NFV Fault Management via VIM Correlation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) environments are complex and require specialized fault management methods due to the added software instances and management entities, differing from common virtual environments, necessitating effective fault reporting and processing techniques.

Innovation Solution

A fault management method involving a virtualized infrastructure manager (VIM) that acquires and generates comprehensive fault information, including faulty entity identifiers and types, to perform repair or reporting processing, prioritizing hardware over software entities and utilizing correlated fault information for comprehensive processing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If fault information is collected from multiple NFVI entities and correlated, then fault processing comprehensiveness is improved, but information processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefault processing comprehensivenessVSAvoidinformation processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges fault information from multiple NFVI entities into unified comprehensive fault information records. The VIM consolidates first fault information from a first NFVI entity with second fault information from correlated NFVI entities, creating integrated fault records that improve processing comprehensiveness while managing complexity through systematic integration.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The VIM acts as an intermediary that receives, correlates, and processes fault information from multiple NFVI entities. It mediates between the distributed fault sources and the fault management system, organizing raw fault data into structured comprehensive fault information that balances completeness with manageable complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If fault information from correlated NFVI entities is integrated, then fault detection accuracy is improved, but processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefault detection accuracyVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by establishing correlation relationships between NFVI entities in advance. When faults occur, the VIM can quickly identify and integrate information from pre-identified correlated entities, improving detection accuracy while minimizing additional processing time through预先 prepared correlation data.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If comprehensive fault information is generated and processed, then fault repair accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefault repair accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the fault management process into distinct functional modules: fault information acquisition, correlation identification, comprehensive information generation, and repair execution. This segmentation improves repair accuracy by ensuring thorough information gathering while managing system complexity through modular, organized processing stages.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3322125B1Fault management in a virtualized infrastructure
Publication Date: 2019.11.13 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
  • EP3322125B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3322125B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP3322125B1 patent drawingFigure 5~6a

AI summary

The present invention provides a fault management method, which can implement fault reporting and processing in an NFV environment. The method includes: acquiring first fault information, including a faulty entity identifier and a fault type, of a network functions virtualization infrastructure NFVI entity, where the first fault information is used to indicate that a fault occurs in a first NFVI entity having the faulty entity identifier; generating first comprehensive fault information according to the first fault information, where the first comprehensive fault information comprises the first fault information and correlated fault information of the first fault information; and performing fault repair or reporting processing according to the first comprehensive fault information. In embodiments of the present invention, fault information of a hardware and/or software entity is acquired, to perform comprehensive processing on correlated pieces of fault information, which can implement fault reporting and processing in an NFV environment.