and the like, described above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 10, may be applicable to example use case 1100.

[0107] Referring to FIG. 11, example use case 1100 may involve an IMS 1110 of an O- Cloud 1130 and an 02-IMS consumer 1120 (e.g., a FOCOM). Generally, the 02-IMS consumer 1120 may subscribe to a data reporting service (e.g., PM data reporting, etc.) by providing a subscription request (e.g., a request to create a subscription, etc.) to the IMS 1110 via the 02 interface. The subscription request may include information on the desired data, the message bus parameters (e.g., streaming session ID, message broker endpoint, etc.). Accordingly, the IMS 1110 may collect the data and publish the data to a message bus (or one or more message brokers associated therewith), enabling the 02-IMS consumer 1120 to stream the data therefrom.

[0108] In this example use case, it is assumed that the 02-IMS consumer 1120 creates two subscription requests, i.e., one for a 30-minute PM data reporting and one for a 60-minute PM data reporting. Upon receiving the subscription requests from the 02-IMS consumer 1120, the IMS 1110 may implement a performance subscription manager 1111 to create a record for each of the subscription requests (illustrated as “subscription #1” and “subscription #2” in FIG. 1 1).Accordingly, the IMS 1110 may implement the performance subscription manager 1111 to obtain the associated PM data according to the respective time intervals. For instance, the IMS 1110 may implement the performance subscription manager 1111 to access the storage 1134 every 30 minutes and 60 minutes to obtain the latest PM data (e.g., fde, stream, event, etc.) therefrom, process the collected PM data (e.g.., serialize the data, compress the serialized / collected data, generate measurement reports that include the processed data, etc.), and publish the PM data (e.g., in the form of message or measurement report, etc.) to the associated message broker(s). Accordingly, the IMS 1110 may send a PM notification to the 02-IMS consumer 1120 (e.g., send the PM notification directly via the 02 interface, instruct an intermediate component like the message bus / broker to send the PM notification, etc.) to notify the 02-IMS consumer 1120 that the PM data is available or has been published. Subsequently, the 02-IMS consumer 1120 may access the associated message broker(s) to obtain or stream the available PM data therefrom.

[0109] Referring still to FIG. 11, a plurality of PM jobs 1133 may be executed (by the IMS 1110, the performance subscription manager 1111, or any other suitable entity associated with the O-Cloud 1130) to periodically collect measurement data (e.g., measurements 1132) from a plurality of O-Cloud resources 1131 (e.g., computing resources, memory, storage, bandwidth, etc.). The measurement data may include various PM data, and may optionally include data associated with the PM data (e.g., fault data, error data, etc.). The collected measurement data may be stored in the storage 1134, which may be a local repository within the O-Cloud 1130. In addition to providing the PM data to the IMS 1110, the storage 1134 may also be configured to perform various management operations, such as data management (e.g., deleting old PM data, etc.), access management, and the like.

[0110] It is contemplated that example use case 1100 may achieve the similar technical advantages described above with reference to one or more of FIG. 1 to FIG. 10, since example use case 1100 also implements a message bus for O-cloud data (e.g., PM data) streaming. It can be understood that the configuration in example use case 1100 is merely an example, and the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited thereto. Further, it can also be understood that similar data streaming approaches may be applied to any other suitable 02ims services, such as tracing / log data reporting.Examples of Device

[0111] One or more components of the example embodiments (e.g., network entity / network element such as IMS, FOCOM, etc.), as well as the operations associated therewith, may include or be implemented in one or more devices or hardware components. For instance, one or more components / operations of the network entity / network element may include or be implemented in one or more devices like a server(s), and the like.

[0112] In the following, descriptions of a device in which the example embodiments may be implemented are provided. It is contemplated that one or more features, operations, and methods described above may be performed by the device. For instance, the one or more operations or methods associated with a network entity may be performed by at least one processor of the device upon executing machine-readable instructions or computer-readable instructions stored in a memory or a storage component of the device.

