WO2019161923A1

WO2019161923A1 - Network functions

Info

Publication number: WO2019161923A1
Application number: PCT/EP2018/054594
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lionel Natarianni; Bessem Sayadi
Original assignee: Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy
Priority date: 2018-02-23
Filing date: 2018-02-23
Publication date: 2019-08-29

Abstract

There is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including a computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to provide at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function.

Description

NETWORK FUNCTIONS

FIELD

The present application is in the field of telecommunications. More particularly, the present application relates to apparatus and methods for the provision of network functions and virtualized networks within telecommunications.

BACKGROUND

Software-defined 5G networks may support a very diverse range of services, some having extremely stringent targets of end-to-end latency approaching sub-millisecond, and others involving non-human end user equipment such as autonomous vehicles, loT sensors, and robots.

OSS (Operation Support System) and/or BSS (Business Support System) components support the operation of Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) or Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) which aims to utilize IT virtualization technology to consolidate many telecom network equipment types onto industry standard high volume servers, switches and storage. Virtual network functions involve implementing network functions in software that can run on a range of industry standard server hardware, and that can be moved to, or instantiated in, various locations in the network as required, without the need to install new proprietary equipment.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including a computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to provide at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function.

The recursive support system component may be a recursive operational support system and business support system component. The associated protocol may be a global protocol caused to communicate with at least one further recursive support system component.

The associated protocol may be a local protocol caused to communicate with at least one recursive function block caused to deploy the at least one service and/or virtual network function.

The apparatus caused to provide at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function may be caused to: provide a recursive support system master component; provide a first global protocol bus; provide a recursive support system agent component, the recursive support system agent component caused to communicate with the recursive support system master component via the first global protocol bus; provide a first execution environment, the first execution environment caused to define a set of resources where the at least one service and/or virtual network function is being executed; provide a first local protocol bus; provide at least one recursive function block for deploying the at least one at least one service and/or virtual network function, the at least one recursive function block caused to communicate with the recursive support system agent component via the first local protocol bus.

The apparatus caused to provide at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function may be further caused to: provide a further recursive support system agent component downstream to the first recursive support system agent; provide a second global protocol bus, the further recursive support system agent component caused to communicate with the first recursive support system agent component via the second global protocol bus; provide a further execution environment, the further execution environment caused to define a sub-set of the resources; provide a further local protocol bus; provide at least one further recursive function block for deploying the at least one at least one service and/or virtual network function, the at least one further recursive function block caused to communicate with the further recursive support system agent component via the further local protocol bus.

The apparatus caused to provide at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function may be caused to: provide a monitoring function associated with the at least one service and/or virtual network function.

The apparatus may be caused to determine with respect to at least one of an operation, supervision and validation of the provided at least one recursive support system component an order of executing or reacting or acting upon a result.

The apparatus caused to determine with respect to at least one of an operation, supervision and validation of the provided at least one recursive support system component an order of executing or reacting or acting upon a result may be caused to: execute: locally for an operation comprising at least one of: deployment and updates; locally and then globally for a supervision comprising at least one of: performance monitoring, health checking and alarm monitoring; locally and then globally for a validation comprising at least one of: service level agreement and key performance indicators validation; react: locally and then globally in a downstream manner for an operation comprising at least one of: deployment and updates; locally and then globally for a supervision comprising at least one of: performance monitoring, health checking and alarm monitoring; locally and then globally for a validation comprising at least one of: service level agreement and key performance indicators validation; and act upon a result: locally and then globally in an upstream manner for an operation comprising at least one of: deployment and updates; locally and then globally for a supervision comprising at least one of: performance monitoring, health checking and alarm monitoring; locally and then globally for a validation comprising at least one of: service level agreement and key performance indicators validation.

According to a second aspect there is provided a method comprising providing at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function.

The recursive support system component may be a recursive operational support system and business support system component.

The associated protocol may be a global protocol caused to communicate with at least one further recursive support system component.

The associated protocol may be a local protocol caused to communicate with at least one recursive function block caused to deploy the at least one service and/or virtual network function. Providing at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function may comprise: providing a recursive support system master component; providing a first global protocol bus; providing a recursive support system agent component, the recursive support system agent component caused to communicate with the recursive support system master component via the first global protocol bus; providing a first execution environment, the first execution environment caused to define a set of resources where the at least one service and/or virtual network function is being executed; providing a first local protocol bus; providing at least one recursive function block for deploying the at least one at least one service and/or virtual network function, the at least one recursive function block caused to communicate with the recursive support system agent component via the first local protocol bus.

