CN107210996B

CN107210996B - Service chain management method and device

Info

Publication number: CN107210996B
Application number: CN201580035110.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 于洋; 于益俊; 田红波
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2015-09-02
Filing date: 2015-09-02
Publication date: 2020-02-21
Anticipated expiration: 2035-09-02
Also published as: WO2017035820A1; CN107210996A

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a service chain management method and apparatus, which can perform unified management on an aggregated VAS, that is, perform management operations such as online, offline, and update on the aggregated VAS, and are used to solve the problem that the aggregated VAS cannot be uniformly managed in the prior art. Specifically, the NFVO receives a management operation indication message sent by a manager, and the management operation indication message carries a service template; the service template includes information required for describing a management operation performed on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS; aggregating services provided by a plurality of VASs included in the VAS to be associated with each other; and the NFVO informs the VNFM to execute online operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS according to the service template. The management operation indication message may be an online operation indication message, an offline operation indication message, an update operation indication message, or the like.

Description

Service chain management method and device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for managing a service chain.

Background

As shown in fig. 1, in an existing common networking, a plurality of value added service devices are often connected in series behind a fixed or mobile user access device, and the value added service devices may also be referred to as service enablers (enablers). The value added service device may be a processing device for content optimization, acceleration, traffic compression, data caching, and the like. For example: such as the video optimizer, the traffic compressor, the data buffer, and the depth packet detector shown in fig. 1. The user access device may be a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) or a Packet Data Gateway (P-GW) for mobile broadband, a Broadband Network Gateway (BNG) or a Serving Gateway (SGW) for fixed access, and the like.

The value-added service sets and the path descriptions processed by the value-added service devices jointly form a service chain. In short, a service chain is a sequence of value-added services that a certain data flow needs to pass through. For example, the sequence of value added services required to be passed through as indicated by a service chain may be as follows: content optimization, acceleration, service flow compression and data caching. The data streams of different service chains only need to flow through the value-added service equipment corresponding to the value-added service indicated by the service chain.

As shown in fig. 2, the Network architecture diagram is a Network architecture diagram of an SDN (software defined Network) GI (GI is an interface between GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and an external Packet data Network) Service chain under an NFV (Network Functions Virtualization, NFV for short) architecture.

The SDN GI service chain under the NFV architecture comprises the following logic functional components:

the Value-Added Server (VAS) is used for providing services in a service chain, such as Web optimization, video optimization, uniform resource locator, filtering and the like.

And the Network Controller (NC) is used for maintaining and managing a service chain.

And the Forwarder (English: Forwarder) is used for sensing the service chain, identifying and packaging a service chain packet head, forwarding a user message, classifying the service chain, realizing the load balance of the value added server and the like.

The VAS and NC are all Virtual Network Function units (VNF) or Virtual Network sub-Function units (VNFC) in a Virtual Network or a hybrid Network, and VNFCs are sub-VNFs in the VNF or physical Network Function units (english: physical Network Function, abbreviation: PNF), specifically, the PNF may be a Virtual Machine (VM) instance, run on one physical Machine or run in a distributed manner on multiple physical machines, may be software, run on one physical Machine or run in a distributed manner on multiple physical machines, and may also be one physical unit or a combination of multiple physical units that implement a network function.

The SDN GI service chain under the NFV architecture also comprises the following logic functional components:

the manager (Sender) is used for managing NFVO, and may be NMS/OSS (Network management System/Operations Support System) or bss (business Support System) or NFVO itself.

A network function virtualization Orchestrator (NFV editor, NFVO for short) is an Orchestrator of a service chain and is responsible for the overall management of the service chain. For example, recording, modifying, or updating the whole information of the business chain in a database, etc. The overall information of the service chain includes the state of the service chain, the ID of the service chain, which VASs the service chain includes, which ports different VASs are interconnected through, and the CPU, storage resources, network resources, etc. occupied by the VAS.

A database (Catalog) for storing information of the service chain.

And the Virtual Network Function controller (VNFM) is configured to manage each VAS, and perform a management operation on the VAS after receiving a management instruction of the NFVO.

In the implementation of the SDN GI service chain under the NFV architecture, the management of the service chain is only performed for each VAS, and does not consider the relationship between VASs, and a plurality of VASs having a relationship may be referred to as an aggregation nas (vassegment): such as a packaged service, service package. The prior art does not provide for a unified management of aggregated VASs.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a service chain management method and a service chain management device, which are used for solving the problem that the prior art cannot uniformly manage aggregated VAS.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for managing a service chain, including:

a network function virtualization orchestrator NFVO receives an online operation indication message sent by a manager, wherein the online operation indication message carries a service template; the service template comprises information for describing the on-line operation of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregation value-added server VAS; services provided by a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS are associated with each other;

the NFVO sending a query request to a virtual network function controller (VNFM) for querying whether a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS exist;

and when receiving a query result sent by the VNFM and indicating that a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS exist, the NFVO notifies the VNFM to perform online operation on the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS according to the service template.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the service template is a network function descriptor NSD, where the NSD includes an identifier of an aggregated VAS and information required for describing a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the identifier of the aggregated VAS to perform online operation; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the service template comprises an NSD and a description template corresponding to the identification of the aggregated VAS, the identification of the aggregated VAS is recorded in the NSD, and information required for executing online operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the identification of the aggregated VAS is recorded in the description template corresponding to the identification of the aggregated VAS.

