SYSTEM AND METHOD OF BUILDING AN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A VIRTUAL NETWORK

• US 20130058227A1
• Filed: 09/07/2011
• Published: 03/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, Telefonaktlebolaget L M Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: LEMIEUX, Yves
• Granted Patent: US 8,855,017 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5077 Logical partitioning of resources; Management or configuration of virtualized resources specific details on emulation or internal functioning of virtual machines G06F9/455
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/16 Central resource management; Negotiation of resources or communication parameters, e.g. negotiating bandwidth or QoS [Quality of Service]

Abstract

A network resource module communicatively interfaces a resource manager with one or more network nodes in a communications network. Each network node provides one or more network resources that may be used to create a virtual infrastructure for a virtual network. The network resource module detects the network nodes, abstracts the resources associated with the network nodes at a desired granularity (e.g., node level or flow level) into Virtual Resource Objects (VROs), and then publishes the VROs in a registry. Thereafter, Virtual Network Operators (VROs) select desired VROs from the registry to build the virtual infrastructure for the virtual network.

Claims

1. A network resource module comprising:

an interface configured to communicatively interface a resource manager with one or more network nodes in a communication network; and

a controller configured to;

abstract network node resources associated with the one or more network nodes into corresponding one or more Virtual Resource Objects (VROs); and

publish the VROs in a registry for discovery by a Virtual Network Operator (VNO) creating a virtual infrastructure for a virtual network.

2. The module of claim 1 wherein the controller is further configured to detect the one or more network nodes as infrastructure resources.

3. The module of claim 1 further comprising a memory configured to buffer messages being communicated with the one or more network nodes.

4. The module of claim 3 wherein the processor is further configured to translate the messages between a first format compatible with the one or more network nodes and a second format compatible with the resource manager.

5. The module of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to:

determine a network node type for each network node; and

abstract the network node resources by generating the VROs to include corresponding generic class definitions describing the network node resources associated with each network node based on the determined network node type.

6. A method of identifying network infrastructure resources for a virtual network, the method comprising:

receiving information describing resources of one or more network nodes in a communication network;

abstracting the network node resources associated with the one or more network nodes into corresponding Virtual Resource Objects (VROs); and

publishing the VROs in a registry for discovery by a Virtual Network Operator (VNO) creating a virtual network.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising detecting the one or more network nodes as infrastructure resources.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

buffering messages being communicated with the one or more network nodes; and

translating the messages between a first format compatible with the one or more network nodes and a second format compatible with a resource manager.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein abstracting network node resources comprises:

determining a network node type for each network node; and

generating the VROs to include corresponding generic class definitions describing the network node resources associated with each network node based on the determined network node type.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein publishing the VROs in a registry comprises sending the generic class definitions to the registry.

11. The method of claim 6 wherein receiving information describing resources of one or more network nodes in a communication network comprises receiving the information from a resource management center associated with a system administrator of the communication network.

12. A node for creating a virtual infrastructure for a virtual network, the node comprising:

an interface configured to receive a list identifying one or more Virtual Resource Objects (VROs) representing resources for a virtual network; and

a controller configured to;

select desired VROs from the list for the virtual network; and

instantiate the selected VROs to instantiate the virtual network.

13. The node of claim 12 wherein the controller is further configured to receive one or more predefined VROs for the virtual network.

14. The node of claim 12 wherein the controller is further programmed to configure the instantiated VROs for operation in the virtual network, the VROs including one or more Home Subscriber Server (HSS) resources, Service-Aware Support Node (SASN) resources, Packet Data Network-Gateway (PDN-GW) resources, Policy and Charges Rule Function (PCRF) resources, and Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) resources.

15. The node of claim 14 wherein the HSS, SASN, and the PDN-GW comprise a User Profile Database, and wherein the controller is further configured to add one or more users of corresponding User Equipment (UE) to the User Profile Database.

16. The node of claim 14 wherein the controller is further programmed to:

provision the PCRF with one or more static and/or dynamic policies;

identify services that will be available to users via the virtual network; and

generate one or more Quality of Service (QoS) profiles for the PCEF.

17. The node of claim 16 wherein the controller is further programmed to instantiate a Test Virtual Network (TVN) to test the virtual network with a plurality of test UEs under congestion conditions according to policies provided to the PCRF.

18. A method for creating a virtual infrastructure for a virtual network, the method comprising:

listing one or more Virtual Resource Objects (VROs) representing resources for a virtual network;

selecting desired VROs for the virtual network from the list; and

instantiating the selected VROs to instantiate the virtual network.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising receiving one or more predefined VROs for the virtual network.

20. The method of claim 18 further comprising configuring the instantiated VROs for operation in the virtual network, the VROs including one or more Home Subscriber Server (HSS) resources, Service-Aware Support Node (SASN) resources, Packet Data Network-Gateway (PDN-GW) resources, Policy and Charges Rule Function (PCRF) resources, and Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) resources.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the HSS, SASN, and the PDN-GW comprise a User Profile Database, and wherein the method further comprises adding one or more users of corresponding User Equipment (UE) to the User Profile Database.

22. The method of claim 20 further comprising:

provisioning the PCRF with static and/or dynamic policies;

provisioning the PCEF to identify services that will be available to users via the virtual network; and

generating one or more Quality of Service (QoS) profiles, and provisioning the PCEF with the QoS profiles.

23. The node of claim 22 further comprising instantiating a Test Virtual Network (TVN) to test the virtual infrastructure with a plurality of test UEs under congestion conditions according to policies provided to the PCRF.