CN111404711B

CN111404711B - Automatic expansion-contraction capacity switching method, VNFM and NFVO

Info

Publication number: CN111404711B
Application number: CN201910000991.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张晓儒
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Priority date: 2019-01-02
Filing date: 2019-01-02
Publication date: 2023-03-31
Anticipated expiration: 2039-01-02
Also published as: CN111404711A

Abstract

The invention provides an automatic scaling switching method, VNFM and NFVO, wherein the automatic scaling switching method comprises the following steps: receiving indication signaling sent by the NFVO, wherein the indication signaling is used for indicating an automatic scaling function of a VNF instance of a switch; and according to the indication signaling, switching an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance. In the embodiment of the invention, the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance can be directly switched on and off without depending on the activation and deactivation functions of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy, so that the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function is prevented from being opened due to the false activation of the strategy, and the influence caused by the false operation is reduced.

Description

Automatic expansion-contraction capacity switching method, VNFM and NFVO

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to an automatic capacity expansion and contraction switching method, a VNFM and a NFVO.

Background

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is a Virtualization Technology in which a telecommunication Network operator decouples software and hardware of a part of telecommunication Network functions in a general cloud server, a switch and a memory by referring to Information Technology (IT) so as to realize rapid and efficient deployment of Network Services (NS) and achieve an operation target of saving investment cost and operation cost.

In the NFV architecture, a Virtual Network Function (VNF) instance is a Network element after software is implemented, and is deployed on a virtual machine, and functions of the VNF instance are consistent with those of an interface and non-virtualization. Currently, an automatic scaling switch of a VNF instance relies on activation and deactivation functions of an automatic scaling policy, that is, automatic scaling opening is achieved by activating all automatic scaling policies on a Network Function Virtualization Orchestrator (NFVO), or automatic scaling closing is achieved by deactivating all automatic scaling policies on the NFVO.

However, when the automatic scaling switch of the VNF instance relies on the activation and deactivation functions of the automatic scaling strategy, it is easy to generate a malfunction. For example, if the operator only wants to create the policy of the automatic scaling, but does not want to open the automatic scaling function, but the operator mistakenly activates the policy when creating the policy of the automatic scaling, and if the operator is in an operation scene such as upgrading and needs to close the automatic scaling function, the influence of the mistaken activation of the policy is expanded to the influence of the mistaken opening of the automatic scaling function, so as to increase the influence of the operation error.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides an automatic scaling switch method, a VNFM (virtual network monitor) and an NFVO (network function volume) so as to solve the problem that the automatic scaling switch of the existing VNF (virtual network function) depends on the activation and deactivation functions of an automatic scaling strategy.

In order to solve the technical problem, the invention is realized as follows:

in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an automatic scaling switching method, applied to a VNFM, including:

receiving indication signaling sent by the NFVO, wherein the indication signaling is used for indicating an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of a VNF instance of a switch;

and according to the indication signaling, switching an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an automatic scaling method, applied to an NFVO, including:

sending an indication signaling to the VNFM;

the indication signaling is used for indicating the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance, and the VNFM switches the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance according to the indication signaling.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an automatic scaling method, which is applied to a VNFM, and includes:

sending a request message for requesting the automatic scaling function of the authorization VNF instance to the NFVO;

receiving a response message sent by the NFVO;

when the state of an automatic scaling function switch on the NFVO is on, the response message is used for allowing the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance to be authorized; and when the state of the switch of the automatic scaling function on the NFVO is off, the response message is used for refusing to authorize the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an automatic scaling switching method, applied to NFVO, including:

receiving a request message which is sent by a VNFM and requests for authorizing an automatic scaling function of a VNF instance;

sending a response message to the VNFM;

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a VNFM, including:

a first receiving module, configured to receive an indication signaling sent by the NFVO, where the indication signaling is used to indicate an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of a VNF instance of a switch;

and the switch module is used for switching the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance according to the indication signaling.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a VNFM, including:

a second sending module, configured to send an indication signaling to the VNFM;

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a VNFM, including:

a third sending module, configured to send a request message requesting authorization of an automatic scaling function of the VNF instance to the NFVO;

a second receiving module, configured to receive a response message sent by the NFVO;

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an NFVO, including:

the third receiving module is used for receiving a request message which is sent by the VNFM and requests for authorizing the automatic scale and shrink function of the VNF instance;

a fourth sending module, configured to send a response message to the VNFM;

when the state of an automatic scaling function switch on the NFVO is on, the response message is used for allowing the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance to be authorized; and when the on-off state of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function on the NFVO is off, the response message is used for refusing to authorize the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a VNFM, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, where the computer program, when executed by the processor, can implement the steps of the above-mentioned auto scaling method applied to the VNFM.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an NFVO, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, where the computer program, when executed by the processor, may implement the steps of the automatic scaling method applied to the NFVO.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, where the computer program, when executed by a processor, can implement the steps of the above-mentioned automatic scaling method applied to VNFM or the steps of the above-mentioned automatic scaling method applied to NFVO.

In the embodiment of the present invention, an indication signaling sent by NFVO is received, where the indication signaling is used to indicate an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of a VNF instance of a switch, and according to the indication signaling, the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance of the switch can be directly switched, and the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance of the switch is not dependent on activation and deactivation functions of an automatic capacity expansion and reduction policy, so that the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function is prevented from being opened due to a false activation policy, and an influence caused by a false operation is reduced.

Further, when the automatic scaling switch of the VNF instance depends on the activation and deactivation functions of the automatic scaling policy, if the operation of opening (or closing) the automatic scaling is performed on all VNF instances managed by the NFVO or all VNF instances managed by a certain VNFM on the NFVO, each automatic scaling policy needs to be activated (or deactivated), which is tedious in operation.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method for automatically scaling a switch according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of closing the auto-scaling function according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an instantiation of a VNF in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a process for monitoring VNF instance metrics in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a second flowchart of an automatic scaling switch method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a third flowchart of an automatic scaling method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a fourth flowchart of an automatic scaling switch method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a VNFM according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of an NFVO according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a second schematic structural diagram of a VNFM according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a second schematic structural diagram of the NFVO according to the embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a third schematic diagram of a VNFM according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a third schematic structural diagram of an NFVO according to the embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, but not all, embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be obtained by a person skilled in the art without inventive step based on the embodiments of the present invention, are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

First, it is pointed out that, in the embodiment of the present invention, a function of an automatic scaling switch for a VNF instance is newly added, so that the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance is switched without depending on activation and deactivation functions of an automatic scaling policy, and thus, opening of the automatic scaling function due to a false activation policy is avoided, and an influence caused by a false operation is reduced.