Providing at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function may further comprise: providing a further recursive support system agent component downstream to the first recursive support system agent; providing a second global protocol bus, the further recursive support system agent component caused to communicate with the first recursive support system agent component via the second global protocol bus; providing a further execution environment, the further execution environment caused to define a sub-set of the resources; providing a further local protocol bus; providing at least one further recursive function block for deploying the at least one at least one service and/or virtual network function, the at least one further recursive function block caused to communicate with the further recursive support system agent component via the further local protocol bus.

Providing at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function may comprise providing a monitoring function associated with the at least one service and/or virtual network function.

The method may further comprise determining with respect to at least one of an operation, supervision and validation of the provided at least one recursive support system component an order of executing or reacting or acting upon a result.

Determining with respect to at least one of an operation, supervision and validation of the provided at least one recursive support system component an order of executing or reacting or acting upon a result may comprise at least one of: executing locally for an operation comprising at least one of: deployment and updates; executing locally and then globally for a supervision comprising at least one of: performance monitoring, health checking and alarm monitoring; executing locally and then globally for a validation comprising at least one of: service level agreement and key performance indicators validation; reacting locally and then globally in a downstream manner for an operation comprising at least one of: deployment and updates; reacting locally and then globally for a supervision comprising at least one of: performance monitoring, health checking and alarm monitoring; reacting locally and then globally for a validation comprising at least one of: service level agreement and key performance indicators validation; and acting upon a result locally and then globally in an upstream manner for an operation comprising at least one of: deployment and updates; acting upon a result locally and then globally for a supervision comprising at least one of: performance monitoring, health checking and alarm monitoring; acting upon a result locally and then globally for a validation comprising at least one of: service level agreement and key performance indicators validation.

According to a third aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising means for providing at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function.

The means for providing at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function may comprise means for: providing a recursive support system master component; providing a first global protocol bus; providing a recursive support system agent component, the recursive support system agent component caused to communicate with the recursive support system master component via the first global protocol bus; providing a first execution environment, the first execution environment caused to define a set of resources where the at least one service and/or virtual network function is being executed; providing a first local protocol bus; providing at least one recursive function block for deploying the at least one at least one service and/or virtual network function, the at least one recursive function block caused to communicate with the recursive support system agent component via the first local protocol bus.

The means for providing at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function may further comprises means for: providing a further recursive support system agent component downstream to the first recursive support system agent; providing a second global protocol bus, the further recursive support system agent component caused to communicate with the first recursive support system agent component via the second global protocol bus; providing a further execution environment, the further execution environment caused to define a sub-set of the resources; providing a further local protocol bus; providing at least one further recursive function block for deploying the at least one at least one service and/or virtual network function, the at least one further recursive function block caused to communicate with the further recursive support system agent component via the further local protocol bus.

The means for providing at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function may comprise means for providing a monitoring function associated with the at least one service and/or virtual network function.

The apparatus may further comprise means for determining with respect to at least one of an operation, supervision and validation of the provided at least one recursive support system component an order of executing or reacting or acting upon a result.

The means for determining with respect to at least one of an operation, supervision and validation of the provided at least one recursive support system component an order of executing or reacting or acting upon a result may comprise means for at least one of: executing locally for an operation comprising at least one of: deployment and updates; executing locally and then globally for a supervision comprising at least one of: performance monitoring, health checking and alarm monitoring; executing locally and then globally for a validation comprising at least one of: service level agreement and key performance indicators validation; reacting locally and then globally in a downstream manner for an operation comprising at least one of: deployment and updates; reacting locally and then globally for a supervision comprising at least one of: performance monitoring, health checking and alarm monitoring; reacting locally and then globally for a validation comprising at least one of: service level agreement and key performance indicators validation; and acting upon a result locally and then globally in an upstream manner for an operation comprising at least one of: deployment and updates; acting upon a result locally and then globally for a supervision comprising at least one of: performance monitoring, health checking and alarm monitoring; acting upon a result locally and then globally for a validation comprising at least one of: service level agreement and key performance indicators validation.

