AR Interface for Telco Slice Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
The dynamic nature of virtual component placement in sliced networks makes infrastructure management difficult, as data center operators lack visibility and control to identify and move virtual components effectively, leading to inefficient problem-solving and potential downtime.
Innovation Solution
An augmented reality (AR) system with a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows administrators to visualize and manage virtual and physical components, enabling the identification of physical hardware and movement of virtual components between slices and hardware, using QR codes and an AR engine to interact with backend services for real-time network insights.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If virtual components are dynamically placed and moved based on current demands, then network resource utilization is maximized and SLA compliance is improved, but infrastructure management complexity and difficulty of identifying physical hardware increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an augmented reality interface as an intermediary layer between the operator and the complex virtualized infrastructure. This AR interface overlays virtual component information directly onto physical hardware views, making the relationships between physical and virtual layers visible and manageable without adding complexity to the underlying system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a visual/spatial dimension to infrastructure management by using augmented reality to display virtual component locations overlaid on physical hardware. This transforms the management task from navigating complex abstract representations to visually locating components in their physical context, effectively adding a spatial dimension to the management interface.
2Reliability
If virtual components are frequently moved between servers and slices, then service level agreements are maintained and network demands are met, but problem-solving efficiency and repair time increase due to lack of visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The augmented reality interface provides real-time feedback by displaying current locations of virtual components overlaid on physical hardware. When a problem occurs, the system immediately shows the operator where the relevant virtual components are located and which physical hardware they reside on, enabling rapid response and reducing problem-solving time while maintaining SLA compliance through continued dynamic movement capability.
3Ease of operation
If operators use traditional management interfaces, then system simplicity is maintained, but visibility and control over virtual component locations are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the physical hardware view with virtual component information in a single augmented reality interface. Instead of requiring operators to switch between separate physical and virtual management tools, the system combines both views overlaying virtual component locations directly on the physical hardware representation, providing complete visibility while maintaining ease of operation through a unified interface.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples described herein include systems and methods for managing slices in a Telco network by using a graphical user interface (“GUI”) with augmented reality (“AR”). A user device can scan a code that is related to physical hardware in a datacenter. Based on the code, the GUI can display at least one virtual component that resides on that hardware. The user can move the virtual component from one slice to another, such as by dragging it to a displayed slice region. Similarly, the user can drag the virtual component to new physical hardware. This can cause an AR engine to contact an orchestrator to route traffic to the virtual component according to the new slice identifier and new hardware. The GUI can also provide a datacenter map to related physical or virtual components, allowing the user to locate and inspect other hardware relied on by a slice.