U.S. patent application number 15/697122 was filed with the patent office on 2018-03-08 for systems and methods for performing computer network service chain analytics.
This patent application is currently assigned to NetScout Systems, Inc. The applicant listed for this patent is NetScout Systems, Inc. Invention is credited to Bruce A. Kelley, JR., Anil K. Singhal.
Application Number | 20180069749 15/697122 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 59846411 |
Filed Date | 2018-03-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180069749 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Singhal; Anil K. ; et
al. |
March 8, 2018 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PERFORMING COMPUTER NETWORK SERVICE CHAIN
ANALYTICS
Abstract
A system for performing computer network service chain analytics
includes network-connected devices containing a plurality of
virtual network functions having elements and a data model for
storing a plurality of metrics related to the plurality of virtual
network functions and a service chain intelligence engine in
communication with the one or more network-connected devices and
the data model. The memory device contains a set of instructions
that causes a processor to analyze the plurality of virtual network
functions to automatically identify one or more service chains, to
automatically determine, using the data model, performance behavior
characteristics of each element for each of the identified service
chains and to automatically generate an alarm, in response to
determining that the performance behavior characteristics of one or
more elements of at least one of the identified one or more service
chains does not meet a predefined set of the performance behavior
characteristics.
Inventors: |
Singhal; Anil K.; (Carlisle,
MA) ; Kelley, JR.; Bruce A.; (Westford, MA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
NetScout Systems, Inc |
Westford |
MA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
NetScout Systems, Inc
Westford
MA
|
Family ID: |
59846411 |
Appl. No.: |
15/697122 |
Filed: |
September 6, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62384523 |
Sep 7, 2016 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 9/45558 20130101;
G06F 9/5077 20130101; H04L 43/0817 20130101; H04L 41/0681 20130101;
H04L 41/0631 20130101; H04L 43/06 20130101; H04L 67/10 20130101;
H04L 43/0852 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04L 12/24 20060101
H04L012/24; H04L 12/26 20060101 H04L012/26 |
Claims
1. A computer system for performing computer network service chain
analytics, the system comprising: one or more network-connected
devices containing a plurality of virtual network functions (VNFs)
having one or more elements; a data model for storing a plurality
of metrics related to the plurality of VNFs; and a service chain
intelligence engine comprising a processor and a memory device
coupled to the processor in communication with the one or more
network-connected devices and in communication with the data model,
the memory device containing a set of instructions that, when
executed by the processor, cause the processor to: analyze the
plurality of VNFs to automatically identify one or more service
chains; automatically determine performance behavior
characteristics of each element for each of the identified service
chains using the data model; and automatically generate an alarm,
in response to determining that the performance behavior
characteristics of one or more elements of at least one of the
identified one or more service chains does not meet a predefined
set of the performance behavior characteristics.
2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein at least some of the
plurality of VNFs comprise one or more VNF service chains.
3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein services provided in the
VNF service chains comprise one or more of: Voice-over-IP (VoIP),
Video-on-Demand (VOD), IP Mobility Subsystem (IMS) and Internet
services to clients of a service provider network.
4. The computer system of claim 2, wherein each of the one or more
VNF service chains comprises a plurality of VNF macro elements.
5. The computer system of claim 4, wherein each of the one or more
VNF service chains comprises two or more VNF micro elements.
6. The computer system of claim 5, wherein the instructions that
cause the processor to automatically determine performance behavior
characteristics of each element for each of the identified service
chains using the data model further comprise instructions to
automatically determine performance behavior characteristics of
both macro and micro elements in the one or more VNF service chains
using the data model.
7. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the data model is
configured for storing service chain element health metrics,
dimensions and normal behavior metrics.
8. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the instructions that
cause the processor to automatically determine performance behavior
characteristics of each element for each of the identified service
chains using the data model further comprise instructions to
automatically determine performance behavior characteristics of
both macro and micro elements by employing active agent test
data.
9. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the active agent test
data is a common piece of code inserted into each VNF element to
perform pre-determined availability and latency tests within
certain links of the one or more VNF service chains.