A computer program comprising program code means adapted to perform the herein described methods may also be provided. In accordance with further embodiments apparatus and/or computer program product that can be embodied on a computer readable medium for providing at least one of the above methods is provided.

Various other aspects and further embodiments are also described in the following detailed description of examples embodying the invention and in the attached claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a recursive OSS/BSS component according to some embodiments;

Figure 2 shows a schematic view of an implementation of recursive OSS/BSS components according to some embodiments;

Figure 3 shows a flow diagram of a deployment of an example recursive OSS/BSS component according to some embodiments;

Figure 4 shows an example implementation of distributed and modular OSS/BSS using the example recursive OSS/BSS component as shown in Figures 1 to 3;

Figure 5 shows a hierarchical task distribution arrangement within an example implementation of distributed and modular OSS/BSS using the example recursive OSS/BSS component as shown in Figures 1 to 3; and

Figure 6 shows task categorization showing where tasks should be executed and reacted in an example implementation of distributed and modular OSS/BSS using the example recursive OSS/BSS component as shown in Figures 1 to 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the invention. It is apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details or with an equivalent arrangement. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the embodiments of the invention.

In traditional telecommunications Networks network elements (NE) are typically realized as individual entities running on dedicated servers or even in function-specific hardware (HW) boxes. That is each NE may comprise one or more physical elements. By nature such a setup is relatively rigid and stable (from a topological and implementation point of view), and once configured are relatively inflexible.

In telecommunications clouds the situation is different, at least in part due to the 'mobile' and dynamic (and not fully physically protected) nature of virtualized network functions (VNF), supported and accelerated by automated lifecycle management, as, for example, defined with European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) based telecommunications cloud environments. In an N FV environment, a virtual network function (VNF) takes on the responsibility of handling specific network functions that run on one or more virtual machines (VMs) on top of the hardware networking infrastructure— routers, switches, etc. Individual virtual network functions can be connected or combined together as building blocks to offer a full-scale networking communication service. Typically, a VNF can be (re)instantiated from a "base image" in a matter of minutes and can be quickly moved or migrated to other virtualization platforms, suspended, or terminated as needed by flexible NW services. Moreover, ETSI NFV allows composing VNF from several VNF components (VN FC), which may come from the same vendor (or possibly also from trusted third parties, such as a subcontractor). In contrast to conventional NEs, the identity of a VNF or VNFC is variable, and should exist (and be valid) during a life-time of an individual VNF instance. For example, functional capacities can be expanded or shrunk by similar VNF instances when a new or higher performance VNF is sequentially launched or an existing one is terminated in a scaling process. Thus, network entities, their number as well as their configuration are more changeable in virtualized networks.

The concept as discussed in further detail with respect to the embodiments and examples hereafter is a component and a protocol that serves as a building block to re-factor OSS (Operation Support System) and/or BSS (Business Support System) in the context of deploying VNFs and services that can be split in over distributed clouds/platforms and heterogonous sub-systems.

These platforms may be 5G cloud-based platforms that are configured to support microservice-based V F for building 5G service slices. The proposed protocol as described in the following embodiments and examples is designed to seamlessly support extreme complexity, higher level of abstraction, decentralization, heterogeneity and managing high- performance distribution that build "pure" cloud native telecommunications systems.

With respect to Figure 1 an example view of a recursive OSS/BSS component according to some embodiments is shown. The component Recursive OSS/BSS (ROBx) 101, 111 is an automatically generated and recursive distributed OSS/BSS (where x stands for Agent or Master) component with a dedicated protocol 112 to distribute Operating and Business tasks over multi-cloud, multi-datacentre, multi-cluster to manage chained service composition. The ROBx protocol 112 in some embodiments is implemented by a defined application protocol interface (API). In some embodiments the defined application protocol interface is known as global API. The defined application protocol interface may be common to each ROBx 111.

As shown in Figure 1 the system according to some embodiments can be described as a Meta-OSS/BSS 101, the meta-OSS/BSS 101 comprises a number of independent OSS/BSS elements (shown as ROBx 111 in Figure 1) in in charge of operating services. The Meta- OSS/BSS 101 in some embodiments is an abstraction of the ROBx component.