With reference to the first aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, when receiving a query result that all of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS sent by the VNFM exist, the NFVO further includes:

the NFVO records the service template in a database.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management method, including:

a network function virtualization orchestrator NFVO receives an update operation indication message sent by a manager, wherein the update operation indication message carries a first service template; the first service template comprises information required for describing update operations to be performed on a plurality of VASs comprised by an aggregation value added server VAS;

the NFVO queries a database to store a second service template with the same identification as the first service template;

the NFVO updates a second service template stored in a database based on the received first service template, and notifies a virtual network function controller VNFM to perform an update operation on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS recorded in the first service template.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the method further includes: the method according to the first aspect and any one of the first to second possible implementation manners of the first aspect.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management method, including:

a network function virtualization orchestrator NFVO receives an offline operation indication message sent by a manager, wherein the offline operation indication message carries an identifier of a service template; the service template comprises information for describing the processing of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregation value added server VAS;

the NFVO queries a service template corresponding to the identifier of the service template in a database;

the NFVO deletes the service template stored in the database, and notifies a virtual network function controller (VNFM) to perform offline operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS recorded in the service template.

With reference to the third aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the method further includes: the method according to the second aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management method, including:

the method comprises the steps that a virtual network function controller VNFM receives a query request which is sent by a network function virtualization orchestrator NFVO and used for querying whether a plurality of VASs included in a VAS exist or not; wherein respective services provided by a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS are associated with each other;

the VNFM sending a query result to the NFVO indicating that a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS all exist;

the VNFM receives a first notification message which is sent by the NFVO and used for notifying the VNFM of performing online operation on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS, wherein the first notification message carries an identifier of the aggregated VAS;

the VNFM determines each VAS included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the aggregated VAS identification;

and the VNFM executes online operation on the determined VASs.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the first notification message further carries information required for describing that the online operation is performed on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS;

the VNFM executing online operation on the determined VASs, including:

and the VNFM executes online operation on each determined VAS according to the information required for describing the online operation of the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the performing, by the VNFM, an online operation on the determined VASs includes:

the VNFM sends a query request for describing information required for executing online operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS to the NFVO; the VNFM receives information which is sent by the NFVO and is used for describing the on-line operation of the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS, and performs on-line operation on each determined VAS according to the information which is used for describing the on-line operation of the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS; or

The VNFM acquires information required for describing online operation of the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS from a database, and performs online operation on each determined VAS according to the information required for describing online operation of the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management method, including:

a virtual network function controller (VNFM) receives a second notification message sent by a Network Function Virtualization Orchestrator (NFVO) and used for notifying the VNFM of performing update operation on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregation value-added server (VAS), wherein the second notification message carries an identifier of the aggregation VAS;

the VNFM determines each VAS included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the identification of the aggregated VAS;

the VNFM performing an update operation on the determined VASs.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the method further includes: the method according to the fourth aspect and any one of the first to second possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management method, including:

a virtual network function controller (VNFM) receives a third notification message sent by a Network Function Virtualization Orchestrator (NFVO) and used for notifying the VNFM of offline operation on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregation value-added server (VAS), wherein the third notification message carries an identifier of the aggregation VAS;

the VNFM performing offline operations on the determined VASs.

With reference to the sixth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the method further includes: the method according to the fifth aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management device, including:

the system comprises a receiving unit, a service module and a management unit, wherein the receiving unit is used for receiving an online operation indication message sent by a manager, and the online operation indication message carries a service template; the service template comprises information for describing the on-line operation of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregation value-added server VAS; services provided by a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS are associated with each other;

a transmitting unit configured to transmit, to a virtual network function controller VNFM, an inquiry request for inquiring whether a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS exist;

and a notification unit, configured to notify the VNFM to perform an online operation on the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS according to the service template when receiving a query result sent by the VNFM that the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS all exist.

With reference to the seventh aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the service template is a network function descriptor NSD, where the NSD includes an identifier of an aggregated VAS and information required for describing a online operation of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the identifier of the aggregated VAS; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

With reference to the seventh aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the method further includes: a recording unit, configured to record the service template in a database when the receiving unit receives a query result that a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS sent by the VNFM all exist.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management device, including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive an update operation indication message sent by a manager, where the update operation indication message carries a first service template; the first service template comprises information required for describing update operations to be performed on a plurality of VASs comprised by an aggregation value added server VAS;

the query unit is used for querying a second service template which is stored in a database and has the same identification as the first service template;

the updating unit is used for updating a second service template stored in the database based on the received first service template;

a notifying unit configured to notify a virtual network function controller VNFM to perform an update operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS recorded in the first service template.

With reference to the eighth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, the receiving unit is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the receiving unit in any one of the first to second possible implementation manners of the seventh aspect and the seventh aspect; the notifying unit is further configured to implement the function implemented by the notifying unit in any one of the seventh aspect and the first to second possible implementation manners of the seventh aspect; the apparatus further includes a sending unit according to any one of the seventh aspect and the first to the second possible implementation manners of the seventh aspect.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management apparatus, including:

the system comprises a receiving unit, a judging unit and a sending unit, wherein the receiving unit is used for receiving an offline operation indicating message sent by a manager, and the offline operation indicating message carries an identifier of a service template; the service template comprises information for describing the processing of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregation value added server VAS;

the query unit is used for querying a service template corresponding to the identifier of the service template stored in a database;

a deleting unit, configured to delete the service template stored in the database;

a notifying unit, configured to notify the virtual network function controller VNFM to perform an offline operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS recorded in the service template.

With reference to the ninth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, the receiving unit is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the receiving unit of the eighth aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect; the notification unit is further configured to implement the function implemented by the notification unit according to the eighth aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect; the querying unit is further configured to implement the function implemented by the querying unit according to the eighth aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect; the apparatus further includes a sending unit as described in the first possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management apparatus, including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a query request sent by a network function virtualization orchestrator NFVO for querying whether multiple VASs included in a value added server VAS exist; wherein respective services provided by a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS are associated with each other;

a sending unit, configured to send, to the NFVO, a query result indicating that a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS all exist;

the receiving unit is further configured to receive a first notification message sent by the NFVO and used for notifying the VNFM to perform online operation on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS, where the first notification message carries an identifier of the aggregated VAS;

and the processing unit is used for determining each VAS included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the aggregated VAS identifier and performing online operation on each determined VAS.

With reference to the tenth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the tenth aspect, the first notification message further carries information required for describing that the online operation is performed on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS;

the processing unit is specifically configured to, when performing an online operation on each determined VAS, perform an online operation on each determined VAS according to the information required for describing the online operations performed on the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

With reference to the tenth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the tenth aspect, the sending unit is further configured to send, to the NFVO, a query request for querying information required for describing online operations performed on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS; the receiving unit is further configured to receive information, which is sent by the NFVO and is used for describing that a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS are required to perform online operation; the processing unit is specifically configured to, when performing an online operation on each determined VAS, perform an online operation on each determined VAS according to the information required for describing the online operations performed on the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

With reference to the tenth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the tenth aspect, when performing an online operation on each determined VAS, the processing unit is specifically configured to obtain, from a database, information required for describing the online operation performed on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS, and perform the online operation on each determined VAS according to the information required for describing the online operation performed on the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management apparatus, including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a second notification message sent by a network function virtualization orchestrator NFVO, where the second notification message is used to notify the VNFM to perform an update operation on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregation value added server VAS, and the second notification message carries an identifier of the aggregation VAS;

the processing unit is used for determining each VAS included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the identification of the aggregated VAS; and performing an update operation on the determined individual VASs.

With reference to the eleventh aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the eleventh aspect, the apparatus further includes a sending unit as described in any one of the tenth aspect and the first to third possible implementation manners of the tenth aspect, and the receiving unit is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the receiving unit as described in any one of the tenth aspect and the first to third possible implementation manners of the tenth aspect, and the processing unit is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the processing unit as described in any one of the tenth aspect and the first to third possible implementation manners of the tenth aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management apparatus, including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a third notification message sent by a network function virtualization orchestrator NFVO, where the third notification message is used to notify the VNFM to perform offline operation on multiple VASs included in a VAS, and the third notification message carries an identifier of the VAS;

and the processing unit is used for determining each VAS included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the aggregated VAS identifier and executing offline operation on each determined VAS.

With reference to the twelfth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the twelfth aspect, the apparatus further includes a sending unit as described in the first possible implementation manner of the eleventh aspect, the receiving unit is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the receiving unit as described in the eleventh aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the eleventh aspect, and the processing unit is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the processing unit as described in the eleventh aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the eleventh aspect.

In the embodiment of the invention, a management operation indication message is sent to the NFVO by a manager, the management operation indication message is an online operation indication message or an offline operation indication message or an update operation indication message, and a service template or an identifier of the service template is carried in the management operation indication message, and the service template is used for describing information required by management operation of each VAS included in the aggregated VAS, and then notifying a VNFM to perform management operation on the aggregated VAS. The management operation is online or offline or updating, etc. Thereby realizing the unified management of the aggregated VAS. Individual operation of each VAS in the aggregated VAS is not required, and the overhead of management signaling is reduced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a service chain provided by the prior art;

fig. 2 is a network architecture diagram of an SDN GI service chain under an NFV architecture provided in the prior art;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of a first service chain management provided in the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a second service chain management provided by the implementation of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a third service management method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a flowchart of a fourth service chain management provided in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a fifth service chain management flowchart according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of sixth service chain management according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a flowchart of a seventh service chain management according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a flowchart of an eighth service chain management provided in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a ninth service chain management provided in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of a first service chain management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of a second service chain management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 14 is a schematic diagram of a third service chain management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 15 is a schematic diagram of a fourth service chain management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 16 is a schematic diagram of a fifth service chain management device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 17 is a schematic diagram of a sixth service chain management device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 18 is a schematic diagram of a seventh service chain management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 19 is a schematic diagram of an eighth service chain management device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a service chain management method and apparatus, which can perform unified management on an aggregated VAS, that is, perform management operations such as online, offline, and update on the aggregated VAS, and are used to solve the problem that the aggregated VAS cannot be uniformly managed in the prior art. Specifically, the NFVO receives a management operation indication message sent by a manager, where the management operation indication message carries a service template; the service template includes information required for describing a management operation performed on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS; services provided by a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS are associated with each other; and the NFVO informs the VNFM to execute online operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS according to the service template. The management operation indication message may be an online operation indication message for indicating to perform an online operation, or an offline operation indication message for indicating to perform an offline operation, or an update operation indication message for indicating to perform an update operation, or the like. The method and the device are based on the same inventive concept, and because the principles of solving the problems of the method and the device are similar, the implementation of the device and the method can be mutually referred, and repeated parts are not repeated.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management method, which is executed by an NFVO, and is configured to perform an online operation on multiple VASs included in an aggregated VAS, as shown in fig. 3, where the method includes:

step 301, the NFVO receives an online operation indication message sent by a manager, wherein the online operation indication message carries a service template; the service template comprises information for describing the on-line operation of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregation VAS; the respective services provided by the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS are associated with each other.

