WO2016029821A1

WO2016029821A1 - Method and device for creating virtual network instance

Info

Publication number: WO2016029821A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/087670
Authority: WO
Inventors: 李世涛; 狄龙
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2014-08-30
Filing date: 2015-08-20
Publication date: 2016-03-03
Also published as: CN104219127A; CN104219127B

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of electronic information. Disclosed is a method for creating a virtual network instance, which can solve the problem that when multiple paths between internal virtual network units in a network service are available for data, the failure of determining one of the paths for transmission causes service interruption. The specific solution is: acquiring network service descriptive information; using virtual network units with expected instance creation as virtual network units with expected instance creation according to the network service descriptive information; sending resource requirement information and connection information of the virtual network units with expected instance creation to a lower-layer device; sending path information to a network device of the lower-layer device, or sending the path information to each of the virtual network units; and selecting a transmission path according to the path information when data is under transmission between the virtual network units. The present invention is applied to creation of a virtual network instance.

Description

Method and device for creating virtual network instance

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of electronic information, and in particular to a method and device for creating a virtual network instance.

Background technique

NFV (Network Function Virtualization) realizes the functions of some special devices in the network by using common hardware devices and virtualization technologies, so that network services are no longer dependent on dedicated hardware devices, thereby reducing the deployment of dedicated devices. cost.

In the prior art, by creating an instance of the NS (Network Service), the virtual network service architecture can be implemented on the physical hardware. For example, a VNF (Virtualized Network Function) unit in the NS is defined. And describes the connection relationship between the various VNF units. When the user applies the NS, the data can be transmitted in the virtual network through the defined VNF unit and the connection relationship between the various VNF units.

However, in the process of implementing the above method, the inventors found that when data has multiple paths to be selected between VNF units, it is impossible to determine which path to transmit from, which may result in service interruption.

Summary of the invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and an apparatus for creating a virtual network instance, which can solve the problem that when data has multiple paths to be selected between VNF units, it is impossible to determine which path to transmit from, thereby causing service interruption. problem.

In order to achieve the above object, embodiments of the present invention adopt the following technical solutions:

In a first aspect, a method for creating a virtual network instance is applied to a network management device, including:

Obtaining network service description information, where the network service description information includes path information, connection information, and resource requirement information of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit, where the path information is used by And indicating the transmission path between the virtual network units, the connection information is used to indicate a connection relationship between the virtual network units, and the resource requirement information of each virtual network unit is used to indicate Describe the resources required for each virtual network unit to create an instance;

Determining, according to the network service description information, a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance, and using the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance as the first virtual network unit;

Transmitting the resource requirement information of the first virtual network unit to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device creates an instance for the first virtual network unit;

Sending the connection information to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device establishes a connection between the first virtual network unit, or establishes a connection between the first virtual network unit and another virtual network unit;

And sending the path information to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device stores the path information.

With reference to the first aspect, in the first possible implementation, the sending the path information to the lower layer device specifically includes:

Sending the path information to the network device of the lower layer device, so that the network device of the lower layer device stores the path information; or

And transmitting the path information to each of the virtual network units, so that each of the virtual network units stores the path information.

In combination with the first aspect, in a second possible implementation manner,

The resource requirement information of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit includes at least one of processing speed information of the virtual network unit corresponding to the resource requirement information and storage space information of the virtual network unit;

The connection information includes at least one of a connection type and bandwidth information between the virtual network units.

In combination with the first aspect, in a third possible implementation,

Determining, according to the network service description information, a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance, and using the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance as a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance, including:

Querying, in the already stored state information, whether each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit has created an instance;

If the status information indicates that the virtual network unit corresponding to the status information does not create an instance, the virtual network unit is determined to be a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance.

With reference to the first aspect, in a fourth possible implementation, the path information further includes a policy for selecting a path, where the policy includes a condition for selecting a transmission path.

In combination with the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation, the condition for selecting a transmission path includes selecting a transmission path according to a service type of the data.

In a second aspect, a method for creating a virtual network instance is applied to an underlying device, including:

Receiving resource requirement information of the virtual network unit that needs to be created by the network management device, and creating an instance for the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance according to the resource requirement information, where the resource requirement information is used to indicate that it is a virtual network unit. The resources needed to create an instance;

Receiving connection information sent by the network management device, establishing a connection between the virtual network units that need to create an instance according to the connection information, or establishing between the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance and other virtual network units. a connection, wherein the connection information is used to indicate a connection relationship between virtual network units;

Receiving path information sent by the network management device, and storing the path information in a network device, or storing the path information in a storage space of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit, the path Information is used to indicate the transmission path of data between the virtual network elements.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementation manner, the path information further includes a policy for selecting a path, where the policy includes a condition for selecting a transmission path.

In combination with the first possible implementation of the second aspect, the second possible implementation further includes include:

Receiving data, determining, according to the stored path information, a data transmission path as the first transmission path;

Determining an identifier of a next virtual network unit of the data transmission according to a transmission path of the data determined by the path information;

Transmitting the data to the next virtual network element based on the identity of the next virtual network element.

In conjunction with the first possible implementation of the second aspect, in a third possible implementation,

The conditions for selecting a transmission path include selecting a transmission path according to the type of service of the data.

In a third aspect, a network management device includes:

a network operation and maintenance module, configured to acquire network service description information, where the network service description information includes path information, connection information, and resource requirement information of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit, where the path information is used to indicate data a transmission path between the virtual network units, the connection information is used to indicate a connection relationship between the virtual network units, and resource requirement information of each virtual network unit is used to indicate each of the The resources required by the virtual network unit to create an instance;

The network operation and maintenance module is further configured to determine, according to the network service description information, a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance, and use the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance as the first virtual network unit;

And the lower layer basic device management module, configured to receive the resource requirement information of the first virtual network unit and the connection information that are sent by the network operation and maintenance module, and obtain the The resource requirement information is sent to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device creates an instance for the first virtual network unit, and sends the connection information to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device is in the first virtual network. Establishing a connection between the units or establishing a connection between the first virtual network unit and other virtual network units;

The underlying device management module is further configured to send the path information acquired by the network operation and maintenance module to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device stores the path information. In combination with the third aspect, in a first possible implementation manner,

The sending, by the underlying basic device management module, the path information to the lower layer device specifically includes:

The lower layer device management module is configured to send the path information to the network device of the lower layer device, so that the network device of the lower layer device stores the path information; or

The underlying base device management module is configured to send the path information to each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit, so that each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit stores the path information.

In combination with the third aspect, in a second possible implementation manner,

In combination with the third aspect, in a third possible implementation manner,

The network management device further includes a database module for storing state information;

The network operation and maintenance module is further configured to query, in the status information that has been stored by the database module, whether each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit has created an instance, if the status information indicates the status If the virtual network unit corresponding to the information does not create an instance, the virtual network unit is determined to be a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance.

In combination with the third aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner,

The path information also includes a policy of selecting a path, the policy including a condition for selecting a transmission path.

In combination with the third aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner,

In a fourth aspect, a lower layer device includes:

a receiving module, configured to receive resource requirement information of a virtual network unit that needs to be created by the network management device, and transmit the resource requirement information to an instance creation module, where the resource requirement information is used to indicate that the virtual network is a virtual network The resources required for the unit to create an instance;

The instance creation module is configured to create an instance for the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance according to the resource requirement information, where the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance determines the virtual network unit determined by the network management device The virtual network unit in which the instance needs to be created;

The receiving module is further configured to receive connection information sent by the network management device, and transmit the connection information to the connection establishment module, where the connection information is used to indicate between the virtual network units Connection relationship

a connection establishing module, configured to establish a connection between the virtual network units that need to create an instance according to the connection information, or establish a connection between the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance and other virtual network units;

The receiving module is further configured to receive path information sent by the network management device, where the path information is used to indicate a transmission path of data between the virtual network units;

a storage module, configured to store the path information.

