System and method for assigning multi-instance services in a provider network
First Claim
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1. A network management node configured to operate with a service provider network, the network management node comprising:
- one or more processors; and
a persistent memory coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the persistent memory includes instructions executable by one or more processors and configured to;
define a topology of the service provider network having a plurality of network nodes, each network node including a data forwarding plane module and a control plane module in a coupled configuration for providing integrated data plane and control plane functionality;
define a set of inline services to be placed within the service provider network, wherein at least one inline service is provided in multiple instances as service replicas;
obtain a set of service chaining requirements for a plurality of subscriber data flows entering the service provider network at one or more ingress nodes, wherein each service chaining requirement is defined as a particular ordered sequence of inline services to be traversed for each subscriber data flow before exiting from one or more egress nodes; and
assign the inline services including the at least one inline service having multiple instances to one or more network nodes of the service provider network such that a network metric associated with the service provider network is optimized for all subscriber data flows.
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Abstract
A system and method for placing inline services having multiple instances in a service provider network. In one implementation, a topology of the service provider network and services to be placed therein are defined, wherein a network node may include a data forwarding functionality and a control plane functionality. Using service chaining policy requirements, the number of service instances, etc. as input, services and their multiple instances are placed within the network such that an overall network metric is optimized for all subscriber data flows.
53 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A network management node configured to operate with a service provider network, the network management node comprising:
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one or more processors; and a persistent memory coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the persistent memory includes instructions executable by one or more processors and configured to; define a topology of the service provider network having a plurality of network nodes, each network node including a data forwarding plane module and a control plane module in a coupled configuration for providing integrated data plane and control plane functionality; define a set of inline services to be placed within the service provider network, wherein at least one inline service is provided in multiple instances as service replicas; obtain a set of service chaining requirements for a plurality of subscriber data flows entering the service provider network at one or more ingress nodes, wherein each service chaining requirement is defined as a particular ordered sequence of inline services to be traversed for each subscriber data flow before exiting from one or more egress nodes; and assign the inline services including the at least one inline service having multiple instances to one or more network nodes of the service provider network such that a network metric associated with the service provider network is optimized for all subscriber data flows. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for assigning inline services in a service provider network, the method comprising:
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defining a topology of the service provider network having a plurality of network nodes, each network node including a data forwarding plane module and a control plane module in a coupled configuration for providing integrated data plane and control plane functionality; defining a set of inline services to be placed within the service provider network, wherein at least one inline service is provided in multiple instances as service replicas; obtaining a set of service chaining requirements for a plurality of subscriber data flows entering the service provider network at one or more ingress nodes, wherein each service chaining requirement is defined as a particular ordered sequence of inline services to be traversed for each subscriber data flow before exiting from one or more egress nodes; and assigning the inline services including the at least one inline service having multiple instances to one or more network nodes of the service provider network such that a network metric associated with the service provider network is optimized for all subscriber data flows. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer system configured to operate as an network management node associated with a service provider network, perform the acts:
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defining a topology of the service provider network having a plurality of network nodes, each network node including a data forwarding plane module and a control plane module in a coupled configuration for providing integrated data plane and control plane functionality; defining a set of inline services to be placed within the service provider network, wherein at least one inline service is provided in multiple instances as service replicas; obtaining a set of service chaining requirements for a plurality of subscriber data flows entering the service provider network at one or more ingress nodes, wherein each service chaining requirement is defined as a particular ordered sequence of inline services to be traversed for each subscriber data flow before exiting from one or more egress nodes; and assigning the inline services including the at least one inline service having multiple instances to one or more network nodes of the service provider network such that a network metric associated with the service provider network is optimized for all subscriber data flows. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification