KR20180000204A - Method, apparatus and system for providing auto scale - Google Patents

Abstract

A method, apparatus and system for providing auto scale for virtual network function in accordance with a resource management policy in a network function virtualization environment. An NFV system includes a VNF manager, a virtual resource policy manager, and a monitoring manager. The VNF manager receives a request for performing auto scale for virtual network function from the VNF and performs the requested auto scale using the resource management policy and the configuration information of an NFV-based communication network. The virtual resource policy manager provides the resource management policy to the VNF manager. The monitoring manager provides the configuration information to the VNF manager.

Description

METHOD, APPARATUS AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING AUTO SCALE,

The following embodiments are directed to a method, apparatus, and system for providing automatic scaling, and more particularly, to a method, apparatus, and system for providing automatic scaling of virtual network functions in accordance with resource management policies in a network functional virtualization environment .

In a network function virtualization (NFV) environment, a virtual network function (VNF) is software that provides a specific network service or function. For example, the software may be one of a firewall, a Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), a router, and a transcoder.

These VNFs are software developed by network equipment developers. It can be installed on a NFV-based communications network that is supported by a developer for virtualization. In addition, VNFs are installed and controlled and managed in an NFV-based communication network.

A developer developing a VNF should provide information about each VNF, such as 1) general information, 2) the functions provided, and 3) requirements to be considered in the implementation, as VNF Descriptor (VNFD ). In a NFV-based communication network, the management module utilizes the VNFD to allocate the resources required for the VNF to operate and to control all operations of the VNF. For example, the management module may be an orchestrator and a VNF manager.

Among the information recorded in the VNFD, there is an automatic scale policy. An automatic scale policy can automatically define the conditions under which the scale will occur and the actions of the scale. Here, the conditions under which the scale occurs may be set performance criteria that occur during the operation of the VNF.

For example, an automatic scale policy can be defined as in code 1 below.

[Code 1]

auto_scale_policy:

{criteria-parameter: 10,000 per second,

     action-type: scale out}

In the process of VFN operating in the NFV environment, when the operation of the VNF reaches the criteria-parameter value set by the VNF, the VNF sends information related to the automatic scale to the VNF Manager (VNF Manager) And requests execution. For example, the VNF manager receiving the request creates a new instance of the VNF id that is the target of the scale-out for performing the scale-out. At this time, the VNF manager can allocate the virtual resource requested by the new instance to the new instance. For example, the virtual resources may include a central processing unit (CPU), network capacity, memory, and the like. A VNF instance to which a virtual resource is allocated is installed as a virtual machine (VM) in a physical server, and operates as a VM.

For operators operating NFV-based communication networks, it is required to set management policies for resources in order to improve the efficiency of utilization of physical resources as well as virtual resources. In addition, it is required to control and manage resources so that all VNFs operate according to a set resource management policy. For example, a vendor can configure all of the functions of all VNFs by setting 1) maximizing energy efficiency, 2) load distribution between servers, and 3) limiting the number of VMs running on each server, Can be managed by the above setting. Here, the functions may include instance creation, scale, and the like.

This configuration and management can improve the efficiency of network control and network management.

If the VNF manager does not follow the NFV resource policy set by the communication network operator in performing the automatic scaling for the VNF, compatibility problems may arise between the resource control and the resource management.

With respect to VM resource control, Korean Patent Laid-Open Nos. 10-2015-0062634 and 10-2013-0046040 have been proposed.

One embodiment may provide a method, apparatus, and system for performing automatic scaling on a VNF by reflecting a resource management policy and a server resource state.

At a side, receiving a request for performing an automatic scale for a virtual network function; And performing the requested autoscale using configuration information of a resource management policy and a network function virtualization (NFV) based communication network.

The steps may be performed by a Virtual Network Function (VNF) manager of the NFV-based communication network.

The automatic scale method may further include obtaining the resource management policy from a virtual resource policy manager.

The configuration information of the NFV-based communication network may include topology information of one or more servers of the NFV-based communication network.

The request to perform the automatic scale may include information of the type of the automatic scale.

The type may include scale-in, scale-out, scale-up, and scale-down.

The automatic scale method may further comprise obtaining a server resource status of one or more servers of the NFV based communication network from a monitoring manager.

The VNF manager may reflect the server resource state when performing the automatic scaling.

The step of performing the automatic scale may include a step of notifying, when a result of the execution of the automatic scale violates the resource management policy, that the resource management policy violates the resource management policy.

Wherein performing the auto-scale comprises: if the action-type of the request of the auto-scale is scale-in, at a server having a virtual machine that is the object of the scale-in among one or more servers of the NFV- And a step of deleting the data.

The VNF manager may move another virtual machine of the server to a server other than the server among the one or more servers after the virtual machine is deleted.

The VNF manager may move the other virtual machine to the other server when the resource management policy is set to maximize energy efficiency.

The VNF manager may switch the server to the sleep mode after the other virtual machine is moved to the other server.

