Edge Cloud Network Configuration for Customer Traffic Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current communication systems face challenges in efficiently supporting enhanced services for customer traffic using edge clouds, as they lack effective mechanisms for configuring networks to identify and route customer traffic to edge cloud services, leading to suboptimal service delivery and latency issues.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that configure a network to support a customer segment by setting up a gateway and switch associated with an edge cloud, using a forwarding mechanism to identify customer traffic and establish a virtual network between the switch and the edge cloud, enabling the routing of customer traffic to edge cloud services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current communication systems are used without edge cloud configuration, then network simplicity is maintained, but service delivery performance and latency are suboptimal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments customer traffic into distinct customer segments using customer segment identifiers (CSIs) and segments the network into edge cloud components (gateway, switch, virtual network functions). This segmentation enables targeted service delivery to specific customer segments while maintaining overall network organization and manageability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary components including a service order and provisioning system that coordinates between customer requests and edge cloud configuration, a gateway that mediates traffic between customer premises equipment and the edge cloud switch, and virtual network functions that act as intermediaries between physical infrastructure and service delivery.
2Reliability
If edge cloud services are integrated into the network, then service delivery is enhanced, but latency increases due to additional routing steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary configuration actions by establishing customer segments, assigning customer segment identifiers, and pre-configuring the gateway and edge cloud switch with forwarding mechanisms before customer traffic needs to be routed. This pre-configuration enables direct and efficient traffic routing without real-time processing delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtual network dimension that operates alongside the physical network infrastructure. Virtual network functions and virtual networks provide an additional layer for service delivery that can be configured independently, enabling parallel processing paths and reducing latency by bypassing traditional sequential routing through core network elements.
3Ease of operation
If network configuration is simplified, then ease of operation is improved, but the ability to identify and route customer traffic to edge cloud services deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the identification parameter from traditional complex packet inspection to simpler customer segment identifiers (CSIs) that can be embedded in packet headers. This parameter change enables accurate traffic identification while simplifying the operational complexity of network configuration, as the gateway and switch can efficiently match CSIs without deep packet analysis.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, computer-readable medium, and apparatus for supporting services for customer traffic using edge clouds are disclosed. For example, a processing system may receive an indication of a set of customer devices of a customer of a network provider and an indication of a service of an edge cloud to be applied to customer traffic of the customer devices, support configuration of a network of the network provider to support a customer segment for the customer including configuration of a gateway of the network and a switch of the network that is associated with the edge cloud, support configuration of a virtual network between the switch and an edge cloud element supporting the service, and support configuration of the switch to support an association of the customer segment and the virtual network for supporting routing of the customer traffic to the service via the virtual network.