Virtual Service Chain Throughput Assurance via Inline Statistics
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Service providers face challenges in diagnosing and resolving issues in virtualized network service chains due to limited visibility, making it difficult to identify anomalies that affect throughput assurance in virtual networks.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an inline statistics agent within the hypervisor layer to monitor and generate inline statistics for virtual service chains, allowing for the identification of actual throughput and comparison with expected throughput to detect and mitigate anomalies on a per-network function basis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple VNFs are used in a virtual service chain, then network functionality and service capabilities are improved, but visibility and anomaly detection capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a hypervisor layer as an intermediary between the physical network infrastructure and the virtualized network functions. This hypervisor layer provides centralized visibility and control capabilities, enabling service providers to monitor and detect anomalies across multiple VNFs in the service chain without compromising the functional capabilities of each individual VNF.
2Reliability
If service providers implement comprehensive monitoring of virtual service chains, then throughput assurance and anomaly detection are improved, but system complexity and resource overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the monitoring and control functions into the hypervisor layer, which already manages the virtualized infrastructure. By combining throughput assurance, anomaly detection, and VNF management capabilities in a single centralized platform, the system achieves comprehensive monitoring without proportionally increasing complexity, as the hypervisor serves as a unified management point.
3Measurement precision
If inline statistics collection is implemented at the hypervisor layer, then visibility and throughput measurement accuracy are improved, but processing overhead and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hypervisor layer leverages its existing role in managing virtualized resources to self-provide monitoring and statistics collection capabilities. By utilizing the hypervisor's inherent access to virtual network traffic and resource allocation data, the system achieves accurate throughput measurement without requiring separate dedicated monitoring infrastructure, thereby minimizing additional processing overhead.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A
AI summary
Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for providing throughput assurance in a virtual service chain. A virtual service chain formed by a plurality of stitched virtualized network functions running on a plurality of virtual nodes can be monitored. An inline statistics agent can generate inline statistics of the operation of the virtual service chain. Further, an actual throughput of the virtual service chain can be identified from the inline statistics. As follows, throughput assurance for the virtual service chain can be provided by comparing the actual throughput of the virtual service chain with an expected throughput of the virtual service chain.