The step of performing the automatic scaling may include determining a server to generate one or more servers virtual machines of the NFV-based communication network by reflecting the resource management policy if the action-type of the request of the automatic scale is scale-out ; And creating the virtual machine at the server.

Wherein the performing the automatic scaling comprises: checking whether there is no server among the one or more servers that does not violate the resource management policy; And notifying, when the server that does not violate the resource management policy exists, that there is no server that does not violate the resource management policy.

The VNF manager may select a server that is a target of the scale-out among remaining servers other than the server that is excluded from the selection by each policy of the one or more policies indicated by the resource management policy among the one or more servers.

The step of performing the automatic scale may include increasing the capacity of the virtual machine which is the object of the scale-up when the action-type of the request of the automatic scale is scale-up.

The step of performing the automatic scale may include decreasing the capacity of the virtual machine which is the object of the scale-down when the action-type of the request of the automatic scale is scale-down.

The resource management policy may include a policy of energy efficiency.

The energy efficiency policy may indicate whether to consider maximizing energy efficiency in the operation of the NFV-based communication network.

The resource management policy may include a policy of a central processing unit load.

The policy of the CPU load may indicate a load range of the CPU of each server of one or more servers of the NFV-based communication network.

The resource management policy may include a maximum number of policies of the virtual machines.

The maximum number of policies of the virtual machines may represent a maximum value of the number of virtual machines allowed to each server of the one or more servers of the NFV based communication network.

On another side, a receiving unit for receiving a request for performing an automatic scale for a virtual network function; And a processor for performing the requested automatic scale using configuration information of a resource management policy and a network function virtualization (NFV) -based communication network, is provided, wherein a virtual network function (VNF) manager is provided .

In another aspect, in an NFV system, a request for performing an automatic scale for a virtual network function (VNF) is received, and a resource management policy and a network function virtualization (NFV) based communication A VNF manager for performing the requested autoscale using configuration information of the network; A virtual resource policy manager for providing the resource management policy to the VNF manager; And a monitoring manager for providing the configuration information to the VNF manager.

In addition, there is further provided another method, apparatus, system for implementing the invention and a computer readable recording medium for recording a computer program for executing the method.

In an NFV-based communication network environment, a method, apparatus and system are provided for performing automatic scaling required by VNFs developed by various developers.

In an NFV-based communication network environment, a method, apparatus, and system are provided for performing automatic scaling in accordance with a resource management policy set by a communication carrier.

A method, apparatus and system are provided for increasing the efficiency of resource management by performing automatic scaling consistent with resource management policies.

1 shows a basic procedure for a VNF manager in an NFV environment to perform automatic scaling for VNFs and obtain status information of VNF lifecycles including scales.
2 is a block diagram of a VNF manager according to an example.
Figure 3 shows an automatic scale in an NFV-based communication network environment including a virtual resource policy manager and a monitoring manager.
4 is a flow diagram of a method for performing a VNF scale in accordance with one embodiment.
FIG. 5 illustrates a process for scale-in according to an example.
FIG. 6 illustrates a process for a scale-out in according to an example.
FIG. 7 illustrates a process for scale-up according to an example.
FIG. 8 illustrates a process for scale-down according to an example.
FIG. 9 illustrates a resource management policy according to an example.
10 illustrates server resource status of one or more servers according to an example.
FIG. 11 illustrates a process for scale-out according to an example.
12 is a flowchart of a method of providing status information according to an embodiment.

The following detailed description of exemplary embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of illustration, specific embodiments. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments. It should be understood that the various embodiments are different, but need not be mutually exclusive. For example, certain features, structures, and characteristics described herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in connection with an embodiment. It is also to be understood that the location or arrangement of the individual components within each disclosed embodiment may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the exemplary embodiments is to be limited only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled, if properly explained.

In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar functions throughout the several views. The shape and size of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated for clarity.

The terms used in the examples are intended to illustrate the embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. In the examples, the singular includes the plural unless otherwise stated in the specification. It is noted that the terms "comprises" and / or "comprising" used in the specification are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the components, steps, operations, and / And that additional configurations may be encompassed within the scope of the embodiments of the exemplary embodiments or the technical ideas of the exemplary embodiments. When it is mentioned that a component is "connected" or "connected" to another component, the two components may be directly connected or connected to each other, It is to be understood that other components may be present in the middle of the components.

The terms first and second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms above. The above terms are used to distinguish one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the right, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component.

In addition, the components shown in the embodiments are shown independently to represent different characteristic functions, which does not mean that each component is composed of separate hardware or one software constituent unit. That is, each component is listed as each component for convenience of explanation. For example, at least two of the components may be combined into a single component. Also, one component can be divided into a plurality of components. The integrated embodiments and the separate embodiments of each of these components are also included in the scope of the right without departing from the essence.