In such a manner a ROBm (recursive OSS/BSS master) is configured to automatically transform into a ROBa (recursive OSS/BSS agent) when it detects that it is being managed by a ROBm. The ROBm and ROBa components in some embodiments share the same implementation with an interface parameter activated or deactivated when the component ROBx changes from a ROB master to ROB agent. The ROBx 111 when implemented as an agent is then configured to manage 114 a service 113. The ROBx 111 component is an atomic and autonomous component which comprises its own protocol 112. This recursive design provides the advantage of better isolation and flexibility as well as simplicity.

With respect to Figure 2 an example implementation of recursive OSS/BSS components according to some embodiments is shown. At the highest level, a ROB master (ROBm) 201 is an auto-generated component. The ROBm 201 may then create ROB agent(s) 211 (ROBa) which in turn initialize one or more services 221. A service 221 may comprise a domain 231. The domain may be a defined or dedicated namespace that gathers and provides in isolation functions and resources that implement the service. This is shown in Figure 2 by the domain 231 comprising the virtual function 241.

As the system is a recursive system, the domain 231 may furthermore comprise further instances of the ROBm, such as shown in Figure 2 by ROBa#3 243 and which itself initializes and manages (embedded) service 245. These embedded services can use their dedicated resources.

Furthermore in some embodiments a ROB master 201 may be configured to communicate to further ROB masters such as shown in Figure 2 by the master-master message 251 communication between ROBm 201 and ROBm 205.

Also each ROB master, may be configured to create further ROB agent(s) such as ROBa#2 213 (ROBa) which in turn initialize one or more services 223 and which have their own domain 233.

As shown in Figure 2 each ROBx (for example the ROB master 201, and the ROB agents 211 etc) are shown with the generic API (or global bus) 261 for creating and communicating between created ROBs. Additionally in some embodiments the ROB agent 211 also comprises a local API (or local bus) 271 for communicating with the associated service 221.

With respect to Figure 3 an example 5G deployment of ROB master and agent components is shown. The example 5G deployment shows the ROB master and agent hierarchical distribution, domain and related resources such as Execution Environment (EE) and Global bus message (GBM) (using the generic API) and local Bus message (LBM) using the local API. In the system as described herein a service defines a domain which comprises an EE which are resources, a LBM which is used for communication between deployed microservices, resource management (external or local cloud management systems) and (further recursive) ROBa. The initial operation is one of creating a first ROB component which is a ROBm component 201 as shown in Figure 3 by step 311. [GSI]

The next operation is one of configuring the global bus shown, by the "create service#l" arrow from the ROBm 201 to the global bus (generic API) 261, in Figure 3 by step 313.

The creation of a further ROBx which having detected the presence of the ROBm 201 becomes a ROBa 211 with respect to the ROBm 201 is shown in Figure 3, by the arrow from the Global bus 261 to the ROBa 211, by step 315.

The ROBa 211 is configured to then define and create the first service, serviceffl 221, by the "create service#l" arrow to service#l 221 as shown in Figure 3 by step 317.

Furthermore the ROBa 211 is configured to define and create the domain associated with the first service, shown in Figure 3 by the "create domain#l" arrow to the first domain, domain#l 231, by step 319.

The ROBa 211 is further configured to define and create the execution environment (EE) associated with the first service, shown in Figure 3 bythe "create execution environment" arrow to the first execution environment, EE#1 303, by step 321. The EE represents a set of resources where microservices are running e.g. Virtual machines, Physical machines, dedicated hardware. Any global resources or infrastructure are managed at ROBm level by an external component called "Dynamic Inventory Manager". The ROBm may further control a subset of resources per ROBa (the resources being defined by the EE, for example EE#1 303).

The ROBa 211 is further configured to define and create the bus associated with the first service, shown in Figure 3 by the "create bus" arrow to the first local bus, Local Bus#l 271, by step 323. A LBM (Local Bus Message) transmitted over the local bus is configured to provide communication (and enable the control and planning of the virtual network functions and service) between OSS/BSS agents, internal functions and EE. The communication mode used for LBM may be an asynchronous publish/subscribe since we need to have decoupled components from each other and provide high scalability. Protocols may be dedicated, private or specific to locally deployed components. Furthermore in some embodiments the generic protocols (the protocols used for the Global bus) may also be supported over the local bus. Furthermore the ROBa 211 is configured to define and create the deployment of the microservice. This is shown associated with the first service, shown in Figure 3 by the "deploy" arrow to the first recursive functional block, RFB#1 307, by step 325.