In combination with the fourth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner,

In conjunction with the first possible implementation of the fourth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner,

The receiving module is further configured to receive data;

The lower layer device further includes a path selection module and a forwarding module.

The path selection module is configured to determine, according to the stored path information, that the transmission path of the data is the first transmission path, and determine the data transmission according to the transmission path of the data determined by the path information. The identity of the next virtual network element lost;

The forwarding module is configured to transmit the data to the next virtual network unit according to the identifier of the next virtual network unit.

In conjunction with the first possible implementation of the fourth aspect, in a third possible implementation,

The method and device for creating a virtual network instance provided by the embodiment of the present invention, by acquiring the network service description information including the path information, determining the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance according to the network service description information including the path information, and creating an instance as needed The resource requirement information of the virtual network unit creates an instance for the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance, establishes a connection between the virtual network elements that need to create an instance according to the connection information, or creates a virtual network unit and other virtual network units that need to create an instance. Establish a connection, store the path information contained in the network description information, and when the data is transmitted between the VNF units inside the network service, select the transmission path according to the path information, thereby solving the problem that when there are multiple transmission paths, Determine the service interruption caused by which transmission path is transmitted.

DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the embodiments or the prior art description will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some of the present invention. For the embodiments, those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings according to the drawings without any creative work.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of a method for creating a virtual network instance according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for creating a virtual network instance according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a schematic flowchart of another method for creating a virtual network instance according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a schematic flowchart of a method for creating another virtual network instance according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a data transmission path according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a VNF unit connection relationship according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of another VNF unit connection relationship according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a network management device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a lower layer device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of another network management device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of another lower layer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts are within the scope of the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an NFV (Network Function Virtualization) system. The NFV system structure can be instantiated by using a network service (NS) as shown in FIG. Network services refer to applications running on the network, such as web services, video services, and so on.

The NFV technology utilizes a common hardware device instead of a dedicated network management device to create an instance of the network service to virtualize the network service, so that the network service no longer depends on the dedicated hardware device.

OSS/BSS (Operation Support System/Business Support System) of the carrier network.

Network management equipment includes: NFVO (Network Functions Virtualization Orchestrator, Network virtualization operation and maintenance device), responsible for the allocation and management of resources, including allocating resources for network services during the instantiation of network services, adding resources to network services that have been instantiated, or reducing the processing and removal of resources. Resources occupied by network services.

The catalog, the database, is used for receiving and storing information such as NSD information included in the instantiation application proposed by the OSS/BSS of the operator network, information of the existing VNF instance, and the like.

VNFM (VNF Manager, Management Module), responsible for the management of one or more VNF instances.

VIM (Virtualised Infrastructure Manager, the management module of the virtualized lower-layer device), in the process of creating an instance for the network service, apply to the NFVI (Network Functions Virtualization Infrastructure) for the resources needed to create an instance for the network service. .

The lower layer device may be an NFVI, including computing resources, storage resources, network resources, and the like. Create an instance for the network service by applying for resources from the lower layer device.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for creating a virtual network instance. Optionally, the network management device applied to the NFV system shown in FIG. 1 is as shown in FIG. 2, and includes the following steps:

201. Obtain a network service description information.

The Network Service Description (NSD) is used to describe a Network Service (NS). Optionally, the network management device may obtain the NSD in the network service request sent by the network service user equipment, where the network service application is an application sent by the network management device when the network service user equipment needs to deploy and instantiate a certain network service.

A network service includes at least one VNF (Virtualized Network Function) unit, the network management device creates an instance for a VNF unit, and an instantiated VNF unit is called a VNF Instance. Optionally, the network service user equipment submits the network service request to the network management device for applying for instantiation of the VNF unit in the network service, and upgrading, changing, requesting to add resources to some VNF units that have been instantiated or cut back Resources and other operations. The specific content of the instantiation application of the network service includes the NSD of the network service. Specifically, the NSD includes path information, connection information, and description information of each VNF unit in the VNF unit included in the network service.

The path information is used to indicate a transmission path of data between at least two VNF units. In the data transmission process, the target VNF unit of the data transmission can be determined by querying the path information, and then the data is transmitted to the target VNF unit.

The connection information is used to indicate a connection relationship between the at least two VNF units, including a connection type between at least two VNF units and bandwidth information. Optionally, the connection type can be IPv4 or IPv6.

The description information of each VNF unit is called a VNFD (VNF Description), and each VNFD includes software and platform information that the corresponding VNF needs to run, and resource requirement information of the VNF. The resource requirement information is used to indicate resources required for creating an instance for the VNF unit, including computing resources, storage resources, and the like.

202. Determine, according to the network service description information, a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance.

The network management device determines which VNF unit needs to create an instance according to each VNFD, and uses the VNF unit that needs to create an instance as the first VNF unit.

Specifically, taking a VNFD in the NSD as an example, the VNF unit that has created the instance is queried in the database. If the VNF1 exists and the idle resource of the VNF1 satisfies the description of the VNFD, the network management device may allocate the VNF1 to the VNF1. Network services without the need to instantiate the VNF unit described by the VNFD. If VNF1 does not exist in an existing VNF instance, the VNF unit described by the VNFD needs to be instantiated.

Optionally, the network service includes at least one VNF unit, and the first VNF unit may have one first VNF unit or multiple first VNF units.

203. Send resource requirement information of the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device creates an instance for the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance.

The network management device sends the resource requirement information of the first VNF unit to the lower layer device, and requests the next The layer device allocates resources for the first VNF unit and creates an instance for the first VNF unit.

Optionally, when there are multiple first VNF units, the network management device instantiates each of the first VNF units. Further optionally, the resource requirement information may be included in the instantiation creation request and sent to the lower layer device.

204. Send the connection information to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device establishes a connection between the virtual network units that need to create an instance, or establishes a connection between the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance and other virtual network units.

After the first VNF unit is instantiated, the first VNF unit needs to establish a connection with other VNF units within the network service. Specifically, the lower layer device establishes a connection between the virtual network units that need to create an instance according to the connection relationship described by the connection information, or establishes a connection between the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance and other virtual network units.

In an application scenario, the network management device allocates one or more existing VNF instances to the network service when allocating resources for the network service, between the existing VNF instances assigned to the network service. If a connection that satisfies the connection information has been established, the network service can directly use the existing connection without establishing a new connection. If the existing VNF instances assigned to the network service have not established a connection that satisfies the connection information, then the connection is established for the existing VNF instances assigned to the network service according to the connection relationship.

205. Send the path information to the network device of the lower layer device, so that the network device of the lower layer device stores the path information, or sends the path information to each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit, so as to facilitate each virtual virtual network unit. The network unit stores path information.

Optionally, the network device may be a router or an SDN (Software Defined Network) controller. After acquiring the NSD, the network management device sends the path information to the network device of the lower layer device, and the network device of the lower layer device stores the path information, or sends the path information to each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit, where the virtual network unit is used. Each virtual network unit stores path information. Thus when data is transferred between VNF units included in the network service, It is possible to select a transmission path of data according to the stored path information by each of the network devices of the lower device or the virtual network unit.