In a specific implementation, the operation of switching (i.e., turning on or off) the automatic scaling Function of the VNF instance may be performed on the NFVO or a Virtual Network Function Manager (VNFM). It should be noted that the precondition of the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance of the switch is that the VNF instance supports the automatic scaling function, that is, the function of the automatic scaling switch is only effective for the VNF instance supporting the automatic scaling function.

In the embodiment of the present invention, whether the VNF instance supports the automatic scaling function may be determined in the VNF instantiation process, and further, in the VNF instantiation process, the on-off state of the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance may be initialized. In order to set the state of the switch of the automatic scaling Function of the VNF instance during instantiation, an information element may be added to a Virtual Network Function Descriptor (VNFD), where the information element is used to indicate a support condition of the corresponding VNF instance for the automatic scaling Function and a default state of the switch of the automatic scaling Function.

When the VNFD does not include the information element, the VNF instantiation may indicate that the corresponding VNF instance does not support the automatic scaling function; when the information element is included in the VNFD, it may be indicated whether the VNF instance is to open the auto scaling function by default or close the auto scaling function by default according to the information element. For example, the value of the information element may be selected to be True or Flase, where when the value of the information element is True, it indicates that the corresponding VNF instance turns on the automatic scaling function by default, and when the value of the information element is Flase, it indicates that the corresponding VNF instance turns off the automatic scaling function by default.

Optionally, the information element may be referred to as any one of an automatic capacity expansion support parameter, an automatic capacity expansion support situation parameter, an automatic capacity expansion function support situation parameter, and the like, and hereinafter, the information element will be referred to as an automatic capacity expansion support parameter as an example, but the embodiment of the present invention does not limit this.

In addition, besides one information element may be added to the VNFD, two information elements may also be added, that is, a first information element and a second information element, where the first information element is used to indicate a support condition of the corresponding VNF instance for the automatic scaling function, and the second information element is used to indicate a default on-off state of the automatic scaling function of the corresponding VNF instance, that is, whether the automatic scaling function is turned on by default or turned off by default.

When the VNF is instantiated, the value of the first information element may be selected as a boolean (True or Flase), where when the value of the first information element is True, it indicates that the corresponding VNF instance supports the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function, and when the value of the first information element is Flase, it indicates that the corresponding VNF instance does not support the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function. When the value of the first information element is True, the value of the second information element can be selected to be True or Flase, wherein when the value of the second information element is True, the default opening of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the corresponding VNF instance is indicated, and when the value of the second information element is Flase, the default closing of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the corresponding VNF instance is indicated. It is to be understood that when the value of the first information element is flag, the second information element need not be set.

Optionally, the first information element may be referred to as any one of an automatic capacity expansion support parameter, an automatic capacity expansion support situation parameter, an automatic capacity expansion function support situation parameter, and the like, and will be referred to as an automatic capacity expansion support parameter as an example hereinafter, but the embodiment of the present invention does not limit this.

The second information element may be referred to as any one of an automatic scaling state parameter, an automatic scaling function state parameter, an automatic scaling switch state parameter, an automatic scaling function switch state parameter, and the like, and will be referred to as an automatic scaling state parameter as an example hereinafter, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

In this embodiment of the present invention, after the VNF is successfully instantiated, two parameters, that is, a first parameter and a second parameter, may be added to the record information of the VNF instance on the VNFM, where the first parameter is used to indicate whether the VNF instance supports the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function, and the second parameter is used to indicate an on-off state of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance.

For example, the value of the first parameter may be selected as a boolean, i.e., true or False, where when the value of the first parameter is True, it indicates that the corresponding VNF instance supports the automatic scaling function, and when the value of the first parameter is False, it indicates that the corresponding VNF instance does not support the automatic scaling function. The value of the second parameter may also be selected to be a boolean type, i.e., true or False, where when the value of the second parameter is True, it indicates that the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the corresponding VNF instance is turned on, and when the value of the second parameter is False, it indicates that the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the corresponding VNF instance is turned off. It is understood that when the value of the first parameter is Flase, the second parameter does not need to be set.

Optionally, the first parameter may be referred to as any one of an automatic capacity expansion support parameter, an automatic capacity expansion support situation parameter, an automatic capacity expansion function support situation parameter, and the like, and hereinafter, the first parameter will be referred to as an automatic capacity expansion support parameter as an example, but the embodiment of the present invention does not limit this.

The second parameter may be referred to as any one of an automatic capacity expansion and reduction state parameter, an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function state parameter, an automatic capacity expansion and reduction switch state parameter, and an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function switch state parameter, and will be referred to as an automatic capacity expansion and reduction state parameter as an example hereinafter, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

In addition, after the VNF is successfully instantiated, two parameters, that is, a third parameter and a fourth parameter, may be added to the record information of the VNF instance on the NFVO, where the third parameter is used to indicate whether the VNF instance supports the automatic scaling function, and the fourth parameter is used to indicate an on-off state of the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance.

For example, the value of the third parameter may be selected as a boolean, i.e., true or False, where when the value of the third parameter is True, it indicates that the corresponding VNF instance supports the automatic scaling function, and when the value of the third parameter is False, it indicates that the corresponding VNF instance does not support the automatic scaling function. The value of the fourth parameter may also be selected to be a boolean type, i.e., true or False, where when the value of the fourth parameter is True, it indicates that the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the corresponding VNF instance is turned on, and when the value of the fourth parameter is False, it indicates that the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the corresponding VNF instance is turned off. It is understood that when the value of the third parameter is Flase, the fourth parameter does not need to be set.

