WO2021121595A1

WO2021121595A1 - Discovering an instance of a virtual network function

Info

Publication number: WO2021121595A1
Application number: PCT/EP2019/086240
Authority: WO
Inventors: Umakanth Srinivasan
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2019-12-19
Filing date: 2019-12-19
Publication date: 2021-06-24

Abstract

Methods and apparatus relating to discovering instances of virtual network functions. In one aspect, a method for discovering an instance of a virtual network function, VNF, at a Virtual Infrastructure Manager, VIM, is provided. The method comprises receiving an instruction to instantiate a VNF associated with a VNF record and determining that an instance of the VNF has already been instantiated at a VIM. The method further comprises sending one or more requests to the VIM to identify the instance of the VNF at the VIM, receiving resource information for the instance of the VNF at the VIM and configuring the VNF record with the resource information for the instance of the VNF

Description

DISCOVERING AN INSTANCE OF A VIRTUAL NETWORK FUNCTION

Technical Field

Examples of the present disclosure relate to discovering an instance of a virtual network function.

Background

In physical networks, network functions are often implemented as a combination of vendor-specific software and hardware, referred to as network nodes or network elements. In virtualised networks, software is decoupled from hardware, which means that infrastructure resources can be shared and reassigned. Virtual networks may thus comprise one or more virtual network functions, VNFs, each of which is an implementation of an executable software program that constitutes the whole or a part of a network function and can be deployed on virtualisation infrastructure. Instances of the VNFs may be created and instantiated as needed, for example, in response to a request for a particular service.

The lifecycle of a VNF may be managed using a VNF Manager (VNFM), which is responsible for VNF lifecycle management including, for example, instantiating, updating, querying, scaling and terminating VNFs. A network may have multiple VNFMs, with some VNFs having a dedicated VNFM, while other VNFs may be managed by a single common VNFM.

VNFMs coordinate with a Virtualised Infrastructure Manager (VIM), which manages computing, storage and network resources, to instantiate VNFs in the network.

However, as noted above, a network may comprise multiple VNFMs, which means that a given VNFM may not be aware of an instance of a VNF that has already been instantiated at the VIM by another VNFM in the network. Summary

One aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for discovering an instance of a virtual network function, VNF, at a Virtual Infrastructure Manager, VIM. The method comprises receiving an instruction to instantiate a VNF associated with a VNF record, determining that an instance of the VNF has already been instantiated at a VIM, and sending one or more requests to the VIM to identify the instance of the VNF at the VIM. The method further comprises receiving resource information for the instance of the VNF at the VIM and configuring the VNF record with the resource information for the instance of the VNF.

In a further aspect, the present disclosure provides an apparatus configured to perform the aforementioned method.

A still further aspect of the present disclosure provides apparatus for discovering an instance of a VNF at a VIM. The apparatus comprises a processor and a memory, in which the memory contains instructions executable by the processor such that the apparatus is operable to receive an instruction to instantiate a VNF associated with a VNF record, determine that an instance of the VNF has already been instantiated at a VIM and send one or more requests to the VIM to identify the instance of the VNF at the VIM. The apparatus is further operable to receive resource information for the instance of the VNF at the VIM and configure the VNF record with the resource information for the instance of the VNF.

An additional aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for instantiating a VNF. The method comprises sending an instruction to a VNFM, to instantiate a VNF, wherein the instruction indicates that an instance of the VNF has been instantiated at a VIM.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides apparatus for instantiating a VNF. The apparatus comprises a processor and a memory, in which the memory contains instructions executable by the processor such that the apparatus is operable to send an instruction to a VNFM to instantiate a VNF, wherein the instruction indicates that an instance of the VNF has been instantiated at a VIM.

Brief Description of the Drawings

For a better understanding of examples of the present disclosure, and to show more clearly how the examples may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the following drawings in which: Figure 1 illustrates an example of a system according to examples of the disclosure;

Figure 2 illustrates an example signalling diagram according to examples of the disclosure;

Figure 3 is a flowchart of an example of a method for discovering an instance of a virtual network function (VNF) at a Virtual Infrastructure Manager (VIM); Figure 4 is a flowchart of an example of a method for instantiating a VNF; and

Figure 5 is a schematic illustration of an example of Apparatus for discovering an instance of a virtual network function; and Figure 6 is a schematic illustration of an example of apparatus for instantiating a virtual network function.

