API-Based Network Function Availability Advertisement
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Solution Overview
Problem
In software-defined networks, implementing a protocol stack for each network function element is resource-intensive, particularly when advertising network availability and addresses, which can be improved by using application programming interfaces (APIs) to reduce resource usage in virtualized environments.
Innovation Solution
Network functions, including non-routing ones, use APIs to advertise their availability and addresses to a routing network function, which then advertises this information to other network elements, participating in dynamic routing protocols, thereby reducing the need for protocol stacks and optimizing resource utilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If each network function element implements a protocol stack, then routing protocols can advertise service and routing availability, but resource consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the routing protocol functionality from individual network function elements and consolidates it into a centralized routing service. Network functions advertise their availability and addresses to the centralized routing service, which then manages routing information centrally, eliminating the need for each network function to implement a full protocol stack while maintaining routing availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralized routing service acts as a universal routing management point that serves all network functions in the software-defined network. Instead of each network function implementing routing capabilities independently, the universal routing service provides routing management for all functions, reducing overall resource consumption while maintaining routing capabilities.
2Reliability
If each network function element implements a protocol stack, then routing protocols can advertise service availability, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex protocol stack implementation from individual network function elements and relocates it to a centralized routing service. This extraction reduces device complexity at the network function level while maintaining service availability through the centralized routing management that handles all routing protocol operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralized routing service acts as an intermediary between network functions and the routing protocol infrastructure. Network functions communicate their availability and addresses to this intermediary, which then manages the routing protocol interactions, eliminating the need for each network function to directly implement complex protocol stacks.
Data Source
AI summary
For a network including multiple host machines that each execute a number of network functions some embodiments provide a method for the network functions to advertise the availability of the network function and network addresses (e.g., internet protocol (IP) addresses) associated with the network functions to the other network functions using application programming interfaces (APIs). In some embodiments, non-routing network functions advertise their availability and/or network addresses associated with the network function to a routing network function (e.g., a routing network function that is part of a service router) for the routing network function to advertise to other network elements (e.g. other routing elements or other network functions that need to reach the advertising network function). These advertisements, in some embodiments, are part of participation in a dynamic routing protocol.