Optionally, the third parameter may be referred to as any one of an automatic capacity expansion support parameter, an automatic capacity expansion support situation parameter, an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function support situation parameter, and the like, and will be referred to as an automatic capacity expansion and reduction support parameter as an example hereinafter, but the embodiment of the present invention does not limit this.

The fourth parameter may be referred to as any one of an automatic capacity expansion and reduction state parameter, an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function state parameter, an automatic capacity expansion and reduction switch state parameter, an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function switch state parameter, and the like.

It should be noted that the supporting situation of the automatic scaling function represented by the first parameter on the VNFM is consistent with the supporting situation of the automatic scaling function represented by the third parameter on the NFVO, and the on-off state of the automatic scaling function represented by the second parameter on the VNFM is consistent with the on-off state of the automatic scaling function represented by the fourth parameter on the NFVO.

The automatic expansion and contraction capacity switching method of the present invention will be described with reference to the following embodiments and accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a flowchart of an automatic scaling switch method according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the method is applied to a VNFM, and as shown in fig. 1, the method includes the following steps:

step 101: and receiving indication signaling sent by the NFVO, wherein the indication signaling is used for indicating an automatic scaling function of the VNF instance of the switch.

The automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance may be understood as an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of turning on or off the VNF instance. Compared with the prior art, the indication signaling is a piece of signaling newly added between the NFVO and the VNFM.

Step 102: and according to the indication signaling, switching an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance.

After receiving the indication signaling, if the indication signaling indicates to open the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance, the VNFM opens the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the corresponding VNF instance, and if the indication signaling indicates to close the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance, the VNFM closes the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the corresponding VNF instance.

According to the automatic capacity expansion and reduction switching method, the indication signaling sent by the NFVO is received, the indication signaling is used for indicating the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance, the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance is switched according to the indication signaling, the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance can be directly switched, the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance is switched without depending on the activation and deactivation functions of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy, and therefore the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function is prevented from being opened due to the fact that the strategy is activated by mistake, and influences caused by misoperation are reduced.

In this embodiment of the present invention, optionally, after step 102, the method may further include:

and updating the switch state of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance on the VNFM.

In a specific implementation, when the state of the automatic scaling function switch of the VNF instance on the VNFM is updated, the automatic scaling state parameter (which may also be referred to as an automatic scaling function state parameter, an automatic scaling switch state parameter, or an automatic scaling function switch state parameter) of the VNF instance on the VNFM may be selected to be updated, that is, the value of the automatic scaling state parameter is reset, and the value of the automatic scaling state parameter may be selected to be True or False.

Optionally, after the VNFM opens the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance, the corresponding automatic capacity expansion and reduction state parameter may be set to True, which indicates that the corresponding automatic capacity expansion and reduction function switch state is set to open; at this time, if the VNF instance initiates a request for automatic capacity expansion, the VNFM accepts the request, and performs subsequent processes. Or after the VNFM closes the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance, the corresponding automatic capacity expansion and reduction state parameter may be set to False, which indicates that the corresponding automatic capacity expansion and reduction function switch state is set to off; at this point, if the VNF instance initiates a request for auto-scaling, the VNFM rejects the request.

Therefore, after the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance is switched on and off, the corresponding switch state parameters of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function are updated in time, and the VNFM can conveniently and accurately know the state of the corresponding VNF instance.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the indication signaling may not include VNF instance information or include VNF instance information, and based on whether the indication signaling includes VNF instance information, the VNFM may perform different operations.

Specifically, when the VNF instance information is not included in the indication signaling, step 102 may include:

and switching the automatic capacity expansion function of all VNF instances on the VNFM according to the indication signaling.

Alternatively, when VNF instance information is not included in the indication signaling, step 102 may include:

and switching on and off the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance corresponding to the VNF instance information on the VNFM according to the indication signaling.

The following describes the flow of closing the automatic scaling function according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to fig. 2.

In an embodiment of the present invention, referring to fig. 2, the process of closing the automatic expansion/contraction function may include the following steps:

step 201: and (4) triggering and closing the automatic expansion and contraction capacity function by an operator on an NFVO interface.

In this step, the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of all VNF instances (hereinafter, abbreviated as VNF) on all VNFMs may be selected to be turned off, the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of all VNFs on a certain VNFM may be selected to be turned off, and the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of a certain VNF on a certain VNFM may be selected to be turned off.

Step 202: the NFVO sends a request message of 'closing the automatic scaling function' to the VNFM, wherein the request message comprises an indication signaling indicating closing of the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance.

If the NFVO chooses to close the automatic capacity expansion and reduction functions of all VNFs on all VNFMs of the NFVO, the request message is sent to all VNFMs managed by the NFVO; if the NFVO selects to close the automatic capacity expansion and reduction functions of all VNFs on a certain VNFM, the request message is sent to the VNFM selected for operation on the NFVO and does not carry VNF instance information; if the NFVO selects to close the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of a certain VNF on a certain VNFM, the request message is sent to the VNFM selected for operation on the NFVO, and carries corresponding VNF instance information.

Step 203: the VNFM closes the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the corresponding VNF instance, and updates the on-off state of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance.

Optionally, when the signaling in step 202 indicates that the VNF instance information is not included in the signaling, that is, the automatic scaling function of all VNFs is to be turned off, the automatic scaling function switching states of all VNFs on the VNFM may be set to off; when the indication signaling in step 202 includes VNF instance information, only the state of the auto-scaling switch of the VNF instance corresponding to the VNF instance information may be set to off.

Step 204: the VNFM returns a response message to the NFVO to turn off the auto scaling function.

Optionally, if the signaling does not include VNF instance information in step 202, the response message includes all VNF instance information and the changed state of the automatic scaling switch thereof; if the indication signaling in step 202 includes VNF instance information, the response message carries the VNF instance information and the changed state of the automatic scaling switch thereof.

Step 205: and the NFVO updates the switch state of the automatic scaling function of the corresponding VNF instance, for example, the corresponding automatic scaling state parameter is set to False.

