Network Slice NF Deployment With Dependency-Aware Status Updates
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Solution Overview
Problem
The deployment of Network Functions (NF) instances in network slicing, particularly in 5G networks, faces challenges with reliability and speed due to concurrent instantiation, leading to irrelevant error information, resource overhead, and loss of critical errors in observability applications.
Innovation Solution
Introduce additional status indicators ('DEPLOYING', 'WAIT_REGISTERING', and 'UNDEPLOYING') to manage NF instance deployment and dependency, allowing parallel instantiation with notification-based status updates, reducing unnecessary error logs and enhancing deployment efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If concurrent instantiation of NF instances is performed to speed up deployment, then deployment speed is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to irrelevant error information and resource overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The deployment process is segmented into distinct phases with specific status indicators (DEPLOYING, WAIT_REGISTERING, REGISTERED). Each NF instance progresses through these segments independently, allowing parallel deployment while maintaining clear state tracking. This segmentation enables the system to handle multiple deployments concurrently without confusion about deployment state, thus improving speed while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The NRF (Network Repository Function) acts as an intermediary that coordinates the deployment status of multiple NF instances. It receives status updates from NF instances and manages the registration process centrally. This intermediary mechanism prevents chaotic concurrent instantiation by providing a controlled coordination point, reducing irrelevant error information while enabling parallel deployment.
2Reliability
If status indicators are added to manage NF instance deployment, then deployment reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The status indicator mechanism serves multiple functions: it tracks deployment state, coordinates dependencies between NF instances, enables parallel processing, and provides visibility into system state. By making this single mechanism multi-functional, the patent achieves improved reliability without proportionally increasing complexity, as one added element (status indicator) performs several critical functions simultaneously.
3Productivity
If parallel instantiation is implemented to reduce deployment time, then productivity is improved, but loss of information increases due to irrelevant error logs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and separates relevant deployment information from irrelevant error logs by implementing structured status indicators. Instead of relying on generic error logs that mix relevant and irrelevant information, the system extracts specific deployment state information into dedicated status fields. This extraction allows the system to maintain high productivity through parallel deployment while filtering out irrelevant error information, as the status indicators provide clear, unambiguous deployment state data.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples described herein relate to techniques for concurrent deployment of a set of network function (NF) instances of a network slice. In some examples, each NF instance may be registered at the NRF with its status indicator set to DEPLOYING. Further, a determination may be performed if a first NF instance is waiting to be deployed and deployment of the first NF instance is dependent on a second NF instance that is pending deployment. Responsive to the determination, a status indicator of the first NF instance may be updated from DEPLOYING to WAIT_REGISTERING. Further, the first NF instance may subscribe to be notified at the NRF of a change in the status indicator of the second NF instance. Responsive to being notified, the first NF instance may update its status indicator to REGISTERED, such that the first NF instance is discoverable by other NF instances of the set of NF instances.