10. A computer method for performing computer network service chain
analytics, the method comprising steps of: analyzing a plurality of
virtual network functions (VNFs) having one or more elements to
automatically identify one or more service chains; automatically
determining performance behavior characteristics of each element
for each of the identified service chains using a data model for
storing a plurality of metrics related to the plurality of VNFs;
and automatically generating an alarm, in response to determining
that the performance behavior characteristics of one or more
elements of at least one of the identified one or more service
chains does not meet a predefined set of the performance behavior
characteristics.
11. The computer method of claim 10, wherein at least some of the
plurality of VNFs comprise one or more VNF service chains.
12. The computer method of claim 11, wherein services provided in
the VNF service chains comprise one or more of: Voice-over-IP
(VoIP), Video-on-Demand (VOD), IP Mobility Subsystem (IMS) and
Internet services to clients of a service provider network.
13. The computer method of claim 11, wherein each of the one or
more VNF service chains comprises a plurality of VNF macro
elements.
14. The computer method of claim 11, wherein each of the one or
more VNF service chains comprises two or more VNF micro
elements.
15. The computer method of claim 14, wherein the step of
automatically determining performance behavior characteristics of
each element for each of the identified service chains using the
data model further comprises automatically determining performance
behavior characteristics of both macro and micro elements in the
one or more VNF service chains using the data model.
16. The computer method of claim 15, wherein the data model is
configured for storing service chain element health metrics,
dimensions and normal behavior metrics.
17. The computer method of claim 15, wherein the step of
automatically determining performance behavior characteristics of
each element for each of the identified service chains using the
data model further comprises automatically determining performance
behavior characteristics of both macro and micro elements by
employing active agent test data.
18. The computer system of claim 17, wherein the active agent test
data is a common piece of code inserted into each VNF element to
perform pre-determined availability and latency tests within
certain links of the one or more VNF service chains.
19. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium structured to
store instructions, the instructions when executed, cause a
processor in a network device in a computer network to: analyze a
plurality of virtual network functions (VNFs) having one or more
elements to automatically identify one or more service chains;
automatically determine performance behavior characteristics of
each element for each of the identified service chains using a data
model for storing a plurality of metrics related to the plurality
of VNFs; and automatically generate an alarm, in response to
determining that the performance behavior characteristics of one or
more elements of at least one of the identified one or more service
chains does not meet a predefined set of the performance behavior
characteristics.
20. The storage medium of claim 19, wherein at least some of the
plurality of VNFs comprise one or more VNF service chains.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of,
pursuant to 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119(e), U.S. provisional patent
application Ser. No. 62/384,523, filed Sep. 7, 2016, entitled
"SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR PERFORMING COMPUTER NETWORK SERVICE CHAIN
ANALYTICS," which is incorporated herein in its entirety by
reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The disclosed embodiments generally relate to
service-centric and logical function oriented network architectures
for data centers, and more particularly, to performing service
chain analytics for macro and micro elements in a computer network
service chain.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Using network function virtualization (NFV) and software
defined networking (SDN), deployments utilizing service chain
architecture are becoming more common. For example, a service chain
deployment may involve a number of virtualized network functions
(VNFs) connected or chained together to perform one or more
services. In this example, each virtualized network function may
include one or more virtual machines (VMs), virtualization
containers, and/or other software implemented using various
hardware. While SDN and NFV may reduce the need for specialized
hardware for network functions or related service, issues can arise
when deploying virtualized network functions across complex network
topologies. For example, provisioning, testing, troubleshooting,
and isolating faults can be more difficult in environments that use
NFV.
[0004] Accordingly, a need exists for methods, systems, and
computer readable media for provisioning NFV.
SUMMARY
[0005] Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to
performing computer network service chain analytics.
