WO2025069047A1

WO2025069047A1 - Method and system for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function

Info

Publication number: WO2025069047A1
Application number: PCT/IN2024/051799
Authority: WO
Inventors: Aayush Bhatnagar; Mukta Bhaskar Shetty; Alok Bhaskar; Apoorva Khamesra; Gaurav NARAYAN; Bakul Choudhary; Vikas More
Original assignee: Jio Platforms Ltd
Current assignee: Jio Platforms Ltd
Priority date: 2023-09-25
Filing date: 2024-09-19
Publication date: 2025-04-03
Anticipated expiration: 2026-03-25

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method and a system for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function The disclosure encompasses receiving, at a lifecycle manager (LM) module, a request for instantiation of the network function and transmitting, from the LM module to a policy execution engine (PEEGN), a request for a set of resources required for instantiation of the network function. The disclosure further encompasses transmitting, from the PEEGN, to a physical virtual inventory manager (PVIM) module, the request for the set of resources and a request for a region of instantiation of the network function. The disclosure further encompasses determining, at the PVIM module, a set of available resources based on the request for the set of resources and the region of instantiation of the network function and reserving, at the PVIM module, the set of resources from the available set of resources.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR RESERVING RESOURCES FOR INSTANTIATION OF A NETWORK FUNCTION

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of wireless communication systems. More particularly, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods and systems for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function.

BACKGROUND

[0002] The following description of related art is intended to provide background information pertaining to the field of the disclosure. This section may include certain aspects of the art that may be related to various features of the present disclosure. However, it should be appreciated that this section be used only to enhance the understanding of the reader with respect to the present disclosure, and not as admissions of prior art.

[0003] Wireless communication technology has rapidly evolved over the past few decades, with each generation bringing significant improvements and advancements. The first generation of wireless communication technology was based on analog technology and offered only voice services. However, with the advent of the second generation (2G) technology, digital communication and data services became possible, and text messaging was introduced. The third generation (3G) technology marked the introduction of high-speed internet access, mobile video calling, and location-based services. The fourth generation (4G) technology revolutionized wireless communication with faster data speeds, better network coverage, and improved security. Currently, the fifth generation (5G) technology is being deployed, promising even faster data speeds, low latency, and the ability to connect multiple devices simultaneously. With each generation, wireless communication technology has become more advanced, sophisticated, and capable of delivering more services to its users.

[0004] The 5G core networks are based on service-based architecture (SB A) that is centred around network function (NF) services. In the said Service-Based Architecture (SBA), a set of interconnected Network Functions (NFs) deliver the control plane functionality and common data repositories of the 5G network, where each NF is authorized to access services of other NFs. Particularly, each NF can register itself and its supported services to a Network Repository Function (NRF), which is used by other NFs for the discovery of NF instances and their services. Further, the network functions may include, but not limited to, a containerized network function (CNF) and a virtual network function (VNF).

[0005] The CNFs are a set of small, independent, and loosely coupled services such as microservices. These microservices work independently, which may increase speed and flexibility while reducing deployment risk. In 5G communication, cloud-native 5G network offers the fully digitized architecture necessary for deploying new cloud services and taking full advantage of cloud-native 5G features such as edge computing, as well as network slicing and other services. Whereas the VNFs may run in virtual machines (VMs) on common virtualization infrastructure. The VNFs may be created on top of network function virtualization infrastructure (NF VI) which may allocate resources like compute, storage, and networking efficiently among the VNFs. MANO which stands for Management and Orchestration is a key NFV architectural framework that includes all the essential management modules. It coordinates network resources in NFV framework.

[0006] A network function virtualization (NFV) and software defined network (SDN) design function module platform in the MANO architectural framework, has been designed and developed to offer emerging new technologies and differentiating on-demand services. The platform overcomes the need for manual changes required in the network to launch new services by exploiting the NFV and SDN features.

[0007] The NFV SDN platform provides Management and Orchestration (MANO) functionality across multi-site and multi-VIM environment for life cycle management (LCM) operation of VNFs provided by different vendors. The platform comes with a graphically rich and alluring UI/UX interface which helps the user to on-board VNF, design Network Service Chain, define VNF auto scaling and healing policies, instantiate Network Service and VNFs as well as manage the VIM site. It also allows the user to create storage volume pools, availability zones and define host aggregates.

[0008] The NFV SDN Platform is based on Micro Service Architecture. These microservices (MSs) have specific tasks and functionality which they all need to perform. The MSs work collectively to achieve the overall functionality of NFV SDN platform. Each MS has exposed certain APIs which are called by other micro services. [0009] A VNF generally has the following stages: Design, Deployment Planning, Instantiation, Operation, Maintenance and DevOps.