Wherein the information required for describing the online operation performed on the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS includes: an identification of the aggregated VAS, e.g., an ID; aggregating identities of VASs included in the VAS; port information required for interconnection between VASs; CPU resources, storage resources, network resources and the like occupied by each VAS.

Step 302, the NFVO sends a query request for querying whether a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS exist to a virtual network function controller VNFM.

Step 303, when receiving a query result sent by the VNFM that the multiple VASs included in the aggregated VAS all exist, the NFVO notifies the VNFM to perform an online operation on the multiple VASs included in the aggregated VAS according to the service template.

Optionally, the service template is a network function descriptor NSD, where the NSD includes an identifier of an aggregated VAS and information required for describing online operation of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the identifier of the aggregated VAS.

The service template may further include an NSD and a description template corresponding to an identifier of the aggregated VAS, where the NSD records the identifier of the aggregated VAS, and the description template corresponding to the identifier of the aggregated VAS records information required for performing online operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the identifier of the aggregated VAS.

There is no information in the NSD in the prior art for aggregating VASs. For example: NSD structure as shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1

Based on the existing NSD structure, the embodiment of the present invention adds an identifier of a aggregated vas (vas segment), which takes ID as an example, to the NSD. Table 2 shows the NSD structure including the polymerized VAS.

TABLE 2

Description templates corresponding to the aggregated VAS IDs are shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3

There may also be a description template corresponding to a separate aggregated VAS ID, and the description information of the aggregated VAS is described in the NSD. As shown in table 4.

TABLE 4

Optionally, when receiving a query result sent by the VNFM that a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS all exist, the NFVO further includes: the NFVO records the service template in a database.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management method, which is executed by a VNFM and is configured to perform an online operation on multiple VASs included in an aggregated VAS, as shown in fig. 4, where the method includes:

step 401, a VNFM receives an inquiry request sent by an NFVO for inquiring whether a plurality of VASs included in a VAS exists; wherein respective services provided by a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS are associated with each other.

Step 402, the VNFM sends, to the NFVO, a query result indicating that a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS all exist.

Step 403, the VNFM receives a first notification message sent by the NFVO and used for notifying the VNFM to perform online operation on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS, where the first notification message carries an identifier of the aggregated VAS.

Step 404, the VNFM determines that each VAS included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the aggregated VAS identifier.

Specifically, the VNFM is configured with a correspondence relationship between the identifier of each aggregated VAS and the identifiers of the plurality of included VASs in advance. May be present in the VNFM in a table form.

Step 405, the VNFM performs an online operation on the determined VASs.

Alternatively, obtaining information required for describing an online operation performed on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS may be implemented by:

the first implementation mode comprises the following steps:

the first notification message also carries information required for describing online operations performed on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

The VNFM performs an online operation on the determined individual VASs, including: and the VNFM executes online operation on each determined VAS according to the information required for describing the online operation of the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

The second implementation mode comprises the following steps:

a query request for querying information required for performing an online operation on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS may be sent to the NFVO by the VNFM; and the VNFM receives information which is sent by the NFVO and is used for describing the information required for executing online operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

And then the VNFM executes online operation on each determined VAS according to the information which is used for describing the online operation of the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

The third implementation mode comprises the following steps:

the VNFM obtains from the database information required to describe the operations to perform online on the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS. And then the VNFM executes online operation on each determined VAS according to the information which is used for describing the online operation of the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

The uploading of the aggregated VAS can be performed simultaneously with the uploading of the service chain. For example, fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of an aggregated VAS being online simultaneously with a service chain.

Step 501, the manager sends an online operation instruction message to the NFVO, where the instruction message carries the NSD. Wherein, the NSD records the information of the service chain needing to be online and the information of the aggregated VAS needing to be online. The information of the service chain needing to be online comprises the state of the service chain: the embodiment of the invention is wire feeding; an ID of the service chain; IDs of a plurality of VASs included in a service chain; port information required by interconnection among a plurality of VASs; VPUs, storage, network resources, etc. occupied by each of the plurality of VASs. The information of the aggregated VAS that needs to be brought online includes IDs of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS; port information required by interconnection among a plurality of VASs; VPUs, storage, network resources, etc. occupied by each of the plurality of VASs.

Step 502, NFVO verifies the validity of the NSD: reliability of NSD and integrity of files; whether each VAS in the service chain belongs to the service chain or not, and whether each VAS in the aggregated VAS belongs to the aggregated VAS or not; whether the major elements in the NSD are present; whether a third party interface is needed to provide business chaining services, and so on. The verification method is not limited, and reference may be made to the verification method in the prior art.

In step 503, the NFVO sends a query request to the VNFM for querying whether each VAS in the service chain exists and whether each VAS in the aggregated VAS exists.

At step 504, the VNFM determines whether each VAS in the aggregated VAS exists and whether each VAS in the service chain exists.

In step 505, the VNFM sends a query result to the NFVO, where the query result indicates that each VAS in the aggregated VAS exists and each VAS in the service chain exists.

At step 506, NFVO saves the NSD in a database (Catalog).

In step 507, the NFVO sends a notification message to the VNFM, where the notification message is used to notify the VNFM to bring each VAS in the aggregated VAS online and each VAS in the service chain online.

In step 508, the VNFM performs an online operation on each VAS in each aggregated VAS and performs an online operation on each VAS in the service chain.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management method, which is executed by an NFVO, and is configured to perform an update operation on multiple VASs included in an aggregated VAS, as shown in fig. 6, where the method includes:

step 601, the NFVO receives an update operation indication message sent by a manager, wherein the update operation indication message carries a first service template; the first service template includes information necessary for describing an update operation performed on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS.