[0006] In accordance with a purpose of the illustrated embodiments,
in one aspect, a system for performing computer network service
chain analytics includes one or more network-connected devices
containing a plurality of virtual network functions having one or
more elements. The system further includes a data model for storing
a plurality of metrics related to the plurality of virtual network
functions. The system also includes a service chain intelligence
engine including a processor and a memory device coupled to the
processor in communication with the one or more network-connected
devices and in communication with the data model. The memory device
contains a set of instructions that, when executed by the
processor, cause the processor to analyze the plurality of virtual
network functions to automatically identify one or more service
chains. The set of instructions that, when executed by the
processor, further cause the processor to automatically determine,
using the data model, performance behavior characteristics of each
element for each of the identified service chains and to
automatically generate an alarm, in response to determining that
the performance behavior characteristics of one or more elements of
at least one of the identified one or more service chains does not
meet a predefined set of the performance behavior
characteristics.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The present disclosure will become more fully understood
from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings. These
accompanying drawings illustrate one or more embodiments of the
present disclosure and, together with the written description,
serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure. Wherever
possible, the same reference numbers are used throughout the
drawings to refer to the same or like elements of an
embodiment.
[0008] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating elements or components of
an example operating environment in which embodiments of the
present invention may be implemented.
[0009] FIG. 2 illustrates examples of service chains implemented
using VNFs.
[0010] FIG. 3 schematically shows a workflow of the steps performed
by a service chain intelligence engine (SCIE), according to certain
embodiments of the present disclosure.
DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS
[0011] The illustrated embodiments are not limited in any way to
what is illustrated as the illustrated embodiments described below
are merely exemplary, which can be embodied in various forms, as
appreciated by one skilled in the art. Therefore, it is to be
understood that any structural and functional details disclosed
herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis
for the claims and as a representation for teaching one skilled in
the art to variously employ the discussed embodiments. Furthermore,
the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting
but rather to provide an understandable description of the
illustrated embodiments.
[0012] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms
used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of
ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although
any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described
herein can also be used in the practice or testing of the
illustrated embodiments, exemplary methods and materials are now
described.
[0013] It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended
claims, the singular forms "a", "an," and "the" include plural
referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for
example, reference to "a stimulus" includes a plurality of such
stimuli and reference to "the signal" includes reference to one or
more signals and equivalents thereof known to those skilled in the
art, and so forth.
[0014] It is to be appreciated the illustrated embodiments
discussed below are preferably a software algorithm, program or
code residing on computer useable medium having control logic for
enabling execution on a machine having a computer processor. The
machine typically includes memory storage configured to provide
output from execution of the computer algorithm or program.
[0015] As used herein, the term "software" is meant to be
synonymous with any code or program that can be in a processor of a
host computer, regardless of whether the implementation is in
hardware, firmware or as a software computer product available on a
disc, a memory storage device, or for download from a remote
machine. The embodiments described herein include such software to
implement the equations, relationships and algorithms described
above. One skilled in the art will appreciate further features and
advantages of the illustrated embodiments based on the
above-described embodiments. Accordingly, the illustrated
embodiments are not to be limited by what has been particularly
shown and described, except as indicated by the appended
claims.
[0016] In exemplary embodiments, a computer system component may
constitute a "module" that is configured and operates to perform
certain operations as described herein below. Accordingly, the term
"module" should be understood to encompass a tangible entity, be
that an entity that is physically constructed, permanently
configured (e.g., hardwired) or temporarily configured (e.g.
programmed) to operate in a certain manner and to perform certain
operations described herein.
[0017] In the context of the present description, the terms
"network" and "communication network" refer to the hardware and
software connecting one or more communication elements including
wireline networks, wireless networks, and/or combinations
thereof.
[0018] The terms "network function virtualization" (NFV) and
virtual network function (NFV) are described in a series of
documents published by the European Telecommunications Standards
Institute (ETSI) and available from the ETSI website. The term
"virtual network function or feature" (VNF) refers to a particular
implementation of a function, a feature, or a service provided by
the network, internally within the network, or externally to a
customer, subscriber, end-user, a terminal or a server. A VNF may
include the software program implementation of the function or
feature or service. The term VNF instance (VNF-I) refers to a
particular process or task executing the VNF program by a
particular virtual machine or processor or computing facility
and/or used by a particular customer (or subscriber, end-user,
terminal or server, etc.).