Detailed Description The following sets forth specific details, such as particular embodiments or examples for purposes of explanation and not limitation. It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that other examples may be employed apart from these specific details. In some instances, detailed descriptions of well-known methods, nodes, interfaces, circuits, and devices are omitted so as not obscure the description with unnecessary detail. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the functions described may be implemented in one or more nodes using hardware circuitry (e.g., analog and/or discrete logic gates interconnected to perform a specialized function, ASICs, PLAs, etc.) and/or using software programs and data in conjunction with one or more digital microprocessors or general purpose computers. Nodes that communicate using the air interface also have suitable radio communications circuitry. Moreover, where appropriate the technology can additionally be considered to be embodied entirely within any form of computer-readable memory, such as solid-state memory, magnetic disk, or optical disk containing an appropriate set of computer instructions that would cause a processor to carry out the techniques described herein. Hardware implementation may include or encompass, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, a reduced instruction set processor, hardware (e.g., digital or analogue) circuitry including but not limited to application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC) and/or field programmable gate array(s) (FPGA(s)), and (where appropriate) state machines capable of performing such functions.

Figure 1 shows an example of a system 100 comprising a network function virtualisation management and orchestration framework (NFV-MANO) 114, a virtual network function (VNF) 108, a Network Functions Virtualisation Infrastructure (NFVI) 110 and an operations support system or business support system (OSS/BSS) 112.

Only one VNF 108 is shown, although the skilled person will appreciate that the system 100 may comprise many more VNFs 108. A virtual network function (VNF) referred to herein can be any implementation of a network function that can be deployed using software virtualisation techniques. A network function can be any functional building block within a network infrastructure. A functional building block may, for example, be a block within a network infrastructure that has well-defined external interfaces and a well-defined functional behaviour. In practical terms, a network function may, for example, be a network node, a physical appliance, or any other type of network function.

The NFVI 110 comprises resources upon which VNFs (such as the VNF 108) may be deployed. Thus, for example, the NFVI 110 may comprise one or more of: virtualisation software, hardware and system management software.

The NFV-MANO 114 coordinates resources and manages the lifecycle of VNFs 108 in the system 100. As illustrated, the NFV-MANO 114 comprises a Network Function Virtualisation Orchestrator (NFVO) 102, a Virtual Network Function Manager (VNFM) 104 and a Virtualisation Infrastructure Manager (VIM) 106.

The NFVO 102 conducts the orchestration and management of NFVI and software resources, and is responsible for realising network services on NFVI.

The VIM 106 controls and manages virtualisation infrastructure (e.g. the NFVI 110), including, for example computing, storage and networking resources. The VIM 106 may thus, for example, manage a repository of hardware and software, monitor resource usage, monitor and manage network connections and/or provide resource information to other nodes in the system 100.

The VNFM 104 is responsible for lifecycle management for VNFs in the system (such as the VNF 108). This may include, for example, instantiating, scaling, updating and terminating VNFs. Although only one VNFM 104 is shown, the skilled person will appreciate that the system 100 may comprise one or more VNFMs.

Instances of VNFs, such as the VNF 108, may be created and instantiated as needed. For example, the NFVO 102 may trigger the instantiation of the VNF 108 when a service provided by the VNF 108 is requested. An example process for instantiating the VNF 108 is described as follows.

The NFVO 102 receives a request to instantiate the VNF 108. The request may be received from, for example, the OSS/BSS 112. The NFVO transmits an Instantiate VNF message to the VNFM 104, instructing the VNFM 104 to instantiate the VNF 108.

In response to receiving the Instantiate VNF message, the VNFM 104 sends a request to the VIM 106 to instantiate the VNF 108. The VIM 106 allocates one or more resources (e.g. network, storage and/or computing resources) to an instance of the VNF 108 and deploys an instance of the VNF 108 on those resources. Thus, for example, the VIM 106 may allocate one or more virtual machines to the VNF 108 and execute an instance of the VNF 108 on the allocated virtual machines.

The VIM 106 sends information relating to the instance of the VNF 108 to the VNFM 104 (e.g. information relating to the resource allocated to the instance of the VNF 108) and the VNFM 104 configures a record of the VNF 108 at the VNFM 104 with the received information.

As noted above, however, the system 100 may comprise more than one VNFM 104. As each of the VNFMs may interact with a common VIM 106, the first VNFM (e.g. the VNFM 104) may not be aware of an existing first instance of a VNF that has already been instantiated at the VIM 106 by the second VNFM in the system 100. This can cause particular problems, for example, when changing which VNFM manages an existing instance of a VNF (e.g. changing from a first, vendor-specific VNFM to a second VNFM in the system 100). The second VNFM may instead attempt to instantiate a second, duplicate instance of the VNF at the VIM, which may lead to errors in the instantiation process and an inefficient use of resources.