Also, some components are not essential components to perform essential functions, but may be optional components only to improve performance. Embodiments may be implemented only with components that are essential to implementing the essentials of the embodiments, and structures within which the optional components are excluded, such as, for example, components used only for performance enhancement, are also included in the scope of the right.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in order to facilitate embodiments of the present invention by those skilled in the art. In the following description of the embodiments, detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present disclosure rather unclear.

As described in the Background of the Invention, the VNF manager can enable automatic scale operation to be performed in accordance with the NFV resource management policy, and it is necessary to support the automatic scale to operate in accordance with the resource management policy of the communication network operator .

In the following embodiments, a method in which the VNF manager performs the automatic scale function by reflecting the NFV resource management policy upon request of the VNF automatic scale in the NFV environment is proposed.

1 shows a basic procedure for a VNF manager in an NFV environment to perform automatic scaling for VNFs and obtain status information of VNF lifecycles including scales.

 The NFV system 100 includes a VNF 110, an Element Management (EM) 111, Operations Support Systems / Business Support Systems (OSS / BSS) 112, An orchestrator 120, a VNF manager 130, a virtual infrastructure manager 140, and one or more servers 150.

In FIG. 1, as one or more servers 150, a first server, a second server, a third server, a fourth server, and a fifth server are shown.

The NFV system 100 may be a system in an NFV based communication network environment. Each of the VNF 110, the EM 111, the OSS / BSS 112, the NFV orchestrator 120, the VNF manager 130 and the virtual infrastructure manager 140 and the one or more servers 150, May be a component of the network.

The VNF 110 may be one or more.

Each server of one or more servers 150 may be a physical server. Each server can run one or more VMs. In Figure 1, VMs running on each server are illustrated by way of example. For example, the second server may execute two VMs, and the fifth server may not execute the VM.

In step 150, the VNF 110 may monitor whether the value of a particular parameter has reached a critical-parameter value.

If the value of the particular parameter reaches the critical-parameter value, step 151 may be performed.

In step 151, the VNF 110 may send a request for an auto scale to the VNF manager 130. The VNF manager 130 may receive an automatic scale request from the VNF 110. [

In step 152, the VNF 110 may send a request for status information to the VNF manager 130.

The state information may include a scale. That is, the status information may include information about a scale of at least one server of one or more servers (150).

Steps 160, 161 and 162 and steps 170, 171, 172, 173 and 174 are performed by EM 111 and OSS / BSS 112, similar to steps 150, 151 and 152, Respectively.

At step 160, the EM 111 may monitor whether the value of a particular parameter has reached a critical-parameter value.

If the value of the particular parameter reaches the critical-parameter value, step 161 may be performed.

At step 161, the EM 111 may send an automatic scale request to the VNF manager 130. The VNF manager 130 may receive an automatic scale request from the EM 111. [

At step 162, the EM 111 may send a request for status information to the VNF manager 130.

The state information may include a scale. That is, the status information may include information about a scale of at least one server of one or more servers (150).

At step 170, the OSS / BSS 112 may monitor whether the value of a particular parameter has reached a critical-parameter value.

If the value of the particular parameter reaches the critical-parameter value, step 171 may be performed.

In step 171, the OSS / BSS 112 may send an automatic scale request to the NFV orchestrator 120. The NFV orchestrator 120 may receive an automatic scale request from the OSS / BSS 112.

At step 172, the NFV orchestrator 120 may send an automatic scale request to the VNF manager 130. The VNF manager 130 may receive an automatic scale request from the NFV orchestrator 120.

Requests for automatic scaling may be sent from the OSS / BSS 112 to the VNF manager 130 via the NFV orchestrator 120.

In step 173, the VNF 110 may send a request for status information to the NFV orchestrator 120. The NFV orchestrator 120 may receive a request for status information from the OSS / BSS 112.

The state information may include a scale. That is, the status information may include information about a scale of at least one server of one or more servers (150).

In step 174, the NFV orchestrator 120 may send a request for status information to the VNF manager 130. The VNF manager 130 may receive a request for status information from the NFV orchestrator 120.

A request for status information may be sent from the OSS / BSS 112 to the VNF manager 130 via the NFV orchestrator 120.

If one of the steps 151, 152, 161, 162, 172, and 174 is performed, step 180 may be performed.

In step 180, the VNF manager 130 may send a request for allocation of virtual resources to the virtual infrastructure manager 140, in order to allocate the virtual resources corresponding to the received request. Here, the received request may be an automatic scale request or status information request.

The request of the automatic scale can be performed by the automatic scale execution module in the VNF manager 130. [

The allocation of virtual resources may include the creation of a VM. The request for allocation of the virtual resource may be a request for creation of the VM. Alternatively, a request for allocation of a virtual resource may include a request to create a VM. Alternatively, allocation of virtual resources may include creation of VMs corresponding to virtual resources.

For creation of a VM, the VNF manager 130 may select one of the one or more servers 150 to create a VM. The request for creation of a VM may include information representative of a selected one of the one or more servers (150).