[0019] The term "service" refers to any type of use (such as a use
case) that an NFV-based communication network may offer or provide
to one or more communication elements. A service may include
switching data or content between any number of elements, providing
content from a server to a communication element or between
servers, securing and protecting communication and content,
processing content provided by the customer or by a third party,
providing backup and redundancy, etc. A service may be using
partial functionality of a VNF or may include one or more VNFs
and/or one or more VNF instances forming a service sub-network (or
interconnection model). In the context of the present description,
the term "chain" may refer to such service sub-network, such as a
particular plurality of VNFs and/or VNF instances associated with
particular service type or a service instance.
[0020] In various embodiments, a network of wired and/or wireless
nodes uses a Network Function Virtualization (NFV) Infrastructure
(NFVI). By using an NFVI, network functions can be instantiated at
a variety of different locations where underlying hardware
infrastructure is available. Network functions can be placed where
they are needed, when they are needed, and can then be either taken
down or moved according to the needs of the network. The VNFs that
may be supported by the NFV infrastructure may include, for
example, functions for flow control (e.g., including ordering and
rate matching), reliability (e.g., including data loss
identification, data loss indication, and data recovery), security
(e.g., including end-to-end or network security), data forwarding,
out-of-order control (e.g., including packet sequence numbers),
fragmentation/reassembly, compression, congestion, error control,
named content delivery (e.g., including content interest storage,
content holder identification, content data blocks caching, content
identification and content security verification), data aggregation
(e.g., reverse multicast aggregation), data holding (e.g.,
delay-tolerant networking functions and retransmissions), and other
functions. Some VNFs that are instantiated on end or edge nodes may
perform functions that are end-to-end functions in a path across
the network. Some VNFs for performing, e.g., a reliability
function, may be instantiated, in a link connecting a pair of nodes
and/or in multiple-links over many nodes along a network path.
Further, some VNFs may be configured to work at different levels of
complexity or increased functionality (e.g., security function).
The use of VNFs is one example of virtualization, which provides
the ability to elastically support the functional demands of a
network by allowing the functions that were formerly discrete
hardware resources to be virtualized, i.e., defined in software, on
an underlying pool of physical resources. For example, a VNF may be
virtualized as a single resource entity even when the underlying
hardware resources supporting the VNF are not all physically
co-located or only include a portion of the component resources of
individual physical devices.
[0021] A service provided by the communication network may be
implemented using one or more VNFs. For example, the service may be
a group, or a chain of interconnected VNFs. The VNFs making the
group, or the service, may be installed and executed by a single
processor, by several processors on the same rack, within several
racks in the same data-center, or by processors distributed within
two or more data-centers.
[0022] In accordance with one or more embodiments discussed here,
described are: service-centric and logical function oriented
network architectures for data centers, a key enabling technique,
and a Virtual Network Function (VNF) service chain entity as
defined below. In accordance with the disclosed service-centric
architecture, connectivity and networking services can be provided
by service-customized virtual networks (SCVNs).
[0023] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating elements or components of
an example operating environment in which embodiments of the
present invention may be implemented. In this example operating
environment users can actively define, manage, and operate their
virtual networks without reliance on network provider technicians,
as was necessitated by prior art techniques. It is to be
appreciated various embodiments disclosed herein result in a
transformation of network architecture, operation, and
management.
[0024] In accordance with an illustrative embodiment the
architecture of the SCVN 100 includes at least one hardware layer
102, a virtualization layer 104, and operations and management
layer 105. The hardware layer 102 preferably includes a pool of
physical computing, networking and storage resources.
[0025] In the example shown in FIG. 1, the virtualization layer 104
may include one or more layers of software for performing one or
more types of functions including, but not limited to, managing
virtualization of hardware resources 102 and managing services
within one or more nodes.
[0026] In the example, the virtualization layer 104 includes one or
more controllers or services for managing one or more virtual
machines (VMs), where each of VM is a collection of resources, such
as virtual or physical processor, memory and I/0 resources, from
among hardware resources 102, that are defined to run an operating
system. Each VM may be virtualized as a separate computer. Each VM
may host a separate operating system. Multiple VMs may access
memory from a common memory chip; however, the ranges of addresses
directly accessible to each of the VMs do not overlap. Processors
may be dedicated to a single VM or shared by multiple VMs. The
virtualization layer 104 may include only a single VM or may
include additional or alternate VMs.