The disclosure provides methods and apparatus for addressing these and other problems. In one aspect, the disclosure provides a method for discovering an instance of a virtual network function, VNF, at a Virtual Infrastructure Manager, VIM. The method comprises receiving an instruction to instantiate a VNF associated with a VNF record, determining that an instance of the VNF has already been instantiated at a VIM, sending one or more requests to the VIM to identify the instance of the VNF at the VIM, receiving resource information for the instance of the VNF at the VIM, and configuring the VNF record with the resource information for the instance of the VNF.

The present disclosure thus provides a method for discovering existing instances of VNFs that have already been instantiated at the VIM and configuring VNF records with resource information for the existing instances. This, in turn, reduces the risk that a VNF instance will be unnecessary duplicated and reduces the risk of errors occurring during the instantiation process.

Figure 2 shows an example communication flow between an NFVO 202, a VNFM 204 and a VIM 206 for discovering an instance of a VNF that has already been instantiated at the VIM 206. The instance of the VNF may, for example, have been instantiated at the VIM 206 by a VNFM other than the VNFM 204 illustrated in Figure 2. The VNFM 204 may thus be unaware of the instance of the VNF at the VIM 206 prior to the illustrated communication flow occurring.

The procedure begins with the NFVO 202 receiving an indication (not illustrated) that an instance of a VNF has been instantiated at the VIM 206. The NFVO 202 may, for example, receive the indication from an OSS/BSS (such as, for example, the OSS/BSS 112 described in relation to Figure 1) or the VIM 206. The indication may identify the instance of the VNF (e.g. with a unique ID for the VNF instance). The indication may further comprise supplementary information for the instance of the VNF, including, for example, one or more of: a name or type of the VNF, a creation time and/or date, an owner etc. The NFVO 202 is thus informed that the instance of the VNF has been instantiated at the VIM 206. The NFVO 202 sends a first instruction 208 to the VNFM 204 to create a VNF record. The first instruction 208 may identify the instance of the VNF (e.g. with a unique ID for the VNF instance). The first instruction 208 may comprise, for example, the supplementary information for the instance of the VNF described above. For example, the first instruction 208 may comprise a type of the VNF. In another example, the first instruction 208 may comprise a creation time and/or date for the instance of the VNF.

The NFVO 202 may send the first instruction 208 in response to receiving the indication. The first instruction 208 may be contained in a Create VNF request message. The Create VNF request may be compliant with, for example, ETSI GS NFV- SOL 003 V2.4.1.

The VNFM 204 may generate a VNF record on receipt of the first instruction 208. The VNF record may, for example, identify the instance of the VNF (e.g. with the unique ID for the VNF instance). The VNF record may, for example, comprise any of the supplementary information for the instance of the VNF received from the NFVO 202. The VNFM 204 may optionally generate an identifier for the VNF record. The identifier may be, for example, stored in the VNF record.

The VNFM 204 may optionally send an acknowledgement 210 to the NFVO 202, indicating that the VNF record has been created. For example, the VNFM 204 may send an acknowledgement 210 comprising the identifier for the VNF record to the NFVO 202.

The NFVO 202 sends a second instruction 212 to the VNFM 204 to instantiate a VNF associated with a VNF record. For example, the NFVO 202 may instruct the VNFM 204 to instantiate a mobility management entity (MME) associated with the VNF record. In another example, the NFVO 202 instructs the VNFM 204 to instantiate an evolved packet gateway (EPG) associated with the VNF record. However, any network function may be discovered and/or instantiated in accordance with this disclosure.

The second instruction 212 may identify the instance of the VNF (e.g. with a unique ID for the VNF instance). The second instruction 212 may comprise, for example, the supplementary information for the instance of the VNF described above. For example, the second instruction 212 may indicate a type of the VNF. In another example, the second instruction 212 may comprise a creation time and/or date for the instance of the VNF.

The second instruction may indicate which VNF record the VNF instance is to be associated with. For example, the second instruction may comprise the VNF record identifier. In an alternative example, the second instruction may specify that the most recently generated VNF record is to be used.

In examples in which the second instruction does not identify a particular VNF record, the VNFM 204 may determine a VNF record at the VNFM 204 to be used. For example, the VNFM 204 may select any suitable VNF record at the VNFM 204 which has not already been configured with resource information for a VNF instance. Alternatively, the VNFM 204 may create a new VNF record in response to receiving the second instruction 212.

