Unified Network Slice Management API for Cloud Connectivity
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Solution Overview
Problem
The management of connectivity between mobile apps and services and cloud environments is complex and cumbersome due to multiple non-aligned administration points, lack of speed, and automation, especially with the rollout of 5G network slicing requiring flexible and dynamic policies.
Innovation Solution
A connectivity-management entity with a slice-service-orchestration module and a cloud-slice management API is introduced, allowing for the selection and setup of network slices between a user equipment (UE) and a virtual private cloud (VPC) within a cloud provider's environment through a single point of administration, ensuring consistency and automation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple administration points (Cloud provider, Mobile network operator, Mobile Device Management) are used to manage connectivity, then comprehensive service coverage is achieved, but system complexity and difficulty of ensuring consistency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple administration points into a unified management system that coordinates cloud provider, mobile network operator, and mobile device management functions through a single interface, eliminating the need for users to navigate multiple separate administration points while maintaining comprehensive service coverage
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary management system that acts as a mediator between different administration points, ensuring consistency and coordination across cloud provider, mobile network operator, and mobile device management domains through automated workflow orchestration
2Ease of operation
If manual configuration processes are used for NaaS setup, then flexibility and control are maintained, but setup speed and automation level decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic setup process that can adapt between automated and manual configuration modes based on service requirements, allowing flexible control while significantly improving setup speed through automated workflows for standardised NaaS deployments
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary configuration actions automatically during the NaaS setup process, pre-configuring network slices, VPN tunnels, and device policies before service activation, thereby accelerating deployment while maintaining control through predefined templates and parameters
3Reliability
If VPN tunnels are configured through multiple parties (CSP, cloud provider, enterprise admin), then security and proper configuration are ensured, but the number of coordination steps and time required increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the VPN configuration process into independent, automated workflow steps that can be executed in parallel by different parties simultaneously, maintaining security and configuration accuracy through role-based access control while reducing coordination overhead through automated task distribution
Data Source
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AI summary
Techniques of setting up a network slice in a networkbetween a UE and a VPC of a customer within the cloud of a cloud provider comprising the following steps: Providing a connectivity-management entity of claim 1, wherein a cloud-slice management API of the connectivity-management entity offers available network slice specifications of the network , wherein a first network slice specification is selected from the available network slice specifications and wherein a request of the first network slice specification is sent to the cloud-slice management API, in particular by using a configurations means, wherein the cloud-slice management API forwards the request to a slice-service-orchestration module of the connectivity-management entity , wherein the slice-service-orchestration module provides a first communication interface to the network of a network operator, wherein the slice-service-orchestration module sends signals to the network so that the network starts a set-up process of the first network slice with the first specification.