Quality assured network service provision system compatible with a multi-domain network and service provision method and service broker device

• US 20080040469A1
• Filed: 03/29/2007
• Published: 02/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Nishi, Koji
• Granted Patent: US 8,214,533 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/46 Interconnection of networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/28 Restricting access to network management systems or functions, e.g. using authorisation function to access network configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5064 Customer relationship management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/04 Interdomain routing, e.g. hierarchical routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/125 by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/20 Traffic policing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2408 for supporting different services, e.g. a differentiated services [DiffServ] type of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/782 Hierarchical allocation of resources, e.g. involving a hierarchy of local and centralised entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/783 Distributed allocation of resources, e.g. bandwidth brokers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/786 Mapping reservation between domains
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/787 Bandwidth trade among domains
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/805 QOS or priority aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

The invention provides quality assured network services in a multi-domain network and comprises a network service management device for managing device clusters incorporated within the operations management network of each provider network and receiving service orders, and a multi-domain service broker for providing a broker function for achieving agreement between a plurality of providers, and the multi-domain service broker further comprises a device for collecting domain information and information relating to the services each provider is able to provide from the network service management devices, and a device which on receipt of a network service request from a customer, extracts the network service management device of the domain which is able to satisfy the required quality level, and then issues instructions for the setting of the required information within the extracted network service management device.

Claims

1. A quality assured network service provision system compatible with a multi-domain network, wherein

a communication network comprising a plurality of operations management networks (domains) which are connected to a plurality of customer networks with user terminals and which are respectively managed by different providers, the system comprising:

a network service management device incorporated within an operations management network of each of said providers, and negotiating with another operations management network which is managed by another provider and with which interconnection is to be established based on a required quality level from a customer so as to ensure an end-to-end quality level; and

a service broker device at a functional host layer of said network service management device the service broker device receiving service information on services which can be provided by the respective domains and domain information which are output from the network service management device which belongs to each of the providers, storing information on the operations management networks managed by the respective providers, and brokering a service level agreement between the operations management networks of said plurality of providers by selecting route information and a network service management device for ensuring an end-to-end quality level required by the customer based on the received service information and domain information.

2. The quality assured network service provision system compatible with a multi-domain network according to claim 1, wherein

said network service management device comprises an outputting device for outputting the service information on services which can be provided by each of said providers and the domain information to a multi-service broker, and

said service broker device comprises a device for storing output information from each network service management device, selecting a network service management device of a domain which will satisfy the required quality level when a network service request is generated by the customer, and issuing instructions for introducing and setting domain information which satisfies the service level agreement.

3. The quality assured network service provision system compatible with a multi-domain network according to claim 2, wherein

said service broker device comprises:

a storage device for storing the service information and the domain information received from said network service management device; and

a data processing device for performing information processing such as writing and reading of information to and from said storage device, as well as providing a security management function relative to said multiservice broker.

7. The quality assured network service provision system compatible with a multi-domain network according to claim 1, wherein a single service broker device is provided in the communication network, and the service broker device manages the domain information and the information on services which can be provided by the respective providers for all the operations management networks connected thereto.

8. The quality assured network service provision system compatible with a multi-domain network according to claim 1, wherein the service broker device designs an inter-domain connection route and the network service management device designs an intra-domain route so as to satisfy the required quality level.

9. The quality assured network service provision system compatible with a multi-domain network according to claim 1, wherein quality levels which can be provided and methods for specifying the quality levels are different for the respective providers, and the service agreement is reached in such a way that required quality levels are associated with service levels in the respective providers in order to maintain the quality levels at a constant level in the multi-domain network.

10. The quality assured network service provision system compatible with a multi-domain network according to claim 1, wherein a bandwidth broker provided in the network service management device refers to available resource capacity between the domains and the service information, and determines whether an agreement is possible by checking whether requested service information can be accommodated by a service agreed to between the domains.

11. The quality assured network service provision system compatible with a multi-domain network according to claim 1, wherein the agreement is one relating to service conditions for providing a service of consistent quality throughout the multi-domain network which satisfies the required quality level.

12. The quality assured network service provision system compatible with a multi-domain network according to claim 2, wherein the network service management device includes a means for negotiating with the other network service management device belonging to the other domain with which interconnection is to be established under a condition for satisfying the required quality level from the customer which is included in a response received from the service broker device, for detecting the status of communication devices constituting each domain, and for performing setting and control for satisfying the required quality level.

13. The quality assured network service provision system compatible with a multi-domain network according to claim 12, wherein the network service management device transfers a service level agreement request which is necessary to provide the end-to-end quality level required by the customer to the other network service management device belonging to the other domain, and if the other network service management device accepts the service level agreement request, the other network service management device registers service level agreement information included in the service level agreement request, sends a reply with respect to the acceptance of the service level agreement request, and negotiates the service level agreement.

14. The quality assured network service provision system compatible with a multi-domain network according to claim 1, wherein the required quality level is an error rate or a delay value.

4. A method of providing a quality assured network service compatible with a multi-domain network comprising:

a plurality of operations management networks (domains) which are connected to a plurality of customer networks with user terminals and which are respectively managed by different providers;

a network service management device for collectively controlling device clusters incorporated within an operations management network of each of said providers, and negotiating with another operations management network which is managed by another provider and with which interconnection is to be established based on a required quality level from a customer so as to ensure an end-to-end quality level; and

a service broker device at a functional host layer of said network service management device for providing a broker function for interconnecting the operations management networks of said plurality of providers, wherein said method comprises;

a service registration step in which a network management device of each provider registers in said service broker device, domain information comprising configuration information and service information on services which can be provided by the respective domains which are output from the network service management device which belongs to each of the providers;

a service agreement step in which a request is received from the customer, said service broker device and said network management device reach an agreement relating to service conditions for providing a service which will satisfy the required quality level, and route information for an appropriate domain and a network management device are selected for ensuring an end-to-end quality level required by the customer based on the service information and domain information; and

a service provisioning step for performing service provisioning on a communication device based on service conditions and route information agreed upon in said network management device.

5. The method of providing a quality assured network service compatible with a multi-domain network according to claim 4, wherein said service provisioning step further comprises a step for service order processing, a step for route design processing, and a step for provisioning processing.

6. A service broker device in an interconnected network for a network comprising a plurality of operations management networks (domains) which are connected to a plurality of customer networks with user terminals and which are respectively managed by different providers, the service broker device being provided with

a broker function for receiving service information on services which can be provided by the respective domains and domain information which are output from a network service management device which belongs to each of the providers, storing information on the plurality of operations management networks managed by the respective providers, and brokering a service level agreement between the operations management networks which are managed by the providers and which are to be interconnected based on a required quality level from a customer by selecting route information and a network service management device for ensuring an end-to-end quality level required by the customer based on the received service information and domain information,

wherein said service broker device is at a functional host layer of a network service management device.