The second instruction 212 may be sent in any suitable message. In particular examples, the second instruction 212 is sent in an Instantiate VNF message. An example format for an Instantiate VNF message is shown in Table 1 (taken from ETSI GS NFV-SOL 003 V2.4.1). The format of the Instantiate VNF message may be adapted such that the one or more additional parameters indicate that the instance of the VNF has already been instantiated at the VIM. The one or more additional parameters may indicate that the VNFM is to identify (e.g. discover) an existing instance of the VNF at the VIM. The one or more additional parameters may additionally comprise an identifier for the VNF record at the VNFM 204, enabling the VNFM 204 to determine which VNF record the instance of the VNF is to be associated with. Particular examples of the present disclosure thus use an enhanced Instantiate VNF message to indicate, to the VNFM 204, to discover an existing instance of a VNF at the VIM, rather than to instantiate a new instance of the VNF at the VIM.

Table 1 Although Figure 2 shows the signalling flow starting with the NFVO 202 sending a first instruction 208 to the VNFM 204, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the process may, alternatively, start with the NFVO 202 sending the second instruction 212 to the VNFM 204 (e.g. the steps of sending the first instruction 208 and the acknowledgement 210 may be omitted). In such examples, the VNFM 204 may, for example, determine to create a new VNF record in response to receiving the second instruction 212.

The VNFM 204 receives the second instruction 212 and determines that the instance of the VNF has already been instantiated at the VIM 206. That is, the VNFM 204 determines that the instance of the VNF had been instantiated at the VIM before the second instruction was received.

The VNFM 204 may determine that an instance of the VNF has already been instantiated at the VIM 206 based on the second instruction 212. The second instruction 212 may, for example, comprise an indication that the VNF has already been instantiated at the VIM 206 and the determination may thus be made based on the indication. For example, the second instruction 212 may comprised in an Instantiate Request message comprising an indication that the VNF has already been instantiated at the VIM 206 (e.g. in one of the one or more additional parameters). The VNFM 204 may thus determine, based on the contents of the Instantiate Request message, that an instance of the VNF has already been instantiated at the VIM 206.

The VNFM 204 sends a request 214 to the VIM 206 to identify the instance of the VNF at the VIM 206. The VNFM 204 thus requests information from the VIM 206 relating to VNF instances that have already been instantiated at the VIM 206.

The VNFM 204 may send the request 214 in response to determining that an instance of the VNF has already been instantiated at the VIM 206. In particular examples, the VNFM 204 sends the request 214 in response to receiving the second instruction and determining that the instance of the VNF has already been instantiated at the VIM 206. Thus, in particular examples, the VNFM 204 may not send the one or more requests 214 if the second instruction is not received, even if it is determined that an instance of the VNF has been instantiated at the VIM 206.

The request 214 may specify a type of the VNF. For example, the VNFM 204 may request that the VIM 206 identifies any instances of a proxy session control function (P- CSCF) that have been instantiated at the VIM 206. In another example, the VNFM 204 sends the request 214 to the VIM 206 to identify any instances of a mobility management entity (MME).

The request 214 may comprise one or more criteria for selecting an instance of a VNF (e.g. in addition to a type of VNF). For example, the one or more criteria may relate to one or more of the following: an identifier for the instance of the VNF (e.g. a unique ID for the VNF instance), a deployment flavour, an instantiation level etc.

Alternatively, the VNFM 204 may request that the VIM 206 identifies any instances of any VNF that have been instantiated at the VIM 206. Thus, for example, the VNFM 204 may request that the VIM 206 identifies all VNF instances at the VIM 206, regardless of the type of VNF.

The VIM 206 receives the request 214 and determines which VNF instances that are instantiated at the VIM 206 satisfy any requirements specified in the request 214.

Thus, in examples in which the VNFM 204 did not specify a type of VNF or any further criteria, the VIM 206 may identify all of the VNF instances that are instantiated at the VIM 206 (e.g. regardless of VNF type).

In examples in which the request 214 specifies a type of VNF, the VIM 206 determines which of the VNF instances that are instantiated at the VIM 206 are of the specified type.

Similarly, if the request comprises one or more criteria for selecting an instance of a VNF, the VIM 206 may identify which VNF instances that are instantiated at the VNF satisfy the one or more criteria. For example, the VIM 206 may identify any instances of a VNF with a particular deployment flavour that are instantiated at the VIM 206.

