Virtual Network Controller Local State Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
In virtual networks, especially in 5G communication systems, stateless processing functions lead to delays and latencies due to the separation of state storage from processing elements, resulting in potential loss of state information during failures or changes, causing high load on persistent storage systems and infrastructure disruptions.
Innovation Solution
A method where a controller maintains local state storage upon failure or change of a processing element, creates a new stateless executable function, and associates it with the maintained local state storage, allowing the processing element to resume execution from its real-time state without relying on persistent storage, thus decoupling local state storage from the processing element and reducing the need for state retrieval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If state storage is separated from processing elements to enable stateless processing, then scalability and fault handling are improved, but delays and latencies increase due to frequent state fetching from persistent storage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the storage system into two parts: local state storage (fast, volatile) and persistent storage system (slow, durable). Processing elements first access state from local storage, and only commit to persistent storage periodically. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by providing both fast access (reducing latency) and durability (maintaining scalability benefits of stateless design).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-fetching state data to local storage before processing elements need it, and by periodically committing state to persistent storage in advance. This allows processing elements to operate with low-latency local storage while ensuring data durability, thus resolving the time delay issue while maintaining scalability.
2Reliability
If all state updates are committed to persistent storage simultaneously, then data durability is improved, but load on communication network and persistent storage systems becomes very high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by having processing elements commit state updates to persistent storage at regular time intervals rather than immediately for every update. This periodic commitment reduces the instantaneous load on communication networks and persistent storage systems while still ensuring data durability through regular synchronization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary commits to persistent storage at scheduled intervals, preparing data for durability before it is absolutely needed. This spreads the storage load over time rather than concentrating it, reducing peak system load while maintaining reliability.
3Power
If processing elements maintain local state to reduce storage load, then system load is reduced, but abrupt failures result in loss of uncommitted state information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses periodic action to balance local state maintenance with periodic commits to persistent storage. This ensures that local state is maintained for fast access (reducing system load) while periodic synchronization to persistent storage prevents complete data loss in case of failures, resolving the contradiction between load reduction and information preservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements beforehand cushioning by maintaining a buffer of uncommitted state in local storage that can tolerate failures up to a certain point. The periodic commits act as a safety mechanism that cushions against total data loss, allowing the system to operate with lower load while protecting against information loss through scheduled persistence.
4Productivity
If new service requests are sent to different processing elements for load balancing, then resource utilization is improved, but performance depends on state fetching time from persistent storage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments storage into local and persistent components, allowing load-balanced processing elements to quickly access state from local storage rather than fetching from persistent storage. This maintains high resource utilization through load balancing while dramatically reducing state access time through local caching.
Solution Approach 2:
Local state storage acts as an intermediary between processing elements and persistent storage. This intermediary enables load-balanced requests to be served quickly from local storage, reducing the time penalty associated with persistent storage access while maintaining the benefits of distributed load balancing.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and a controller for handling a failure or change of a processing element in a virtual network are provided. The processing element includes a first stateless executable function that use a local state storage and a persistent state storage when executed on a host in the virtual network. The controller maintains the local state storage of the processing element upon removing the first stateless executable function from the processing element in response to the failure or change. The controller also creates a second stateless executable function to replace the first stateless executable function in the processing element. Then, the controller associates the maintained local state storage with the second stateless executable function for the processing element. Further, the controller initiates the second stateless executable function using the associated maintained local state storage such that the processing element resumes execution from its real-time state before the failure or change.