Network orchestration
First Claim
1. A method of network orchestration, the method comprising, by an orchestrator:
- obtaining a model of a physical resources part of a network, the physical resources part of the network comprising a plurality of physical resources, the model of the physical resources part of the network representing dependencies between different physical resources in the physical resources part of the network;
obtaining a model of a virtualised resources part of the network, the virtualised resources part of the network comprising at least one virtualised network function, the model of the virtualised resources part of the network representing dependencies between different virtualised resources in the virtualised resources part of the network;
representing the network using a combined model of the network, the combined model of the network combining the model of the physical resources part of the network and the model of the virtualised resources part of the network,wherein the combined model of the network models at least one performance-related variable related to an availability of at least one of the physical resources, and wherein the availability is determined using a mean time between failures (MTBF) and a mean time to recover (MTTR), and wherein the availability is equal to MTBF/(MTBF+MTTR);
performing at least one optimisation operation using the combined model to identify an optimised mapping of the at least one virtualised network function onto at least one of the plurality of physical resources, the optimised mapping optimising the at least one performance-related variable; and
instantiating the at least one virtualised network function on the at least one of the plurality of physical resources based on the identified optimised mapping to optimise the at least one performance-related variable.
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Abstract
Measures, including methods, apparatuses and non-transitory computer-readable storage media, associated with network orchestration. A model of a physical resources part of a network and a model of a virtualised resources part of the network are obtained. The physical/virtualised resources part of the network includes a plurality of physical resources/at least one virtualised network function and represents dependencies between different physical/virtualised resources in the physical/virtualised resources part of the network. At least one optimisation operation is performed using the models of the physical and virtualised resources parts of the network to identify an optimised mapping of the at least one virtualised network function onto at least one of the plurality of physical resources. The at least one virtualised network function is instantiated on the at least one of the plurality of physical resources based on the identified optimised mapping.
15 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of network orchestration, the method comprising, by an orchestrator:
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obtaining a model of a physical resources part of a network, the physical resources part of the network comprising a plurality of physical resources, the model of the physical resources part of the network representing dependencies between different physical resources in the physical resources part of the network; obtaining a model of a virtualised resources part of the network, the virtualised resources part of the network comprising at least one virtualised network function, the model of the virtualised resources part of the network representing dependencies between different virtualised resources in the virtualised resources part of the network; representing the network using a combined model of the network, the combined model of the network combining the model of the physical resources part of the network and the model of the virtualised resources part of the network, wherein the combined model of the network models at least one performance-related variable related to an availability of at least one of the physical resources, and wherein the availability is determined using a mean time between failures (MTBF) and a mean time to recover (MTTR), and wherein the availability is equal to MTBF/(MTBF+MTTR); performing at least one optimisation operation using the combined model to identify an optimised mapping of the at least one virtualised network function onto at least one of the plurality of physical resources, the optimised mapping optimising the at least one performance-related variable; and instantiating the at least one virtualised network function on the at least one of the plurality of physical resources based on the identified optimised mapping to optimise the at least one performance-related variable. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. Apparatus configured to be used in network orchestration, the apparatus comprising at least one memory including computer program code and at least one processor in data communication with the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
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obtain a model of a physical resources part of a network, the physical resources part of the network comprising a plurality of physical resources, the model of the physical resources part of the network representing dependencies between different physical resources in the physical resources part of the network; obtain a model of a virtualised resources part of the network, the virtualised resources part of the network comprising at least one virtualised network function, the model of the virtualised resources part of the network representing dependencies between different virtualised resources in the virtualised resources part of the network; represent the network using a combined model of the network, the combined model of the network comprising a combination of the model of the physical resources part of the network and the model of the virtualised resources part of the network, wherein the combined model of the network is arranged to model at least one performance-related variable related to an availability of at least one of the physical resources, and wherein the processor is configured to determine using a mean time between failures (MTBF) and a mean time to recover (MTTR), and wherein the availability is equal to MTBF/(MTBF+MTTR); perform at least one optimisation operation using the combined model to identify an optimised mapping of the at least one virtualised network function onto at least one of the plurality of physical resources, the optimised mapping optimising the at least one performance-related variable; and instantiate the at least one virtualised network function on the at least one of the plurality of physical resources based on the identified optimised mapping to optimise the at least one performance-related variable.
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23. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause a computing device to perform a method of network orchestration, the method comprising, by an orchestrator:
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obtaining a model of a physical resources part of a network, the physical resources part of the network comprising a plurality of physical resources, the model of the physical resources part of the network representing dependencies between different physical resources in the physical resources part of the network; obtaining a model of a virtualised resources part of the network, the virtualised resources part of the network comprising at least one virtualised network function, the model of the virtualised resources part of the network representing dependencies between different virtualised resources in the virtualised resources part of the network; representing the network using a combined model of the network, the combined model of the network combining the model of the physical resources part of the network and the model of the virtualised resources part of the network, wherein the combined model of the network models at least one performance-related variable related to an availability of at least one of the physical resources, and wherein the availability is determined using a mean time between failures (MTBF) and a mean time to recover (MTTR), and wherein the availability is equal to MTBF/(MTBF+MTTR); performing at least one optimisation operation using the combined model to identify an optimised mapping of the at least one virtualised network function onto at least one of the plurality of physical resources, the optimised mapping optimising the at least one performance-related variable; and instantiating the at least one virtualised network function on the at least one of the plurality of physical resources based on the identified optimised mapping to optimise the at least one performance-related variable.
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Specification