The first recursive functional block, RFB#1 307 then deploys the microservice as shown in Figure 3 by the "deploy" arrow to the first microservice, microservice#l 309, by step 327.

The microservice associated with the first service, microservicetfl 309, may then register itself. This is shown in Figure 3 by the "microservice" arrow to the local bus, Local Bus#l 271, by step 329.

The local bus, Local Bus#l 271, forwards the registration message to the ROBa 211 as shown in Figure 3 by step 331.

This registration of the deployed service may furthermore be reported to the ROBm. This is shown in Figure 3 by the by the "service running" arrow from the ROBa 211 to the global bus 261, by step 335 and from the global bus 261 to the ROBm 201 by step 337. The global bus messages (GBM) may in some embodiments share the same communication characteristics of LBM e.g. Asynchronous, Pub/Sub. The global bus may in some embodiments be dedicated to communication between ROBm-ROBa and ROBm-Dyn (for Inventory communication). In some embodiments generic protocol (ROBx protocol) is supported over the global bus and local bus protocol is not supported over the global bus.

Furthermore the ROBa 211 is configured to start monitoring the microservice. Although not explicitly shown with respect to the following messages communications between the different microservices managed by the ROBa may be made through the local message bus. The monitoring of the microservice is shown with respect to the first service, and shown in Figure 3 by the "start monitoring" arrow to the microservice, "microservice#l" 309, by step 333. In some embodiments the microservice is configured to communicate a healthcheck to determine whether the service is still required in its current form. This is shown in Figure 3 by the "health check" arrow from the microservice, microservice#l 309, to the ROBa 211 by step 339 and the response from the ROBa 211, by the "operation" arrow to the microservice, "microservice#!" 309 by step 341.

5G Services are by nature highly distributed and designed to be deployed in heterogeneous infrastructure. Figure 4 shows an example 5G Service deployment employing a recursive function block based OSS/BSS model. The model deploys services comprising recursive functions called recursive functional blocks (RFB). A RFB is a recursive composition model and an execution environment. The RFB comprises a set of microservices. The execution environment is set of metadata that describes the technology used for deploying these microservices. In terms of practical implementations of the RFB, the RFB may be implemented by any suitable manner such as a virtual machine (VM), container, CLickOS network function virtualization, or packet processor. The RFB thus is not only an implementation element or component but may include the model of the composition.

At a top level, an RFB OSS/BSS master (ROBm) 201 manages the entire infrastructure and handles BSS requests from the business layer. It runs the initial deployment and acts upon information received from Service-specific OSS shown in Figure 4 by the RFB OSS/BSS Agent (ROBa) 211, through a global message bus 301. This hierarchical design is advantageous as autonomy is maintained at different levels so the ROBa 211 may take its own decisions about its Services and react accordingly. The RFB Service layer 221 enables service providers to share architectural components (Functional-level RFB) 411 from different vendors, which can then work together seamlessly, independent of which company supplies them. High level Service RFBs are delimited by Domains 231, which are "namespaced" and allow for projects to have a reasonable scope, and not forced to span the entire set of ROBm requirements.

The ROBm 201 is a meta-OSS/BSS in charge of managing top-level Slice (Service composition) OSS/BSS tasks such as business layer policy execution and dynamic inventory supervision. For service deployment, the ROBm 201 starts instantiation of the RFB service domain 231, the head RFB service descriptor and then the dedicated ROBa through the global pub/sub bus 415. The ROBa 211 is a microservice (a Docker container) attached to the RFB service descriptor. Therefore even the ROBa may be treated as microservices in the system, and it may be possible to use the same model, here called RFB, to deploy them. The Docker container is only an example of a possible implementation means and may in some embodiments use others such as Virtual Machine, Unikernel.

In some embodiments the selection of the deployment implementation means is defined in the execution environment of the RFB. Service domain deployment is then delegated to the ROBa 211 which is in charge of instantiating Functional level RFBs, initializing the Execution Environment (EE) 303, the local (pub/sub) bus 271 and then deploying RFB leafs 413. The ROBa 211 communicates locally with domain components using the local (pub/sub) bus 271. The ROBa 211 then receives a delegation for doing local OSS supervision and operation tasks as well ensuring execution local BSS executions. As the system as described in these embodiments is fully recursive, these actions may be repeated. As depicted in Figure 2 and in Figure 4, the ROBa 211 can instantiate a service RFB sub-domain with the ROBa#2 213 as the local OSS/BSS agent, delegate sub-domain OSS/BSS tasks, then in turn act as Master for the ROBa#2.