In step 190, the virtual infrastructure manager 140 may create a VM. The virtual infrastructure manager 140 may select one of the one or more servers 150 to create a VM. The virtual infrastructure manager 140 may add a new VM to the selected server. In Fig. 1, it is shown that a VM is added in the first server.

According to the above description, the first server can execute all five VMs including the added VM. The NFV resource management policy may include settings for the number of VMs that can operate on each server. For example, the number of VMs that can operate in each server may be set to four. If such a setting is made, a larger number of VMs can be set than the number limited by the setting in the first server. That is, the first server can operate in an inconsistent manner with the NFV resource management policy.

2 is a block diagram of a VNF manager according to an example.

The VNF manager 130 may include a processing unit 210, a communication unit 220, and a storage unit 230.

The processing unit 210 may process a job required for the operation of the VNF manager 130. [ The processing unit 210 may execute the code of the operation or step of the processing unit 210 described in the embodiments.

The processing unit 210 may perform generation and processing of data or information, and may perform inspection, comparison, and judgment related to data or information. In other words, in the embodiment, the generation and processing of data or information and the inspection, comparison and judgment relating to data or information can be performed by the processing unit 210. [

For example, the processing unit 210 may be at least one processor.

The communication unit 220 may receive data or information required for the operation of the VNF manager 130 and may transmit data or information required for the operation of the VNF manager 130.

The communication unit 220 can transmit data or information to another device in the network, and can receive data or information from another device. In other words, in the embodiment, transmission or reception of data or information can be performed by the communication unit 220. [

For example, the communication unit 220 may be a network chip or a port.

The storage unit 230 may store data or information required for the operation of the VNF manager 130. In an embodiment, the data or information possessed by the VNF manager 130 may be stored in the storage unit 230.

For example, the storage unit 230 may be a memory. The storage unit 230 may include a built-in storage medium such as a RAM and a flash memory, and may include a removable storage medium such as a memory card or the like.

The storage unit 230 may store codes of at least one program or at least one program. The processing unit 210 may execute at least one program. The processing unit 210 can read the code of at least one program from the storage unit 230 and execute the read code.

Operations, functions and features of the processing unit 210, the communication unit 220, and the storage unit 230 of the VNF manager 130 will be described in detail below with reference to embodiments.

Figure 3 shows an automatic scale in an NFV-based communication network environment including a virtual resource policy manager and a monitoring manager.

In an embodiment, the NFV system 100 may further include a virtual resource policy manager 310 and a monitoring manager 320.

The VNF manager 130 can acquire the resource management policy set from the virtual resource policy manager 310 when the automatic scale is performed and receive the status information of each server of the one or more servers 150 from the monitoring manager 320 Lt; / RTI > can be obtained.

For example, the status information of each server may include the number of VMs running in each server and the available resource capacity of each server.

For example, the resource management policy may correspond to at least a part of 1), 2) and 3) below.

1) A resource management policy may contain information related to energy efficiency. Resource management policies can include information that maximizes energy efficiency.

The resource management policy may include information that causes the operating VMs to be executed on one server. In addition, the resource management policy may include information for switching a server that does not execute a VM to a sleep mode.

2) The resource management policy may include information related to the CPU utilization rate. The resource management policy may include information for setting the CPU utilization rate at each server. Alternatively, the resource management policy may include information that controls the load between one or more servers 150. [

3) A resource management policy may contain information related to the availability of the entire resource. The resource management policy may include information for setting a maximum number of VMs that can operate in each server.

In Fig. 3, the maximum number of VMs that can be operated in the server is set to four. For example, by setting the maximum number of VMs that can run on a server, the load on the server can be kept at a maximum of 60%.

4 is a flow diagram of a method for performing a VNF scale in accordance with one embodiment.

The VNF manager 130 may perform a plurality of functions. The automatic scale execution module of the VNF manager 130 may perform the function of the requested VNF scale using the resource management policy and the server resource status.

The resource management policy may be a virtual resource management policy for the virtual resource.

In step 410, the VNF 110, the EM 111 or the OSS / BSS 112 may send a request for performance of the automatic scale to the VNF manager 130. The VNF manager 130 may receive a request for performing an automatic scale from the VNF 110, the EM 111, or the OSS / BSS 112.

The VNF 110 may be any of the one or more VNFs of the NFV system 100.

The request for performing the automatic scale may include information of the type of the automatic scale. The type of autoscale may include scale-in, scale-out, scale-up, and scale-down.

In step 420, the VNF manager 130 may obtain the VNFD. The VNF manager 130 may obtain the VNFD of the VNF associated with the request to perform the automatic scale. The VNF associated with the request to perform the auto-scale may be the VNF 110 that sent the request to perform the auto-scale. For example, the VNF manager 130 may retrieve the VNFD information corresponding to the instance of the VNF 110 that transmitted the request to perform the automatic scale.

The VNF manager 130 may use the VNFD information to obtain the VNF information of the VNF to be newly generated according to the automatic scale. The VNF information may include a virtualization deployment unit (VDU) identifier.