The update operation includes operations of updating version, adding and deleting VAS or scaling VAS, etc.

Wherein the information required for describing the update operation performed on the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS includes: an identification of the aggregated VAS, e.g., an ID; aggregating identities of VASs included in the VAS that need updating; and updating CPU resources or storage resources occupied by each VAS or updating network resources or service templates and other information.

Step 602, the NFVO queries a database to store a second service template having the same identifier as the first service template.

Step 602 primarily determines whether a plurality of VASs in the aggregated VAS included in the first service template have come online.

The database stores the corresponding relation between the identification of each service template and the service template.

Step 603, the NFVO updates the second service template stored in the database based on the received first service template, and notifies the VNFM to perform an update operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS recorded in the first service template.

Specifically, reference may be made to the description of the service template in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 3, and details of the embodiment of the present invention are not described here again.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management method, which is executed by a VNFM and is configured to perform an update operation on multiple VASs included in an aggregated VAS, as shown in fig. 7, where the method includes:

step 701, a VNFM receives a second notification message sent by the NFVO and used for notifying the VNFM to perform an update operation on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS, where the second notification message carries an identifier of the aggregated VAS.

Step 702, the VNFM determines each VAS included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the identifier of the aggregated VAS.

And 703, the VNFM performs an updating operation on the determined VASs.

Alternatively, obtaining information required for describing an update operation performed on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS may be achieved by:

the first implementation mode comprises the following steps:

the first notification message also carries information required for describing the update operation performed on the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

Then the VNFM performs an update operation on the determined individual VASs, including: and the VNFM executes updating operation on the determined VASs according to the information required for describing the updating operation on the VASs included in the aggregation VAS.

The second implementation mode comprises the following steps:

a query request may be sent by the VNFM to the NFVO to query for information describing information required to perform update operations on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS; the VNFM receives information sent by the NFVO to describe update operations performed on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS.

And then the VNFM executes online operation on the determined VASs according to the information which is used for describing the updating operation of the VASs included in the aggregation VAS.

The third implementation mode comprises the following steps:

the VNFM obtains from the database information required to describe performing update operations on the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS. And then the VNFM executes online operation on the determined VASs according to the information which is used for describing the updating operation of the VASs included in the aggregation VAS.

The update of the aggregated VAS may be performed simultaneously with the update of the service chain. For example, fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating that the aggregated VAS is updated simultaneously with the service chain.

In step 801, the manager sends an update operation indication message to the NFVO, where the indication message carries the NSD. Each NSD has an identification, such as an ID, of the NSD. Wherein, the NSD records the information of the service chain needing to be updated and the information of the aggregation VAS needing to be updated. The information of the service chain that needs to be updated may include the status of the service chain: the embodiment of the invention is updating; an ID of the service chain; an ID of a VAS included in a service chain that needs to be updated; CPU updates, memory updates, network resource updates, etc. occupied by each of the VASs need to be updated. The information of the aggregated VAS requiring updating includes an ID of the VAS requiring updating included in the aggregated VAS; CPU updates, storage updates, network resource updates, etc. occupied by the VAS that needs to be updated.

At step 802, the NFVO queries the database for the NSD that has the same ID as the received NSD.

At step 803, the NFVO updates the NSD stored in the database based on the received NSD.

In step 804, the NFVO sends a notification message to the VNFM, where the notification message is used to notify the VNFM to perform an update operation on each VAS in the aggregated VASs and to perform an update operation on each VAS in the service chain. The notification message includes the ID of the aggregated VAS and the ID of each VAS in the service chain.

In step 805, the VNFM determines each VAS included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the ID of the aggregated VAS.

The VNFM is configured with a correspondence relationship between the ID of the aggregated VAS and the IDs of the VASs included in the aggregated VAS in advance.

In step 806, the VNFM performs an update operation on each VAS included in the aggregated VAS in the NSD and each VAS in the service chain through the relevant interface.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management method, which is executed by an NFVO, and is configured to perform offline operation on multiple VASs included in an aggregated VAS, as shown in fig. 9, where the method includes:

step 901, the NFVO receives an offline operation indication message sent by a manager, where the offline operation indication message carries an identifier of a service template; the service template includes information necessary for describing processing of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

Step 902, the NFVO queries a service template corresponding to the identifier of the service template stored in the database.

Step 903, the NFVO deletes the service template stored in the database, and notifies a virtual network function controller VNFM to perform offline operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS recorded in the service template.

The service template may further include an NSD and a description template corresponding to an identifier of the aggregated VAS, where the NSD records the identifier of the aggregated VAS, and the description template corresponding to the identifier of the aggregated VAS records information required for executing offline operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the identifier of the aggregated VAS.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management method, which is executed by a VNFM and is configured to perform offline operation on multiple VASs included in an aggregated VAS, as shown in fig. 10, where the method includes:

step 1001, the VNFM receives a third notification message sent by the NFVO and used for notifying the VNFM to perform offline operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS, where the third notification message carries an identifier of the aggregated VAS.

Step 1002, the VNFM determines each VAS included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the aggregated VAS identifier.

The VNFM is configured with an identifier of the aggregated VAS and a correspondence between identifiers of VASs included in the aggregated VAS in advance.

And 1003, the VNFM executes offline operation on each determined VAS.

The update of the aggregated VAS may be performed simultaneously with the update of the service chain. For example, fig. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating that the aggregated VAS is updated simultaneously with the service chain.

In step 1101, the manager sends a logout operation indication message to the NFVO, where the indication message carries an identification, such as an ID, of the NSD.

