Method for routing in a communication network, communication network, program and computer program product

• US 10,271,335 B2
• Filed: 09/04/2017
• Issued: 04/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deutsche Telekom AG
• Original Assignee: Deutsche Telekom AG
• Inventors: Kurz, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Steven H
• Application Number:
  US15/694,851
• Publication Number:
  US 20180077713A1
• Time in Patent Office: 596 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/123 Evaluation of link metrics techniques for monitoring network metrics H04L43/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/38 Flow based routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/64 using an overlay routing layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/822 Collecting or measuring resource availability data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/53 based on regulatory allocation policies

Abstract

A method for routing in a communication network includes: in a first step, providing a template data set including a routing cost indication for a first second-slice resource to a control unit; and in a second step, subsequent to the first step, determining if the routing cost indication of the first second-slice resource complies with a predefined routing requirement of a second network slice, and, if the routing cost indication of the first second-slice resource is found to be non-compliant, determining a first-slice resource and routing network traffic from a second second-slice resource via the first-slice resource to a third second-slice resource.

Claims

1. A method for routing in a communication network, the communication network including:

a) a first network slice, wherein the first network slice comprises multiple first-slice resources;

b) a second network slice, wherein the second network slice comprises multiple second-slice resources; and

c) a control unit for controlling data flow in the first network slice, in the second network slice and between the first network slice and the second network slice;

wherein the method comprises the following steps;

in a first step, providing a template data set including a routing cost indication for a first second-slice resource to the control unit; and

in a second step, subsequent to the first step, determining if the routing cost indication of the first second-slice resource complies with a predefined routing requirement of the second network slice, and, if the routing cost indication of the first second-slice resource is found to be non-compliant, determining a first-slice resource and routing network traffic from a second second-slice resource via the first-slice resource to a third second-slice resource.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the routing cost indication is a load indication, a congestion indication, a drop rate indication, a latency indication, a bandwidth indication, or a maximum transmission unit indication.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the routing cost indication is determined by measurements prior to the first step.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the provided routing cost indication is provided as a function of the date and/or as a function of the day time.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the routing cost indication is provided by a mobile edge cloud server arranged at a base station of the communication network or in proximity of a base station of the communication network.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein, in the first step, the template data set is further provided with a first-slice resource indication and, in the second step, the first-slice resource indication is employed to determine the first-slice resource as the detour for the first second-slice resource.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first-slice resources of the first network slice and/or the second-slice resources of the second network slice are servers or switches.

8. A communication network, comprising:

a first network slice, wherein the first network slice comprises multiple first-slice resources;

a second network slice, wherein the second network slice comprises multiple second-slice resources; and

a control unit for controlling data flow in the first network slice, in the second network slice, and between the first network slice and the second network slice;

wherein the control unit is configured to;

receive a template data set including a routing cost indication for a first second-slice resource;

determine if the routing cost indication of the first second-slice resource complies with a predefined routing requirement of the second network slice, and, if the routing cost indication of the first second-slice resource is found to be non-compliant, determine a first-slice resource and route network traffic from a second second-slice resource via the first-slice resource to a third second-slice resource.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having processor-executable instructions for routing in a communication network, the communication network including:

a first network slice, wherein the first network slice comprises multiple first-slice resources;

a second network slice, wherein the second network slice comprises multiple second-slice resources; and

a control unit for controlling data flow in the first network slice, in the second network slice and between the first network slice and the second network slice;

wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed, facilitate the following steps;

in a first step, providing a template data set including a routing cost indication for a first second-slice resource to the control unit; and

in a second step, subsequent to the first step, determining if the routing cost indication of the first second-slice resource complies with a predefined routing requirement of the second network slice, and, if the routing cost indication of the first second-slice resource is found to be non-compliant, determining a first-slice resource and routing network traffic from a second second-slice resource via the first-slice resource to a third second-slice resource.