[0113] FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment of a device 1200. As shown in FIG. 12, the device 1200 may include a processor 1210, a memory 1220, a storage component 1230, an input component 1240, an output component 1250, a communication interface 1260, and a bus 1270.

[0114] The processor 1210, as used herein, means any type of computational circuit that may comprise hardware elements and software elements. The processor 1210 may be embodied as a multi-core processor, a single core processor, or a combination of one or more multi-core processors and / or one or more single core processors, a distributed processing system, or the like. The processor 1210 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component.

[0115] Memory 1220 includes a non-transitory computer readable medium. Memory 1220 includes a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and / or another type of dynamic or static storage device (e.g., a flash memory, a magnetic memory, and / or an optical memory) that stores information and / or instructions for use by processor 1210. The memory 1220 comprises machine-readable instructions which are executable by the processor 1210. These machine-readable instructions when executed by the processor 1210 cause the processor 1210 to perform one or more method steps of an embodiment described above.

[0116] Storage component 1230 stores information and / or software related to the operation and use of the device 1200. For example, storage component 1230 may include a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optic disk, and / or a solid-state disk), a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppy disk, a cartridge, a magnetic tape, and / or another type of non-transitory computer-readable medium, along with a corresponding drive.

[0117] Input component 1240 is configured to receive information, such as user input. For example, the input component 1240 may include, but not be limited to, a touch screen display, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a button, a switch, and / or a microphone. Additionally, oralternatively, the input component 1240 may include a sensor for sensing information (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS), an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and / or an actuator).

[0118] Output component 1250 is configured to provide output information from the device 1200. For example, the output component 1250 may be, but not limited to, a display, a speaker, instructions to an external device, and / or one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

[0119] Communication interface 1260 is an interface that provides a communication connection to other devices, such as external devices and internal devices. The connection by the communication interface 1260 can be a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of wired and wireless connections, and can be a direct connection or an indirect connection via a communication network that exists between the device 1200 and other devices. In other words, the standard of the communication interface 1260 is not limited.

[0120] The bus 1270 acts as an interconnect between the processor 1210, the memory 1220, the storage component 1230, the input component 1240, the output component 1250, and the communication interface 1260 of the device 1200. The bus 1270 may include a wired interconnection or a wireless interconnection.

[0121] The number and arrangement of components shown in FIG. 12 are provided as an example. In practice, device 1200 may include additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in FIG. 12. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of components (e.g., one or more components) of device 1200 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components of device 1200. Further, one or more method steps described in any of the embodiments may be performed utilizing a plurality of devices 1200 in communication with one another.Example Implementation Environment

[0122] Example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitable type of environment. In the following, an example environment (in which the example embodiments may be implemented) is described.

[0123] FIG. 13 illustrates a block diagram of an example environment 1300 in which systems and / or method, described herein, may be implemented. The implementation environment 1300 includes a UE (User equipment) 1310, a service environment 1320, and a network 1330. The service environment 1320 includes one or more sub-environments 1321. To illustrate this, FIG. 13 shows, for convenience, examples of a 1st sub-environment 1321-1, a 2nd sub-environment 1321- 2, and an N-th sub-environment 1321-N (where N is any natural number).

[0124] The UE 1310 is connected to the network 1330, and the network 1330 is connected to the service environment 1320. The connections may be wired, wireless, or a combination of both wired and wireless. The UE 1310 and the service environment 1320 are connected via the network 1330.

[0125] The UE 1310 is a device that communicates with the service environment 1320. The UE 1310 receives information from the service environment 1320 and / or sends information to the service environment 1320. Also, the UE 1310 may generate and / or store information to be transmitted, as necessary. Also, the UE 1310 may store and / or process information that is received, as necessary.

[0126] The example FIG. 13 refers to the “UE”. However, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that general terms such as “user device,” “terminal,” “terminal device,” “communication device,” and “communication terminal” can be used interchangeably with the term “UE.”

