Network Service Provisioning via Centralized Lock Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current network service provisioning models are time-consuming and costly, requiring significant human resources and operational expenditures due to limited flexibility and tight coupling with network topology, making it difficult for service providers to rapidly deploy services and adapt to dynamic customer demands.
Innovation Solution
A coordination repository is used to provide centralized per-resource locks, enabling single-threaded access to network resources, allowing multiple workers to simultaneously configure different resources, thereby facilitating transaction integrity and enabling parallel service provisioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual provisioning of services is used, then service configuration can be performed, but it requires substantial time and human resources, resulting in higher operational costs
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automated self-provisioning of network services through worker processes that automatically acquire locks, configure resources, and release locks without human intervention. The coordination repository automatically manages the locking and unlocking sequence, allowing services to be provisioned autonomously based on service level agreements and network conditions.
2Reliability
If manual service re-provisioning is performed after network events, then service continuity can be maintained, but it requires time-consuming evaluation of multiple resources and capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-establishes coordination mechanisms and lock management structures in advance through the coordination repository. When network events occur, worker processes can immediately acquire pre-defined locks and execute pre-planned re-provisioning actions without needing to evaluate resources in real-time, as the coordination repository already has the necessary resource information and locking protocols prepared.
3Productivity
If parallel service provisioning is enabled, then service deployment speed increases, but service misconfiguration and inconsistency may occur across network resources
Solution Approach 1:
The coordination repository acts as an intermediary between multiple worker processes and network resources. It manages locks for each resource, ensuring that only one worker can configure a given resource at a time. This mediation allows parallel provisioning across different resources while preventing misconfiguration through centralized lock management and transaction coordination.
4Manufacturing precision
If centralized lock management is implemented, then transaction integrity is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coordination repository provides multiple functions through a single centralized system: lock management, transaction coordination, resource tracking, and worker synchronization. By consolidating these functions into one universal component, the system achieves configuration integrity without proportionally increasing overall system complexity, as the repository serves multiple purposes simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
In some examples, a controller provisions services for transporting packet flows within a network. A controller service provisioning module receives a service request that comprises a definition for a service to be provided by the network for a subscriber or a customer of the network. The service provisioning module determines a plurality of network resources of at least one network device to be configured to implement the service in the network and apply the service to the packet-based network traffic of the subscriber. A locking unit of the service provisioning module acquires a lock from a network-wide coordination repository that stores a software representation for each of the network resources, the lock providing exclusive configuration access to the service provisioning module for the network resources. The service provisioning module, only upon the locking unit acquiring the lock for the network resources, configures the network resources to provision the service.