Thus, by means of the signaling interaction between the VNFM and the NFVO, the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of closing the corresponding VNF instance can be realized.

In the embodiment of the present invention, whether the VNF instance supports the automatic scaling function may be determined in the VNF instantiation process, and further, in the VNF instantiation process, the on-off state of the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance may be initialized.

Optionally, before step 101, the method may further include:

in the instantiation process of the VNF, analyzing automatic scaling support parameters in the VNFD of the VNF instance;

when the automatic scaling support parameter indicates that the VNF instance defaults to open an automatic scaling function, setting the switch state of the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance to be on;

or when the automatic scaling support parameter indicates that the VNF instance closes the automatic scaling function by default, setting the on-off state of the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance to off;

when the VNFD does not include the auto-scaling support parameter, it indicates that the VNF instance does not support the auto-scaling function, and sets the auto-scaling support condition of the VNF instance as non-support.

Optionally, before step 101, the method may further include:

in the instantiation process of the VNF, analyzing automatic expansion and contraction capacity support parameters and automatic expansion and contraction capacity state parameters in the VNFD of the VNF instance;

when the automatic capacity expansion and reduction supporting parameter indicates that the VNF instance supports an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function, and the automatic capacity expansion and reduction state parameter indicates that the VNF instance defaults to open an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function, setting the switch state of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance to be open;

or when the automatic scaling support parameter indicates that the VNF instance supports an automatic scaling function and the automatic scaling state parameter indicates that the VNF instance is defaulted to turn off the automatic scaling function, setting the automatic scaling function on-off state of the VNF instance to off;

when the automatic capacity expansion and reduction supporting parameter indicates that the VNF instance does not support the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function, setting the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function supporting condition of the VNF instance as non-supporting.

In this way, through the information element added in the VNFD, the initialization of the automatic scaling function switch state of the corresponding VNF instance can be achieved in the VNF instantiation process.

Optionally, after the VNF is successfully instantiated, the record information of the VNF instance on the VNFM includes an automatic scaling support parameter and an automatic scaling state parameter, where the automatic scaling support parameter is used to indicate whether the VNF instance supports an automatic scaling function, and the automatic scaling state parameter is used to indicate an automatic scaling function switch state of the VNF instance.

Optionally, after the VNF is successfully instantiated, the method may further include:

and sending interface information to the NFVO, and setting an automatic capacity expansion and reduction supporting parameter and an automatic capacity expansion and reduction state parameter included in the recording information of the VNF instance by the NFVO according to the interface information.

And the VNFM is consistent with the support condition of the automatic scaling function represented by the automatic scaling support parameter on the NFVO, and the VNFM is consistent with the on-off state of the automatic scaling function represented by the automatic scaling state parameter on the NFVO. In a specific implementation, the interface information may be vnf legacy change notification interface information.

In this way, information on the VNFM and the vnvo about the same VNF instance is guaranteed to be consistent, which may help the communication process to proceed smoothly.

The VNF instantiation process of the embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 3.

In a specific example of the present invention, referring to fig. 3, the VNF instantiation process may include the following steps:

step 301: the operator instantiates a VNF at the NFVO interface.

Step 302: the NFVO selects a VNF package and a VNFM when the VNF is instantiated; wherein the VNF packet includes VNFD.

Step 303: NFVO presents information to be input on the instantiation page, such as parameter values adjustable at the time of instantiation, and Virtual Infrastructure Manager (VIM) and tenant used to select instantiation; meanwhile, the NFVO calls an instantiateVNF interface to request the VNFM to instantiate the VNF, and the VNF name, VNFD identification VNFDID, variable parameters inputs, extension and other parameters are carried in the interface.

Step 304: the VNFM creates an instantiation task, generates a JobID and a VNF identifier, and returns the JobID and the VNF identifier to the NFVO; the NFVO can obtain the instantiated task state by calling a GetJobStatus interface.

Step 305: the VNFM parses the VNFD and variable parameters in the VNF package, and analyzes virtual resources required for VNF instantiation, which mainly include virtual specifications and virtual quantities.

When the automatic capacity expansion and reduction support parameter in the VNFD does not exist, the VNFM sets the 'automatic capacity expansion and reduction function support condition' in the VNF instance as unsupported; when the value of the automatic scaling support parameter in the VNFD is True, the VNFM sets the "automatic scaling function on-off state" in the VNF instance to on; and when the value of the auto scaling support parameter in the VNFD is False, the VNFM sets the "auto scaling function switching state" in the VNF instance to off.

Step 306: and calling a GrantLifecycle interface by the VNFM to request the NFVO to perform resource authorization, wherein the interface carries the required resource VMList.

Step 307: and the NFVO inquires the VIM and tentant information input in the steps according to the VNF identification, and returns the VIMID and TennantID to the VNFM.

Step 308: the VNFM sends a request to the NFVO to create a virtual resource.

Step 309: the NFVO creates the required virtual resources in the specified VIM.

In the indirect mode, the VNFM sends a native Openstack interface request to the NFVO, and the NFVO forwards the interface to the VIM and analyzes and records the interface. For steps 308 and 309, operations may involve multiple steps, including creation of virtual machines, virtual storage, virtual network cards, and virtual networks, mounting of virtual storage, virtual network cards to virtual machines, connection of virtual network cards to virtual networks, and affinity and anti-affinity operations between different virtual machines.

Step 310: and after detecting the resource change of the virtual machine, the VIM sends PushVchanges request information to the NFVO to inform the change condition of the resource in the VIM.

Step 311: the NFVO returns a corresponding response message to the VIM.

Step 312: after the resources are successfully created, the VNFM to VNF configures and deploys the related parameters.

Step 313: after the VNF is instantiated successfully, the VNFM sends vnflipercychangenotification interface information to the NFVO, and notifies the VNF instance of the virtual resource. And the automatic expansion and contraction capacity support parameter and the automatic expansion and contraction capacity state parameter in the interface information are consistent with corresponding parameter values on the VNFM.