[0127] For example, the UE 1310 may include a computing device (e.g., a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a handheld computer, a smart speaker, a server, etc.), a mobile phone (e.g., a smart phone, a radiotelephone, etc.), a wearable device (e.g., a pair of smart glasses or a smart watch), or a similar device.

[0128] The service environment 1320 is an environment that communicates with the UE 1310 to provide one or more services. The service environment 1320 receives information from the UE 1310 and / or sends information to the UE 1310. Also, the service environment 1320 may generate and / or store information to be transmitted, as necessary. Also, the service environment 1320 may store and / or process information that is received, as necessary. For example, the service environment 1320 may provide computing resources as one of the services. It should be noted that the service is not limited to being provided to the UE; it may also be provided to devices other than the UE. For example, based on communication from the UE, the service may perform processes such as anomaly detection or traffic analysis and notify the results to a predetermined destination.

[0129] The example FIG. 13 refers to the “service environment”. The term "service environment" is used to refer to the broader context within which services operate. For example, cloud environments, platforms, computing systems, network systems, and cloud systems generally represent the environments in which services are conducted, and these are included within the "service environment." However, the "service environment" is not limited to these examples. Additionally, the specific types of environments within the "service environment" are not restricted. For instance, cloud environments and cloud systems can be categorized as private cloud, public cloud, hybrid cloud, or multi-cloud, all of which are included within the "service environment.

[0130] The one or more services provided by the service environment 1320 is not specifically limited and can be adjusted according to the embodiments. For example, the services may include a service that provides information to the UE 1310, a service that stores information from the UE 1310, or a service that performs processing based on information from the UE 1310 and returns the results of the processing.

[0131] In an embodiment, the Service Environments 1320 may also provide computing resources as the service. The computing resources can be hardware resources and / or software resources. For example, applications, processors, memory, and storage can be included in the provided computing resources. Each computing resource can communicate with other computing resources via wired connections, wireless connections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections.

[0132] The provided computing resources can be actual resources (also referred to as physical resources) and / or virtual resources. Furthermore, means of virtualization for virtual resources can be selected as appropriate. That is, in this disclosure, the use of adjectives such as "Virtual" or "Virtualized" to describe names does not imply that they are virtualized by a specific means of virtualization. For example, “virtual machine” refers to software that operates like an actual computer, realized through means of virtualization, and it is not intended to exclude those realized by specific means of virtualization such as Hypervisors or Containers. Conversely, when means of virtualization such as Hypervisors or containers are mentioned in this disclosure, it is merely cited as a general method of implementation. It should also be interpreted that embodiments implemented with other virtualization means are also disclosed. Also, the services may also be provided using resources virtualized by different means.

[0133] The service environment 1320 includes one or more devices, such as servers and network devices, which provide services or perform processes. The placement of these devices within the service environment 1320 can be determined as appropriate. Additionally, if the service environment 1320 includes one or more sub-environments 1321, the placement of devices can be determined based on predetermined policies for each sub-environment 1321. For example, devices related to the first service may be placed in the 1st sub-environment 1321-1, and devices related to the second service may be placed in the 2nd sub-environment 1321-2. In another example, devices expected to have a higher load than a predetermined threshold may be placed in the 1st sub-environment 1321-1, while devices expected to have a lower load than the predetermined threshold may be placed in the 2nd sub-environment 1321-2. In this way, specific devices can be placed in specific sub-environments 1321. Conversely, each sub-environment 1321 can be specialized for a particular purpose.

[0134] In an embodiment, all processes executed in a single service may run within a single service environment, or in multiple service environments. Multiple processes executed in a single service could be provided by different service environments.

[0135] The network 1330 is a network that exchanges information between the UE 1310 and the service environment 1320. The network 1330 includes one or more wired and / or wireless networks.

[0136] For example, the network 1330 may include a cellular network (e.g., a fifth generation (5G) network, a long-term evolution (LTE) network, a third generation (3G) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, etc.), a public land mobile network (PLMN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a telephone network (e g., the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)), a private network, anad hoc network, an intranet, the Internet, a fiber optic-based network, or the like, a non-terrestrial network (NTN), and / or a combination of these or other types of networks.