At step 430, the VNF manager 130 may obtain a resource management policy for the resources of the NFV system 100 from the virtual resource policy manager 310.

The resource management policy may be information set for the operation of the NFV-based communication network.

The VNF manager 130 may transmit a request for the resource management policy to the virtual resource policy manager 310. [ The virtual resource policy manager 310 receiving the resource management policy request can transmit the resource management policy to the VNF manager 130.

Here, the resource may be a virtual resource and may be an NFV resource for an NFV service.

At step 440, the VNF manager 130 may obtain the server resource status of the one or more servers 150 from the monitoring manager 320.

The VNF manager 130 may send the configuration information of the NFV-based communication network and the request of the server resource status to the monitoring manager 320. Upon receiving the request, the monitoring manager 320 may transmit the configuration information and the server resource status of the NFV-based communication network to the VNF manager 130.

The configuration information of the NFV-based communication network may include topology information of the one or more servers 150 of the NFV-based communication network. The topology information may include a number of one or more servers 150 and a connection relationship between one or more servers 150. [

At step 450, the VNF manager 130 may perform the requested autoscale.

The VNF manager 130 may perform the requested automatic scaling using the resource management policy and the configuration information of the NFV-based communication network.

The VNF manager 130 may reflect the server resource state of one or more servers 150 in performing automatic scaling.

Step 450 may include steps 451, 452, 453, and 454.

In step 451, the VNF manager 130 may check whether the action-type of the request to perform an automatic scale is scale-in. If the action-type is scale-in, step 510, described below with reference to FIG. 5, may be performed. If the action-type is not scale-in, step 452 may be performed.

At step 452, the VNF manager 130 may check whether the action-type of the request to perform the automatic scale is scale-out. If the action-type is scale-out, step 610, described below with reference to FIG. 6, may be performed. If the action-type is not scale-out, step 453 may be performed.

In step 453, the VNF manager 130 may check whether the action-type of the request to perform the automatic scale is scale-up. If the action-type is scale-up, step 710, described below with reference to FIG. 7, may be performed. If the action-type is not scale-up, step 454 may be performed.

In step 454, the VNF manager 130 may check whether the action-type of the request to perform an automatic scale is scale-down. If the action-type is scale-down, step 810, described below with reference to FIG. 8, may be performed. If the action-type is not scale-down, the procedure may end.

The order of steps 451, 452, 453, and 454 described above is merely exemplary, and the order of execution of steps 451, 452, 453, and 454 may be arbitrarily changed.

FIG. 5 illustrates a process for scale-in according to an example.

If the execution of an automatic scale with the action-type of the request being scale-in is requested, the VNF manager 130 may perform the following steps 510, 520, and 530.

At step 510, the VNF manager 130 may delete the VM that is the subject of the scale-in at the server. The VM that is the subject of the scale-in may be one of the VMs (s) running on one or more servers 150. [

If the action-type of the request of the autoscale is scale-on, the VNF manager 130 may delete the VM from the server having the VM that is the subject of scale-in among the one or more servers 150 of the NFV-based communication network.

For example, the VNF manager 130 may request the virtual infrastructure manager 140 to delete the VM that is the target of the scale-in, and the virtual infrastructure manager 140 may delete the VM that is the target of the scale-in.

In step 520, after deletion of the VM, the VNF manager 130 may check whether there is a violation of the resource management policy. If there is a violation of the resource management policy, step 530 may be performed. If there is no case that violates the resource management policy, the procedure may be terminated.

For example, if "energy efficiency" in the resource management policy is set to "on, " energy efficiency may have to be maximized. Depending on the "energy efficiency", only the smallest server (s) of the one or more servers 150 will operate and the remaining server (s) of the one or more servers 150 have. For example, if all the VMs of a server can be moved to another server, the resource management policy of "energy efficiency" may be violated because the server that can switch to sleep mode is running the VM.

At step 530, the VNF manager 130 may notify of a violation of the resource management policy. If there is a case where the result of the automatic scale execution is in violation of the resource management policy, the VNF manager 130 can notify of the violation of the resource management policy.

Alternatively, the VNF manager 130 may output information indicating that a violation of the resource management policy has occurred. For example, the VNF manager 130 may delete the VM that is the subject of the scale-in from the server, move the other VMs of the server to the other VM (s), and switch the server to the sleep mode Can be output. For example, the output may be in the form of a message in a pop-up window.

After the notification, the VNF manager 130 may resolve the violation of the resource management policy. For example, if "energy efficiency" in the resource management policy is set to "on ", the VNF manager 130 deletes the VM of the server to maximize & , And can switch the server to the sleep mode after the other VMs are moved to another server.

The VNF manager 130 may send a request to the virtual infrastructure manager 140 to resolve the violation of the resource management policy. For example, the VNF manager 130 may request the virtual infrastructure manager 140 to move the VM and request the virtual infrastructure manager 140 to switch the server to the sleep mode. The virtual infrastructure manager 140 may perform an operation for resolving the violation of the resource management policy.