[0027] In additional or alternate embodiments, the virtualization
layer 104 preferably provides multi-cloud aggregation and may
include components that are distributed across multiple clouds and
that cooperate to provide various services, such as, but not
limited to, virtual computing 106, virtual network 108 and virtual
storage 110. In particular embodiments, virtual computing 106
(e.g., application, server software, software development
environment, software test environment) comprises one or more units
of computing processing that is performed via an
infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) platform-as-a-service (PaaS), or
software-as-a-service (SaaS). For example, IaaS may comprise
instances of Microsoft.RTM. Windows or Linux running on a virtual
computer, or a Desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) provided by Citrix.RTM.
or VMWare.RTM.; a PaaS may comprise a database server (e.g.,
MySQL.RTM. server), Samba server, Apache.RTM. server,
Microsoft.RTM. IIS.NET server, Java.RTM. runtime, or
Microsoft.RTM..NET.RTM. runtime, Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP (LAMP)
server, Microsoft.RTM. Azure, or Google.RTM. AppsEngine; a SaaS may
comprise SalesForce.RTM., Google.RTM. Apps, or other software
application that can be deployed as a cloud service, such as in a
web services model. A cloud-computing resource may be a physical or
virtual computing resource. In some embodiments, the virtual
storage 110 may include one or more cloud-computing storage
resources (e.g., Storage Area Network (SAN), Network File System
(NFS), or Amazon S3.RTM.) and the virtual network 108 may include
one or more network resources (e.g., firewall, load-balancer or
proxy server). Furthermore, the virtualization layer 104 may
include an internal private resource, an external private resource,
a secure public resource, an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS)
resource, a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) resource, or a
software-as-a-service (SaaS) resource. Hence, in some embodiments,
a cloud-computing service provided by the virtualization layer 104
may comprise a IaaS, PaaS or SaaS provided by private or commercial
(e.g., public) cloud service provider, such as Amazon Web
Services.RTM., Amazon EC2.RTM., GoGrid.RTM., Joyent.RTM.,
Mosso.RTM., or the like.
[0028] In the operations and management layer 105 (with Software
Defined Network (SDN)), network functions may be virtualized to
provide a VNF. It is to be understood that VNF component 114a-114g
examples may include (and are not to be limited to): firewalls,
packets inspection, Network Operator's backbone systems like
Mobility Management Entity (MME), Packet Data Network (PDN)
gateway, and the like. It is to be further understood these VNFs
may be provisioned, deployed, executed, and deleted in a Software
Defined Infrastructure (SDI). Such SDIs may include a set of VNFs
that are interconnected through the network to support one or more
applications.
[0029] Communication between the virtual layer 104 and the VNFs
114a-g may be done through various protocols and architectural
styles, including, but not limited to, Simple Object Access
Protocol (SOAP), eXtensible Markup Language (XML), Simple Network
Management Protocol (SNMP), and Representational State Transfer
(REST). FIG. 1 illustrates in an embodiment in which communication
between the virtual layer 104 and the VNFs 114a-g is implemented
using the REST Application Programming Interface (REST API)
112.
[0030] It should be noted that conventional, prior art, network
services typically require acquiring hardware components, which
provide a transmission medium, such as coaxial cable or twisted
pair. Furthermore, each service request typically requires
specialized resources/interfaces (e.g., specialized hardware,
databases, I/O devices, or any other device with its own command
syntax, etc.), which increases the chances of configuration errors.
In contrast, the illustrated embodiments described herein set forth
a network architecture in which network functions are moved into
the SDI. In accordance with aspects of the embodiments, techniques
are provided for maximizing data center resources while at the same
time minimizing compute bottlenecks that impact the ability to
handle customer application load. NFV/SDN and data center cloud
service assurances, often included in service level agreements
(SLAs), are necessary to achieve a "programmable network" (e.g.,
SDI, NFV). Service assurances depend on the availability of
hardware resources 102 to handle increased customer usage. As
concerns over security and storage usage grow so too does the
demand for the processing power to handle compute-intensive
security operations (e.g., authentication, and data
encryption/decryption). Securing and storing data is
compute-intensive, so much so that specialize hardware-acceleration
is used frequently to handle (or offload) tasks that if done on
general purpose CPUs would be costly both in terms of CPU and
latency. The embodiments provide a method of managing a pool of
hardware resources together with a group of virtual machines and
virtual network functions. In practical terms, the embodiments of
the present invention help data centers get the most out of the
equipment (i.e., Servers) they have.