The method for creating a virtual network instance provided by the embodiment of the present invention, by obtaining the network service description information including the path information, determining the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance according to the network service description information including the path information, and the virtual instance of the instance needs to be created. The resource requirement information of the network unit is sent to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device creates an instance for the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance, and sends the connection information to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device establishes a connection between the virtual network units that need to create an instance. Or establishing a connection between the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance and other virtual network units, and sending the path information to the network device of the lower layer device, so that the network device of the lower layer device stores the path information, or sends the path information to the virtual device. Each virtual network unit in the network unit facilitates storage of path information for each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit. When data is transmitted between VNF units included in the network service, the transmission path is selected according to the path information, which solves the problem of service interruption caused by the inability to determine which transmission path is transmitted when there are multiple transmission paths.

An embodiment of the present invention provides another method for creating a virtual network instance. Optionally, the method is applied to the lower layer device in the system shown in FIG. 1 . Preferably, the lower layer device is an NFVI. As shown, the following steps are included:

301. Receive resource requirement information of a virtual network unit that needs to be created by the network management device, and create an instance for the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance according to the resource requirement information.

The resource requirement information is used to indicate resources required to create an instance for a virtual network unit.

The virtual network unit that needs to create an instance for the network management device determines the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance in the virtual network unit. The resource allocation request includes resource requirement information of a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance, and the resource requirement information is used to indicate resources required to create an instance for one virtual network unit.

The underlying device includes the resources required to create a virtual network instance, including computing resources and storage resources. Source, etc. The lower layer device allocates resources for the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance according to the resource requirement information of the virtual network unit that needs to be created in the received resource allocation request, and instantiates the virtual network unit that needs to create the instance.

302. Receive connection information sent by the network management device, establish a connection between the virtual network units that need to create an instance according to the connection information, or establish a connection between the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance and other virtual network units.

The connection information is used to indicate a connection relationship between one of the virtual network elements, and the connection information is included in the NSD.

Optionally, after the instantiation of the virtual network unit that needs to create the instance is completed, the lower layer device receives the request for establishing a connection sent by the network management device, and according to the connection information included in the request, between the virtual network units that need to create an instance. Establish a connection or establish a connection between a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance and other virtual network elements.

303. Receive path information sent by the network management device, and store the path information in the network device, or store the path information in a storage space of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit.

The path information is used to indicate a transmission path of data between VNF units included in the network service when the network service processes the service. The path information is stored, the path information is queried during the data transmission process, and the data is transmitted according to the transmission path indicated by the path information.

The method for creating a virtual network instance provided by the embodiment of the present invention creates an instance for the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance according to the resource requirement information, receives the connection information sent by the network management device, and creates a virtual network unit of the instance according to the connection information. Establish a connection, or establish a connection between the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance and other virtual network units, receive path information sent by the network management device, store the path information in the network device, or store the path information in the virtual network. In the storage space of each virtual network unit in the unit. When data is transmitted between VNF units included in the network service, the transmission path is selected according to the path information, which solves when there are multiple transmission paths. Because the service interruption problem caused by which transmission path is transmitted cannot be determined.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for creating a virtual network instance. Optionally, the application is the NFV system shown in FIG. 1 above. Preferably, the embodiment uses NFVO, Catalog, VNFM, VIM in the NFV system, and The NFVI is used as an example to describe the method for creating a virtual network instance. Of course, the embodiment is merely illustrative, and the present invention is not limited thereto. Referring to FIG. 4, the following steps are included:

401. The NFVO obtains network service description information.

The network service includes at least one virtual network unit, and the network service description information includes path information, connection information, and resource requirement information of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit. The path information is used to indicate a transmission path between the virtual network units, and the connection information is used to indicate a connection relationship between the virtual network units, and the resource requirement information of each virtual network unit is used to indicate each virtual network respectively. The resources required for the unit to create an instance.

Specifically, the NFVO receives an On-boarding request for the network service sent by the OSS/BSS. The registration request includes specific description information NSD of the network service that needs to be instantiated and the identity of the NSD. A network service includes at least one VNF unit, and the NSF includes a VNFD of each of the at least one VNF unit.

Illustratively, referring to FIG. 5, the first network service is taken as an example to describe path information. The first network service is used to provide HTTP web browsing, video, and communication services in the mobile communication. The specific functions and structures of the first network service may not be exactly the same as the actual situation, and are merely used for illustration. The first network service includes a plurality of VNF units, which are LB (Load Balancing), Web Proxy (Web Proxy), FW (Firewall, Firewall), and Router ACL (Router Access Control List). Video Optimizer, Network Address Translation (NAT). There are three transmission paths between the VNF units in the first network service. When the first network service processes the HTTP web browsing service, the data transmission path is: LB—Web Proxy—FW—NAT. When the first network service processes the video service, the data transmission path is: Video Optimizer-FW. When the first network service is processed When the FMC (Fixed Mobile Convergence) mobile private network access service, the data transmission path is: Router ACL. The transmission path includes only one VNF unit. After the data enters the first network service, only one VNF unit is passed, that is, the Router ACL. And then it is sent out of the first network service. Each data transmission path corresponds to a policy of the data transmission path, including a condition for selecting the data transmission path. Specifically, taking the data transmission path of the HTTP webpage browsing service as an example, if the data received from the outside of the first network service satisfies the policy of the HTTP webpage browsing service data transmission path, the data is transmitted to the LB, in order, respectively. After Web Proxy, FW, and NAT, data is output from the first network service.

Optionally, this embodiment provides five forms of NSD. In the first form of NSD described in XML (Extensible Markup Language), it includes three parts: <Types>, ServiceTemplate (Service Template), and <ServiceChaining>. Among them, <Types> includes the following:

The node type (NodeType) and the relationship type (RelationshipType) are defined in <Types>. The node type is used for the type attribute of the VNF unit. The relationship type is used to define the relationship attribute between two VNF units, including the connection relationship between the two VNF units, the connection type, and the bandwidth information.

The ServiceTemplate includes the VNFD of each VNF unit in the first network service, the connection relationship between each adjacent two VNF units, and the data forwarding relationship.

A VNFD is a node template. Specifically, a VNF unit LB included in the first network service is used as an example. The VNFD of the LB is:

The statement id=“LB” defines that the VNFD identifier is LB, the node type is LoadBalanceType, and the LoadBalanceType has been defined in <Types>, which is referred to here. The Properties are used to define the parameters of the VNF unit, including the software and image information of the VNF unit, and the resource requirement information. The resource requirement information includes the processing speed information of the VNF unit and the storage space information of the VNF unit. Optionally, the processing speed information may include a clock frequency of a central processing unit (CPU), a number of cores, and the like.

The relationship between the two adjacent VNF units and the data forwarding relationship is described by a relationship template (RelationshipTemplate). The relationship between the LB and the Web Proxy is described as an example. The details are as follows:

The statement id=“Link1” defines the relationship of the relationship template as Link1, and the statement type=“FollowedBy” defines the relationship type of Link1 as FollowedBy, and FollowedBy as the relationship type. The specific name of the present invention is not limited to the specific name of the relationship type describing the data transmission relationship. The relationship type named FollowedBy is defined in <Types> and is used to describe the data transfer relationship between two adjacent nodes. The statement SourceElement ref=“LB” and the statement TargetElement ref=“Web Proxy is used to define the link represented by Link1. Data transfer relationship, specifically from LB to Web Proxy.