Once the VIM 206 has identified one or more VNF instances as requested by VNFM 204, the VIM 206 may indicate the identified instances to the VNFM 204. For example, the VIM may send a list of the identified instances to the VNFM 204 (e.g. comprising identifiers for each of the instances).

Although only one request 214 is shown in Figure 2, the skilled person will appreciate that the VNFM 204 may in general send one or more requests to the VIM 206 to identify an instance of the VNF. For example, the one or more requests may comprise a first request to the VIM 206 to identify an instance of the VNF and one or more subsequent requests for resource information for the identified instance of the VNF.

The VIM 206 sends resource information 216 for an instance of the VNF to the VNFM 204. The resource information 216 may relate to one particular instance of the VNF (e.g. if the VIM 206 identified only one instance of the VNF) or the resource information may 216 may relate to more than one instance of the VNF (e.g. if the VIM 206 identified multiple instances of the VNF).

For each instance of the VNF, the resource information 216 may comprise information relating to one or more resources assigned to the instance of the VNF by the VIM 206. The resource information may thus indicate the resources upon which the instance of the VNF is deployed. For example, resource information may comprise an indication of one or more of the following: access information for the instance of the VNF (e.g. network, subnet and/or port information), storage information for the instance of the VNF and processing resources assigned to the VNF instance (e.g. information relating to one or more virtual machines upon which the instance of the VNF is deployed).

The VIM 206 may send the resource information 216 in response to receiving the one or more requests from the VNFM 204. The VIM 206 may send the resource information 216 to the VNFM 204 in one or more messages. For example, each of the one or messages may be sent in response to receipt of a respective request from the VNFM 204. In particular examples, the VIM 206 may only send resource information when that resource information is specifically requested by the VNFM 204.

On receipt of the resource information 216 from the VIM 206, the VNFM 204 configures the VNF record with the resource information 216 for the instance of the VNF. That is, the VNFM 204 stores the received resource information 216 at the VNFM 204 in the VNF record for the instance of the VNF. The VNF record may then, for example, be used for lifecycle management (e.g. updating, querying, scaling and/or termination) for the instance of the VNF.

If the VNFM 204 receives resource information 216 for more than one instance of the VNF, the VNFM 204 may select one instance of the VNF and configure the VNF record with resource information 216 for that instance. For example, the VIM 206 may send resource information 216 for multiple VNF instances to the VNFM 204 and the VNFM 204 may use one or more criteria (e.g. the criteria described above) to select a particular VNF instance. The VNFM 204 may then configure the VNF record with the resource information for the selected VNF instance.

The VNFM 204 may optionally send a message 218 to the NFVO 202 indicating that the second instruction has been fulfilled (e.g. discovery has been performed). The message 218 may further comprise the resource information for the (selected) instance of the VNF.

The NFVO 202 may, for example, configure a record at the NFVO 202 for the instance of the VNF with the received resource information. The NFVO 202 may, for example, use the resource information to synchronise with the VIM 206. For example, the NFVO 202 may, based on the received resource information, send one or more messages to VIM 206 to obtain updated resource information (e.g. to update the record for the instance of the VNF).

Examples of the present disclosure thus enable a VNFM to discover an existing instance of a VNF that has been instantiated at a VIM, and use the existing instance of the VNF in the VIM in a newly created VNF at a VNFM, thereby enabling more efficient network management. By enabling the VNFM to cooperate with the VIM to identify the instance of the VNF and obtain the required resource information, aspects of the present disclosure may provide an automated method for discovering instances of virtual network functions, thereby minimising the need for any user intervention and reducing the risk of misconfiguration errors that may be introduced through, for example, manual configuration of the VNFM by a user.

Figure 3 is a flowchart of an example of a method 300 for discovering an instance of a VNF at a VIM. The method may be performed by a VNFM, such as, for example, the VNFM 104 described above in respect of Figure 1 or the VNFM 204 described above in respect of Figure 2. The VNF may be, for example, the VNF 108 described above in respect of Figure 1.

The method may begin in step 302 in which an instruction to instantiate a VNF associated with a VNF record is received. The instruction may be received, for example, from an NFVO (such as the NFVO 202 described above in respect of Figure 2). The instruction may be comprised in, for example, a modified Instantiate VNF message.

In step 304, it is determined that an instance of the VNF has already been instantiated at a VIM. The VIM may be, for example, the VIM 106 described above in respect of Figure 1 or the VIM 206 described above in respect of Figure 2. The determination may be made, for example, based on the instruction received in step 302.

