CPE Virtualization with Containers for Flexible Network Service Updates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing customer premise equipment (CPE) lacks flexibility in adapting to changing network demands, requiring hardware updates or firmware replacements that are cumbersome and often not feasible, leading to increased device variety and network performance issues.
Innovation Solution
A virtualized CPE system with a reprogrammable hardware layer, software-defined-radio units, and programmable logic devices, allowing dynamic configuration and virtualization of applications in containers, enabling flexible adaptation to network changes and new services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If CPE hardware is updated to support new services and protocols, then adaptability improves, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements virtualization by creating virtual copies of CPE functionalities through virtual machine instances. Each virtual machine can be independently configured and updated without changing the physical hardware, allowing multiple service instances to coexist on the same hardware platform. This resolves the contradiction by enabling adaptability through software-based virtualization rather than hardware updates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a universal hardware platform that can host multiple different virtual machine instances, each providing different CPE functionalities. The same physical infrastructure supports diverse services including routing, switching, firewalls, and protocol handling through virtualization, eliminating the need for specialized hardware for each service type.
2Adaptability or versatility
If firmware is updated on traditional CPE, then service functionality improves, but the update process becomes cumbersome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic service deployment where virtual machine instances can be created, modified, or removed on-demand without manual firmware updates. The virtualization layer enables rapid provisioning and configuration changes, allowing service functionality to adapt dynamically to changing network requirements without the time-consuming firmware update process of traditional CPE.
3Adaptability or versatility
If additional hardware devices are installed to support new services, then service variety improves, but network performance deteriorates due to increased device variety
Solution Approach 1:
The patent consolidates multiple CPE functionalities and service instances into a single virtualized infrastructure. By merging routing, switching, firewall, and protocol handling capabilities into one unified virtualized platform, the system maintains service variety while eliminating the performance degradation caused by multiple disparate hardware devices. The virtualization layer provides centralized management and optimized resource allocation.
Data Source
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AI summary
Method and System for virtualized deployment a customer premise equipment (CPE) unit comprising: a physical resources layer comprising reprogrammable hardware recourses; an abstraction layer, preferably comprising a container environment, configured to host at least one container, said container comprising at least one CPE application in an virtualized environment, wherein the abstraction layer is configured to allocate for the at least one CPE application a respective defined subset of physical resources from the physical resources layer; and an application layer formed by the at least one CPE application configured for at least one of the following: sending data to the physical resources layer via the abstraction layer, receiving data from the physical resources layer via the application layer, and/or after receiving and/or before sending of data to processing the data according to a predetermined CPE function.