<ServiceChaining> includes path information. Each data transmission path is described by a ServiceChainingTemplate. The ServiceChainingTemplate describes the forwarding relationship of data in a data transmission path and the policy of the data transmission path, that is, the condition for selecting the transmission path. Take the ServiceChainingTemplate with the identifier FG1 as an example. The details are as follows:

The data transmission path described by the ServiceChainingTemplate identified as FG1 includes three connections: Link1, Link2, and Link3. Link1, Link2, and Link3 are the identifiers of the three relationship templates in the service template, and the data transmission described by the three service templates. The relationship is transmitted from LB To the Web Proxy, from the Web Proxy to the FW, from the FW to the NAT, the transmission path described by Link1, Link2, and Link3 is: LB—Web Proxy—FW—NAT, that is, the first network service processes an HTTP web page browsing. The data transmission path for business. The statement policyRef=policyFG1 defines the policy of the transmission path as policyFG1. The specific content of policyFG1 is defined in Type, which is a reference here. Optionally, this embodiment provides a definition of policyFG1, and the specific content is as follows:

If the protocol type of the data is HTTP and the payload type is HTML, then the data is HTTP web browsing service data, then the data is transmitted through the transmission path described by FG1. Of course, this is only an example of the HTTP web browsing service data transmission path policy. The specific definition of the HTTP web browsing service data transmission path policy is not limited.

At the same time, in the <ServiceChaining>, the ServiceChainingTemplate identified as FG2 describes the data transmission path of the video service and the policy policyFG2 of the data transmission path, and the ServiceChainingTemplate identified as FG3 describes the data transmission path of the FMC mobile private network access service and the The policy of the data transmission path policyFG3. The same as policyFG1, the specific contents of policyFG2 and policyFG3 are also defined in <Types>, which is a reference here.

Optionally, this embodiment provides a definition of policyFG2, and the specific content is as follows:

If the protocol type of the data is RTP and the payload type is 31, 32, 33 or 34, then the data is video service data, then the data is transmitted through the transmission path described by FG2. Of course, this is only an example of the video service data transmission path policy. The present invention does not limit the specific definition of the video service data transmission path policy.

Optionally, this embodiment provides a definition of a policyFG3, where the FMC dedicated access network segment is 10.138.*.*, and the specific content is as follows:

If the sending address of the data sender belongs to the network segment, the data is the FMC mobile private network access service data, and then the data is transmitted through the transmission path described by FG3. Certainly, this is only an example of the video service data transmission path policy. The specific definition of the FMC mobile private network access service data transmission path policy is not limited.

In the first form of NSD, a data transmission relationship between two adjacent VNF units is described by a relationship type named FollowedBy, and a complete data transmission path is described by a ServiceChainingTemplate. Optionally, a transmission path may include one or more connections of the relationship type FollowedBy, and the connections form a complete transmission path and a data transmission path, and one transmission path may also include only one VNF unit, which represents that the data only enters the network service. The network service is sent out through a VNF unit. Specifically, for a case where a transmission path includes only one VNF unit, the data transmission path of the FMC mobile private network access service is taken as an example, and the description information of the path is as follows:

The data transmission path of the FMC mobile private network access service, which is identified as FG3, includes only one VNF of the Router ACL. The description of the data transmission path in the path information includes only the Router ACL and no data forwarding relationship. The description indicates that the data enters the first network service and passes through only one VNF unit, that is, the Router ACL, and then is sent out of the first network service.

Optionally, an embodiment of the present invention provides a second form of NSD described by XML, including <Types> and ServiceTemplate. Compared with the first form of NSD, the second form of NSD adds a new node type named ServiceChainingType in <Types>. In the ServiceTemplate, a node description of the service type is ServiceChainingType and the name is ServiceChaining. A path information of the network service, the path information is included in an element named <ForwardingPathProperties>, the path information includes a description of three data transmission paths in the first network service, and a policy of each data transmission path. In the <ForwardingPathProperties> element, a Path element describes a data transmission path, including the data forwarding relationship and policy of the data transmission path. Take a Path element identified as FP1 as an example. The details are as follows:

The transmission path described by the Path element identified as FP1 includes the links identifying Link1, Link2, and Link3, respectively. Link1 is used as an example. The statement <source ref=”LB”> and <target ret=”Web Proxy”> define Link1. The data transmission relationship represented by the data is transmitted from the LB to the FW. In addition, the data transmission relationship described by the connection identified as Link2 is transmitted from the Web Proxy to the FW, and the data transmission relationship described by the connection identified as Link3 is from the FW to the NAT. The transmission path described by the Path element identified as FP1 is the HTTP web browsing service data transmission path: LB—Web Proxy—FW—NAT, and the policy of the path is policyFG1. The VNFD of each VNF unit is the same as that of the first form of NSD, and will not be described here.

Optionally, the embodiment of the present invention provides a third form of NSD described by XML, and describes a data transmission relationship between two adjacent VNF units by a relationship type named FollowedBy, and the specific type of the relationship name is FollowedBy. The definition is the same as in the first form of NSD. A complete data transmission path is described by a Path element in the node template by the node type named ServiceChainingType. Take the HTTP web browsing service data transmission path as an example. The description information of the data transmission path is as follows:

The connection with the links of Link1, Link2, and Link3 is a relationship type of FollowedBy, which describes the data transmission relationship from LB transmission to Web Proxy, from Web Proxy to FW, and from FW to NAT. The path described by the path labeled FP1 is LB—Web Proxy—FW—NAT, and the policy is policyFG1. The definition of each VNFD and the adjacent VNF transmission relationship is the same as that in the first form of NSD, and details are not described herein again.

Optionally, the embodiment of the present invention provides a fourth form of NSD described by XML. In the <ServiceChaining> element, each ServiceChainingTemplate respectively describes a complete data transmission path, including a data forwarding relationship between adjacent VNF units. And the strategy of the data transmission path. Take the HTTP web browsing service data transmission path as an example. The description information of the data transmission path is as follows:

The difference from the description of the path information by the <ServiceChaining> element in the NSD of the first form is that the data transmission relationship between two adjacent VNF units is not defined by the relationship template, but is defined in the ServiceChainingTemplate. Taking the connection identified as link1 as an example, the statement <source ref=”LB”> and <target ret=”Web Proxy”> define the data transfer relationship represented by Link1 as data transfer from LB to FW. In addition, the data transmission relationship described by the connection identified as Link2 is transmitted from the Web Proxy to the FW, and the data transmission relationship described by the connection identified as Link3 is from the FW to the NAT. The data transmission path described by the Path element identified as FP1 It is: LB—Web Proxy—FW—NAT. The policy of the data transmission path is policyFG1. When the data transmission path includes only one VNF, the path information includes only one link and the link only includes the “source” parameter. Here, the data transmission path of the FMC mobile private network access service is taken as an example, and the description information of the data transmission path is specific. as follows:

Optionally, in the fifth form of the NSD, the first network service is described by a YAML data description language. The path information is described in the node template by the node type named tosca.nodes.ServiceChaining. Specifically, in the node template, each Path includes a description of a transmission path and a policy of the transmission path. In a transmission path, the data transmission relationship between two VNF units is defined by Link. The "source" parameter in the Link indicates the VNF unit that transmits the data, and the "target" parameter in the Link indicates the VNF unit that receives the data. Optionally, if only one VNF unit is included in a transmission path, the Path includes only one link, and only the “source” parameter is included in the link. Optionally, a transmission path may include a link or by multiple A combination of links. Take the HTTP web browsing service data transmission path as an example. The description information of the data transmission path is as follows:

The five forms of NSD provided in this embodiment describe the data transmission relationship between two adjacent VNF units, and further describe the complete transmission path by the data transmission relationship between two adjacent VNF units.

After receiving the network service registration request sent by the OSS/BSS, the NFVO sends the NSD to the database for storage. Optionally, in a cloud computing application scenario, the database is specifically a catalog.

403. After the database saves the NSD, the NFVO sends a registration request confirmation message to the OSS/BSS to confirm that the NSD is successfully saved.