In step 306, one or more requests are sent to the VIM to identify the instance of the VNF at the VIM. The one or more requests may additionally instruct the VIM to send resource information for the identified instance.

In step 308, resource information is received for the instance of the VNF at the VIM. Thus, for example, if the method is performed by the VNFM, then the VNFM receives resource information for the VNF from the VIM.

In step 310, the VNF record is configured with the resource information for the instance of the VNF. Thus, if the method is performed by the VNFM, storing the resource information for the instance of the VNF at the VNFM may enable the VNFM to manage the lifecycle of the VNF.

Figure 4 is a flowchart of an example of a method 400 for instantiating a VNF. The method may be performed by an NFVO, such as, for example, the NFVO 102 described above in respect of Figure 1 or the NFVO 102 described above in respect of Figure 2. The VNF may be, for example, the VNF 108 described above in respect of Figure 1.

The method comprises, in step 402, sending an instruction to a VNFM to instantiate a VNF, wherein the instruction indicates that an instance of the VNF has been instantiated at a VIM. The VNFM may thus be instructed to discover an existing instance of a VNF at the VIM. The VNFM may be, for example, the VNFM 104 described above in respect of Figure 1 or the VNFM 204 described above in respect of Figure 2. The VIM may be, for example, the VIM 106 described above in respect of Figure 1 or the VIM 206 described above in respect of Figure 2. The instruction may comprise an instruction to the VNFM to configure a record of the VNF with resource information for the instance of the VNF. For example, if the method 400 is performed by an NFVO, the NFVO may instruct the VNFM to configure a record of the VNF with resource information for the instance of the VNF.

The instruction may be, for example, comprised in an Instantiate VNF message. For example, the message may be a modified version of the Instantiate VNF message described in ETSI GS NFV-SOL 003 V2.4.1.

In particular examples, the method may begin comprise, prior to step 402, receiving an indication that the instance of the VNF has been instantiated at the VIM. For example, the indication may be received from an OSS or BSS (e.g. the OSS/BSS 112 described in respect of Figure 1) or from the VIM.

The method may, additionally or alternatively, further comprise, prior to step 402, sending an instruction to the VNFM to create a record of the VNF. The VNFM may thus be instruct to create a record of the VNF for configuration with resource information for the instance of the VNF.

The method may further comprise receiving resource information for the instance of the VNF. For example, resource information for the instance of the VNF may be received from the VNFM, after the instruction is sent to the VNFM. If the method is performed by an NFVO, the NFVO may synchronise resources with the VIM based on the received resource information.

Figure 5 shows an example of an apparatus 500 according to examples of the disclosure. The apparatus 500 may be an apparatus for discovering an instance of a virtual network function, VNF, at a Virtual Infrastructure Manager, VIM. The apparatus 500 may be configured to perform the method 300 of Figure 3. The apparatus 500 may implement, for example, a VNFM, such as the VNFM 204 described above in respect of Figure 2.

The apparatus 500 comprises processing circuitry (or logic) 502. The processing circuitry 502 controls the operation of the apparatus 500 and can implement the method 300 described above with respect to Figure 3 or the steps performed by the VNFM 204 in Figure 2, for example. The processing circuitry 502 can comprise one or more processors, processing units, multi-core processors or modules that are configured or programmed to control the apparatus in the manner described herein. In particular implementations, the processing circuitry 502 can comprise a plurality of software and/or hardware modules that are each configured to perform, or are for performing, individual or multiple steps of the method described herein in relation to the apparatus 500.

Briefly, the processing circuitry 502 of the apparatus 500 is operable to: receive an instruction to instantiate a VNF associated with a VNF record, determine that an instance of the VNF has been instantiated at a VIM, send one or more requests to the VIM to identify the instance of the VNF at the VIM, receive resource information for the instance of the VNF at the VIM, and configure the VNF record with the resource information for the instance of the VNF.

Optionally, the apparatus 500 may comprise a computer readable storage medium (e.g. a memory) 504. In some examples, the memory 504 of the apparatus 500 can be configured to store instructions (e.g. program code) that can be executed by the processing circuitry 502 of the apparatus 500 to perform the method described herein in relation to the apparatus 500. Alternatively or in addition, the memory 504 of the apparatus 500, can be configured to store any requests, resources, information, data, signals, or similar that are described herein. The processing circuitry 502 of the apparatus 500 may be configured to control the memory 504 of the apparatus 500 to store any requests, resources, information, data, signals, or similar that are described herein.