FIG. 6 illustrates a process for a scale-out in according to an example.

If the execution of an automatic scale with the action-type of the request being a scale-out is requested, the VNF manager 130 may perform the following steps 610, 620, 630, 640 and 650.

In step 610, if the action-type of the request for automatic scaling is a scale-out, the VNF manager 130 may determine a server of the one or more servers 150 to generate a VM by reflecting the resource management policy .

At step 620, the VNF manager 130 may check whether one or more of the servers 150 do not violate the resource management policy. If there is no server that does not violate the resource management policy, then in step 610 the server to create the VM may not have been determined. If there is a server that does not violate the resource management policy, the server determined to not violate the resource management policy in step 610 may be determined as a server in which the VM is to be created.

If there is no server that does not violate the resource management policy, step 630 may be performed. If there is a server that does not violate the resource management policy, step 640 may be performed.

In step 630, if there is no server that does not violate the resource management policy, the VNF manager 130 may notify that there is no server that does not violate the resource management policy.

Alternatively, the VNF manager 130 may output information indicating that there is no server that is not in violation of the resource management policy, and that the VM can not be created. For example, the output may be in the form of a message in a pop-up window.

In step 640, the VNF manager 130 may allocate a virtual resource corresponding to a scale-out. The VNF manager 130 may transmit a request for a virtual resource to the virtual infrastructure manager 140 in order to allocate a virtual resource corresponding to the scale-out. The virtual infrastructure manager 140 can allocate virtual resources.

At step 650, the VNF manager 130 may create a VM at the determined server. The VNF manager 130 may transmit a request for creation of a VM according to the scale-out to the virtual infrastructure manager 140. [ Here, generation of a VM may mean generation of an image of the VM. The virtual infrastructure manager 140 can create a VM.

FIG. 7 illustrates a process for scale-up according to an example.

If the action-type of the request is requested to perform an auto-scale that is scale-up, the VNF manager 130 may perform the following steps 710, 720, and 730.

In step 710, if the action-type of the request of automatic scale is scale-up, the VNF manager 130 may increase the capacity of the VM that is the object of the scale-up in the server. The VM that is the subject of the scale-up may be one of the VMs (s) running on one or more servers 150. [

For example, the VNF manager 130 may request the virtual infrastructure manager 140 to increase the capacity of the VM that is the subject of the scale-up, and the infrastructure manager 140 may increase the capacity of the VM that is the subject of the scale- .

At step 720, after increasing the capacity of the VM, the VNF manager 130 may check whether there is a violation of the resource management policy. If there is a violation of the resource management policy, step 730 may be performed. If there is no case that violates the resource management policy, the procedure may be terminated.

At step 730, the VNF manager 130 may notify of a violation of the resource management policy.

Alternatively, the VNF manager 130 may output information indicating that a violation of the resource management policy has occurred, by increasing the capacity of the VM that is the object of scale-up.

After the notification, the VNF manager 130 may resolve the violation of the resource management policy. The VNF manager 130 may send a request to the virtual infrastructure manager 140 to resolve the violation of the resource management policy. The virtual infrastructure manager 140 may perform an operation for resolving the violation of the resource management policy.

FIG. 8 illustrates a process for scale-down according to an example.

If the execution of an automatic scale with the action-type of the request being scale-down is requested, the VNF manager 130 may perform the following steps 810, 820, and 830.

In step 810, if the action-type of the request of automatic scale is scale-down, the VNF manager 130 may reduce the capacity of the VM that is the object of the scale-down in the server. The VM that is the subject of the scale down may be one of the VM (s) operating in one or more servers 150. [

For example, the VNF manager 130 may request the virtual infrastructure manager 140 to reduce the capacity of the VM that is the object of the scale-down, and the infrastructure manager 140 may reduce the capacity of the VM that is the object of the scale- .

At step 820, after a decrease in the capacity of the VM, the VNF manager 130 may check whether there is a violation of the resource management policy. If there is a violation of the resource management policy, step 830 may be performed. If there is no case that violates the resource management policy, the procedure may be terminated.

At step 830, the VNF manager 130 may notify of a violation of the resource management policy.

Alternatively, the VNF manager 130 may output information indicating that a violation of the resource management policy has occurred, by decreasing the capacity of the VM that is the object of the scale-down.

After the notification, the VNF manager 130 may resolve the violation of the resource management policy. The VNF manager 130 may send a request to the virtual infrastructure manager 140 to resolve the violation of the resource management policy. The virtual infrastructure manager 140 may perform an operation for resolving the violation of the resource management policy.

Hereinafter, an example of the process for scale-out will be described with reference to Figs. 9, 11, and 12. Fig.

FIG. 9 illustrates a resource management policy according to an example.

In FIG. 9, the contents of the resource management policy are shown. For example, the resource management policy can be defined as: 1) whether or not the maximization of "energy efficiency" is applied, 2) a limitation of "CPU load", and 3) "maximum number of VMs of each server" Limitations may be indicated.

