SDN Service Replication for Outage Simulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In software-defined networking environments, there is a need for thorough testing of services before deployment to identify and correct errors, especially in handling device and network outages, and trouble ticket management, as existing methods lack comprehensive simulation capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A computing device executes a test simulator and service creation module to replicate services in a test environment, using extensible markup language files to simulate outages and test paths, connections, and trouble ticket handling, allowing for error detection and correction before actual deployment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If services are deployed directly without comprehensive testing, then deployment speed is improved, but service reliability deteriorates due to undetected errors in outage handling and trouble ticket management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary testing actions by replicating service orders in a test environment before actual deployment. The system creates test instances of services, executes test scripts that simulate various conditions (including outages and trouble ticket scenarios), and validates service behavior before the service is deployed to production. This preliminary action ensures reliability is verified ahead of time without compromising deployment speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating replicated service orders that are copies of the original service order. These replicated orders instantiate test versions of services in a separate test environment, allowing comprehensive testing without affecting the production system. The replication enables thorough validation of outage handling and trouble ticket management while maintaining fast deployment of the actual service.
2Reliability
If comprehensive testing including outage simulation is performed, then service reliability is improved, but testing complexity and time requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by enabling the testing system to automatically execute test scripts, simulate outages, monitor service responses, and generate test results without requiring manual intervention. The automated testing framework handles the complexity of comprehensive testing including outage scenarios and trouble ticket management, reducing the perceived complexity for users while maintaining thorough validation of service reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies universality by designing a multi-functional test simulator that can execute multiple types of tests through a unified interface. The system handles various testing scenarios (outage simulation, trouble ticket management, service path validation) using a single replicated service order mechanism and automated test script execution engine. This multi-functionality reduces testing complexity by providing a single comprehensive solution rather than multiple separate testing tools.
3Measurement precision
If service orders are replicated for testing, then error detection capability is improved, but processing time and resources worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs error detection as a preliminary action before service deployment by replicating service orders and executing comprehensive test scripts in advance. This preliminary error detection identifies issues with outage handling, trouble ticket management, and service paths before the actual service is deployed, ensuring high detection precision without adding time to the deployment process itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying to create replicated service orders that are lightweight replicas of the original service order. These copies enable thorough error detection testing without requiring additional resources for the actual service deployment. The replicated orders consume minimal resources compared to full production instances, reducing the time and resource overhead while maintaining high error detection capability.
Data Source
AI summary
Concepts and technologies are disclosed herein for test simulation for software defined networking environments. A computing device can receive a service request comprising a request to instantiate a service and create a service order based on the service request. The service order can include instructions to instantiate the service. The computing device can replicate the service order to obtain a replicated service order that includes instructions to instantiate a replicated service in a test environment, test paths and connections associated with the replicated service within the test environment using a test simulator, test device outage handling functionality of the replicated service within the test environment using the test simulator, test network outage handling functionality of the replicated service within the test environment using the test simulator, verify the replicated service, and initiate instantiation of the service requested by the service request.