Step 314: the NFVO returns a response message to the VNFM; and the NFVO keeps the automatic scale-up and scale-down support parameters and the automatic scale-up and scale-down state parameter settings of the VNF instance on the NFVO consistent with corresponding parameter values on the VNFM.

Step 315: after the VNF is successfully instantiated, the VNFM notifies an Element Management System (EMS) that there is a newly instantiated VNF, including a Management address and a Management account of the VNF.

Step 316: the EMS returns a response message (optional) to the VNFM.

Step 317: the EMS adds the newly instantiated VNF to the management object.

Step 318: and the EMS configures application parameters for the VNF.

Step 319: the operator can view the instantiation results at the NFVO interface.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the VNFM may have a function of processing an automatic scaling function, that is, an operation of correspondingly monitoring an index of the VNF instance may be performed according to a state of an automatic scaling function switch of the VNF instance and a state of an automatic scaling strategy. According to the state of the switch of the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance and the state of the automatic scaling strategy, the following four scenarios may exist:

in a first scene, an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function is opened, and an automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy is not activated;

in a second scene, an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function is opened, and an automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy is activated;

in a third scenario, the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function is closed, and the automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy is not activated;

and fourthly, closing the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function and activating an automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy.

Optionally, the method may further include:

the VNFM performs at least one of the following operations according to the state of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function switch of the VNF instance and the state of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy:

when the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance is opened and the first automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy is not activated (corresponding to a scene one), the VNF instance index corresponding to the first automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy is not monitored;

when the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance is opened and the second automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy is activated (corresponding to a second scene), monitoring a VNF instance index corresponding to the second automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy, and executing capacity expansion and reduction operation when the VNF instance index reaches a first preset threshold; wherein, the first preset threshold value can be preset based on the actual situation; the execution of the capacity expansion and reduction operation can be understood as that VNFM reports NFVO to execute the capacity expansion and reduction operation;

when the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance is closed and the third automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy is not activated (corresponding to the third scene), the VNF instance indexes corresponding to the third automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy are not monitored;

when the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance is closed and the fourth automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy is activated (corresponding to scene four), comparing the priority of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function with the priority of the fourth automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy; when the priority of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function is higher than that of the fourth automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy, the VNF instance indexes corresponding to the fourth automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy are not monitored; or, when the priority of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function is lower than the priority of the fourth automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy, monitoring a VNF instance index corresponding to the fourth automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy, and when the VNF instance index reaches a second preset threshold, reporting information (the information may be warning information or an event) indicating that the VNF instance index reaches the second preset threshold to the NFVO, and after seeing the information, an operator determines whether to perform a capacity expansion and reduction operation, that is, a manual capacity expansion and reduction operation.

Therefore, by combining the on-off state of the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance and the state of the automatic scaling strategy, the corresponding VNF instance index can be selectively and effectively monitored.

With reference to the second scenario, a monitoring process in an embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to fig. 4.

In the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4, the corresponding monitoring process may include the following steps:

step 401: the VNFM opens the automatic capacity expansion function of the VNF instance 1 and activates the automatic capacity expansion strategy a of the VNF instance 1;

step 402: the VNFM continuously monitors indexes of a VNF instance 1 corresponding to the automatic capacity expansion and contraction strategy a;

step 403: when the index of the VNF example 1 reaches a preset threshold value of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy a, triggering automatic capacity expansion and reduction operation;

step 404: the VNFM reports notification information to the NFVO; wherein, the notification information indicates that the indicator of the VNF instance 1 reaches a preset threshold value, and triggers an automatic capacity expansion and reduction operation; the notification information may include corresponding VNF instance information, an automatic scaling function switch state, a preset threshold value of an automatic scaling strategy, an indicator type and/or an indicator value, and the like.

Referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a flowchart of another method for automatically scaling a capacity switch, which is applied to NFVO according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 5, the method includes the following steps:

step 501: sending an indication signaling to the VNFM; the indication signaling is used for indicating an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of a VNF instance, and the VNFM switches the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance according to the indication signaling.

Optionally, the step 501 may include any one of the following:

when a switch is selected (turned on or off) to automatically expand the capacity of all VNF instances on all VNFMs on the NFVO, sending the indication signaling to all VNFMs on the NFVO;

when the automatic capacity expansion function of all VNF instances on a first VNFM on a NFVO is selected (turned on or off), sending the indication signaling to the first VNFM;

when the automatic capacity expansion function of a first VNF instance on a second VNFM on the NFVO is selected (turned on or off), the indication signaling is sent to the second VNFM, wherein the indication signaling comprises information of the first VNF instance.

The first VNFM may be understood as some VNFM or VNFMs (not all VNFMs) on the NFVO. This second VNFM may be understood as one or more VNFMs (not all VNFMs) on the NFVO. The first VNF instance may be understood as one or more VNF instances on the second VNFM. When the automatic expansion and contraction capacity function is closed on the NFVO, setting the automatic expansion and contraction capacity state parameter of the VNF instance on the NFVO to false; and when the automatic scaling function is opened on the NFVO, the automatic scaling state parameter of the VNF instance on the NFVO may be set to true.

Optionally, the record information of the VNF instance on the NFVO includes an automatic scaling support parameter and an automatic scaling state parameter, where the automatic scaling support parameter is used to indicate whether the VNF instance supports an automatic scaling function, and the automatic scaling state parameter is used to indicate an on-off state of the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance.

According to the automatic capacity expansion and reduction switching method, the indication signaling is sent to the VNFM, so that the VNFM can switch the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance according to the indication signaling, namely, the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance is directly switched, and the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance is switched without depending on the activation and deactivation functions of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy, so that the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function is prevented from being opened due to the fact that the strategy is activated by mistake, and the influence caused by misoperation is reduced.

In the above embodiment, the execution point of the switch auto scaling function is on the VNFM, but in addition, the execution point of the switch auto scaling function may be on the NFVO, which is described below.

Referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a flowchart of another method for automatically scaling up and down a VNFM according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the method is applied to the VNFM, as shown in fig. 6, and the method includes the following steps:

step 601: and sending a request message for requesting the automatic scaling function of the authorized VNF instance to the NFVO.

The VNF instance in this step may be one VNF instance, multiple VNF instances, or all VNF instances on the VNFM, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

Step 602: and receiving a response message sent by the NFVO.

It should be noted that, for the VNF instantiation process and the automatic scaling switch processing process in this embodiment, reference may be made to the process shown in the above embodiment of fig. 1, and details are not described herein again.

According to the automatic scaling switching method provided by the embodiment of the invention, the NFVO can allow or refuse to authorize the automatic scaling function by sending the request message for requesting the automatic scaling function of the authorized VNF instance to the NFVO, and the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance is switched without depending on the activation and deactivation functions of the automatic scaling strategy, so that the automatic scaling function is prevented from being switched on due to the false activation of the strategy, and the influence caused by the false operation is reduced.

Referring to fig. 7, fig. 7 is a flowchart of another method for automatically scaling a capacity switch, which is applied to NFVO according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 7, and the method includes the following steps:

step 701: and receiving a request message which is sent by the VNFM and requests the automatic scale and shrink function of the authorized VNF instance.

Step 702: sending a response message to the VNFM.

The automatic capacity expansion and reduction switching method provided by the embodiment of the invention can allow or refuse authorization of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function by the NFVO, and does not rely on the activation and deactivation functions of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy to switch the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance, so that the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function is prevented from being switched on due to the false activation of the strategy, and the influence caused by false operation is reduced.

The above embodiments describe the automatic scaling method of the present invention, and the VNFM and NFVO of the present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments and the drawings.

Referring to fig. 8, an embodiment of the present invention provides a VNFM 80, including:

a first receiving module 81, configured to receive an indication signaling sent by the NFVO, where the indication signaling is used to indicate an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of a VNF instance of a switch;

and a switching module 82, configured to switch an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance according to the indication signaling.

The VNFM of the embodiment of the invention receives the indication signaling sent by the NFVO, the indication signaling is used for indicating the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance of the switch, and according to the indication signaling, the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance of the switch can be directly switched, and the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance is switched without depending on the activation and deactivation functions of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy, so that the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function is prevented from being opened due to the false activation strategy, and the influence caused by the false operation is reduced.

Optionally, when the VNF instance information is not included in the indication signaling, the switch module 82 is specifically configured to:

switching on and off the automatic capacity expansion and reduction functions of all VNF instances on the VNFM according to the indication signaling;

or, when the indication signaling includes VNF instance information, the switch module 82 is specifically configured to:

Optionally, the VNFM further includes:

and the updating module is used for updating the on-off state of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance on the VNFM.

Optionally, the VNFM further includes:

the first analysis module is used for analyzing the automatic scale-up support parameters in the VNFD of the VNF instance in the VNF instantiation process;

a first setting module, configured to set, when the automatic scaling support parameter indicates that the VNF instance default opens an automatic scaling function, an automatic scaling function switch state of the VNF instance to open;

a second setting module, configured to set, when the automatic scaling support parameter indicates that the VNF instance is closed by default in the automatic scaling function, a switching state of the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance to be closed;

Optionally, the VNFM further includes:

a second parsing module, configured to parse, in a VNF instantiation process, an automatic scaling support parameter and an automatic scaling state parameter in a VNFD of the VNF instance;

a third setting module, configured to set, when the automatic scaling support parameter indicates that the VNF instance supports an automatic scaling function, and the automatic scaling state parameter indicates that the VNF instance turns on an automatic scaling function by default, an automatic scaling function switch state of the VNF instance to be turned on;

a fourth setting module, configured to set, when the automatic scaling support parameter indicates that the VNF instance supports an automatic scaling function, and the automatic scaling state parameter indicates that the VNF instance is default to turn off the automatic scaling function, an automatic scaling function switching state of the VNF instance to be turned off;

Optionally, the VNFM further includes:

a first sending module, configured to send interface information to the NFVO, where the NFVO sets, according to the interface information, an automatic scalability support parameter and an automatic scalability status parameter that are included in record information of a VNF instance thereon;

the VNFM and the automatic scalability supported by the NFVO are the same, and the VNFM and the NFVO are the same in on-off state of the automatic scalability function represented by the automatic scalability status parameter.

Optionally, the VNFM further includes:

an execution module, configured to execute at least one of the following operations according to the state of the automatic scaling function switch of the VNF instance and the state of the automatic scaling policy:

when the automatic capacity expansion function of the VNF instance is opened and a first automatic capacity expansion strategy is not activated, not monitoring a VNF instance index corresponding to the first automatic capacity expansion strategy;

when the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance is opened and a second automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy is activated, monitoring a VNF instance index corresponding to the second automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy, and executing capacity expansion and reduction operation when the VNF instance index reaches a first preset threshold value;

when the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance is closed and a third automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy is not activated, the VNF instance index corresponding to the third automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy is not monitored;

when the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance is closed and a fourth automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy is activated, comparing the priority of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function with the priority of the fourth automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy; when the priority of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function is higher than that of the fourth automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy, the VNF instance indexes corresponding to the fourth automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy are not monitored; or, when the priority of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function is lower than the priority of the fourth automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy, monitoring a VNF instance index corresponding to the fourth automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy, and when the VNF instance index reaches a second preset threshold, reporting information indicating that the VNF instance index reaches the second preset threshold to the NFVO, and determining whether to perform a capacity expansion and reduction operation by an operator.

Referring to fig. 9, an embodiment of the present invention provides an NFVO 90, including:

a second sending module 91, configured to send an indication signaling to the VNFM;

the indication signaling is used for indicating an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of a VNF instance, and the VNFM switches the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance according to the indication signaling.

The NFVO of the embodiment of the present invention sends the indication signaling to the VNFM, so that the VNFM switches the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance according to the indication signaling, that is, directly switches the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance, without depending on the activation and deactivation functions of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction policy, thereby avoiding the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function being opened due to the false activation policy, and reducing the influence caused by the false operation.