[0137] The network 1330 can be a part of a network. For example, in a 5G network that includes a RAN, a transport network, and a core network, the network 1330 can be at least one of the RAN, the transport network, or the core network. For example, the service environment 1320 could be in the core network, in which case the network 1330 could correspond to a network that is a combination of a RAN and a transport network and is part of the 5G network.

[0138] The number and arrangement of devices and networks shown in FIG. 13 are provided as an example. It should be understood that any changes that may be implemented by those skilled in the art, such as the addition or rearrangement of well-known devices or networks at the time of implementation, are included in this disclosure.Various Aspects of Embodiments

[0139] It is contemplated that features, advantages, and significances of example embodiments described hereinabove are merely examples of the present disclosure, and are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0140] Specifically, the foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations.

[0141] Some embodiments may relate to a device, a system, a method, and / or a computer- readable medium at any possible technical detail level of integration. Further, one or more of the above components described above may be implemented as instructions stored on a computer- readable medium and executable by at least one processor (and / or may include at least oneprocessor). The computer-readable medium may include a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium (or media) having computer-readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out operations.

[0142] The computer-readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer-readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer-readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.

[0143] Computer-readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing / processing devices from a computer-readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and / or a wireless network. The network may comprise coppertransmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers, and / or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing / processing device receives computer-readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer-readable program instructions for storage in a computer-readable storage medium within the respective computing / processing device.

[0144] Computer-readable program code / instructions for carrying out operations may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object-oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages.

[0145] The computer-readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer-readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer- readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects or operations.

[0146] These computer-readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks. These computer- readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and / or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function / act specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0147] The computer-readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0148] The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer- readable media according to various embodiments. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). The method, computer system, and computer-readable medium may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in the Figures. In somealternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed concurrently or substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

[0149] It will be apparent that systems and / or methods, described herein, may be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods is not limited to the implementations. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and / or methods were described herein without reference to specific software code — it is understood that software and hardware may be designed to implement the systems and / or methods based on the description herein.

[0150] In view of the above, various further respective aspects and features of embodiments of the present disclosure may be defined by the following items:Item [1]: A network entity configured to: receive, from a network element, a subscription request for an 02 Infrastructure Management Service (02ims) service, wherein the 02ims service comprises a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an Open Radio Access Network (0-RAN) Cloud (O-Cloud) via a message bus; and provide, to the network element, the 02ims service.Item [2]: The network entity according to item [1], wherein the data associated with the O-Cloud comprises performance measurement (PM) data on the O-Cloud.Item [3]: The network entity according to one or more of items [l]-[2], wherein the subscription request comprises information on a streaming session identifier (ID) and a message broker endpoint.Item [4]: The network entity according to one or more of items [l]-[3], wherein the network entity is configured to provide the 02ims service to the network element by: obtaining the data from a node associated with the O-Cloud; and providing the data to a message broker.Item [5]: The network entity according to one or more of items [l]-[4], wherein the network entity comprises an IMS of the O-Cloud, and wherein the network element comprises a Federated O-Cloud Orchestration and Management (FOCOM) of a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO).Item [6]: The network according to item [4], wherein the network entity is configured to obtain the data by: aggregating the data according to at least one of: a cloud site level, a node cluster level, a node group level, or a node level.Item [7]: The network entity according to one or more of items [l]-[6], wherein the data streaming service is configured to perform at least one of: a periodic data streaming or an event-based streaming.Item [8]: The network according to item [3], wherein the network entity is configured to provide the 02ims service by: collecting the data for a streaming session identified by the streaming session ID; and publishing the collected data to a message broker specified by the message broker endpoint.Item [9]: A method comprising: receiving, from a network element, a subscription request for an 02 Infrastructure Management Service (02ims) service, wherein the 02ims service comprises a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an Open Radio Access Network (0-RAN) Cloud (O-Cloud) via a message bus; and providing, to the network element, the 02ims service.Item