Step 1102, NFVO queries the NSD corresponding to the ID of the NSD stored in the database.

At step 1103, the NFVO deletes the NSD corresponding to the ID of the NSD stored in the database.

In step 1104, the NFVO sends a notification message to the VNFM, where the notification message is used to notify the VNFM to perform offline operations on each VAS in the aggregated VAS and to perform offline operations on each VAS in the service chain. The notification message includes the ID of the aggregated VAS and the ID of each VAS in the service chain.

In step 1105, the VNFM determines each VAS included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the ID of the aggregated VAS.

In step 1106, the VNFM performs the offline operation on each VAS included in the aggregated VAS in the NSD and performs the offline operation on each VAS in the service chain through the related interface.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a service chain management device, as shown in fig. 12, where the device may be implemented by an NFVO, or is disposed in the NFVO, and the device includes:

a receiving unit 1201, configured to receive an online operation indication message sent by a manager, where the online operation indication message carries a service template; the service template comprises information for describing the on-line operation of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregation value-added server VAS; services provided by a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS are associated with each other;

a sending unit 1202, configured to send, to a virtual network function controller VNFM, an inquiry request for inquiring whether a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS exist;

a notifying unit 1203, configured to notify the VNFM to perform an online operation on the multiple VASs included in the aggregated VAS according to the service template when the receiving unit 1201 receives a query result that the multiple VASs included in the aggregated VAS and sent by the VNFM all exist.

The service template is a network function descriptor NSD, and the NSD comprises an identifier of an aggregated VAS and information required for describing online operation of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the identifier of the aggregated VAS; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

Optionally, the apparatus may further include a recording unit 1204, configured to record the service template in a database when the receiving unit receives a query result that a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS sent by the VNFM all exist.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a service chain management device, as shown in fig. 13, where the device includes:

a receiving unit 1301, configured to receive an update operation indication message sent by a manager, where the update operation indication message carries a first service template; the first service template comprises information required for describing update operations to be performed on a plurality of VASs comprised by an aggregation value added server VAS;

a querying unit 1302, configured to query a database for a second service template that stores an identifier identical to that of the first service template;

an updating unit 1303, configured to update a second service template stored in the database based on the first service template received by the receiving unit 1301;

a notifying unit 1304 configured to notify the virtual network function controller VNFM to perform an update operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS recorded in the first service template.

Optionally, the receiving unit 1301 is further configured to implement the function implemented by the receiving unit 1201 in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 12; the notification unit 1304 is further configured to implement the function implemented by the notification unit 1203 in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 12; the apparatus further includes a sending unit 1202 in the corresponding embodiment of fig. 12.

Optionally, the apparatus may further include a recording unit 1204 according to the embodiment corresponding to fig. 12.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a service chain management device, as shown in fig. 14, where the device may be implemented by an NFVO, or may be set in the NFVO, and the device includes:

a receiving unit 1401, configured to receive an offline operation indication message sent by a manager, where the offline operation indication message carries an identifier of a service template; the service template comprises information for describing the processing of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregation value added server VAS;

the query unit 1402 is configured to query a service template corresponding to the identifier of the service template stored in the database;

a deleting unit 1403, configured to delete the service template stored in the database;

a notifying unit 1404 configured to notify the virtual network function controller VNFM to perform an offline operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS recorded in the service template.

Optionally, the receiving unit 1401 is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the receiving unit in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 13; the notification unit 1404 is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the notification unit according to the embodiment corresponding to fig. 13; the query unit 1402 is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the query unit according to the embodiment corresponding to fig. 13; the apparatus further includes a sending unit 1202 in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 13 and an updating unit 1303 in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 13.

Optionally, the apparatus may further include a recording unit 1204 in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 13.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a service chain management apparatus, as shown in fig. 15, where the apparatus is implemented by or set in a VNFM, and the apparatus includes:

a receiving unit 1501, configured to receive a query request sent by the NFVO for querying whether multiple VASs included in the aggregation value-added server VAS exist; wherein respective services provided by a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS are associated with each other;

a sending unit 1502, configured to send, to the NFVO, a query result indicating that multiple VASs included in the aggregated VAS all exist;

the receiving unit 1501 is further configured to receive a first notification message sent by the NFVO and used to notify the VNFM to perform online operation on multiple VASs included in an aggregated VAS, where the first notification message carries an identifier of the aggregated VAS;

the processing unit 1503 is configured to determine each VAS included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the aggregated VAS identifier, and perform an online operation on each determined VAS.

Optionally, the first notification message further carries information required for describing online operations performed on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS;

the processing unit 1503 is specifically configured to, when performing an online operation on each determined VAS, perform the online operation on each determined VAS according to the information required for describing the online operation performed on the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

Optionally, the sending unit 1502 is further configured to send, to the NFVO, a query request for querying information required for describing online operations performed on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS; the receiving unit 1501 is further configured to receive information, which is sent by the NFVO and is used for describing that a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS are required to perform online operation; the processing unit 1503 may perform an online operation on each determined VAS according to the information required for describing the online operation performed on the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS, when performing the online operation on each determined VAS.

Optionally, when performing an online operation on the determined VASs, the processing unit 1503 may obtain, from a database, information required for describing the online operation on the multiple VASs included in the aggregated VAS, and perform the online operation on the determined VASs according to the information required for describing the online operation on the multiple VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a service chain management apparatus, as shown in fig. 16, where the apparatus is implemented by or set in a VNFM, and the apparatus includes:

a receiving unit 1601, configured to receive a second notification message sent by the NFVO, where the second notification message is used to notify the VNFM to perform an update operation on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregation value added server VAS, and the second notification message carries an identifier of the aggregation VAS;

a processing unit 1602, configured to determine each VAS included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the identifier of the aggregated VAS; and performing an update operation on the determined individual VASs.

