CN114244765A

CN114244765A - Storage method and device for service chain, electronic equipment and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN114244765A
Application number: CN202111566578.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 扶奉超; 曹维华; 王鹏; 谢元宝; 李文云; 朱华虹; 刘浩; 李建钊
Original assignee: China Telecom Corp Ltd
Current assignee: China Telecom Corp Ltd
Priority date: 2021-12-20
Filing date: 2021-12-20
Publication date: 2022-03-25
Anticipated expiration: 2041-12-20
Also published as: CN114244765B

Abstract

The disclosure provides a storage method and device for a service chain, an electronic device and a storage medium. The method comprises the following steps: acquiring a service path indicated by a service path identification number (SPI); determining a plurality of target service paths according to the service paths; and respectively forwarding the target service paths to a plurality of Service Function Forwarders (SFFs) so that the SFFs respectively store the received target service paths. The method can save the storage space of the SFF, reduce the control plane message interaction length between the SDN and the SFF, save resources and solve the problem of limited service chain service path length.

Description

Storage method and device for service chain, electronic equipment and storage medium

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a storage method and apparatus for a service chain, an electronic device, and a storage medium.

Background

Service Function Chain (SFC) technology can enable network traffic to pass through various Service functions (also referred to as Service functions) in a predetermined order required by Service logic.

In the related art, an SDN (Software Defined Network) controller issues a complete Service Path represented by an SPI (Service Function Path Identifier) to each SFF (Service Function Forwarder), so as to instruct the SFF to forward a traffic according to an SP (Service Path).

However, with the rapid development of service chain network services, the number of the SPIs increases, the number of the SPIs stored inside the SFF becomes larger and larger, and the occupied storage space also becomes larger and larger. In addition, at present, one SPI contains 256 SFFs at most, and it is difficult to meet the requirements of partial scenarios.

It is to be noted that the information disclosed in the above background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and thus may include information that does not constitute prior art known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Disclosure of Invention

The method can save the storage space of the SFF, reduce the interaction length of control plane messages between the SDN and the SFF, save resources, and solve the problem of limited service chain service path length.

Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the detailed description which follows, or in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure.

The embodiment of the disclosure provides a storage method for a service chain, which includes: acquiring a service path indicated by a service path identification number (SPI); determining a plurality of target service paths according to the service paths; and respectively forwarding the target service paths to a plurality of Service Function Forwarders (SFFs) so that the SFFs respectively store the received target service paths.

In an exemplary embodiment, the service path includes K service functions SF arranged in sequence, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 1, the K service functions SF correspond to K SFFs arranged in sequence, the target service paths include the service path and a plurality of sub-service paths, and a sum of the number of SFs included in the sub-service paths is K.

In an exemplary embodiment, the plurality of sub-service paths includes a first sub-service path and a second sub-service path; determining a plurality of target service paths according to the service paths, including: dividing the service path into a first sub-service path and a second sub-service path, wherein the first sub-service path includes M SFs, the second sub-service path includes (K-M) SFs, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; determining the service path, the first sub-service path, and the second sub-service path as the plurality of target service paths.

In an exemplary embodiment, forwarding the plurality of target service paths to a plurality of service function forwarders SFF, respectively, comprises: forwarding the first sub-service path to the 1 st to the (M-1) th SFF, forwarding the service path to the Mth SFF, and forwarding the second sub-service path to the (M +1) th to the Kth SFF.

In an exemplary embodiment, the service path includes K sequentially arranged SFs, the K sequentially arranged SFs respectively correspond to K sequentially arranged SFFs, the plurality of target service paths include (K-1) sub-service paths, K is an integer greater than or equal to 1; determining a plurality of target service paths according to the service paths, including: and dividing the service path into (K-1) sub-service paths, wherein the first SF in the (K-1) sub-service paths respectively and sequentially corresponds to the first (K-1) SFs in the service path.

In an exemplary embodiment, forwarding the plurality of target service paths to a plurality of service function forwarders SFF, respectively, comprises: respectively forwarding the (K-1) sub-service paths to the previous (K-1) SFFs according to the first SF in the (K-1) sub-service paths; and respectively forwarding the (K-1) th sub-service paths to the Kth SFF.

