Distributed MANO Architecture for NFVI Tenant Autonomy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Centralized Management and Orchestration (MANO) systems in Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVI) face performance issues, scalability challenges, and reliability concerns due to shared resource management among multiple tenants, limiting tenant autonomy and introducing potential single-point-of-failure risks.
Innovation Solution
Providing each tenant with a dedicated Management and Orchestration (MANO) instance, referred to as tenant MANO (t-MANO), with negotiated Management Level Agreements (MLAs) to determine autonomy levels, allowing tenants to manage and orchestrate their resources independently while ensuring compliance and monitoring by the Cloud Service Provider (CSP).
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a centralized MANO system is used to manage NFVI resources, then resource allocation efficiency is improved, but system reliability deteriorates due to single-point-of-failure risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized MANO system into multiple distributed MANO instances, each capable of independently managing NFVI resources. This segmentation eliminates the single-point-of-failure risk while maintaining resource allocation efficiency through parallel processing capabilities across multiple instances.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the architectural parameter from centralized to distributed MANO instances, transforming the system from a single-point management model to a multi-instance model that improves both reliability and scalability while maintaining resource allocation efficiency.
2Ease of operation
If a centralized MANO system is used, then management control is improved, but scalability deteriorates due to performance bottlenecks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the centralized MANO functionality into multiple independent MANO instances that can be scaled horizontally. Each instance maintains full management control capabilities, enabling the system to scale to accommodate growing numbers of tenants and resources without creating performance bottlenecks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-dimensional centralized management model to a multi-dimensional distributed architecture where multiple MANO instances operate in parallel, adding the dimension of scalability while preserving management control through standardized interfaces and protocols.
3Quantity of substance
If multiple tenants share a single MANO framework, then resource utilization is improved, but tenant autonomy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the shared MANO framework into dedicated MANO instances for each tenant, allowing each tenant to have autonomous control over their resources while maintaining efficient resource utilization through isolated management planes that can coordinate when necessary.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer between the centralized resource pool and individual tenants, where distributed MANO instances act as mediators that enable tenant autonomy while coordinating resource allocation to maintain overall utilization efficiency across the NFVI infrastructure.
4Ease of operation
If a centralized MANO system is used, then service coordination is improved, but response time deteriorates for remote sites
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized MANO service coordination function into distributed MANO instances deployed closer to remote sites and edge domains. This segmentation enables local service coordination with faster response times while maintaining overall service coherence through standardized coordination protocols between instances.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a spatial dimension to service coordination by distributing MANO instances across multiple locations, enabling local coordination at remote sites without the latency penalties of centralized control, while maintaining service-wide coordination through inter-instance communication.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for operating a data communication network having a Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure, NFVI, includes providing, by a Cloud Service Provider, CSP, a centralized Management and Orchestration, MANO, system that manages the NFVI and that orchestrates the allocation of resources needed by Network Services, NSs, and/or Virtualized Network Functions, VNFs, configured in the network. The method further includes allocating, by the centralized MANO system, upon request from a tenant, resources of the NFVI to the tenant and providing the tenant its own MANO instance for being employed by the tenant to control and manage its own service and/or network slices and/or implement its own policies independently from the centralized MANO framework provided by the CSP. Management Level Agreements, MLAs, negotiated between the CSP and the tenant determine the scope of the tenant's autonomy over the tenant's MANO instance.