Figure 5 shows an example hierarchical OSS/BSS task distribution according to some embodiments. The hierarchy shows the top level ROBm as the master 501, and then decending levels of ROBal as the agent 1 511 controlling the domain 513 and ROBa2 as the agent 2 521 controlling the sub-domain 523. Furthermore is shown the local and global distributions for each level.

Determining where tasks should be first executed and how to react and where to check in case of failure according to some embodiments is shown in Figure 6. The OSS/BSS tasks in some embodiments are split into three families shows as the columns: OSS operation 611; OSS supervision 613 and BSS validation 615. OSS Operation 611 covers deployment and updates, OSS Supervision 613 covers performance monitoring, health checking and alarm monitoring. BSS Validation 615 covers SLA (service level agreement) and KPI (key performance indicators) validation.

The Figure furthermore shows the task operations for execution 601, result interpretation 603 and acting upon result 605.

Therefore with respect to execution of OSS operations these should be initiated locally. The result interpretation of OSS operations should first be initiated locally, then globally (downstream), to avoid any scalability and performance issues when executing globally first. The execution of acting upon result of OSS operations should first be initiated locally, then escalate globally (upstream).

With respect to execution of OSS operations these should be initiated locally. The result interpretation of OSS operations should first be initiated locally, then globally (downstream), to avoid any scalability and performance issues when executing globally first. The execution of acting upon result of OSS operations should first be initiated locally, then escalate globally (upstream).

Therefore with respect to execution of OSS supervision these should be initiated locally then globally. The result interpretation of OSS supervision should first be initiated locally, then globally. The execution of acting upon result of OSS operation in OSS supervision should first be initiated locally, then escalate globally. Furthermore with respect to execution of BSS validation these should be initiated locally then globally. The result interpretation of BSS validation should first be initiated locally, then globally. The execution of acting upon result of OSS operation in BSS validation should first be initiated locally, then escalate globally.

In such embodiments as described herein all underlying service agents (ROBa) should offer similar interface hooks to fully exploit the advantages of combining many platforms under one common Service level API and allow manageable upgradability of the platform.

With respect to an orchestration perspective it is noted that in some embodiments a framework using our recursive RFB model may be natively distributed by design choice. Each orchestration task is first executed locally then delegated to an underlying orchestrator (ROBa). It is then provided on each domain an automated system which is aware of its execution environment and responds dynamically and locally to observed changes. This enables fine grained orchestration leveraging domain-based and context-based data extracted in real-time from the local (pub/sub) bus.

An appropriately adapted computer program code product or products may be used for implementing the embodiments, when loaded on an appropriate data processing apparatus, for example for determining geographical boundary based operations and/or other control operations. The program code product for providing the operation may be stored on, provided and embodied by means of an appropriate carrier medium. An appropriate computer program can be embodied on a computer readable record medium. A possibility is to download the program code product via a data network. In general, the various embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Embodiments of the inventions may thus be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is by and large a highly automated process. Complex and powerful software tools are available for converting a logic level design into a semiconductor circuit design ready to be etched and formed on a semiconductor substrate.

It should be understood that each block of the flowchart of the Figures and any combination thereof may be implemented by various means or their combinations, such as hardware, software, firmware, one or more processors and/or circuitry.

It is noted that whilst embodiments have been described in relation to one example of a Mobile Network Operator, similar principles maybe applied in relation to other examples of standalone networks, such as 2G, 3G, LTE or 5G. It should be noted that other embodiments may be based on other variants of cellular technology and furthermore any system which can be supervised by an OSS/BSS (via a network, for example a cloud based system), including fixed, cellular, satellite, and other systems. Therefore, although certain embodiments were described above by way of example with reference to certain example architectures for wireless networks, technologies and standards, embodiments may be applied to any other suitable forms of communication systems than those illustrated and described herein.

It should be understood that the apparatuses may comprise or be coupled to other units or modules etc., such as radio parts or radio heads, used in or for transmission and/or reception. Although the apparatuses have been described as one entity, different modules and memory may be implemented in one or more physical or logical entities.