[0010] : The method according to item [9], wherein the data associated with the O-Cloud comprises performance management (PM) data on the O-Cloud.Item

[0011] : The method according to one or more of items [9]-

[0010] , wherein the subscription request comprises information on a streaming session identifier (ID) and a message broker endpoint.Item

[0012] : The method according to one or more of items [9]-[l 1], wherein the providing the 02ims service comprises: obtaining the data from a node associated with the O-Cloud; and providing the data to a message broker.Item

[0013] : The method according to one or more of items [9]-

[0012] , wherein the network element comprises a Federated O-Cloud Orchestration and Management (FOCOM) of a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO).Item

[0014] : The method according to item

[0012] , wherein the obtaining the data comprises: aggregating the data according to at least one of: a cloud site level, a node cluster level, a node group level, or a node level.Item

[0015] : The method according to one or more of items [9]-

[0014] , wherein the data streaming service comprises at least one of: a periodic data streaming or an event-based streaming.Item

[0016] : The method according to item

[0011] , wherein the providing the 02ims service comprises: collecting the data for a streaming session identified by the streaming session ID; and publishing the collected data to a message broker specified by the message broker endpoint.Item

[0017] : A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon instructions executable by an apparatus to cause the apparatus to perform a method comprising: receiving, from a network element, a subscription request for an 02 Infrastructure Management Service (02ims) service, wherein the 02ims service comprises a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an Open Radio Access Network (0-RAN) Cloud (O-Cloud) via a message bus; and providing, to the network element, the 02ims service.Item

[0018] : The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to item

[0017] , wherein the data associated with the O-Cloud comprises performance management (PM) data on the O-Cloud.Item

[0019] : The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to one or more of items

[0017] -

[0018] , wherein the subscription request comprises information on a streaming session identifier (ID) and a message broker endpoint.Item

[0020] : The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to one or more of items

[0017] -

[0019] , wherein the providing the 02ims service comprises: obtaining the data from a node associated with the O-Cloud; and providing the data to a message broker.Item

[0021] : The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to one or more of items

[0017] -

[0020] , wherein the network element comprises a Federated O-Cloud Orchestration and Management (FOCOM) of a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO).Item

[0022] : The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to item

[0020] , wherein the obtaining the data comprises: aggregating the data according to at least one of: a cloud site level, a node cluster level, a node group level, or a node level.Item

[0023] : The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to one or more of items

[0017] -

[0022] , wherein the data streaming service comprises at least one of: a periodic data streaming or an event-based streaming.Item

[0024] : The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to item

[0019] , wherein the providing the 02ims service comprises: collecting the data for a streaming session identified by the streaming session ID; and publishing the collected data to a message broker specified by the message broker endpoint.Item

[0025] : A network entity configured to: provide, to a network element, a subscription request for an 02 Infrastructure Management Service (02ims) service, wherein the 02ims service comprises a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an Open Radio Access Network (0-RAN) Cloud (O-Cloud) via a message bus; and receive, from the network element, the 02ims service.Item

[0026] : The network entity according to item

[0025] , wherein the data associated with the O-Cloud comprises performance measurement (PM) data on the O-Cloud.Item

[0027] : The network entity according to one or more of items

[0025] -

[0026] , wherein the subscription request comprises information on a streaming session identifier (ID) and a message broker endpoint.Item

[0028] : The network entity according to one or more of items

[0025] -

[0027] , wherein the network entity comprises a Federated O-Cloud Orchestration and Management(FOCOM) of a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) and the network element comprises an IMS of the O-Cloud.Item

[0029] : The network entity according to item

[0027] , wherein the network entity is configured to receive the 02ims service by: accessing a message broker specified by the message broker endpoint; and obtaining, from the message broker, data associated with the streaming session ID.Item

[0030] : A method comprising: providing, to a network element, a subscription request for an 02 Infrastructure Management Service (02ims) service, wherein the 02ims service comprises a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an Open Radio Access Network (0-RAN) Cloud (O-Cloud) via a message bus; and receiving, from the network element, the 02ims service.Item

