Multi-Cloud Network Function Orchestration with Unified Service Discovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current communications technologies lack efficient and flexible solutions for managing Network Functions (NFs) across different cloud platforms with varying capabilities, leading to suboptimal network performance, cost, and energy consumption in telecommunications networks.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a multi-cloud data center architecture with a Network Repository Function (NRF) that manages and coordinates NFs across multiple cloud systems, enabling service discovery, registration, and authorization, and facilitating communication between NFs using containerized or virtual NFs through a control plane.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If NFs are hosted on multiple different cloud systems with varying capabilities, then network flexibility and service delivery optimization are improved, but system complexity and management difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) system as an intermediary layer between the NFs on different cloud systems and the control plane. This SMO system abstracts the heterogeneity of multiple cloud platforms, providing unified service registration, discovery, and management capabilities. By mediating between diverse cloud infrastructures and the network control functions, the SMO enables multi-cloud deployment while maintaining system manageability and reducing complexity for network operators.
2Loss of energy
If NFs are distributed across multiple cloud systems, then cost optimization and energy consumption reduction are achieved, but service discovery and coordination become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal service registration and discovery mechanism within the SMO system that works across all cloud platforms. The SMO provides multi-functional capabilities including service registration, discovery, selection, and orchestration that are platform-agnostic. This universal approach allows NFs distributed across different clouds to be discovered and coordinated efficiently, preventing information loss despite geographical and infrastructural distribution.
3Productivity
If containerized or virtual NFs are used across multiple clouds, then deployment speed and time to market are improved, but reliability and security management become more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action through the SMO system by pre-registering service templates, defining service level agreements, and establishing security policies before NF deployment. The SMO performs advance service catalog creation and capability definition, allowing rapid deployment of containerized or virtual NFs while maintaining reliability and security through pre-configured governance frameworks. This preliminary orchestration ensures that even though deployment is fast, reliability and security are not compromised.
Data Source
AI summary
Data center architectures for providing Network Functions (NFs) in telecommunications networks are disclosed. A 5G or 6G wireless service provider with an existing 5G or 6G core network in one or more clouds can add several NFs in another cloud to optimize certain service(s). These NFs may already exist in the core, but for different services. A 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) customer could also incrementally migrate to a public cloud rather than migrating all NFs at once.