Network Slice Verification Using IPFS Usage Records
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Network slicing in telecommunications environments faces challenges with scalability, automation, and maintenance of up-to-date network slice details, leading to mismatches and inefficiencies that can result in network outages and resource mismanagement.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a decentralized interplanetary file system (IPFS) to maintain a secure slice data structure that records and updates network slice parameters, usage, and events, allowing clients to autonomously verify compliance with subscription parameters and enabling accurate invoicing based on actual usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If network slicing is implemented to support multiple services with different requirements, then service flexibility and network resource utilization are improved, but system complexity and difficulty of monitoring/verification increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network into multiple virtual network slices, each with independent configuration and monitoring. The slice data structure divides network parameters into distinct categories (slice identity, configuration, usage, updates) that can be independently managed and verified, reducing the complexity of managing diverse service requirements within a unified system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary verification mechanism that uses cryptographic proofs and distributed ledger technology to mediate between network operators and clients. This intermediary layer automates the verification of slice provisioning and usage, reducing the complexity of manual monitoring and ensuring trust without requiring complex direct interactions between all system components.
2Measurement precision
If manual monitoring and verification of network slice parameters is performed, then accuracy of configuration records is improved, but labor costs and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service monitoring and verification mechanisms where the system automatically tracks, records, and verifies network slice parameters without human intervention. The slice data structure is automatically updated with usage data and configuration changes, and cryptographic proofs are generated automatically, eliminating manual monitoring while maintaining high accuracy through automated validation rules.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes continuous feedback loops where usage data is automatically collected from network elements, verified against configured parameters, and recorded in the slice data structure. This automated feedback mechanism ensures configuration accuracy by immediately detecting and recording deviations, eliminating the time consumption of manual verification while maintaining precision through systematic automated checks.
3Stability of the object's composition
If centralized data storage for network slice information is used, then data consistency is improved, but scalability and accessibility are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a nested data structure where slice-specific data is organized in hierarchical layers (slice identity, configuration, usage, updates) that can be independently managed. This nested structure allows individual slice data to be stored and accessed separately while maintaining overall consistency through shared verification mechanisms, enabling both data consistency and scalable access patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal slice data structure that serves multiple functions simultaneously: it stores configuration data, tracks usage, provides verification proofs, and enables billing. This multi-functional data structure eliminates the need for separate centralized storage systems for different purposes, improving scalability by allowing the same structure to serve diverse needs while maintaining consistency through its unified design.
4Measurement precision
If detailed usage data is collected and stored for billing verification, then billing accuracy is improved, but data storage requirements and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential usage data elements needed for billing verification from the complete set of available network data. The slice data structure selectively stores usage metrics that are directly relevant to billing (data volume, session duration, service type) while excluding redundant information, thereby improving billing accuracy with minimal data storage requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial monitoring by focusing on key usage parameters that have the greatest impact on billing accuracy rather than collecting all possible usage data. This selective approach captures sufficient information for accurate billing verification while avoiding the storage and processing overhead of comprehensive data collection, applying the principle of doing just enough to achieve the billing accuracy goal.
Data Source
AI summary
A method comprises generating, by a storage application in a data store implemented as an interplanetary file system (IPFS), a slice data structure dedicated for the network slice in response to receiving the parameters from the slice application, in which the slice data structure comprises the parameters of the network slice, monitoring, by the slice application, usage of the one or more NEs in the network slice by the client, storing, by the storage application in the slice data structure, usage data describing the usage of the one or more NEs in the network slice, and updating, by the storage application, the slice data structure to indicate update data describing an update to one or more parameters of the network slice in response to receiving update data from the slice application.