In general, the various embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects of the invention may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device, although the invention is not limited thereto. While various aspects of the invention may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The embodiments of this invention may be implemented by computer software executable by a data processor of the mobile device, such as in the processor entity, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. Computer software or program, also called program product, including software routines, applets and/or macros, may be stored in any apparatus-readable data storage medium and they comprise program instructions to perform particular tasks. A computer program product may comprise one or more computer-executable components which, when the program is run, are configured to carry out embodiments. The one or more computer-executable components may be at least one software code or portions of it.

Further in this regard it should be noted that any blocks of the logic flow as in the Figures may represent program steps, or interconnected logic circuits, blocks and functions, or a combination of program steps and logic circuits, blocks and functions. The software may be stored on such physical media as memory chips, or memory blocks implemented within the processor, magnetic media such as hard disk or floppy disks, and optical media such as for example DVD and the data variants thereof, CD. The physical media is a non-transitory media.

The memory may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The data processors may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may comprise one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), FPGA, gate level circuits and processors based on multi core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples.

Embodiments of the inventions may be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is by and large a highly automated process. Complex and powerful software tools are available for converting a logic level design into a semiconductor circuit design ready to be etched and formed on a semiconductor substrate.

The foregoing description has provided by way of non-limiting examples a full and informative description of the exemplary embodiment of this invention. However, various modifications and adaptations may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. However, all such and similar modifications of the teachings of this invention will still fall within the scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims. Indeed there is a further embodiment comprising a combination of one or more embodiments with any of the other embodiments previously discussed.

It is also noted herein that while the above describes exemplifying embodiments of the invention, there are several variations and modifications which may be made to the disclosed solution without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including a computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to provide at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function.

2. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the recursive support system component is a recursive operational support system and business support system component.

3. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the associated protocol is a global protocol caused to communicate with at least one further recursive support system component.

4. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the associated protocol is a local protocol caused to communicate with at least one recursive function block caused to deploy the at least one service and/or virtual network function.

5. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus caused to provide at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function is caused to:

provide a recursive support system master component;

provide a first global protocol bus;

provide a recursive support system agent component, the recursive support system agent component caused to communicate with the recursive support system master component via the first global protocol bus;

provide a first execution environment, the first execution environment caused to define a set of resources where the at least one service and/or virtual network function is being executed;

provide a first local protocol bus; provide at least one recursive function block for deploying the at least one at least one service and/or virtual network function, the at least one recursive function block caused to communicate with the recursive support system agent component via the first local protocol bus.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the apparatus caused to provide at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function is further caused to:

provide a further recursive support system agent component downstream to the first recursive support system agent;

provide a second global protocol bus, the further recursive support system agent component caused to communicate with the first recursive support system agent component via the second global protocol bus;

provide a further execution environment, the further execution environment caused to define a sub-set of the resources;

provide a further local protocol bus;

provide at least one further recursive function block for deploying the at least one at least one service and/or virtual network function, the at least one further recursive function block caused to communicate with the further recursive support system agent component via the further local protocol bus.

7. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus caused to provide at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function is caused to:

provide a monitoring function associated with the at least one service and/or virtual network function.

8. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus is caused to determine with respect to at least one of an operation, supervision and validation of the provided at least one recursive support system component an order of executing or reacting or acting upon a result.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the apparatus caused to determine with respect to at least one of an operation, supervision and validation of the provided at least one recursive support system component an order of executing or reacting or acting upon a result is caused to:

execute:

locally for an operation comprising at least one of: deployment and updates; locally and then globally for a supervision comprising at least one of: performance monitoring, health checking and alarm monitoring;

locally and then globally for a validation comprising at least one of: service level agreement and key performance indicators validation;

react:

locally and then globally in a downstream manner for an operation comprising at least one of: deployment and updates;

locally and then globally for a supervision comprising at least one of: performance monitoring, health checking and alarm monitoring;

locally and then globally for a validation comprising at least one of: service level agreement and key performance indicators validation; and

act upon a result:

locally and then globally in an upstream manner for an operation comprising at least one of: deployment and updates;

locally and then globally for a validation comprising at least one of: service level agreement and key performance indicators validation.

10. A method comprising providing at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the recursive support system component is a recursive operational support system and business support system component.

12. The method according to any of claims 10 and 11, wherein the associated protocol is a global protocol caused to communicate with at least one further recursive support system component.