In an exemplary embodiment, the K sub-service paths are the same length.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a storage device for a service chain, including: the path acquisition module is used for acquiring a service path indicated by the service path identification number SPI; a path determination module for determining a plurality of target service paths according to the service paths; and the path forwarding module is used for forwarding the target service paths to a plurality of Service Function Forwarders (SFFs) respectively so that the SFFs store the received target service paths respectively.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an electronic device, including: at least one processor; a storage terminal device for storing at least one program which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to implement any of the above-described storage methods for a service chain.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, wherein the computer program is implemented by any one of the storage methods for a service chain when executed by a processor.

According to the storage method for the service chain provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the SDN controller can determine a plurality of target service paths according to the service paths, and respectively forward the plurality of target service paths to the corresponding SFFs, so that each SFF only needs to store one target service path instead of all the service paths, the storage space of the SFFs can be saved, meanwhile, the control plane message interaction length between the SDN and the SFFs is reduced, the resources are saved, and the problem that the service chain service path length is limited is also solved.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. It is to be understood that the drawings in the following description are merely exemplary of the disclosure, and that other drawings may be derived from those drawings by one of ordinary skill in the art without the exercise of inventive faculty.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an SFC service chain model according to an example.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a storage method for a service chain in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating another storage method for a service chain in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a storage device for a service chain in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment.

Detailed Description

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example embodiments may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

Furthermore, the drawings are merely schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar parts, and thus their repetitive description will be omitted. Some of the block diagrams shown in the figures are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically separate entities. These functional entities may be implemented in the form of software, or in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different networks and/or processor terminal devices and/or microcontroller terminal devices.

Referring to fig. 1, the SFC Service chain model includes a Classifier (SC), an SFF1, an SFF2, an SFF3, an SFF4, an SF1, an SF2, an SF3, an SF4, and an SDN controller.

Taking the Service flow SF1 → SF2 → SF3 → SF4 as an example, table 1 shows a corresponding relationship between SPI (Service Function Path Identifier), SI (Service Index), SF and SFF.

TABLE 1

SPI	SI	SF	SFF
				1	255	SF1	SFF1
1	254	SF2	SFF2
				1	253	SF3	SFF3
1	252	SF4	SFF4

In the related art, taking the service flow model shown in fig. 1 and table 1 as an example, the SFC message forwarding process is as follows:

step 1: the SDN controller issues SPs to SFFs 1-4, and the SPs comprise 4 SFs;

step 2: after the Service flow reaches the classifier, encapsulating a NSH (Network Service Header) head, and entering an SFC (Small form-factor pluggable) Network;

step 3: each SFF forwards the data to corresponding SF for processing according to SP issued by the SDN controller;

step 4: after each SF on the SP is processed, the SP arrives at SFF4, the NSH header is stripped, and the SP leaves the SFC network.

Until now, the SDN controller issues a same SP to SFFs 1-4, and the total information of 16 SFs is transmitted; the SFFs 1-4 store 1 same SP, contain 4 SFs, and occupy 16 SF storage space in total.

Hereinafter, the steps of the storage method for a service chain in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings and the embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a storage method for a service chain in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. The method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure may be executed by an SDN controller, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

As shown in fig. 2, a storage method for a service chain provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure may include the following steps.

In step S202, the service path indicated by the service path identification number SPI is acquired.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the SDN controller may obtain a service path SP indicated by the SPI.

In an exemplary embodiment, the service path may include K sequentially arranged service functions SF, K being an integer greater than or equal to 1, the K sequentially arranged SFs corresponding to the K sequentially arranged SFFs, respectively.

Referring to fig. 1, for example, the service path includes 4 SFs, which are SF1 → SF2 → SF3 → SF4 in sequence, where SF1 corresponds to SFF1, SF2 corresponds to SFF2, SF3 corresponds to SFF3, SF4 corresponds to SFF4, SFF1 may forward the packet to SF1, SFF2 may forward the packet to SF2, SF3 may forward the packet to SF3, and SFF4 may forward the packet to SF 4.