Optionally, the apparatus may further include a sending unit 1502 as described in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 15, the receiving unit 1601 is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the receiving unit 1501 of any one of claims 22 to 25, and the processing unit 1602 is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the processing unit 1503 of any one of claims 22 to 25.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a service chain management apparatus, as shown in fig. 17, where the apparatus may be implemented by a VNFM, or is set in the VNFM, and the apparatus includes:

a receiving unit 1701, configured to receive a third notification message sent by the NFVO and used to notify the VNFM to perform offline operation on multiple VASs included in a VAS of an aggregation incremental server, where the third notification message carries an identifier of the aggregation VAS;

a processing unit 1702, configured to determine each VAS included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the aggregated VAS identifier, and perform offline operation on the determined each VAS.

Optionally, the apparatus may further include the sending unit 1502 described in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 16, the receiving unit 1701 is further configured to implement the function implemented by the receiving unit 1601 described in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 16, and the processing unit 1702 is further configured to implement the function implemented by the processing unit 1602 described in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 16.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a service chain management device, as shown in fig. 18, where the device may be implemented by an NFVO, or is disposed in the NFVO, and the device includes:

as shown in fig. 18, the device includes a communication interface 1801, a processor 1802, and a memory 1803. The communication interface 1801, processor 1802, and memory 1803 are interconnected. The specific connection medium between the above components is not limited in the embodiments of the present invention. In fig. 18, the memory 1803, the processor 1802, and the communication interface 1801 are connected by a bus 1804, the bus is indicated by a thick line in fig. 18, and the connection manner among other components is only schematically illustrated and is not limited. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 18, but this does not mean only one bus or one type of bus.

The memory 1803 in this embodiment of the present invention is used to store program codes executed by the processor 1802, and may be a volatile memory (such as a random-access memory (RAM); the memory 1803 may also be a non-volatile memory (e.g., a read-only memory (ROM)), a flash memory (flash memory), a hard disk (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to such. The memory 1803 may be a combination of the above.

The processor 1802 of the embodiment of the present invention may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU).

The processor 1802 is configured to implement a method described in at least one embodiment corresponding to fig. 3, 6, and 9. Specifically, reference may be made to the embodiments shown in fig. 3, fig. 6 and fig. 9, and repeated portions are not described herein again.

Specifically, the processor 1802 is configured to implement the following:

receiving an online operation indication message sent by a manager, wherein the online operation indication message carries a service template; the service template comprises information for describing the on-line operation of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregation value-added server VAS; services provided by a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS are associated with each other; sending a query request for querying whether a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS exist to a virtual network function controller (VNFM); when a query result that the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS sent by the VNFM is present is received, the VNFM is informed to execute online operation on the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS according to the service template.

The service template is a network function descriptor NSD, and the NSD comprises an identifier of an aggregated VAS and information required for describing online operation of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the identifier of the aggregated VAS; or the service template includes an NSD and a description template corresponding to an identifier of an aggregated VAS, where the NSD records the identifier of the aggregated VAS, and the description template corresponding to the identifier of the aggregated VAS records information required for performing online operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the identifier of the aggregated VAS.

Recording the service template in a database upon receiving a query result sent by the VNFM that the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS all exist.

Receiving an updating operation indication message sent by a manager, wherein the updating operation indication message carries a first service template; the first service template comprises information required for describing update operations to be performed on a plurality of VASs comprised by an aggregation value added server VAS; querying a second service template which is stored in a database and has the same identification as the first service template; updating a second service template stored in a database based on the received first service template, and notifying a virtual network function controller (VNFM) to perform an updating operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS recorded in the first service template.

Receiving an offline operation indication message sent by a manager, wherein the offline operation indication message carries an identifier of a service template; the service template comprises information for describing the processing of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregation value added server VAS; inquiring a service template corresponding to the identifier of the service template stored in a database; deleting the service template stored in the database, and notifying a virtual network function controller (VNFM) to perform offline operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS recorded in the service template.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a service chain management apparatus, as shown in fig. 19, where the apparatus may be implemented by a VNFM, or is set in the VNFM, and the apparatus includes:

as shown in fig. 19, the apparatus includes a communication interface 1901, a processor 1902, and a memory 1903. The communication interface 1901, the processor 1902, and the memory 1903 are interconnected. The specific connection medium between the above components is not limited in the embodiments of the present invention. In fig. 19, the memory 1903, the processor 1902 and the communication interface 1901 are connected by a bus 1904, the bus is represented by a thick line in fig. 19, and the connection manner among other components is only schematically illustrated and not limited. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 19, but it is not intended that there be only one bus or one type of bus.

The memory 1903 in this embodiment of the present invention is used for storing program codes executed by the processor 1902, and may be a volatile memory (such as a random-access memory (RAM); the memory 1903 may also be a non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory (flash memory), a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 1903 may be a combination of the above memories.

The processor 1902 in the embodiment of the present invention may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU).

The processor 1902 is configured to implement a method described in at least one embodiment corresponding to fig. 4, 7, and 10. Specifically, reference may be made to the embodiments shown in fig. 4, fig. 7 and fig. 10, and repeated descriptions of the embodiments of the present invention are omitted here.

