Application Layer Packet Translator for Cloud-Telecom Interoperability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Network virtualization technologies face challenges in efficiently deploying and executing virtualized network functions (VNFs) across diverse network hardware and protocols, leading to increased production costs and hindered modular development due to the need for packet line rate performance and compatibility with various network interfaces and configurations.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an application layer packet translator that classifies network packets, determines service policies, and maps them to appropriate VNF instances using RPC API calls, enabling efficient service chaining and processing across cloud and telecommunications networks, thereby simplifying the deployment of VNFs as microservices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If network function virtualization is deployed to enable dynamic and scalable network services on general purpose servers, then adaptability and scalability are improved, but device complexity and production costs increase due to the need to support multiple network protocols, deployment topologies, and configurations while achieving packet line rate performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a service gateway as an intermediary component that sits between the virtualized network functions and the external networks. This service gateway abstracts and standardizes the interfaces to multiple network protocols and deployment topologies, allowing VNF instances to interact with a unified interface while the gateway handles the complexity of protocol conversion and configuration management, thus resolving the contradiction between adaptability and device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The service gateway is designed with multi-functional capabilities to handle multiple network protocols, deployment topologies, and configuration types through a single unified interface. This universal component can perform functions including protocol translation, packet routing, service chaining, and configuration management across diverse network environments, thereby providing broad adaptability without increasing the complexity of individual VNF instances
2Productivity
If multiple network protocols, deployment topologies, and configurations are supported to achieve packet line rate performance, then productivity and performance are improved, but device complexity and production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The service gateway acts as a mediator that standardizes interactions with multiple network protocols and deployment topologies. It provides a unified interface layer that abstracts the underlying complexity of different protocols and configurations, allowing VNF instances to achieve line-rate performance through optimized packet processing while the gateway handles protocol conversion and configuration management, thus improving productivity without proportionally increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system architecture segments the complexity into distinct layers: the service gateway handles protocol conversion, configuration management, and topology adaptation, while VNF instances focus on core network function processing. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, with the gateway managing the complexity of multiple protocols and topologies while VNFs maintain simple, high-performance packet processing paths
Data Source
AI summary
Technologies for network packet processing between cloud and telecommunications networks includes a network computing device which includes two application layer packet translators (ALPTs). The first ALPT is configured to receive a network packet from a computing device in a telecommunications network, identify a virtual network function (VNF) instance, and perform an application layer encapsulation of at least a portion of data of the received network packet as a parameter of a remote procedure call (RPC) associated with the identified VNF instance. The first ALPT is additionally configured to invoke the identified VNF instance using an API call corresponding to the RPC that includes the RPC parameter and the VNF instance is configured to transmit an RPC call response to the second ALPT. The second ALPT is configured to generate a new network packet as a function of the RPC call response and transmit the new network packet to another computing device in a cloud network.