In step S204, a plurality of target service paths are determined from the service paths.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the SDN controller may determine a plurality of target service paths according to the service path.

In an exemplary embodiment, the plurality of target service paths may include a service path and a plurality of sub-service paths, and the sum of the numbers of SFs included in the plurality of sub-service paths is K.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the SDN controller may divide the service path into a plurality of sub-service paths, and a sum of the number of SFs included in each sub-service path is K.

Specifically, the service path may be disconnected from the middle of a certain SF and its next SF, and the service path may be divided into 2 segments of sub-service paths.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, one service path may be divided into two or more sub-service paths, and the division into two sub-service paths is taken as an example to be described below, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In an exemplary embodiment, the plurality of sub-service paths includes a first sub-service path and a second sub-service path; determining a plurality of target service paths according to the service paths, including: dividing the service path into a first sub-service path and a second sub-service path, wherein the first sub-service path comprises M SFs, the second sub-service path comprises (K-M) SFs, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; the service path, the first sub-service path and the second sub-service path are determined as a plurality of target service paths.

Continuing with fig. 1, still taking K ═ 4 as an example for explanation, the service path SF1 → SF2 → SF3 → SF4 can be divided into 2 sub-service paths: SF1 → SF2, SF3 → SF4 (i.e. when M is 2), alternatively, the service path SF1 → SF2 → SF3 → SF4 may be split into 2 sub-service paths: SF1, SF2 → SF3 → SF4 (i.e. when M equals 1), alternatively, the service path SF1 → SF2 → SF3 → SF4 may be split into 2 sub-service paths: SF1 → SF2 → SF3 and SF4 (i.e. when M is 3), wherein the sum of the number of SFs included in the 2 sub-service paths is 4.

Taking K-4 and M-2 as examples, the service chain model of the first sub-service path is shown in table 2, and the service chain model of the second sub-service path is shown in table 3.

TABLE 2

SPI	SI	SF	SFF
				1	255	SF1	SFF1
1	254	SF2	SFF2

TABLE 3

SPI	SI	SF	SFF
				1	253	SF3	SFF3
1	252	SF4	SFF4

In step S206, the plurality of target service paths are respectively forwarded to the plurality of service function forwarders SFF, so that the SFFs respectively store the received target service paths.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the SDN controller may respectively forward a plurality of target service paths to a plurality of service function forwarders, and each service function forwarder stores the received target service path after receiving the target service path.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first sub-service path is forwarded to the 1 st to (M-1) th SFFs, the service path is forwarded to the mth SFF, and the second sub-service path is forwarded to the (M +1) th to kth SFFs.

Referring to fig. 1 and tables 1 to 3, still taking K-4 and M-2 as examples for explanation, the service path SF1 → SF2 → SF3 → SF4 is divided into 2 sub-service paths: SF1 → SF2 (i.e., the first sub-service path), SF3 → SF4 (i.e., the second sub-service path).

For example, the first sub-service path SF1 → SF2 may be forwarded to SFF1, the service path SF1 → SF2 → SF3 → SF4 may be forwarded to SFF2, and the second sub-service path SF3 → SF4 may be forwarded to SFF3 and SFF4, respectively.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the SDN controller issues the service path or the sub-service path to SFFs 1 to 4, respectively, where SFF1 includes the first two SFs, SFF2 includes 4 SFs, and SFF3 and SFF4 include the second two SFFs; after the service flow reaches the shunt, the NSH head is packaged, and the service flow enters the SFC network; after each SF on the service path is processed, the SFF4 is reached, the NSH header is stripped, and the SFC network is left.

Therefore, with the storage method for the service chain provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, when the service flow SF1 → SF2 → SF3 → SF4 is processed, information of 10 SFs is transmitted between the SDN controller and SFFs 1 to SFF4 in total, SFF1, SFF3 and SFF4 only need to store half of service paths, and SFFs 1 to SFF4 need to occupy 10 SF storage space in total; compared with the storage space of 16 SF required in the related technology, the method disclosed by the invention can save the storage space and save the computer resources.