404. The OSS/BSS sends a request for instantiating a network service to the NFVO, where the request includes an identifier of the NSD.

405. The NFVO sends a query request including an NSD identifier to the database according to the identifier of the NSD, where the query request is used to query the database, and which VNF units included in the network service need to be created. Build instances and which do not need to create instances. The database records the status information of the VNF unit that has created the instance. The database queries the status information according to the NSD, and determines whether each VNF unit included in the network service has created an instance according to the status information, if a VNF included in the network service If the cell does not create an instance, the VNF unit is used as a virtual network element that needs to create an instance.

Specifically, the database finds the NSD that has been stored according to the NSD identifier, and confirms each VNFD included in the NSD according to the status information. For VNFD1 included in NSD, if VNF1 exists in the existing VNF instance, and the idle resource of VNF1 satisfies the resource requirement in the description of VNFD1, VNF1 can be allocated to the network service without re-instantiating the VNF unit described by VNFD1. . If it is determined according to the state information that VNF1 does not exist in the existing VNF instance, it is necessary to instantiate the VNF unit described by the VNFD.

406. The database will use the VNF unit that needs to create the instance as the first VNF unit, and send the identifier of the VNFD of the first VNF unit to the NFVO. Optionally, the network service includes at least one VNF unit, where there may be one first VNF unit or multiple first VNF units.

Through steps 404-406, the network management device will use the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance as a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance.

407. The NFVO sends a request to the VNFM to instantiate the first VNF unit, where the request includes a VNFD indication of the first VNF unit.

408. The VNFM requests the VNFD of the first VNF unit from the database according to the VNFD indication of the first VNF unit.

409. The database returns the VNFD of the first VNF unit to the VNFM.

410. The VNFM sends a resource allocation request to the NFVO according to the resource requirement information included in the VNFD.

411. The NFVO sends the resource allocation request to the VIM, requesting to create an instance for the first VNF unit.

412. The VIM requests the NFVI for the required resource according to the resource allocation request, and for the VNF. The unit creates the required image.

413. After the resource allocation is successful, the NFVI sends a resource allocation confirmation message to the VIM, indicating that the resource allocation is successful. The resource allocation confirmation message includes address information of resources allocated for the first VNF unit.

414. The VIM sends the resource allocation confirmation message to the NFVO.

415. The NFVO sends the resource allocation confirmation message to the VNFM.

416. The VNFM creates an instance for the first VNF unit according to the address information of the resource allocated for the first VNF unit.

417. The VNFM sends a first VNF unit instance creation confirmation message to the NFVO, indicating that the first VNF unit instance is successfully created.

418. When there are multiple first VNF units, repeat steps 407-417. Optionally, the NFVO may send a request for instantiating the first VNF unit to different VNFMs respectively, and different VNFMs respectively create instances for the plurality of first VNF units.

Through the steps 407-418, the lower layer device receives the resource requirement information of the virtual network unit that needs to be created by the network management device, and creates an instance for the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance according to the resource requirement information.

419. The NFVO sends a request for establishing a connection to the VIM, requesting to establish a connection between the VNF units included in the network service according to the description of the NSD. The request includes connection information obtained from the NSD, and the connection information is used to indicate a connection relationship between VNF units included in the network service. Optionally, the connection information includes the connection type and the required bandwidth. Optionally, the connection type may be IPv4 (Internet Protocol Version 4, Internet Protocol Version 4) or IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6, Internet Protocol Version 6).

420. The VIM sends a request for establishing a connection received from the NFVO to the NFVI, requesting to establish a connection between the VNF units included in the network service according to the NSD.

421. The NFVI establishes a connection for the first VNF unit according to the request for establishing a connection received from the VIM. Pick up. In conjunction with step 405, in an application scenario, when determining which of the VNF units included in the network service need to create an instance and which do not need to create an instance, the result returned by the database to the NFVO indicates that the existing VNF instance has VNF1. The surplus resources of VNF1 satisfy the description of VNFD1, and the network management device allocates the VNF1 instance to the network service. The network management device can allocate multiple existing VNF instances to the network service. These are allocated to existing VNF instances of the network service. If a connection that satisfies the connection information has been established, the existing connection can be directly used without establishing. New connection. If the existing VNF instances assigned to the network service have not established a connection that satisfies the connection information, the connection is established for the existing VNF instances according to the connection relationship.

After step 419-421, the lower layer device receives the connection information sent by the network management device, establishes a connection between the virtual network units that need to create an instance according to the connection information, or establishes between the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance and other virtual network units. connection. The NFVI then returns to the VIM a message that the connection was successfully established.

422. The VIM returns a message confirming that the connection establishment is completed to the NFVO.

423. Store path information.

The lower layer device receives the path information sent by the network management device, and stores the path information in the network device, or stores the path information in a storage space of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit. The network device of the lower layer device may be a router or an SDN controller.

The path information in the NSD is used to indicate the transmission path of the data between the VNF units included in the network service when the network service processes the service. The path information is stored, and in the data transmission process, the path information is queried, and the data transmission is performed according to the transmission path indicated by the path information.

Optionally, this embodiment provides two ways of storing path information.

In the first way of storing path information, the path information is stored in the network device of the NFVI, and when the data is transmitted between the VNF units inside the network service, the network device of the NFVI selects the transmission path according to the policy of the transmission path. . The path information storage process is specifically: after the first VNF unit instance is successfully created, or after the existing VNF instance is allocated for the network service, the VNFM will VNF The instance ID of the instance is sent to the NFVO. The instance identifier is used to indicate that data is transmitted to a VNF instance during data transmission. The NFVO replaces each VNFD identifier in the path information with the instance identifier of the VNF instance corresponding to the VNFD, and sends the path information to the network device of the NFVI via the VIM, and the network device of the NFVI stores the path information.

Optionally, in combination with steps 417-422, in the manner of storing the path information in the first manner, the information interaction process between the VNFM, the NFVO, the VIM, and the NFVI and the information interaction process in the process of establishing a connection with the VNF unit serving the network service The same, so the storage process of the path information can be completed simultaneously with the process of establishing a connection to the VNF unit of the network service.

In the second way of storing the path information, the path information included in the NSD is stored in the storage space of each VNF unit, and when the data is transmitted between the VNF units inside the network service, the VNF instance is based on the transmission path. The strategy chooses which VNF unit to transfer the data to. The path information storage process is specifically: after the connection between the VNF units included in the network service is established, the NFVO replaces each VNFD identifier in the path information with the instance identifier of the VNF instance corresponding to the VNFD, and for each The VNF unit separates the path information related to the VNF unit from the path information, and then sends the VNFM to the corresponding VNF instance storage. Here, taking the first network service as an example, the separation of the path information for each VNF unit is exemplified. The first network service includes three transmission paths, which are:

The policy is the HTTP web browsing service data transmission path of policyFG1: LB—Web Proxy—FW—NAT;

The video service data transmission path of policyFG2 is: Video Optimizer-FW;

The data transmission path of the FMC mobile private network access service of the policyFG3 is the Router ACL.

For the LB, the separated path information is: LB sends the data that meets the policy policyFG1 to the Web Proxy;

For the Web Proxy, the separated path information is: the Web Proxy sends the data satisfying the policy policyFG1 to the FW;

For FW, the data of the HTTP web browsing service and the data of the video service are judged according to the policy of the HTTP webpage browsing service transmission path and the video service transmission path after the data received by the FW and the FW, and the corresponding result is selected according to the judgment result. Data transfer path. In combination with the definition of the policy for the HTTP web browsing service transmission path in step 401:

The FW sends the protocol type HTTP, and the payload type is HTML data to the NAT.