[0010] The Physical and Virtual Resource Manager is an inventory manager (IM) that maintains the virtual inventory and limited physical inventory. It maintains the relation between physical and virtual resources with respect to (w.r.t) overlay. Also, it describes physical and virtual resources w.r.t different attributes using updates from external micro-service. Thus, its data accuracy depends on the micro-services which create, update, delete these resources and at the same time update these events with the inventory manager (IM). Other services can query IM relations, attributes etc. using Query APIs provided by IM. In order to instantiate a network function, the Inventory service needs to reserve resources which were requested by Policy service and can unreserve same in case of instantiation failure.

[0011] In order to instantiate a network function, such as CNF and VNF, a policy execution engine (PEEGN) microservice needs to decide the host in which container network function components (CNFCs) need to be instantiated as per the defined policy. In NFV, instantiation involves creating virtual instances of network functions on virtual machines or containers. For this purpose, the PEEGN needs to get the details of all the hosts present in a particular site under a selected Pod, from an inventory manager. Also, in this process, the inventory manager may also reserve some resources for certain processes to be performed. For example, a network node requests for resources and the inventory manager does not have sufficient resources left with the system to allocate the required resources to the network node, then in that case a system failure might happen, as the required resources are not assigned to the network node for performing a particular task.

[0012] Thus, there exists an imperative need in the art to provide a method and a system for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function, which the present disclosure aims to address.

SUMMARY

[0013] This section is provided to introduce certain aspects of the present disclosure in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify the key features or the scope of the claimed subject matter. [0014] An aspect of the present disclosure may relate to a method for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function. The method includes receiving, by a transceiver unit, at a lifecycle manager (LM) module, a request for instantiation of the network function. Next, the method comprises transmitting, by the transceiver unit from the LM module to a policy execution engine (PEEGN), a request for a set of resources required for instantiation of the network function. Next, the method comprises transmitting, by the transceiver unit from the PEEGN, to a physical virtual inventory manager (PVIM) module, the request for the set of resources and a request for a region of instantiation of the network function. Next, the method comprises determining, by a processing unit, at the PVIM module, a set of available resources based on the request for the set of resources and the region of instantiation of the network function. Thereafter, the method comprises reserving, by the processing unit, at the PVIM module, the set of resources from the available set of resources for instantiation of the network function.

[0015] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the set of resources required is based on a predetermined policy.

[0016] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the method further comprises updating, by the processing unit, at the PVIM module, the available set of resources based on assignment of the set of resources for instantiation of the network function.

[0017] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the method further comprises selecting, by the processing unit via the PEEGN, at least a host for instantiation of the at least one network function, wherein selection of at least the host is based on the set of resources.

[0018] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the network function comprises at least one of a containerized network function (CNF), and a virtual network function (VNF).

[0019] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the LM module is a containerized network function - Lifecycle Manager (CNF-LM) if the network function is a CNF.

[0020] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the LM module is a virtual network function - Lifecycle Manager (VNF-LM) if the network function is a VNF.

[0021] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the region of instantiation of the network function comprises at least one of a site detail information, a pod detail information, a required configuration information, a maximum number of instances information, and combinations thereof.

[0022] In an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, the set of resources from the available set of resources for instantiation of the network function, is reserved based on a computation performed on the available set of resources.

[0023] Another aspect of the present disclosure may relate to a system for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function. The system comprises a transceiver unit configured to receive, at a lifecycle manager (LM) module, a request for instantiation of the network function. The transceiver unit further transmits, from the LM module to a policy execution engine (PEEGN), a request for a set of resources required for instantiation of the network function. The transceiver unit is further configured to transmit, from the PEEGN, to a physical virtual inventory manager (PVIM) module, the request for the set of resources and a request for a region of instantiation of the network function. The system further comprises a processing unit configured to determine, at the PVIM module, a set of available resources based on the request for the set of resources and the region of instantiation of the network function and reserve, at the PVIM module, the set of resources from the available set of resources for instantiation of the network function.

[0024] Yet another aspect of the present disclosure may relate to a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instruction for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function, the instructions include executable code which, when executed by one or more units of a system, causes a transceiver unit of the system to receive, at a lifecycle manager (LM) module, a request for instantiation of the network function. The executable code which when executed causes the transceiver unit to transmit, from the LM module to a policy execution engine (PEEGN), a request for a set of resources required for instantiation of the network function. The executable code which when executed further causes the transceiver unit to transmit, from the PEEGN, to a physical virtual inventory manager (PVIM) module, the request for the set of resources and a request for a region of instantiation of the network function. The executable code which when executed causes a processing unit of the system to determine, at the PVIM module, a set of available resources based on the request for the set of resources and the region of instantiation of the network function and reserve, at the PVIM module, the set of resources from the available set of resources for instantiation of the network function.

OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE [0025] Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment disclosed herein satisfies are listed herein below.

[0026] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a system and a method for reserving resources for inventory management that helps in proper resource utilization by reserving resources at initial level of instantiation flow.

[0027] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a solution that helps in resource synchronization of resources by removing reserved resources from total resources.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the disclosed methods and systems in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the different drawings. Components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Also, the embodiments shown in the figures are not to be construed as limiting the disclosure, but the possible variants of the method and system according to the disclosure are illustrated herein to highlight the advantages of the disclosure. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that disclosure of such drawings includes disclosure of electrical components or circuitry commonly used to implement such components.

[0029] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a management and orchestration (MANO) architecture.

[0030] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a computing device upon which the features of the present disclosure may be implemented in accordance with exemplary implementation of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a system for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function, in accordance with exemplary implementations of the present disclosure. [0032] FIG. 4 illustrates a method flow diagram for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function, in accordance with exemplary implementations of the present disclosure.

[0033] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a system architecture for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function, in accordance with exemplary implementations of the present disclosure.

[0034] The foregoing shall be more apparent from the following more detailed description of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, various specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, that embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. Several features described hereafter may each be used independently of one another or with any combination of other features. An individual feature may not address any of the problems discussed above or might address only some of the problems discussed above.

[0036] The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the exemplary embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing an exemplary embodiment. It should be understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as set forth.

[0037] Specific details are given in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits, systems, processes, and other components may be shown as components in block diagram form in order not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail.

[0038] Also, it is noted that individual embodiments may be described as a process which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations may be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed but could have additional steps not included in a figure.

[0039] The word “exemplary” and/or “demonstrative” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the subject matter disclosed herein is not limited by such examples. In addition, any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” and/or “demonstrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs, nor is it meant to preclude equivalent exemplary structures and techniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “has,” “contains,” and other similar words are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as an open transition word without precluding any additional or other elements.

[0040] As used herein, a “processing unit” or “processor” or “operating processor” includes one or more processors, wherein processor refers to any logic circuitry for processing instructions. A processor may be a general-purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a (Digital Signal Processing) DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits, Field Programmable Gate Array circuits, any other type of integrated circuits, etc. The processor may perform signal coding data processing, input/output processing, and/or any other functionality that enables the working of the system according to the present disclosure. More specifically, the processor or processing unit is a hardware processor.

[0041] As used herein, “a user equipment”, “a user device”, “a smart-user-device”, “a smartdevice”, “an electronic device”, “a mobile device”, “a handheld device”, “a wireless communication device”, “a mobile communication device”, “a communication device” may be any electrical, electronic and/or computing device or equipment, capable of implementing the features of the present disclosure. The user equipment/device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, smart phone, laptop, a general-purpose computer, desktop, personal digital assistant, tablet computer, wearable device or any other computing device which is capable of implementing the features of the present disclosure. Also, the user device may contain at least one input means configured to receive an input from at least one of a transceiver unit, a processing unit, a storage unit, a detection unit and any other such unit(s) which are required to implement the features of the present disclosure. [0042] As used herein, “storage unit” or “memory unit” refers to a machine or computer-readable medium including any mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a computer or similar machine. For example, a computer-readable medium includes read-only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices or other types of machine-accessible storage media. The storage unit stores at least the data that may be required by one or more units of the system to perform their respective functions.

[0043] As used herein “interface” or “user interface” refers to a shared boundary across which two or more separate components of a system exchange information or data. The interface may also be referred to a set of rules or protocols that define communication or interaction of one or more modules or one or more units with each other, which also includes the methods, functions, or procedures that may be called.

[0044] All modules, units, components used herein, unless explicitly excluded herein, may be software modules or hardware processors, the processors being a general-purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Array circuits (FPGA), any other type of integrated circuits, etc.

[0045] As used herein the transceiver unit includes at least one receiver and at least one transmitter configured respectively for receiving and transmitting data, signals, information or a combination thereof between units/components within the system and/or connected with the system.

[0046] As used herein, Policy Execution Engine (PEEGN) module provides a network function virtualisation (NFV) software defined network (SDN) platform functionality to support dynamic requirements of resource management and network service orchestration in the virtualized network.

[0047] As used herein, Physical and Virtual Inventory Manager (PVIM) module maintains the inventory and its resources. After getting a request to reserve resources from PEEGN, PVIM adds up the resources consumed by particular network function as used resources and removes them from free resources. Further, the PVIM updates this in NoSQL database. [0048] As used herein, containerized network function (CNF) module deploys network function using container technology. CNF facilitates the packaging of software (e.g., applications, or microservices) with all of the supported files necessary to run it and sharing access to the operating system and other server resources.