Receiving a query request which is sent by the NFVO and used for querying whether a plurality of VASs included in the aggregation value-added server VAS exist; wherein respective services provided by a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS are associated with each other; sending, to the NFVO, a query result indicating that a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS all exist; receiving a first notification message sent by the NFVO and used for notifying the VNFM to perform online operation on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS, where the first notification message carries an identifier of the aggregated VAS; determining each VAS included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the aggregated VAS identifier; and performing an online operation on the determined VASs.

The first notification message also carries information required for describing the online operation of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS;

and when the determined VAS is subjected to online operation, performing online operation on the determined VAS according to the information for describing the online operation of the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

Or when the determined VAS is executed with online operation, sending a query request for querying information required for describing the online operation of the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS to the NFVO; the VNFM receives information which is sent by the NFVO and is used for describing the on-line operation of the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS, and performs on-line operation on each determined VAS according to the information which is used for describing the on-line operation of the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS; or obtaining information required for describing the online operation of the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS from a database, and performing the online operation on each determined VAS according to the information required for describing the online operation of the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

Receiving a second notification message sent by a Network Function Virtualization Orchestrator (NFVO) and used for notifying the VNFM of updating operations of a plurality of VASs included in an aggregation value-added server (VAS), wherein the second notification message carries an identifier of the aggregation VAS; determining each VAS included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the identifier of the aggregated VAS; performing an update operation on the determined VASs.

Receiving a third notification message sent by a Network Function Virtualization Orchestrator (NFVO) and used for notifying the VNFM of offline operation on a plurality of VASs included in a VAS, wherein the third notification message carries an identifier of the VAS; determining each VAS included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the aggregated VAS identifier; and performing offline operation on the determined VASs.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, additional variations and modifications in those embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including preferred embodiments and all such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the invention.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the embodiments of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to encompass such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method for service chaining management, comprising:

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the service template is a network function descriptor NSD, and the NSD includes an identifier of an aggregated VAS and information required for describing online operation of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the identifier of the aggregated VAS; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the NFVO, upon receiving a query result sent by the VNFM that a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS all exist, further comprises:

the NFVO records the service template in a database.

4. A method for service chaining management, comprising:

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: a process as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. A method for service chaining management, comprising:

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: the method of claim 4 or 5.

8. A method for service chaining management, comprising:

and the VNFM executes online operation on the determined VASs.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the first notification message further carries information required for describing online operations performed on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS;

the VNFM executing online operation on the determined VASs, including:

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the VNFM performs an online operation on the determined individual VASs, comprising:

11. A method for service chaining management, comprising:

the VNFM performing an update operation on the determined VASs.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: a process as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 10.

13. A method for service chaining management, comprising:

the VNFM performing offline operations on the determined VASs.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: the method of claim 11 or 12.

15. A service chaining management apparatus, comprising:

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the service template is a network function descriptor NSD, and the NSD includes an identifier of an aggregated VAS and information required for describing online operation of a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS corresponding to the identifier of the aggregated VAS; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

17. The apparatus of claim 15 or 16, further comprising: a recording unit, configured to record the service template in a database when the receiving unit receives a query result that a plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS sent by the VNFM all exist.

18. A service chaining management apparatus, comprising:

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the receiving unit of any one of claims 15 to 17; the notification unit is further used for realizing the functions realized by the notification unit of any one of claims 15 to 17; the apparatus further comprises a transmitting unit as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 17.

20. A service chaining management apparatus, comprising:

21. The apparatus as claimed in claim 20, wherein said receiving unit is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the receiving unit of claim 18 or 19; the notification unit is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the notification unit of claim 18 or 19; the querying unit is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the querying unit of claim 18 or 19; the apparatus further comprises a transmitting unit according to claim 19.

22. A service chaining management apparatus, comprising:

the receiving unit is further configured to receive a first notification message sent by the NFVO and used for notifying a virtual network function controller VNFM of performing online operation on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS, where the first notification message carries an identifier of the aggregated VAS;

23. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the first notification message further carries information required for describing online operations performed on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS;

24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the sending unit is further configured to send, to the NFVO, a query request for querying information describing information required to perform online operations on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS; the receiving unit is further configured to receive information, which is sent by the NFVO and is used for describing that a plurality of VASs included in an aggregated VAS are required to perform online operation; the processing unit is specifically configured to, when performing an online operation on each determined VAS, perform an online operation on each determined VAS according to the information required for describing the online operations performed on the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

25. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the processing unit, when performing an online operation on the determined VASs, is specifically configured to obtain, from a database, information required for describing an online operation performed on the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS, and perform the online operation on the determined VASs according to the information required for describing the online operation performed on the plurality of VASs included in the aggregated VAS.

26. A service chaining management apparatus, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a second notification message sent by a network function virtualization orchestrator NFVO, where the second notification message is used to notify a virtual network function controller VNFM to perform an update operation on a plurality of VASs included in an aggregation value added server VAS, and the second notification message carries an identifier of the aggregation VAS;

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, further comprising a transmitting unit according to any of claims 22 to 25, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the receiving unit according to any of claims 22 to 25, and wherein the processing unit is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the processing unit according to any of claims 22 to 25.

28. A service chaining management apparatus, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a third notification message sent by the network function virtualization orchestrator NFVO, where the third notification message is used to notify the virtual network function controller VNFM to perform offline operation on a plurality of VASs included in the aggregation value-added server VAS, and the third notification message carries an identifier of the aggregation VAS;

29. The apparatus according to claim 28, further comprising the transmitting unit according to claim 27, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the receiving unit according to claim 26 or 27, and wherein the processing unit is further configured to implement the functions implemented by the processing unit according to claim 26 or 27.