In the first line of Figure 9, the "energy efficiency" was set to "on. &Quot; The policy of "energy efficiency" can indicate whether to consider maximizing energy efficiency in the operation of NFV-based communication networks.

Setting "energy efficiency" to "on" may mean that energy efficiency should be maximized in the operation of NFV-based communication networks. Setting "energy efficiency" to " OFF "may mean that the maximization of energy efficiency in the operation of the NFV-based communication network does not have to be enforced.

In the second line of FIG. 9, the "CPU load" is set to less than 60%. The "CPU load" may represent a range of load of the CPU of each server of the one or more servers (150). For example, according to the second line of FIG. 9, in the operation of the NFV-based communication network, each server can be operated so that the load of the CPU of each server is less than 60%

In the third line of FIG. 9, "the maximum number of VMs in each server" The "maximum number of VMs for each server" may represent the maximum value of VMs allowed for each server of one or more servers 150. [ That is to say, according to the third line of FIG. 9, in the operation of the NFV-based communication network, the number of VMs operating in each server can be limited to a maximum of five.

10 illustrates server resource status of one or more servers according to an example.

The server resource state may indicate a state in which one or more servers 150 utilize the resources of one or more servers 150.

The server resource state of one or more servers 150 may include 1) an identifier of each server of one or more servers 150, 2) a CPU load, and 3) the number of VMs.

For example, in FIG. 10, the CPU load of the first of the one or more servers 150 is 60%, and the first server is shown having four VMs.

FIG. 11 illustrates a process for scale-out according to an example.

Step 1110 may correspond to step 610 described above with reference to FIG.

In step 1110, the VNF manager 130 may perform a selection of a server that is the target of the scale-out of one or more servers 150 by reflecting the resource management policy. A server that is the target of the scale-out may be a server to which a VM is to be set.

Step 1110 may include steps 1111, 1112, 1113, and 1114.

In steps 1111, 1112, and 1113, the VNF manager 130 may exclude a server that does not meet each policy of one or more of the policies represented by the resource management policy of the one or more servers 150 .

The resource management policy may include a policy of "energy efficiency", a policy of "CPU load" and a policy of "maximum number of VM".

In step 1111, the VNF manager 130 may exclude a server that does not meet the policy of "energy efficiency" among the one or more servers 150 from the selection.

Referring to Fig. 9, "energy efficiency" is set to "on ". According to the setting of the "energy efficiency" policy, the VNF manager 130 may exclude servers that do not meet the policy of maximizing "energy efficiency" among one or more servers 150.

If a new VM is created on a server that does not currently have a VM, the server can transition from sleep mode to active mode. When the mode of the server is switched, the server can consume more energy than when it was in sleep mode. In other words, creating a new VM on a server that does not have a VM (when there are other servers that can create VMs) may violate the "energy efficiency" policy. For this reason, the VNF manager 130 may exclude a server that does not have a VM among one or more servers 150 from being selected. For example, according to FIG. 10, a fifth server that does not have any VMs can be excluded from the selection.

At step 1112, the VNF manager 130 may exclude servers that do not meet the "CPU load" policy of one or more of the servers 150 from the selection.

Referring to Fig. 9, "CPU load" is set to 60% or less. In accordance with the setting of the "CPU load" policy, the VNF manager 130 can exclude a server from being selected that will not satisfy the "CPU load & have.

If a new VM is created on a server that does not currently have a VM, the "CPU load" of the server may increase. For this reason, the VNF manager 130 may exclude a server whose one or more servers 150 has a "CPU load" equal to or greater than a threshold value. For example, the reference value may be a maximum value by setting the "CPU load ". Alternatively, the reference value may be a value obtained by subtracting the predetermined value from the maximum value by the setting of "CPU load ". The default value may be an estimate of the incremental value of the CPU load due to the creation of the VM. For example, according to Fig. 10, the first server and the fourth server, which have already reached the maximum value of 60% of the CPU load, can be excluded from selection.

In step 1113, the VNF manager 130 may exclude servers that do not meet the policy of "the maximum number of VMs on each server" of one or more servers 150.

Referring to FIG. 9, "the maximum number of VMs of each server" According to the setting of the "maximum number of VMs in each server" policy, the VNF manager 130 can not satisfy the policy of "maximum number of VMs in each server" You can exclude a server from being selected. That is to say, the VNF manager 130 may exclude a server from which the number of VMs among the one or more servers 150 has already reached "the maximum number of VMs of each server ". For example, according to Fig. 10, a second server already having five VMs can be excluded from selection.

Referring to FIG. 9, the first server, the second server, the fourth server, and the fifth server may be excluded from the selection through steps 1111, 1112, and 1113.

The order of steps 1111, 1112, and 1113 is merely exemplary, and the order of steps 1111, 1112, and 1113 may be interchanged.