In combination with the definition of the policy for the video service transmission path in step 401:

The FW sends the first network service to the data of the type of the payload of 31, 32, 33 or 34.

Similarly, the path information of each VNF unit in the first network service is separated, and details are not described herein again.

After the path information separated for each VNF unit is stored in the corresponding VNF unit, the VNFM sends an indication message that the path information is successfully saved to the NFVO.

424. After the connection between the VNF units included in the network service is established, and the path information is stored, the NFVO returns a message that the network instance is completed to the OSS/BSS.

Based on the embodiment corresponding to FIG. 4 above, an embodiment of the present invention provides a data transmission method. Referring to FIG. 6 in combination with the two methods for storing path information in step 423, the following steps are included:

601. The lower layer device receives the data data, and determines the data transmission path according to the stored path information. Is the first transmission path.

The policy of a transmission path in the path information is the condition for selecting the transmission path. After the network service is instantiated, after the lower layer device receives the data, the data is parsed, and the parsed data is judged according to the policy in the stored path information. If the parsed data satisfies a certain transmission path policy, Then the transmission path is the first transmission path.

Optionally, the path information is stored in the network device of the NFVI, and the network device of the NFVI parses the data and selects a data transmission path according to the stored path information.

Optionally, the path information is stored in a storage space of each VNF unit included in the network service. When the network service performs data transmission, the VNF instance parses the data and selects a data transmission path according to the stored path information.

Optionally, the policy of the data transmission path selects different transmission paths according to different service types. Specifically, the first network service is used as an example. After receiving the data, the first network service parses the data to determine the service type of the data. If the parsed data satisfies policyFG1, the data is HTTP web browsing service data. Then the first transmission path is: LB—Web Proxy—FW—NAT. If the parsed data satisfies policyFG2, that is, the data is video service data, the first transmission path is: Video Optimizer-FW. If the parsed data meets the policy FG3, that is, the data is the FMC mobile private network access service data, the first transmission path is: Router ACL. In this embodiment, the video service data transmission path is used as the first transmission path, and the process of data transmission between the VNF units of the first network service is described.

602. The lower layer device determines, according to the path information, an identifier of a next virtual network unit of the data transmission, and transmits the data to the next virtual network unit according to the identifier of the next virtual network unit.

The lower layer device determines the next VNF unit of the data transmission according to the transmission relationship between the data in the first transmission path between the different VNF units, and further determines its identity. Optionally, the identifier of the VNF unit may be an instance identifier (Instance ID) of the VNF unit, and the instance identifier is obtained in the stored path information.

Optionally, in the application scenario in which the path information is stored in the network device of the NFVI, in conjunction with the embodiment corresponding to FIG. 4, the connection relationship described by the NSD of the first network service is as shown in FIG. 7, where LB, Web Proxy, FW, RouterACL, VideoOptimizer, and NAT are all connected to the NFVI network device. After the instantiation of the first network service is completed, the data is transmitted to the network device of the NFVI through the GW (Gate Way), and the network device of the NFVI determines according to the policy of the transmission path, and determines that the next VNF unit of the data transmission is Video Optimizer. The data is transferred to the Video Optimizer according to the instance identifier of the Video Optimizer. The Video Optimizer transmits the processed data back to the network device of the NFVI. The network device of the NFVI judges again according to the policy of the transmission path, determines that the next VNF unit of the data transmission is FW, and transmits the data to the FW according to the instance identifier of the FW. The FW transmits the processed data back to the network device of the NFVI. The network device of the NFVI transmits the data to the GW according to the policy of the transmission path, and the data is output from the first network service. At this point, after the data is input to the first network service, it is output from the first network service through the first transmission path.

Optionally, in the scenario where the path information is stored in the storage space of each VNF unit included in the network service, in conjunction with the embodiment corresponding to FIG. 4, the connection relationship described by the NSD of the first network service is as shown in FIG. 8. The LB, Web Proxy, FW, RouterACL, VideoOptimizer, and NAT are all connected to the NFVI network device. Since the path information is stored in the storage space of each VNF unit, the NFVI network device simply transmits the data to the next VNF unit according to the instance identifier of the next VNF unit included in the received data. For the data received from the outside of the first network service, the instance identifier of the VNF unit that receives the data is not included in the data, and the network device of the NFVI cannot forward the NFVI, so the NSD of the first network service further includes the VNFD of the entry VNF unit. The ingress VNF unit is connected to the network device of the NFVI for forwarding the data received from outside the network service for the first time.

The data sent from the outside of the first network service to the first network service is first sent to the ingress VNF unit, and the ingress VNF unit makes a judgment based on the stored path information to determine the next one of the data transmission. VNF unit. The path information saved by the ingress VNF unit is path information separated for the ingress VNF unit. Specifically, if the parsed data satisfies policyFG1, the next VNF unit of the data transmission is LB. If the parsed data satisfies policyFG2, the next VNF unit of the data transfer is Video Optimizer. If the parsed data meets policyFG3, the next VNF unit of the data transmission is the Router ACL. After the ingress VNF unit determines the next VNF unit for data transmission, the identifier of the next VNF unit is added to the data, and the data is transmitted to the next VNF unit through the NFVI switch. Similarly, each VNF unit in the first network service determines the received data according to the path policy, determines the next VNF unit of the data transmission, and adds the identifier of the next VNF unit to the data, and the data is transmitted through the NFVI switch. Transfer to the next VNF unit. Optionally, the identifier of the VNF unit is an instance identifier of the VNF unit.

In this embodiment, the ingress VNF unit determines that the next VNF unit of the data transmission is a Video Optimizer, and the ingress VNF unit adds an instance identifier of the Video Optimizer to the data, and transmits the data to the Video Optimizer through the NFVI switch. The Video Optimizer judges according to the policy of the transmission path, determines that the next VNF unit of the data transmission is FW, and the Video Optimizer adds the instance identifier of the FW to the data, and transmits the data to the FW through the NFVI switch. Similarly, the FW transmits the data to the ingress VNF unit, and the ingress VNF unit sends the data out of the first network service. At this point, after the data is input to the first network service, the data is output from the first network service through the first transmission path.

A method for creating a virtual network instance according to an embodiment of the present invention adds path information in an NSD, where the path information describes a data transmission relationship between each two adjacent VNF units in the network service, and the data is in the network service center. The transmission path between the VNF units is included, and the creation process of the virtual network instance is completed according to the NSD including the path information, and the path information is stored. In this way, when the data is transmitted between the VNF units included in the network service, the data transmission path is selected according to the path information, thereby solving the problem that when there are multiple paths between the VNF units, the data cannot be determined. From which path to transfer, resulting in business interruption problems.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a network management device. Optionally, the network management device is applied to In the NFV system shown in Fig. 1, the functions of NFVO, Catalog, VNFM, and VIM are completed. Referring to FIG. 9, the network management device 901 includes a network operation and maintenance module 9011 and a lower layer infrastructure management module 9012.

The network operation and maintenance module 9011 is configured to acquire network service description information, where the network service description information includes path information, connection information, and resource requirement information of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit, where the path information is used to indicate that the data is in the virtual network. The transmission path between the units, the connection information is used to indicate the connection relationship between the virtual network units, and the resource requirement information of each virtual network unit is used to respectively indicate resources required for creating an instance for each virtual network unit.

The network operation and maintenance module 9011 is further configured to determine, according to the network service description information, a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance, and use a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance as the first virtual network unit.

The underlying device management module 9012 is configured to receive the resource requirement information and the connection information of the first virtual network unit that is transmitted by the network operation and maintenance module, and send the resource requirement information acquired by the network operation and maintenance module to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device is The first virtual network unit creates an instance, and sends the connection information to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device establishes a connection between the first virtual network unit or establishes a connection between the first virtual network unit and the other virtual network unit.