Further, when the service path is divided into two segments, about 1/2 SP storage space can be saved, the more segments, the more SP storage space is saved.

In addition, in some embodiments, the service path may be divided into a plurality of segments of sub-service paths as needed, and each segment of service path is forwarded to a corresponding SFF, so that the SFF only needs to store one segment of service path, instead of all service paths, thereby achieving the purpose of reducing the storage space of the SFF service path, reducing the control plane message interaction length between the SDN and the SFF, saving resources, and solving the problem of the service chain service path length limitation.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating another storage method for a service chain in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. The method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure may be executed by an SDN controller, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

As shown in fig. 3, a storage method for a service chain provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure may include the following steps.

In step S302, a service path indicated by the SPI is obtained, where the service path includes K SFs arranged in sequence, and the K SFs arranged in sequence correspond to the K SFFs arranged in sequence, respectively.

For example, the service path includes 4 SFs, which are SF1 → SF2 → SF3 → SF4, where SF1 corresponds to SFF1, SF2 corresponds to SFF2, SF3 corresponds to SFF3, and SF4 corresponds to SFF 4.

In step S304, a plurality of target service paths are determined according to the service paths, where the plurality of target service paths includes (K-1) sub-service paths, and K is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

In an exemplary embodiment, the service path is divided into (K-1) sub-service paths, wherein the first SF in the (K-1) sub-service paths respectively sequentially corresponds to the first (K-1) SFs in the service path.

Still taking K ═ 4 as an example for explanation, for example, the service path SF1 → SF2 → SF3 → SF4 is divided into 3 sub-service paths: SF1 → SF2, SF2 → SF3, SF3 → SF4, and the first SF (i.e. SF1, SF2, SF3) in the 3 sub-service paths respectively corresponds to the first 3 SFs in the service path SF1 → SF2 → SF3 → SF4 in turn.

In an exemplary embodiment, the K sub-service paths are the same length.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the lengths of the K sub-service paths may be the same or different, and when the lengths of the K sub-service paths are the same, more storage space may be saved.

In step S306, according to the first SF in the (K-1) sub-service paths, forwarding the (K-1) sub-service paths to the previous (K-1) SFFs, respectively; and respectively forwarding the (K-1) th sub-service paths to the Kth SFF.

Taking K as an example of 4, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, according to the SFF corresponding to the first SF in the 3 sub-service paths, the 3 sub-service paths may be respectively forwarded to the first 3 SFFs, and the 3 rd sub-service path may be forwarded to the 4 th SFF.

For example, the sub-service path SF1 → SF2 may be forwarded to SFF1, the sub-service path SF2 → SF3 may be forwarded to SFF2, the sub-service path SF3 → SF4 may be forwarded to SFF3, and the sub-service path SF3 → SF4 may be forwarded to SFF 4.

Therefore, by using the storage method for the service chain provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, when the service flow SF1 → SF2 → SF3 → SF4 is processed, information of 8 SFs is transmitted between the SDN controller and SFFs 1 to 4 in total, only half of the service paths need to be stored in SFF1, SFF2, SFF3 and SFF4, and the total storage space of 8 SFs needs to be occupied by SFFs 1 to SFF 4; compared with the storage space of 16 SF required in the related technology, the method disclosed by the invention can save the storage space and save the computer resources.

It should also be understood that the above description is intended only to assist those skilled in the art in better understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure, and is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Various equivalent modifications or changes will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the above examples given, for example, some steps in the above methods may not be necessary, or some steps may be newly added, etc. Or a combination of any two or more of the above embodiments. Such modifications, variations, or combinations are also within the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

It should also be understood that the foregoing descriptions of the embodiments of the present disclosure have been provided with an emphasis on differences between the various embodiments, and the same or similar components that are not mentioned may be referenced with each other and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

It should also be understood that the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiment of the present disclosure.