Optionally, the second sending module 91 is specifically configured to execute any one of the following:

when the automatic capacity expansion function of all VNF instances on all VNFMs on a switch NFVO is selected, sending the indication signaling to all VNFMs on the NFVO;

when the automatic capacity expansion function of all VNF instances on a first VNFM on a switch NFVO is selected, sending the indication signaling to the first VNFM;

when an automatic capacity expansion function of a first VNF instance on a second VNFM on a switch NFVO is selected, the indication signaling is sent to the second VNFM, wherein the indication signaling comprises information of the first VNF instance.

Referring to fig. 10, an embodiment of the present invention provides a VNFM 10, including:

a third sending module 11, configured to send a request message requesting authorization of an automatic scaling function of the VNF instance to the NFVO;

a second receiving module 12, configured to receive a response message sent by the NFVO;

when the on-off state of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function on the NFVO is on, the response message is used for allowing the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance to be authorized; and when the state of the switch of the automatic scaling function on the NFVO is off, the response message is used for refusing to authorize the automatic scaling function of the VNF instance.

It should be noted that, for the VNF instantiation process and the automatic scaling switch processing process in this embodiment, reference may be made to the process shown in the above embodiment of fig. 1, and details are not repeated here.

The VNFM of the embodiment of the invention can allow or refuse to authorize the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function by the NFVO by sending the request message of requesting the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance to the NFVO, and does not rely on the activation and deactivation functions of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy to switch on and off the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance, thereby avoiding the opening of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function due to the false activation strategy and reducing the influence caused by the false operation.

Referring to fig. 11, an embodiment of the present invention provides an NFVO 110, including:

a third receiving module 111, configured to receive a request message, which is sent by the VNFM and requests to authorize an automatic scale and shrink function of the VNF instance;

a fourth sending module 112, configured to send a response message to the VNFM;

The NFVO of the embodiment of the invention can allow or refuse to authorize the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function by the NFVO, and does not rely on the activation and deactivation functions of the automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy to switch on and off the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance, thereby avoiding the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function being opened due to the false activation of the strategy and reducing the influence caused by the false operation.

In addition, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a VNFM, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and capable of running on the processor, where the computer program, when executed by the processor, can implement the processes of the above embodiment of the automatic scaling method applied to the VNFM, and can achieve the same technical effects, and in order to avoid repetition, the details are not described here again.

Specifically, referring to fig. 12, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a VNFM 120, which includes a bus 121, a transceiver unit 122, a bus interface 123, a processor 124, and a memory 125.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the VNFM 120 further includes: a computer program stored on the memory 125 and executable on the processor 124. Wherein the computer program when executed by the processor 124 may implement the steps of:

and switching the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance according to the indication signaling.

Alternatively, the computer program may, when executed by the processor 124, implement the steps of:

sending a request message for requesting authorization of an automatic scaling function of the VNF instance to the NFVO;

receiving a response message sent by the NFVO;

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the VNFM 120 may implement the processes in the embodiment shown in fig. 1 or the embodiment shown in fig. 6, and may achieve the same technical effect, and for avoiding repetition, the details are not described here again.

In FIG. 12, a bus architecture (represented by bus 121), the bus 121 may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, the bus 121 linking together various circuits including one or more processors, represented by processor 124, and memory, represented by memory 125. The bus 121 may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. A bus interface 123 provides an interface between the bus 121 and the transceiving unit 122. Transceiver unit 122 may be one element or may be multiple elements, such as multiple receive units and transmit units, providing a means for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium

The processor 124 is responsible for managing the bus 121 and general processing, and may also provide various functions including timing, peripheral interfaces, voltage regulation, power management, and other control functions. And memory 125 may be used to store data used by processor 124 in performing operations.

Alternatively, the processor 124 may be a CPU, ASIC, FPGA, or CPLD.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides an NFVO, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and capable of running on the processor, where the computer program, when executed by the processor, can implement the processes of the embodiment of the automatic scalable switching method applied to the NFVO, and can achieve the same technical effects, and is not described herein again to avoid repetition.

Specifically, referring to fig. 13, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an NFVO 130, which includes a bus 131, a transceiver unit 132, a bus interface 133, a processor 134, and a memory 135.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the NFVO 130 further includes: a computer program stored on the memory 135 and executable on the processor 134. Wherein the computer program when executed by the processor 134 may implement the steps of:

sending an indication signaling to the VNFM;

Alternatively, the computer program may, when executed by the processor 134, implement the steps of:

sending a response message to the VNFM;

It should be noted that, the NFVO 130 in this embodiment may implement the processes in the embodiment shown in fig. 5 or the embodiment shown in fig. 7, and may achieve the same technical effects, and for avoiding repetition, details are not repeated here.

In fig. 13, a bus architecture (represented by bus 131), bus 131 may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, with bus 131 linking together various circuits including one or more processors, represented by processor 134, and memory, represented by memory 135. The bus 131 may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further herein. A bus interface 133 provides an interface between the bus 131 and the transceiving unit 132. Transceiver unit 132 may be one element or multiple elements, such as multiple receive units and transmit units, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium

Processor 134 is responsible for managing bus 131 and general processing, and may also provide various functions including timing, peripheral interfaces, voltage regulation, power management, and other control functions. And memory 135 may be used to store data used by processor 134 in performing operations.

Alternatively, the processor 134 may be a CPU, ASIC, FPGA, or CPLD.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the automatic scaling method applied to the VNFM or the steps of the automatic scaling method applied to the NFVO may be implemented, and the same technical effects may be achieved, and are not described herein again to avoid repetition.

Computer-readable media, which include both non-transitory and non-transitory, removable and non-removable media, may implement the information storage by any method or technology. The information may be computer readable instructions, data structures, modules of a program, or other data. Examples of computer storage media include, but are not limited to, phase change memory (PRAM), static Random Access Memory (SRAM), dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), other types of Random Access Memory (RAM), read Only Memory (ROM), electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), digital Versatile Disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transmission medium, which can be used to store information that can be accessed by a computing device. As defined herein, a computer readable medium does not include a transitory computer readable medium such as a modulated data signal and a carrier wave.