In some examples, the apparatus 500 may optionally comprise a communications interface 506. The communications interface 506 of the apparatus 500 can be for use in communicating with other nodes, such as other virtual nodes. For example, the communications interface 506 of the apparatus 500 can be configured to transmit to and/or receive from other nodes requests, resources, information, data, signals, or similar. The processing circuitry 502 of the apparatus 500 may be configured to control the communications interface 506 of the apparatus 500 to transmit to and/or receive from other nodes requests, resources, information, data, signals, or similar. Figure 6 shows an example of an apparatus 600 according to examples of the disclosure. The apparatus 600 may be an apparatus for instantiating a VNF. The apparatus 600 may be configured to perform the method 400 of Figure 4. The apparatus 600 may implement, for example, an NFVO, such as the NFVO 202 described above in respect of Figure 2.

The apparatus 600 comprises processing circuitry (or logic) 602. The processing circuitry 602 controls the operation of the apparatus 600 and can implement the method 400 described above with respect to Figure 4 or the steps performed by the NFVO 202 in Figure 2, for example. The processing circuitry 602 can comprise one or more processors, processing units, multi-core processors or modules that are configured or programmed to control the apparatus in the manner described herein. In particular implementations, the processing circuitry 602 can comprise a plurality of software and/or hardware modules that are each configured to perform, or are for performing, individual or multiple steps of the method described herein in relation to the apparatus 600.

Briefly, the processing circuitry 602 of the apparatus 600 is operable to: send an instruction to a Virtual Network Function Manager, VNFM, to instantiate a VNF, wherein the instruction indicates that an instance of the VNF has been instantiated at a Virtual Infrastructure Manager, VIM.

Optionally, the apparatus 600 may comprise a computer readable storage medium (e.g. a memory) 604. In some examples, the memory 604 of the apparatus 600 can be configured to store instructions (e.g. program code) that can be executed by the processing circuitry 602 of the apparatus 600 to perform the method described herein in relation to the apparatus 600. Alternatively or in addition, the memory 604 of the apparatus 600, can be configured to store any requests, resources, information, data, signals, or similar that are described herein. The processing circuitry 602 of the apparatus 600 may be configured to control the memory 604 of the apparatus 600 to store any requests, resources, information, data, signals, or similar that are described herein.

In some examples, the apparatus 600 may optionally comprise a communications interface 606. The communications interface 606 of the apparatus 600 can be for use in communicating with other nodes, such as other virtual nodes. For example, the communications interface 606 of the apparatus 600 can be configured to transmit to and/or receive from other nodes requests, resources, information, data, signals, or similar. The processing circuitry 602 of the apparatus 600 may be configured to control the communications interface 606 of the apparatus 600 to transmit to and/or receive from other nodes requests, resources, information, data, signals, or similar. It should be noted that the above-mentioned examples illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative examples without departing from the scope of the appended statements. The word “comprising” does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in a claim, “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality, and a single processor or other unit may fulfil the functions of several units recited in the statements below. Where the terms, “first”, “second” etc. are used they are to be understood merely as labels for the convenient identification of a particular feature. In particular, they are not to be interpreted as describing the first or the second feature of a plurality of such features (i.e. the first or second of such features to occur in time or space) unless explicitly stated otherwise. Steps in the methods disclosed herein may be carried out in any order unless expressly otherwise stated. Any reference signs in the statements shall not be construed so as to limit their scope.

Claims

1. A method for discovering an instance of a virtual network function, VNF, at a Virtual Infrastructure Manager, VIM, the method comprising: receiving an instruction to instantiate a VNF associated with a VNF record; determining that an instance of the VNF has already been instantiated at a

VIM; sending one or more requests to the VIM to identify the instance of the VNF at the VIM; receiving resource information for the instance of the VNF at the VIM; and configuring the VNF record with the resource information for the instance of the VNF.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sending the resource information to a Network Functions Virtualisation Orchestrator, NFVO.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the instruction is received from the NFVO.

4. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the method is performed by a Virtual Network Function Manager, VNFM.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising creating the VNF record at the VNFM.

6. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the determination that an instance of the VNF has been instantiated at a VIM is based on an indication comprised in the instruction.

7. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein the instruction is received in an Instantiate VNF message.

8. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein determining that an instance of the VNF has already been instantiated at a VIM comprises determining that the instance of the VNF had been instantiated at the VIM before the instruction had been received.