It is also to be understood that the terminology and/or the description of the various embodiments are consistent and mutually exclusive, and that the technical features of the various embodiments may be combined to form a new embodiment according to their inherent logical relationships, unless otherwise specified or logically conflicting, in the various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Examples of storage methods for service chaining provided by the present disclosure are described above in detail. It will be appreciated that the computer device, in order to implement the above-described functions, comprises corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules for performing the respective functions. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

The following are embodiments of the disclosed apparatus that may be used to perform embodiments of the disclosed methods. For details not disclosed in the embodiments of the apparatus of the present disclosure, refer to the embodiments of the method of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 4, the storage means 400 for the service chain may comprise: a path acquisition module 402, a path determination module 404, and a path forwarding module 406.

The path obtaining module 402 is configured to obtain a service path indicated by the service path identification number SPI; the path determination module 404 is configured to determine a plurality of target service paths according to the service paths; the path forwarding module 406 is configured to forward the target service paths to a plurality of service function forwarders SFFs, respectively, so that the SFFs store the received target service paths, respectively.

In an exemplary embodiment, the plurality of sub-service paths includes a first sub-service path and a second sub-service path; the path determining module 404 is further configured to divide the service path into a first sub-service path and a second sub-service path, where the first sub-service path includes M SFs, the second sub-service path includes (K-M) SFs, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; determining the service path, the first sub-service path, and the second sub-service path as the plurality of target service paths.

In an exemplary embodiment, the path forwarding module 406 is further configured to forward the first sub-service path to SFFs from 1 st to (M-1), forward the service path to SFF from M, and forward the second sub-service path to SFFs from (M +1) th to K.

In an exemplary embodiment, the service path includes K sequentially arranged SFs, the K sequentially arranged SFs respectively correspond to K sequentially arranged SFFs, the plurality of target service paths include (K-1) sub-service paths, K is an integer greater than or equal to 1; the path determining module 404 is further configured to divide the service path into (K-1) sub-service paths, where a first SF in the (K-1) sub-service paths respectively sequentially corresponds to a previous (K-1) SF in the service path.

In an exemplary embodiment, the path forwarding module 406 is further configured to forward the (K-1) sub-service paths to the previous (K-1) SFFs respectively according to the first SF in the (K-1) sub-service paths; and forwarding the (K-1) th sub-service path to the Kth SFF.

In an exemplary embodiment, the K sub-service paths are the same length.

It is noted that the block diagrams shown in the above figures are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically separate entities. These functional entities may be implemented in the form of software, or in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different networks and/or processor terminal devices and/or microcontroller terminal devices.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment. It should be noted that the electronic device shown in fig. 5 is only an example, and should not bring any limitation to the functions and the scope of use of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 5, the electronic apparatus 500 includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU)501 that can perform various appropriate actions and processes in accordance with a program stored in a Read Only Memory (ROM)502 or a program loaded from a storage section 508 into a Random Access Memory (RAM) 503. In the RAM 503, various programs and data necessary for the operation of the system 500 are also stored. The CPU 501, ROM 502, and RAM 503 are connected to each other via a bus 504. An input/output (I/O) interface 505 is also connected to bus 504.

The following components are connected to the I/O interface 505: an input portion 506 including a keyboard, a mouse, and the like; an output portion 507 including a display such as a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), and the like, and a speaker; a storage portion 508 including a hard disk and the like; and a communication section 509 including a network interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, or the like. The communication section 509 performs communication processing via a network such as the internet. The driver 510 is also connected to the I/O interface 505 as necessary. A removable medium 511 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like is mounted on the drive 510 as necessary, so that a computer program read out therefrom is mounted into the storage section 508 as necessary.

In particular, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processes described above with reference to the flowcharts may be implemented as computer software programs. For example, embodiments of the present disclosure include a computer program product comprising a computer program embodied on a computer readable medium, the computer program comprising program code for performing the method illustrated in the flow chart. In such an embodiment, the computer program may be downloaded and installed from a network through the communication section 509, and/or installed from the removable medium 511. The above-described functions defined in the system of the present disclosure are executed when the computer program is executed by the Central Processing Unit (CPU) 501.