[0031] : The network entity according to item

[0030] , wherein the data associated with the O-Cloud comprises performance measurement (PM) data on the O-Cloud.Item

[0032] : The network entity according to one or more of items

[0030] -

[0031] , wherein the subscription request comprises information on a streaming session identifier (ID) and a message broker endpoint.Item

[0033] : The network entity according to one or more of items

[0030] -

[0033] , wherein the network element comprises an IMS of the O-Cloud.Item

[0034] : The method according to item

[0032] , wherein the receiving the 02ims service comprises: accessing a message broker specified by the message broker endpoint; and obtaining, from the message broker, data associated with the streaming session ID.Item

[0035] : A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon instructions executable by an apparatus to cause the apparatus to perform a method comprising: providing, to a network element, a subscription request for an 02 Infrastructure Management Service (02ims) service, wherein the 02ims service comprises a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an Open Radio Access Network (0-RAN) Cloud (O-Cloud) via a message bus; and receiving, from the network element, the 02ims service.Item

[0036] : The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to item

[0035] , wherein the data associated with the O-Cloud comprises performance measurement (PM) data on the O-Cloud.Item

[0037] : The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to one or more of items

[0035] -

[0036] , wherein the subscription request comprises information on a streaming session identifier (ID) and a message broker endpoint.Item

[0038] : The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to one or more of items

[0035] -

[0037] , wherein the network element comprises an IMS of the O- Cloud.Item

[0039] : The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to item

[0037] , wherein the receiving the 02ims service comprises: accessing a message broker specified by the message broker endpoint; and obtaining, from the message broker, data associated with the streaming session ID.

[0151] It can be understood that numerous modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings. It will be apparent that within the scope ofthe appended clauses, the present disclosures may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A network entity configured to: receive, from a network element, a subscription request for an 02 Infrastructure Management Service (02ims) service, wherein the 02ims service comprises a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an Open Radio Access Network (O- RAN) Cloud (O-Cloud) via a message bus; and provide, to the network element, the 02ims service.

2. The network entity according to claim 1, wherein the data associated with the O-Cloud comprises performance measurement (PM) data on the O-Cloud.

3. The network entity according to claim 1, wherein the subscription request comprises information on a streaming session identifier (ID) and a message broker endpoint.

4. The network entity according to claim 1, wherein the network entity is configured to provide the 02ims service to the network element by: obtaining the data from a node associated with the O-Cloud; and providing the data to a message broker.

5. The network entity according to claim 1, wherein the network entity comprises an IMS of the O-Cloud, and wherein the network element comprises a Federated O-Cloud Orchestration and Management (FOCOM) of a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO).

6. The network entity according to claim 4, wherein the network entity is configured to obtain the data by: aggregating the data according to at least one of: a cloud site level, a node cluster level, a node group level, or a node level.

7. The network entity according to claim 1, wherein the data streaming service is configured to perform at least one of: a periodic data streaming or an event-based streaming.

8. The network entity according to claim 3, wherein the network entity is configured to provide the 02ims service by: collecting the data for a streaming session identified by the streaming session ID; and publishing the collected data to a message broker specified by the message broker endpoint.

9. A method comprising: receiving, from a network element, a subscription request for an 02 Infrastructure Management Service (02ims) service, wherein the 02ims service comprises a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an Open Radio Access Network (O- RAN) Cloud (O-Cloud) via a message bus; and providing, to the network element, the 02ims service.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the data associated with the O-Cloud comprises performance management (PM) data on the O-Cloud.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the subscription request comprises information on a streaming session identifier (ID) and a message broker endpoint.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the providing the 02ims service comprises: obtaining the data from a node associated with the O-Cloud; and providing the data to a message broker.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein the network element comprises a Federated O- Cloud Orchestration and Management (FOCOM) of a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO).

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the obtaining the data comprises: aggregating the data according to at least one of: a cloud site level, a node cluster level, a node group level, or a node level.