The underlying device management module 9012 is further configured to send the path information acquired by the network operation and maintenance module 9011 to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device stores the path information.

Optionally, the underlying basic device management module 9012 is further configured to send the path information to the network device of the lower layer device, so that the network device of the lower layer device stores the path information; or

The lower base device management module 9012 is configured to send path information to each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit, so that each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit stores path information.

Optionally, the resource requirement information of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit includes at least one of processing speed information of the virtual network unit corresponding to the resource requirement information and storage space information of the virtual network unit.

The connection information includes at least one of a connection type between the virtual network units and bandwidth information.

Optionally, the network management device 901 further includes a database module 9013 for storing state information.

The network operation and maintenance module 9011 is further configured to query, in the state information that the database module 9013 has stored, whether each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit has created an instance, and if the state information indicates that the virtual network unit corresponding to the state information does not create an instance, The virtual network unit is used as a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance.

Optionally, the path information further includes a policy for selecting a path, where the policy includes a condition for selecting a transmission path.

Optionally, the condition for selecting the transmission path includes selecting a transmission path according to the service type of the data.

The network management device provided by the embodiment of the present invention determines the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance according to the network service description information that includes the path information, and obtains the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance. The resource requirement information is sent to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device creates an instance for the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance, and sends the connection information to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device establishes a connection between the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance, or A virtual network unit that needs to create an instance establishes a connection with other virtual network units, and sends the path information to the network device of the lower layer device, so that the network device of the lower layer device stores the path information, or sends the path information to the virtual network unit. Each virtual network unit facilitates storage of path information for each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit. When data is transmitted between VNF units included in the network service, the transmission path is selected according to the path information, which solves the problem of service interruption caused by the inability to determine which transmission path is transmitted when there are multiple transmission paths.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a lower layer device. Optionally, the lower layer device is applied to the NFV system shown in FIG. 1 to perform the function of the NFVI. Referring to FIG. 10, the network management device 1001 includes a receiving module 1011, an instance creating module 1012, a connection establishing module 1013, and a storage module 1014.

The receiving module 1011 is configured to receive the resource requirement information of the virtual network unit that needs to be created by the network management device 1011, and transmit the resource requirement information to the instance creating module 1012, where Resource requirement information is used to indicate the resources needed to create an instance for a virtual network element.

The instance creation module 1012 is configured to create an instance for the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance according to the resource requirement information, where the virtual network unit that needs to create the instance is a virtual network unit determined by the network management device 1011 and needs to create an instance in the virtual network unit. .

The receiving module 1011 is further configured to receive the connection information sent by the network management device 1011, and transmit the connection information to the connection establishing module 1013, where the connection information is used to indicate a connection relationship between the virtual network units.

The connection establishing module 1013 is configured to establish a connection between the virtual network units that need to create an instance according to the connection information, or establish a connection between the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance and other virtual network units.

The receiving module 1011 is further configured to receive path information sent by the network management device 1011, where the path information is used to indicate a transmission path of the data between the virtual network units.

The storage module 1014 is configured to store path information.

Optionally, the receiving module 1011 is further configured to receive data data.

The lower layer device further includes a path selection module 1015 and a forwarding module 1016,

The path selection module 1015 is configured to determine that the data transmission path is the first transmission path, and determine the identifier of the next virtual network unit of the data transmission according to the stored path information.

The forwarding module 1016 is configured to transmit data to the next virtual network unit according to the identifier of the next virtual network unit.

Optionally, the forwarding module 1016 is further configured to add an identifier of the next virtual network unit to the data.

Optionally, the storage module 1014 is specifically configured to store path information in a storage space of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit.

The lower layer device provided by the embodiment of the present invention establishes an instance between virtual network units that need to create an instance according to connection information by creating an instance for a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance, or a virtual network unit and other virtual ones that need to create an instance. The network unit establishes a connection, receives path information sent by the network management device, and stores the path information in the network device, or stores the path information in a storage space of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit. When data is transmitted between VNF units included in the network service, the transmission path is selected according to the path information, which solves the problem of service interruption caused by the inability to determine which transmission path is transmitted when there are multiple transmission paths.

An embodiment of the present invention provides another network management device 1101. As shown in FIG. 11, the device may be embedded or itself a micro-processing computer, such as a general-purpose computer, a customized computer, a mobile terminal, or a portable device such as a tablet. A terminal device such as a network terminal, a storage device terminal, and the like, the network management device 1101 includes: at least one processor 1111, a memory 1112, a bus 1113, a transmitter 1114, and a receiver 1115, the at least one processor 1111, the memory 1112, and the transmitter 1114. The receiver 1115 is connected through the bus 1113 and completes communication with each other.

The bus 1113 may be an ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) bus, a PCI (Peripheral Component) bus, a PCIe bus, or an EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture) bus. The bus 1113 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of representation, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 11, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus. among them:

The memory 1112 is for executing application code of the inventive scheme, and the application code for executing the inventive scheme is stored in a memory and controlled by the processor 1111 for execution.

The memory can be a read only memory ROM or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory RAM or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or can be electrically erasable or programmable. Read-only memory EEPROM, CD-ROM or other CD storage, CD storage (including compact discs, laser discs, CDs, digital Universal optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, FPGAs (Field Programmable Logic Gate Arrays) or can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer Any other medium, but not limited to this. These memories are connected to the processor via a bus.

The processor 1111 may be a central processing unit (CPU), or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more configured to implement the embodiments of the present invention. Integrated circuits.

The processor 1111 is configured to invoke the program code in the memory 1112 to perform the operations of the network operation and maintenance module, the lower layer basic device management module, and the database module in the device embodiment corresponding to FIG. 9 above. For example, it will not be described here.

An embodiment of the present invention provides another lower layer device 1201. As shown in FIG. 12, the device may be embedded or itself a microprocessor computer, such as a general purpose computer, a custom machine, a mobile phone terminal, or a portable device such as a tablet. a terminal device, such as a storage device terminal, the lower layer device 1201 includes: at least one processor 1211, a memory 1212, a bus 1213, a transmitter 1214, and The receiver 1215, the at least one processor 1211, the memory 1212, the transmitter 1214, and the receiver 1215 are connected by a bus 1213 and complete communication with each other.

The bus 1213 may be an ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) bus, a PCI (Peripheral Component) bus, a PCIe bus, or an EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture) bus. The bus 1213 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of representation, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 12, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus. among them:

The memory 1212 is for executing application code of the inventive scheme, and the application code for executing the inventive scheme is stored in a memory and controlled by the processor 1211 for execution.

The memory can be a read only memory ROM or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory RAM or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or can be electrically erasable or programmable. Read-only memory EEPROM, CD-ROM or other CD storage, CD storage (including compact discs, laser discs, CDs, digital versatile discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, FPGAs (onsite The programmable logic gate array) can be used to carry or store any other medium having the desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and accessible by a computer, but is not limited thereto. These memories are connected to the processor via a bus.

The processor 1211 may be a central processing unit (CPU), or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more configured to implement the embodiments of the present invention. Integrated circuits.

The processor 1211 is configured to invoke the program code in the memory 1212 to perform the operations of the remote unit and the near-end unit in the device embodiment corresponding to FIG. 10 described above. For details, refer to the device embodiment corresponding to FIG. Narration.