[0031] The illustrated NFV platform 101 may include a master
service orchestrator (not shown in FIG. 1) that orchestrates
instantiation of VNFs 114a-114g and management of VNFs 114a-114g,
including performance tuning as needed, to provide one or more of
the services to users (e.g., UEs). More particularly, the master
service orchestrator may perform orchestration operations to
instruct a plurality of VNF service controllers to control a
plurality of VNF pools, each containing one or more virtual
resources for a specific type of VNF. In this manner, the master
service orchestrator provides an intelligent orchestration layer
for VNF-based service chaining and resource sharing.
[0032] One illustrative advantage of this embodiment is that
configuring/constructing a VNF service chain no longer requires
acquiring hardware resources (as was required with the aforesaid
prior art techniques). For example, a security monitoring VNF may
be configured to receive provisioning data from the NFV security
services controller. Thus, the present invention SDN/VNF
infrastructure significantly simplifies at least the service chain
and application provisioning process. It is to be appreciated the
services that VNF service chains may provide include, for instance,
Voice-over-IP (VoIP), Video-on-Demand (VOD), IP Mobility Subsystem
(IMS) and other mobility services, and Internet services to clients
of a service provider network. Typically, each service chain has a
specific order. For example, a mobility management entity (MME)
interface application may be a part of an MME virtualized network
function chain provided by a virtual server executing in a virtual
computing environment, such as the SCVN 100.
[0033] Furthermore, the illustrated embodiments of the present
invention encompass an automated, service chain health analysis
system (referred to hereinafter as a Service Chain Intelligence
Engine (SCIE)) 116 which dynamically matches, analyzes and
transforms internal and external data. More specifically, the SCIE
116 is configured to automatically evaluate the health and
performance of various elements in VNF service chains (i.e., macro
and micro elements discussed below in conjunction with FIG. 2) via
a common data model 118. The data model 118 is configured for
storing service chain element health metrics, dimensions and normal
behavior metrics representing metric values associated with normal
operation of a particular VNF service chain. According to
embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted that the
data stored in the data model 118 gets derived from packet data
120, operating system data and active agent measurements 124. In
some embodiments, obtaining the plurality of packet data, O/S data
and active agent measurement values is carried out by a plurality
of monitoring probes monitoring usage (including normal usage) of
the hardware resources 102.
[0034] Advantageously, the data model 118 provides an optimized and
scalable design model. Examples of data that can be stored in the
data model 118 may include, but are not limited to,
multi-dimensional data (i.e., subscriber data, application data,
device data, service data, etc.), a plurality of
application/network metrics (i.e., traffic volume, error causes,
response time, packet loss data, jitter, etc.) and various OS
related metrics (i.e., CPU utilization data, memory utilization
data, disk utilization data, etc.). In other words, the SCIE 116
may be configured to determine the health and performance of
particular VNF elements by evaluating a common set of metrics/tests
as well as using domain knowledge.
[0035] FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary ways to implement
special-purpose service chains using VNFs, according to some
embodiments of the invention. More specifically, FIG. 2 illustrates
a plurality of service chains 210, 220, 230, 240 created using at
least two of the plurality of NFV-based applications based on the
information communicated between the plurality of NFV-based
applications. At least in some instances, the information can be
communicated using, for example, border gateway protocol (BGP)
exchanges between the NFV-based applications. For example, a first
service chain 210 comprising elements 211-218 may represent a voice
and video service chain. It is to be appreciated that in accordance
with the illustrated embodiments, each VNF service chain 210, 220,
230, 240 may include a plurality of VNF macro elements and may
include two or more VNF micro elements.