15. The method according to claim 9, wherein the data streaming service comprises at least one of: a periodic data streaming or an event-based streaming.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein the providing the 02ims service comprises:collecting the data for a streaming session identified by the streaming session ID; and publishing the collected data to a message broker specified by the message broker endpoint.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon instructions executable by an apparatus to cause the apparatus to perform a method comprising: receiving, from a network element, a subscription request for an 02 Infrastructure Management Service (02ims) service, wherein the 02ims service comprises a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an Open Radio Access Network (O- RAN) Cloud (O-Cloud) via a message bus; and providing, to the network element, the 02ims service.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 17, wherein the data associated with the O-Cloud comprises performance management (PM) data on the O-Cloud.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 17, wherein the subscription request comprises information on a streaming session identifier (ID) and a message broker endpoint.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 17, wherein the providing the 02ims service comprises: obtaining the data from a node associated with the O-Cloud; and providing the data to a message broker.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 17, wherein the network element comprises a Federated O-Cloud Orchestration and Management (FOCOM) of a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO).

22. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 20, wherein the obtaining the data comprises: aggregating the data according to at least one of: a cloud site level, a node cluster level, a node group level, or a node level.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 17, wherein the data streaming service comprises at least one of: a periodic data streaming or an eventbased streaming.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 19, wherein the providing the 02ims service comprises: collecting the data for a streaming session identified by the streaming session ID; andpublishing the collected data to a message broker specified by the message broker endpoint.

25. A network entity configured to: provide, to a network element, a subscription request for an 02 Infrastructure Management Service (02ims) service, wherein the 02ims service comprises a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an Open Radio Access Network (0-RAN) Cloud (O-Cloud) via a message bus; and receive, from the network element, the 02ims service.

26. The network entity according to claim 25, wherein the data associated with the O-Cloud comprises performance measurement (PM) data on the O-Cloud.

27. The network entity according to claim 25, wherein the subscription request comprises information on a streaming session identifier (ID) and a message broker endpoint.

28. The network entity according to claim 25, wherein the network entity comprises a Federated O-Cloud Orchestration and Management (FOCOM) of a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) and the network element comprises an IMS of the O-Cloud.

29. The network entity according to claim 27, wherein the network entity is configured to receive the 02ims service by:accessing a message broker specified by the message broker endpoint; and obtaining, from the message broker, data associated with the streaming session ID.

30. A method comprising: providing, to a network element, a subscription request for an 02 Infrastructure Management Service (02ims) service, wherein the 02ims service comprises a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an Open Radio Access Network (O- RAN) Cloud (O-Cloud) via a message bus; and receiving, from the network element, the 02ims service.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein the data associated with the O-Cloud comprises performance measurement (PM) data on the O-Cloud.

32. The method according to claim 30, wherein the subscription request comprises information on a streaming session identifier (ID) and a message broker endpoint.

33. The method according to claim 30, wherein the network element comprises an IMS of the O-Cloud.

34. The method according to claim 32, wherein the receiving the 02ims service comprises: accessing a message broker specified by the message broker endpoint; and obtaining, from the message broker, data associated with the streaming session ID.

35. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon instructions executable by an apparatus to cause the apparatus to perform a method comprising: providing, to a network element, a subscription request for an 02 Infrastructure Management Service (02ims) service, wherein the 02ims service comprises a data streaming service for streaming data associated with an Open Radio Access Network (O- RAN) Cloud (O-Cloud) via a message bus; and receiving, from the network element, the 02ims service.

36. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 35, wherein the data associated with the O-Cloud comprises performance measurement (PM) data on the O-Cloud.

37. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 35, wherein the subscription request comprises information on a streaming session identifier (ID) and a message broker endpoint.

38. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 35, wherein the network element comprises an IMS of the O-Cloud.

39. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 37, wherein the receiving the 02ims service comprises: accessing a message broker specified by the message broker endpoint; andobtaining, from the message broker, data associated with the streaming session ID.

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