The lower layer device provided by the embodiment of the present invention creates a virtual network unit for creating an instance. Build an instance, establish a connection between the virtual network elements that need to create an instance according to the connection information, or establish a connection between the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance and other virtual network units, receive the path information sent by the network management device, and The information is stored in the network device or the path information is stored in the storage space of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit. When data is transmitted between VNF units included in the network service, the transmission path is selected according to the path information, which solves the problem of service interruption caused by the inability to determine which transmission path is transmitted when there are multiple transmission paths.

Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the present invention can be implemented in hardware, firmware implementation, or a combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions described above may be stored in or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer readable medium. Computer readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one location to another. A storage medium may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. For example, but not limited to, the computer readable medium may include a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). Read memory), CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) or other optical disk storage, disk storage media or other magnetic storage device, or can be used to carry or store a desired program in the form of an instruction or data structure. Code and any other medium that can be accessed by a computer. Also. Any connection may suitably be a computer readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, Then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technologies such as infrared, wireless and microwave are included in the fixing of the associated medium. As used in the present invention, the disc and the disc include a CD (Compact Disc), a laser disc, a compact disc, a DVD disc (Digital Versatile Disc), a floppy disc, and a Blu-ray disc, wherein the disc is usually magnetically copied, The disc is laser-optic Copy the data. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of the computer readable media.

The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention. It should be covered by the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

A method for creating a virtual network instance, which is characterized by being applied to a network management device, including:

Obtaining network service description information, where the network service description information includes path information, connection information, resource requirement information of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit, where the path information is used to indicate that the data is in the virtual network unit a transmission path, the connection information is used to indicate a connection relationship between the virtual network units, and resource requirement information of each virtual network unit is used to respectively indicate that an instance is created for each virtual network unit resource of;

Determining, according to the network service description information, a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance, and using the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance as the first virtual network unit;

Transmitting the resource requirement information of the first virtual network unit to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device creates an instance for the first virtual network unit;

Sending the connection information to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device establishes a connection between the first virtual network unit, or establishes a connection between the first virtual network unit and another virtual network unit;

And sending the path information to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device stores the path information.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the sending the path information to the lower layer device specifically includes:

Sending the path information to the network device of the lower layer device, so that the network device of the lower layer device stores the path information; or

And transmitting the path information to each of the virtual network units, so that each of the virtual network units stores the path information.
The method of claim 1 wherein

The resource requirement information of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit includes at least one of processing speed information of the virtual network unit corresponding to the resource requirement information and storage space information of the virtual network unit;

The connection information includes at least one of a connection type and bandwidth information between the virtual network units.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance is determined according to the network service description information, and the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance is used as a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance, including:

Querying, in the already stored state information, whether each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit has created an instance;

If the status information indicates that the virtual network unit corresponding to the status information does not create an instance, the virtual network unit is determined to be a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the path information further comprises a policy of selecting a path, the policy comprising selecting a condition of a transmission path.
The method of claim 5 wherein selecting a condition of the transmission path comprises selecting a transmission path based on a type of service of the data.
A method for creating a virtual network instance, which is applied to an underlying device, including:

Receiving resource requirement information of the virtual network unit that needs to be created by the network management device, and creating an instance for the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance according to the resource requirement information, where the resource requirement information is used to indicate that it is a virtual network unit. The resources needed to create an instance;

Receiving connection information sent by the network management device, according to the connection information, in the need Establishing a connection between the virtual network units of the instance, or establishing a connection between the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance and other virtual network units, wherein the connection information is used to indicate a connection relationship between the virtual network units;

Receiving path information sent by the network management device, and storing the path information in a network device, or storing the path information in a storage space of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit, the path Information is used to indicate the transmission path of data between the virtual network elements.
The method according to claim 7, wherein the path information further comprises a policy of selecting a path, the policy comprising selecting a condition of a transmission path.
The method of claim 8 further comprising:

Receiving data, determining, according to the stored path information, a data transmission path as the first transmission path;

Determining an identifier of a next virtual network unit of the data transmission according to a transmission path of the data determined by the path information;

Transmitting the data to the next virtual network element based on the identity of the next virtual network element.
The method of claim 8 wherein the condition of selecting the transmission path comprises selecting the transmission path based on the type of service of the data.
A network management device, comprising:

a network operation and maintenance module, configured to acquire network service description information, where the network service description information includes path information, connection information, and resource requirement information of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit, where the path information is used to indicate data a transmission path between the virtual network units, the The connection information is used to indicate a connection relationship between the virtual network units, where the resource requirement information of each virtual network unit is used to respectively indicate resources required for creating an instance for each virtual network unit;

The network operation and maintenance module is further configured to determine, according to the network service description information, a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance, and use the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance as the first virtual network unit;

And the lower layer basic device management module, configured to receive the resource requirement information of the first virtual network unit and the connection information that are sent by the network operation and maintenance module, and obtain the The resource requirement information is sent to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device creates an instance for the first virtual network unit, and sends the connection information to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device is in the first virtual network. Establishing a connection between the units or establishing a connection between the first virtual network unit and other virtual network units;

The underlying device management module is further configured to send the path information acquired by the network operation and maintenance module to the lower layer device, so that the lower layer device stores the path information.
The device according to claim 11, wherein the sending, by the underlying base device management module, the path information to the lower layer device specifically includes:

The lower layer device management module is further configured to send the path information to the network device of the lower layer device, so that the network device of the lower layer device stores the path information; or

The underlying infrastructure management module is further configured to send the path information to each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit, so that each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit stores the path information.
The device according to claim 11 wherein:

The resource requirement information of each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit includes processing speed information of the virtual network unit corresponding to the resource requirement information and storage of the virtual network unit At least one of the spatial information;

The connection information includes at least one of a connection type and bandwidth information between the virtual network units.
The device according to claim 11 wherein:

The network management device further includes a database module for storing state information;

The network operation and maintenance module is further configured to query, in the status information that has been stored by the database module, whether each virtual network unit in the virtual network unit has created an instance, if the status information indicates the status If the virtual network unit corresponding to the information does not create an instance, the virtual network unit is determined to be a virtual network unit that needs to create an instance.
The device according to claim 11, wherein the path information further comprises a policy of selecting a path, the policy comprising selecting a condition of a transmission path.
The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the condition for selecting the transmission path comprises selecting the transmission path according to the type of service of the data.
A lower layer device, comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive resource requirement information of a virtual network unit that needs to be created by the network management device, and transmit the resource requirement information to an instance creation module, where the resource requirement information is used to indicate that the virtual network is a virtual network The resources required for the unit to create an instance;

The instance creation module is configured to create an instance for the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance according to the resource requirement information, where the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance determines the virtual network unit determined by the network management device The virtual network unit in which the instance needs to be created;

The receiving module is further configured to receive connection information sent by the network management device, and transmit the connection information to the connection establishment module, where the connection information is used to indicate the virtual network Connection relationship between network elements;

a connection establishing module, configured to establish a connection between the virtual network units that need to create an instance according to the connection information, or establish a connection between the virtual network unit that needs to create an instance and other virtual network units;

The receiving module is further configured to receive path information sent by the network management device, where the path information is used to indicate a transmission path of data between the virtual network units;

a storage module, configured to store the path information.
The device according to claim 17, wherein the path information further comprises a policy of selecting a path, the policy comprising selecting a condition of a transmission path.
The device of claim 18, wherein

The receiving module is further configured to receive data;

The lower layer device further includes a path selection module and a forwarding module.

The path selection module is configured to determine, according to the stored path information, that the transmission path of the data is a first transmission path, and determine a next virtual network unit of the data transmission according to the transmission path of the data determined by the path information. Identification

The forwarding module is configured to transmit the data to the next virtual network unit according to the identifier of the next virtual network unit.
The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the condition of selecting the transmission path comprises selecting a transmission path based on a type of service of the data.