It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a … …" does not exclude the presence of another identical element in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

The above-mentioned serial numbers of the embodiments of the present invention are merely for description and do not represent the merits of the embodiments.

Through the description of the foregoing embodiments, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the method of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented by software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and certainly may also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases, the former is a better implementation. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) and includes instructions for enabling a terminal device (such as a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device) to execute the method according to the embodiments of the present invention.

The foregoing is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it should be noted that, for those skilled in the art, various modifications and decorations can be made without departing from the principle of the present invention, and these modifications and decorations should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic capacity expansion and contraction switching method is applied to a Virtual Network Function Manager (VNFM), and is characterized by comprising the following steps:

receiving an indication signaling sent by a network function virtualization orchestrator NFVO, wherein the indication signaling is used for indicating an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of a switch virtual network function VNF instance;

switching an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance according to the indication signaling;

before the receiving the indication signaling sent by the NFVO, the method further includes:

in the instantiation process of the VNF, analyzing automatic scaling support parameters in a Virtual Network Function Descriptor (VNFD) of the VNF instance;

when the VNFD does not include an automatic scaling support parameter, the VNF instance is indicated to not support an automatic scaling function, and the automatic scaling support condition of the VNF instance is set as not supported;

or the like, or, alternatively,

before the receiving signaling sent by the NFVO and indicating the automatic scalability function of the VNF instance of the switch, the method further includes:

when the automatic capacity expansion and reduction supporting parameter indicates that the VNF instance does not support the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function, setting the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function supporting condition of the VNF instance as non-supporting;

after successful instantiation of the VNF, record information of a VNF instance on the VNFM includes an automatic scaling support parameter and an automatic scaling state parameter, where the automatic scaling support parameter is used to indicate whether the VNF instance supports an automatic scaling function, and the automatic scaling state parameter is used to indicate an automatic scaling function switch state of the VNF instance.

2. The method of claim 1,

when the indication signaling does not include VNF instance information, the switching, according to the indication signaling, an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance includes:

according to the indication signaling, switching on and off the automatic scaling function of all VNF instances on the VNFM;

or, when the indication signaling includes VNF instance information, the switching, according to the indication signaling, an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance includes:

3. The method of claim 1, wherein after switching an automatic scaling function of a VNF instance according to the indication signaling, the method further comprises:

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending interface information to the NFVO, and setting an automatic capacity expansion and reduction supporting parameter and an automatic capacity expansion and reduction state parameter included in the recording information of a VNF instance on the NFVO according to the interface information;

and the VNFM is consistent with the support condition of the automatic scaling function represented by the automatic scaling support parameter on the NFVO, and the VNFM is consistent with the on-off state of the automatic scaling function represented by the automatic scaling state parameter on the NFVO.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

according to the state of the automatic scaling function switch of the VNF instance and the state of the automatic scaling strategy, performing at least one of the following operations:

when the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance is closed and a third automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy is not activated, not monitoring a VNF instance index corresponding to the third automatic capacity expansion and reduction strategy;

6. An automatic capacity expansion and contraction switching method is applied to NFVO and is characterized by comprising the following steps:

sending an indication signaling to the VNFM;

the indication signaling is used for indicating an automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of a VNF instance, and the VNFM switches the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance according to the indication signaling;

the record information of the VNF instance on the NFVO includes an automatic scaling support parameter and an automatic scaling state parameter, where the automatic scaling support parameter is used to indicate whether the VNF instance supports an automatic scaling function, and the automatic scaling state parameter is used to indicate an automatic scaling function switching state of the VNF instance.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the sending the indication signaling to the VNFM comprises any one of:

8. A VNFM, comprising:

the switch module is used for switching the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance according to the indication signaling;

the VNFM further comprises:

a first setting module, configured to set, when the automatic scaling support parameter indicates that the VNF instance turns on an automatic scaling function by default, a switch state of an automatic scaling function of the VNF instance to be on;

or the like, or, alternatively,

the VNFM further comprises:

a fourth setting module, configured to set, when the automatic scaling support parameter indicates that the VNF instance supports an automatic scaling function, and the automatic scaling state parameter indicates that the VNF instance is defaulted to close the automatic scaling function, an automatic scaling function on-off state of the VNF instance to be closed;

after the VNF is successfully instantiated, the record information of the VNF instance on the VNFM includes an automatic capacity expansion support parameter and an automatic capacity expansion state parameter, where the automatic capacity expansion support parameter is used to indicate whether the VNF instance supports an automatic capacity expansion function, and the automatic capacity expansion state parameter is used to indicate an automatic capacity expansion function switching state of the VNF instance.

9. The VNFM of claim 8,

when the indication signaling does not include VNF instance information, the switch module is specifically configured to:

or, when the indication signaling includes VNF instance information, the switch module is specifically configured to:

10. The VNFM of claim 9, further comprising:

11. The VNFM of claim 8, further comprising:

a first sending module, configured to send interface information to the NFVO, where the NFVO sets, according to the interface information, an automatic scalability support parameter and an automatic scalability status parameter that are included in record information of a VNF instance on the NFVO;

12. The VNFM of claim 8, further comprising:

when the automatic capacity expansion function of the VNF instance is opened and a first automatic capacity expansion strategy is not activated, the VNF instance index corresponding to the first automatic capacity expansion strategy is not monitored;

13. An NFVO, comprising:

the second sending module is used for sending an indication signaling to the VNFM;

the indication signaling is used for indicating the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance, and the VNFM switches the automatic capacity expansion and reduction function of the VNF instance according to the indication signaling;

14. The NFVO of claim 13, wherein the second sending module is specifically configured to perform any one of:

15. A VNFM comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that the computer program when executed by the processor implements the steps of the method of automatic scaling according to any of the claims 1 to 5.

16. NFVO, comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that the computer program, when executed by the processor, implements the steps of the method of automatic scaling according to any of claims 6 to 7.

17. A computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the automatic scaling switching method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.