[0036] It is to be understood, in at least some embodiments, at
least some of the provided services can be implemented as a
sequence of steps. For instance, in one embodiment, the Dynamic
Rate Allocation (DRA) VNF service/network function may include a
sequence of micro steps, such as DRA steps one, two and three
required to implement the DRA service. In FIG. 2, a second service
chain 220 represents the DRA VNF service network function and
elements 211a, 211b and 211c represent micro elements. In other
words, each of the steps required to implement the DRA service is
represented in a corresponding VNF service chain 220 as a VNF micro
element 211a-211c.
[0037] A third 230 and fourth 240 service chains illustrate chains
consisting of only macro elements 211, 212, 213, 217, 219 and 211,
217, 218, 214, 217, respectively. Examples of such
[0038] VNF macro elements include (and are not limited to) DRA
service/network function, Load Balancer service/network functions,
Firewall service/network function, and the like. It is to be
understood, the SCIE 116 is configured to determine the health of a
variety of different macro VNF elements (e.g., elements 211-218)
and/or micro VNF elements 211a-c. The SCIE 116 finds use in a
variety of different "normalized" methods well-known in the art for
any type of VNF to determine health of macro and/or micro elements.
Each service chain performs a specific service and has a specific
order. For instance, each service chain may process a specific
service flow of network traffic. Some steps may be repeated more
than once at different points within the service chain flow (e.g.,
elements 217 in the fourth service chain 240).
[0039] Before turning to description of FIG. 3, it is noted that
the flow diagram shown therein is described, by way of example,
with reference to components shown in FIGS. 1-2, although these
operational steps may be carried out in any system and are not
limited to the scenario shown in the aforementioned figures.
Additionally, the flow diagram in FIG. 3 illustrates an example in
which operational steps are carried out in a particular order, as
indicated by the lines connecting the blocks, but the various steps
shown in this diagram can be performed in any order, or in any
combination or sub-combination. It should be appreciated that in
some embodiments some of the steps described below may be combined
into a single step. In some embodiments, one or more additional
steps may be included.
[0040] As shown in FIG. 3, at step 302, SCIE 116 starts the method
by identifying VNF service chains. According to example
embodiments, the master service orchestrator (not shown in FIG. 1)
executed by the NFV platform 101 not only can allocate virtualized
network functions for creation of a virtualized network service,
but the master orchestrator also can identify each of the
virtualized network functions as interdependent for coordinated
execution of the virtualized network service, based on setting by
the orchestrator an interdependency indicator within each
virtualized container associated with providing a corresponding
virtualized network function for the virtualized network service.
The interdependency indicator can create a "stateful" condition in
the virtualized container, enabling the virtualized container to
utilize the interdependency indicator as a "pointer" toward a
virtualized management entity associated with the virtualized
network service.
[0041] In one embodiment, at step 302, the SCIE 116 may receive
pointers to one or more virtualized management entities from the
master service orchestrator. The virtualized management entity,
executed for example as part of the SCIE 116, can receive
information associated with the performance of the virtualized
container within the context of the virtualized network service;
hence, the SCIE 116 can monitor the performance of each VNF and
each individual VNF element within the context of the virtualized
network service, and execute coordinated changes among the
virtualized network functions associated with the virtualized
network service.
[0042] Next, at step 304, the SCIE 116 obtains metrics for each VNF
element. A VNF element may have a list of requirements, or
specifications, such as processing power, cash memory capacity,
regular memory capacity (e.g. RAM, dynamic, or volatile memory,
etc.), non-volatile memory (e.g. such as flash memory, etc.)
capacity, storage capacity, power requirements, cooling
requirements, etc. A particular VNF element providing a particular
function (e.g. to a particular customer, entity, etc.) may have
further requirements, or modified requirements, for example,
associated with a particular quality of service (QoS) or SLA. Such
requirements may include maximum latency or delay, average latency
and maximum variance (latency jitter), maximal allowed packet loss,
etc. Other requirements may include service availability,
redundancy, backup, provisions for roll-back and/or recovery,
fault-tolerance, and/or fail-safe operation, etc.