13. The method according to any of claims 10 to 12, wherein the associated protocol is a local protocol caused to communicate with at least one recursive function block caused to deploy the at least one service and/or virtual network function.

14. The method according to any of claims 10 to 13, wherein providing at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function comprises:

providing a recursive support system master component;

providing a first global protocol bus;

providing a recursive support system agent component, the recursive support system agent component caused to communicate with the recursive support system master component via the first global protocol bus;

providing a first execution environment, the first execution environment caused to define a set of resources where the at least one service and/or virtual network function is being executed;

providing a first local protocol bus;

providing at least one recursive function block for deploying the at least one at least one service and/or virtual network function, the at least one recursive function block caused to communicate with the recursive support system agent component via the first local protocol bus.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein providing at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function further comprises:

providing a further recursive support system agent component downstream to the first recursive support system agent; providing a second global protocol bus, the further recursive support system agent component caused to communicate with the first recursive support system agent component via the second global protocol bus;

providing a further execution environment, the further execution environment caused to define a sub-set of the resources;

providing a further local protocol bus;

providing at least one further recursive function block for deploying the at least one at least one service and/or virtual network function, the at least one further recursive function block caused to communicate with the further recursive support system agent component via the further local protocol bus.

16. The method according to any of claims 10 to 15, wherein providing at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function comprises providing a monitoring function associated with the at least one service and/or virtual network function.

17. The method according to any of claims 10 to 16, further comprising determining with respect to at least one of an operation, supervision and validation of the provided at least one recursive support system component an order of executing or reacting or acting upon a result.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein determining with respect to at least one of an operation, supervision and validation of the provided at least one recursive support system component an order of executing or reacting or acting upon a result comprises at least one of:

executing locally for an operation comprising at least one of: deployment and updates; executing locally and then globally for a supervision comprising at least one of: performance monitoring, health checking and alarm monitoring;

executing locally and then globally for a validation comprising at least one of: service level agreement and key performance indicators validation;

reacting locally and then globally in a downstream manner for an operation comprising at least one of: deployment and updates; reacting locally and then globally for a supervision comprising at least one of: performance monitoring, health checking and alarm monitoring;

reacting locally and then globally for a validation comprising at least one of: service level agreement and key performance indicators validation; and

acting upon a result locally and then globally in an upstream manner for an operation comprising at least one of: deployment and updates;

acting upon a result locally and then globally for a supervision comprising at least one of: performance monitoring, health checking and alarm monitoring;

acting upon a result locally and then globally for a validation comprising at least one of: service level agreement and key performance indicators validation.

19. An apparatus comprising means for providing at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function.

20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the recursive support system component is a recursive operational support system and business support system component.

21. The apparatus according to any of claims 19 and 20, wherein the associated protocol is a global protocol caused to communicate with at least one further recursive support system component.

22. The apparatus according to any of claims 19 to 21, wherein the associated protocol is a local protocol caused to communicate with at least one recursive function block caused to deploy the at least one service and/or virtual network function.

23. The apparatus according to any of claims 19 to 22, wherein the means for providing at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function comprises means for:

providing a recursive support system master component;

providing a first global protocol bus; providing a recursive support system agent component, the recursive support system agent component caused to communicate with the recursive support system master component via the first global protocol bus;

providing a first local protocol bus;

24. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the means for providing at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function further comprises means for:

providing a further recursive support system agent component downstream to the first recursive support system agent;

providing a second global protocol bus, the further recursive support system agent component caused to communicate with the first recursive support system agent component via the second global protocol bus;

providing a further local protocol bus;

25. The apparatus according to any of claims 19 to 24, wherein the means for providing at least one recursive support system component with an associated protocol caused to control at least one service and/or virtual network function comprises means for providing a monitoring function associated with the at least one service and/or virtual network function.

26. The apparatus according to any of claims 19 to 25, further comprising determining with respect to at least one of an operation, supervision and validation of the provided at least one recursive support system component an order of executing or reacting or acting upon a result.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the means for determining with respect to at least one of an operation, supervision and validation of the provided at least one recursive support system component an order of executing or reacting or acting upon a result comprises means for at least one of:

reacting locally and then globally in a downstream manner for an operation comprising at least one of: deployment and updates;

reacting locally and then globally for a supervision comprising at least one of: performance monitoring, health checking and alarm monitoring;