In step 1114, the VNF manager 130 may select a server that meets one or more of the policies indicated by the resource management policy of the one or more servers 150. [ The VNF manager 130 may perform the selection of a server that is the target of the scale-out among the remaining servers other than the server that is excluded from the selection by each policy of one or more policies indicated by the resource management policy among the one or more servers 150 . For example, the VNF manager 130 may select a third server that is not excluded from the steps 1111, 1112, and 1113 of the one or more servers 150.

The contents of the above-described steps 1110, 1111, 1112, 1113, and 1114 may be applied in selecting a server for other automatic scales other than scale-out.

In step 1120, the VNF manager 130 may send a request for allocation of virtual resources to the virtual infrastructure manager 140.

The request for allocation of the virtual resource may be a request indicating that the virtual resource requested by the new VNF is allocated to the selected server.

Here, the virtual resource required by the new VNF may be a virtual resource defined in the VDU descriptor. The VNF manager 130 can identify the virtual resource defined by the VDU descriptor using the VDU identifier.

The VDU identifier may be obtained in step 420 described above with reference to FIG.

The virtual infrastructure manager 140 may receive a request for allocation of a virtual resource from the VNF manager 130. [ The virtual infrastructure manager 140 can allocate the virtual resources required by the new VNF.

Step 1120 may correspond to step 640 described above with reference to FIG.

In step 1130, the VNF manager 130 may send a request for creation of a VNF to the virtual infrastructure manager 140. The virtual infrastructure manager 140 may receive a request to create a VNF from the VNF manager 130. [ The virtual infrastructure manager 140 may generate the VNF.

Also, at step 1130, the VNF manager 130 may perform the setting of the information required for operation of the VNF. For example, the information required for operation of the VNF may include an IP and a port number.

Step 1130 may correspond to step 650 described above with reference to FIG.

12 is a flowchart of a method of providing status information according to an embodiment.

Steps 1210 and 1222 may be performed after step 450 described above with reference to FIG. 4 is performed. In other words, the automatic scale method according to one embodiment may include the steps 410, 420, 430, 440, and 450 described above with reference to FIG. 4, and steps 1210 and 1220 ). ≪ / RTI >

In step 1210, the VNF 110, the EM 111 or the OSS / BSS 112 may send a request for processing status information for the VNF lifecycle including the scale to the VNF manager 130. The VNF manager 130 may receive a request for processing status information from the VNF 110, the EM 111, or the OSS / BSS 112.

In the processing state information, the scale may represent the above-described automatic scale, or may represent the result of the automatic scale.

In step 1220, the VNF manager 130 may send processing status information to the VNF 110, the EM 111, or the OSS / BSS 112 that sent the request for processing status information.

The processing status information may indicate either during processing, success, or failure. Here, during processing, success and failure can be determined as follows: 1) the automatic scale requested in step 410 described above with reference to FIG. 4 is still being performed; 2) ) ≪ / RTI > may indicate that the performance of the automatic scale fails.

The apparatus described above may be implemented as a hardware component, a software component, and / or a combination of hardware components and software components. For example, the apparatus and components described in the embodiments may be implemented within a computer system, such as, for example, a processor, a controller, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable array (FPA) A programmable logic unit (PLU), a microprocessor, or any other device capable of executing and responding to instructions. The processing device may execute an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications running on the operating system. The processing device may also access, store, manipulate, process, and generate data in response to execution of the software. For ease of understanding, the processing apparatus may be described as being used singly, but those skilled in the art will recognize that the processing apparatus may have a plurality of processing elements and / As shown in FIG. For example, the processing unit may comprise a plurality of processors or one processor and one controller. Other processing configurations are also possible, such as a parallel processor.

The software may include a computer program, code, instructions, or a combination of one or more of the foregoing, and may be configured to configure the processing device to operate as desired or to process it collectively or collectively Device can be commanded. The software and / or data may be in the form of any type of machine, component, physical device, virtual equipment, computer storage media, or device , Or may be permanently or temporarily embodied in a transmitted signal wave. The software may be distributed over a networked computer system and stored or executed in a distributed manner. The software and data may be stored on one or more computer readable recording media.

The method according to an embodiment may be implemented in the form of a program command that can be executed through various computer means and recorded in a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. The program instructions to be recorded on the medium may be those specially designed and configured for the embodiments or may be available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magnetic media such as floppy disks; Includes hardware devices that are specially configured to store and execute program instructions such as magneto-tical media and ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include machine language code such as those produced by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware devices described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the embodiments, and vice versa.

  While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. For example, it is to be understood that the techniques described may be performed in a different order than the described methods, and / or that components of the described systems, structures, devices, circuits, Lt; / RTI > or equivalents, even if it is replaced or replaced.

100: NFV system
110: VNF
120: NFV orchestrator
130: VNF Manager
140: Virtual Infrastructure Manager
150: one or more servers
310: Virtual Resource Policy Manager
320: Monitoring Manager
One

Claims (1)

Receiving a request for performance of an automatic scale for a virtual network function; And
Performing the requested automatic scaling using configuration information of a resource management policy and a virtual network function (VNF) based communication network
/ RTI >

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