9. A method for instantiating a virtual network function, VNF, the method comprising: sending an instruction to a Virtual Network Function Manager, VNFM, to instantiate a VNF, wherein the instruction indicates that an instance of the VNF has been instantiated at a Virtual Infrastructure Manager, VIM.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the instruction comprises an instruction to the VNFM to configure a record of the VNF with resource information for the instance of the VNF.

11. The method of claim 9 or 10, wherein the method is performed by a Network Function Virtualisation Orchestrator, NFVO.

12. The method of any of claims 9-11 , wherein the instruction is sent in an Instantiate VNF message.

13. The method of any of claims 9-12, further comprising: receiving resource information for the instance of the VNF.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the resource information is received from the VNFM.

15. The method of any of claims 9-14, further comprising: before sending the instruction to the VNFM to instantiate the VNF, sending an instruction to the VNF to create a record of the VNF.

16. The method of any of claims 9-15, further comprising: receiving an indication that the instance of the VNF has been instantiated at a Virtual Infrastructure Manager, VIM.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the indication is received from an operational support system, a business support system, or the VIM.

18. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out a method according to any of the preceding claims.

19. A carrier containing a computer program according to claim 18, wherein the carrier comprises one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal or computer readable storage medium.

20. A computer program product comprising non transitory computer readable media having stored thereon a computer program according to claim 18.

21. Apparatus for discovering an instance of a virtual network function, VNF, at a Virtual Infrastructure Manager, VIM, the apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processor such that the apparatus is operable to: receive an instruction to instantiate a VNF associated with a VNF record; determine that an instance of the VNF has already been instantiated at a

VIM; send one or more requests to the VIM to identify the instance of the VNF at the VIM; receive resource information for the instance of the VNF at the VIM; and configure the VNF record with the resource information for the instance of the VNF.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry such that the apparatus is further operable to send the resource information to a Network Functions Virtualisation Orchestrator, NFVO.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the instruction is received from the NFVO.

24. The apparatus of any of claims 21-23, wherein the apparatus is a Virtual Network Function Manager, VNFM.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry such that the apparatus is further operable to create the VNF record at the VNFM.

26. The apparatus of any of claims 21-25, wherein the determination that an instance of the VNF has been instantiated at a VIM is based on an indication comprised in the instruction.

27. The apparatus of any of claims 21-26, wherein the instruction is received in an Instantiate VNF message.

28. The apparatus of any of claims 21-27, wherein determining that an instance of the VNF has already been instantiated at a VIM comprises determining that the instance of the VNF had been instantiated at the VIM before the instruction had been received.

29. Apparatus for instantiating a virtual network function, VNF, the apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processor such that the apparatus is operable to: send an instruction to a Virtual Network Function Manager, VNFM, to instantiate a VNF, wherein the instruction indicates that an instance of the VNF has been instantiated at a Virtual Infrastructure Manager, VIM.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the instruction comprises an instruction to the

VNFM to configure a record of the VNF with resource information for the instance of the VNF.

31. The apparatus of claim 29 or 30, wherein the apparatus is a Network Function Virtualisation Orchestrator, NFVO.

32. The apparatus of any of claims 29-31, wherein the instruction is sent in an Instantiate VNF message.

33. The apparatus of any of claims 29-32, wherein the memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry such that the apparatus is further operable to: receive resource information for the instance of the VNF.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the resource information is received from the VNFM.

35. The apparatus of any of claims 29-34, wherein the memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry such that the apparatus is further operable to: before sending the instruction to the VNFM to instantiate the VNF, sending an instruction to the VNF to create a record of the VNF.

36. The apparatus of any of claims 29-35, wherein the memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry such that the apparatus is further operable to receive an indication that the instance of the VNF has been instantiated at a Virtual Infrastructure Manager, VIM.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the indication is received from an operational support system, a business support system, or the VIM.

38. Apparatus for discovering an instance of a virtual network function, VNF, at a Virtual Infrastructure Manager, VIM, wherein the apparatus is configured to: receive an instruction to instantiate a VNF associated with a VNF record; determine that an instance of the VNF has been instantiated at the VIM; send one or more requests to the VIM to identify the instance of the VNF at the VIM; receive resource information for the instance of the VNF at the VIM; and configure the VNF record with the resource information for the instance of the VNF.

39. Apparatus for instantiating a virtual network function, VNF, wherein the apparatus is configured to: send an instruction to a Virtual Network Function Manager, VNFM, to instantiate a VNF, wherein the instruction indicates that an instance of the VNF has been instantiated at a Virtual Infrastructure Manager, VIM.