NFVI Software Modification Manager Coordination
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Solution Overview
Problem
In Network Function Virtualization (NFV) architectures, infrastructure upgrades can disrupt service high availability and continuity due to decoupling between infrastructure and Virtual Network Functions (VNFs), with existing notification methods being either too fine-grained or coarse, leading to inefficient resource usage and potential oscillations.
Innovation Solution
Implementing anti-affinity grouping to coordinate infrastructure upgrades by sending notifications to VNF managers before and after impacting resources, allowing for targeted preparations and minimizing disruptions, thereby optimizing the upgrade process without compromising service availability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If compute resource based notification is used, then VNFs can be notified of upcoming upgrades, but the notification is too fine-grained and may result in oscillation without providing information on the beginning and end of the upgrade campaign
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the upgrade notification process into two distinct phases: (1) VNF-level notifications for individual compute resources being upgraded, and (2) anti-affinity group-level notifications that provide cohort-based awareness of the overall upgrade campaign scope. This segmentation allows VNFs to receive precise individual notifications while also understanding the broader upgrade context through group-level notifications, preventing oscillation behavior.
2Reliability
If notification is given at the beginning of the entire infrastructure upgrade process, then VNFs can prepare for upgrades, but extra resources are used for VNFs not impacted or for longer times than necessary
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing different notification granularities to different VNFs based on their specific situations. VNFs impacted by upgrades receive targeted notifications at the appropriate time, while VNFs not impacted receive no notifications. The anti-affinity group level notifications provide contextual information about the overall upgrade campaign scope, allowing each VNF to make locally optimal decisions about resource allocation and preparation without unnecessary resource consumption.
3Adaptability or versatility
If infrastructure is decoupled from applications/VNFs, then infrastructure can be upgraded independently, but the infrastructure becomes unaware of applications/VNFs and vice versa
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces anti-affinity group level notifications as an intermediary mechanism that bridges the decoupled infrastructure and application/VNF layers. These group-level notifications provide contextual information about the overall upgrade campaign scope and timeline, allowing VNFs to understand the broader infrastructure context without requiring tight coupling. The notifications convey information about which anti-affinity groups are being upgraded and the expected duration, enabling VNFs to make informed decisions while maintaining infrastructure independence.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure relates to a method, executed in a Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVI) software modification manager, for coordination of NFVI software modifications of a NFVI providing at least one Virtual Resource (VR) hosting at least one Virtual Network Function (VNF), comprising receiving an NFVI software modifications request; sending a notification that a software modification procedure of the at least one VR is about to start to a VNF level manager, the VNF level manager managing a VNF hosted on the at least one VR provided by the NFVI; applying software modifications to at least one resource of the at least one VR; and notifying the VNF level manager about completion of the software modifications.