[0043] A service made of a chain or a group of VNFs and their VNF
elements may have a similar list of requirements, or
specifications, covering the service as a whole. Therefore, such
requirements, or specifications, may imply, affect, or include,
requirements, or specifications, regarding communication links
between the VNFs and/or the VNF elements. Such requirements, or
specifications, may include bandwidth, latency, bit-error rate,
and/or packet loss, etc. Such communication requirements or
specifications may further impose deployment limitations, or
constraints, requiring particular VNFs and/or VNF elements to
reside in the same data-center, or within the same rack, or even in
the same computing device, for example, sharing memory or being
executed by the same processor. Security measures may add further
requirements, or specifications, such as co-location of some of the
VNFs and/or the VNF elements. Thus, at step 304, the SCIE 116
obtains metrics related to various aforementioned requirements and
specifications. As noted above, such metrics may be captured by a
plurality of monitoring probes. Furthermore, according to
embodiments of the present invention, the SCIE 116 is configured
and operable to utilize "active agent" test data. As used herein,
"active agent" refers to a common piece of code preferably inserted
into each VNF element to perform pre-determined availability and
latency tests within various links of VNF service chains. In one
embodiment, such availability and latency tests may be implemented
using code embedded into each VNF element. Alternatively, such
tests could be performed from a plurality of distributed points
within the SDI.
[0044] At 306, the SCIE 116 compares the measurements obtained at
304 with a predefined set of requirements and specifications
associated with each VNF and/or VNF element. For instance, the SCIE
116 may be configured to determine existence of the appropriate
protocols for a particular VNF element, determine if traffic
volumes/ratios are appropriate, if success/failure rates exceed
typical success/failure rates, if response time is within an
acceptable range, and the like. Furthermore, the SCIE 116 may
evaluate misbehaving TCP metrics for each VNF element. At 308, the
SCIE 116 determines if there are any unhealthy VNF service chains.
In other words, the SCIE 116 attempts to identify all chains that
are not performing according to specifications and/or service
chains that do not meet one or more predefined requirements. In
response to determining that all service chains are performing as
expected (decision block 308, "No" branch), the SCIE 116 returns
back to step 302 and periodically repeats steps 304-308. In
response to determining that one or more service chains are not
performing as expected, at step 310, the SCIE 116 may optionally
perform additional analysis to identify a root cause of "unhealthy"
service chain. Any metric indicating a particular event that caused
a change in service state/performance can be evaluated.
Alternatively, any service chained element and/or interdependency
between elements can be evaluated by the SCIE 116. There might be
multiple service chain elements associated with a particular root
cause, when it is evaluated.
[0045] Once the SCIE 116 identifies a root cause, at step 312, the
SCIE 116 may generate an alarm notification. In one embodiment, the
SCIE 116 may include a graphical user interface (GUI) presenting
users with visual alarm notifications for a plurality of VNF
service chains. In an embodiment, these notifications may comprise
real-time alarm notifications that provides an indication of one or
more issues (root causes) affecting a specific service chain, for
example.
[0046] In summary, various embodiments of the present invention are
directed to a plurality of VNFs that are interconnected through the
network to support an application. The disclosed SCVN environment
100 facilitates a shorter and simpler service chain and application
provisioning process. Advantageously, moving network functions to
software/virtual layer means that building a service chain no
longer requires acquisition of hardware resources. Various
embodiments of the present invention contemplate using a common
data model for storing service chain element health metrics,
dimensions and normal behavior metrics. Furthermore, various
embodiments of the present invention are directed to an automated
service chain intelligence engine (SCIE 116) that is configured to
use information stored in the data model to identify any
performance issues indicative of health of a plurality of service
chain elements.
[0047] With certain illustrated embodiments described above, it is
to be appreciated that various non-limiting embodiments described
herein may be used separately, combined or selectively combined for
specific applications. Further, some of the various features of the
above non-limiting embodiments may be used without the
corresponding use of other described features. The foregoing
description should therefore be considered as merely illustrative
of the principles, teachings and exemplary embodiments of this
invention, and not in limitation thereof.
[0048] It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements
are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the
illustrated embodiments. Numerous modifications and alternative
arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without
departing from the scope of the illustrated embodiments, and the
appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and
arrangements.
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