It should be noted that the computer readable media shown in the present disclosure may be computer readable signal media or computer readable storage media or any combination of the two. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, terminal device, or apparatus, or any combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium may include, but are not limited to: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the present disclosure, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, terminal device, or apparatus. In contrast, in the present disclosure, a computer-readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer-readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated data signal may take many forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may also be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, terminal device, or apparatus. Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to: wireless, wire, fiber optic cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems which perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The units described in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by software or hardware. The described units may also be provided in a processor, and may be described as: a processor includes a transmitting unit, an obtaining unit, a determining unit, and a first processing unit. The names of these units do not in some cases constitute a limitation to the unit itself, and for example, the sending unit may also be described as a "unit sending a picture acquisition request to a connected server".

As another aspect, the present disclosure also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which may be contained in the electronic device described in the above embodiments; or may exist separately without being assembled into the electronic device. The computer-readable storage medium carries one or more programs which, when executed by an electronic device, cause the electronic device to implement the method as described in the embodiments below. For example, the electronic device may implement the steps shown in fig. 2.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program product or computer program comprising computer instructions stored in a computer readable storage medium. The processor of the computer device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer instructions to cause the computer device to perform the method provided in the various alternative implementations of the embodiments described above.

It is to be understood that any number of elements in the drawings of the present disclosure are by way of example and not by way of limitation, and any nomenclature is used for differentiation only and not by way of limitation.

Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure following, in general, the principles of the disclosure and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the disclosure pertains. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims.

It will be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the precise arrangements described above and shown in the drawings and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the present disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A storage method for a service chain, comprising:

acquiring a service path indicated by a service path identification number (SPI);

determining a plurality of target service paths according to the service paths;

and respectively forwarding the target service paths to a plurality of Service Function Forwarders (SFFs) so that the SFFs respectively store the received target service paths.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the service path comprises K sequenced Service Functions (SFs), K is an integer greater than or equal to 1, the K sequenced SFs respectively correspond to K sequenced SFFs, the target service paths comprise the service path and a plurality of sub-service paths, and a sum of a number of SFs included in the sub-service paths is K.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of sub-service paths comprises a first sub-service path and a second sub-service path;

determining a plurality of target service paths according to the service paths, including:

dividing the service path into a first sub-service path and a second sub-service path, wherein the first sub-service path includes M SFs, the second sub-service path includes (K-M) SFs, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

determining the service path, the first sub-service path, and the second sub-service path as the plurality of target service paths.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein forwarding the plurality of target service paths to a plurality of Service Function Forwarders (SFFs), respectively, comprises:

forwarding the first sub-service path to the 1 st to the (M-1) th SFF, forwarding the service path to the Mth SFF, and forwarding the second sub-service path to the (M +1) th to the Kth SFF.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the service path comprises K sequenced SFs, wherein the K sequenced SFs correspond to K sequenced SFFs, wherein the target service paths comprise (K-1) sub-service paths, and wherein K is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

and dividing the service path into (K-1) sub-service paths, wherein the first SF in the (K-1) sub-service paths respectively and sequentially corresponds to the first (K-1) SFs in the service path.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein forwarding the plurality of target service paths to a plurality of Service Function Forwarders (SFFs), respectively, comprises:

respectively forwarding the (K-1) sub-service paths to the previous (K-1) SFFs according to the first SF in the (K-1) sub-service paths;

and forwarding the (K-1) th sub-service path to the Kth SFF.

7. The method of claim 5 or 6, wherein the K sub-service paths have the same length.

8. A storage device for a service chain, comprising:

the path acquisition module is used for acquiring a service path indicated by the service path identification number SPI;

a path determination module for determining a plurality of target service paths according to the service paths;

and the path forwarding module is used for forwarding the target service paths to a plurality of Service Function Forwarders (SFFs) respectively so that the SFFs store the received target service paths respectively.

9. An electronic device, comprising:

at least one processor;

storage means for storing at least one program which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the method of any one of claims 1 to 7.

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