Virtual Network Function Descriptor Generator for Multi-VIM Deployment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for managing virtualized network function components (VNFCs) across various virtualized infrastructure managers (VIMs) require separate documents or files for each VNFC and VIM, leading to inefficiencies and complexities, especially in deploying and managing computing resources, which can result in deployment delays and customer dissatisfaction.
Innovation Solution
A VNFD generator tool that splits information into categories, validates inputs, and combines them to produce a single VNFD that can be used across multiple VIMs, eliminating the need for separate VNFDs per VNFC and VIM, and allows for flexible deployment options such as security groups and network configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate VNFD documents are created for each VNFC and VIM, then resource management can be performed for each component individually, but the system complexity and deployment time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate VNFD documents into a single unified VNFD that manages multiple VNFCs across different VIMs. This consolidation reduces the exponential growth of documentation from 2^(number of nodes)*(number of VIMs)*(number of VNFCs) to a single manageable document, directly resolving the contradiction between individual resource management flexibility and overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified VNFD serves multiple functions simultaneously: it manages different types of VNFCs (compute, storage, network), supports multiple VIMs, and provides a standardized interface for resource allocation. This multi-functionality allows a single document to replace numerous specialized documents, reducing complexity while maintaining adaptability.
2Manufacturing precision
If separate VNFD documents are created for each VNFC and VIM, then specific resource requirements can be precisely defined, but deployment delays occur due to the exponential number of documents to manage
Solution Approach 1:
The unified VNFD is segmented into distinct sections for different VNFC types and VIMs, allowing precise resource configuration for each component while maintaining a single document structure. This segmentation enables targeted validation and processing of specific resource requirements without requiring review of the entire document set, thus reducing deployment time while preserving configuration precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary validation and consolidation of resource requirements during the VNFD creation phase, ensuring that all resource configurations are verified before deployment begins. This upfront preparation eliminates the need for iterative validation across multiple separate documents during deployment, reducing delays while maintaining precise resource configuration.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple VNFDs are created to support different deployment modes and configurations, then deployment flexibility is improved, but the complexity of creating and managing VNFDs increases exponentially
Solution Approach 1:
The unified VNFD employs dynamic parameters and conditional logic that allow the same document to adapt to different deployment modes and configurations. Instead of creating static separate VNFDs for each scenario, the dynamic VNFD automatically adjusts its behavior based on the target environment, maintaining deployment flexibility while eliminating the need for multiple document versions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses parameter-based configuration where deployment modes and VIM-specific settings are controlled by changeable parameters within the unified VNFD. By modifying parameters rather than creating new documents, the system achieves deployment flexibility across different scenarios while maintaining a single source of truth, dramatically improving VNFD management efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are described for generating a virtualized network function (VNF) descriptor (VNFD) indicative of resources for managing VNF components (VNFCs) across a plurality of virtualized infrastructure managers (VIMs) implemented in a virtualized computing environment configured in a user-specific configuration. A VNFD generator receives a solution description file (SDF) encoding user input pertaining to the user-specific configuration, and a VNFC descriptor encoding VNFC specific information. The SDF and VNFC descriptor are validated and translated to generate an abstracted VNFD that is independent of renderers implemented at the virtualized computing environment. The abstracted VNFD is translated to a VNFD that is specific to the renderers and VIM and VNFD-specific information at the virtualized computing environment.