[0049] As used herein, virtual network function (VNF) module is implemented as virtual machines (VMs) in a network functions virtualization (NFV) architecture or virtualized infrastructure. VNF may be deployed in the cloud as microservices supporting work independently or together to provide essential networking functionality.

[0050] As used herein, containerized network function - Lifecycle Manager (CNF-LM) facilitates creation of a CNF or individual CNFC instances. Also, CNF-LM responsible for healing and scaling out CNF’s or individual CNFC’s.

[0051] As used herein, virtual network function - Lifecycle Manager (VNF-LM OR VLM) is responsible for lifecycle management of VNF instances. VLM can perform instantiation, termination or scaling of the VNF’s or individual VNFC’s.

[0052] As discussed in the background section, the current known solutions for inventory management have several shortcomings such as those related to inadequate allocation of required resources to the network node, which may lead to failure of the system. The present disclosure aims to overcome the above-mentioned and other existing problems in this field of technology by providing a method and a system for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function. The present solution comprises a trigger for instantiation of a network node such as a container network function (CNF) and a virtual network function (VNF). Further a lifecycle manager element requests the PEEGN for resources. The PEEGN in turn queries the inventory manager to provide the required information. Based on given data, PEEGN requests inventory manager to reserve resources required for the network function instantiation. Also, the inventory manager reserves the requested resources and updates the same in the database. Various features of the present solution may be implemented by a common automation platform and the request for the information may be made using the user interface integrated or connected to the common automation platform. [0053] The foregoing shall be more apparent from the following more detailed description of the disclosure.

[0054] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0055] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary block diagram representation of a management and orchestration (MANO) architecture [100], in accordance with exemplary implementation of the present disclosure. The MANO architecture [100] is developed for managing telecom cloud infrastructure automatically, managing deployment, managing instantiation of network node(s) etc. The MANO architecture [100] deploys the network node(s) in the form of Virtual Network Function (VNF) and Cloud-native/ Container Network Function (CNF). The system may comprise one or more components of the MANO architecture. The MANO architecture [100] is used to auto-instantiate the VNFs into the corresponding environment so that it could help in onboarding other vendor(s) CNFs and VNFs to the platform.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 1, the MANO architecture [100] comprises a user interface layer, a network function virtualization (NFV) and software defined network (SDN) design function module [104]; a platforms foundation services module [106], a platform core services module [108] and a platform resource adapters and utilities module [112], wherein all the components are assumed to be connected to each other in a manner as obvious to the person skilled in the art for implementing features of the present disclosure.

[0057] The NFV and SDN design function module [104] further comprises a VNF lifecycle manager (compute) [1042]; a VNF catalogue [1044]; a network services catalogue [1046]; a network slicing and service chaining manager [1048]; a physical and virtual resource manager [1050] and a CNF lifecycle manager [1052], The VNF lifecycle manager (compute) [1042] is responsible for determining on which server of the communication network the microservice will be instantiated. The VNF lifecycle manager (compute) [1042] will manage the overall flow of incoming/ outgoing requests during interaction with the user. The VNF lifecycle manager (compute) [1042] is responsible for determining which sequence to be followed for executing the process. For e.g., in an AMF network function of the communication network (such as a 5G network), sequence for execution of processes Pl and P2 etc. The VNF catalogue [1044] stores the metadata of all the VNFs (also CNFs in some cases). The network services catalogue [1046] stores the information of the services that need to be run. The network slicing and service chaining manager [1048] manages the slicing (an ordered and connected sequence of network service/ network functions (NFs)) that must be applied to a specific networked data packet. The physical and virtual resource manager [1050] stores the logical and physical inventory of the VNFs. Just like the VNF lifecycle manager (compute) [1042], the CNF lifecycle manager [1052] is similarly used for the CNFs lifecycle management.

[0058] The platforms foundation services module [106] further comprises a microservices elastic load balancer [1062]; an identify & access manager [1064]; a command line interface (CLI) [1066]; a central logging manager [1068]; and an event routing manager [1070], The microservices elastic load balancer [1062] is used for maintaining the load balancing of the request for the services. The identify & access manager [1064] is used for logging purposes. The command line interface (CLI) [1066] is used to provide commands to execute certain processes which require changes during the run time. The central logging manager [1068] is responsible for keeping the logs of every services. Theses logs are generated by the MANO platform [100], These logs are used for debugging purposes. The event routing manager [1070] is responsible for routing the events i.e., the application programming interface (API) hits to the corresponding services.

[0059] The platforms core services module [108] further comprises NFV infrastructure monitoring manager [1082]; an assure manager [1084]; a performance manager [1086]; a policy execution engine [1088]; a capacity monitoring manager [1090]; a release management (mgmt.) repository [1092]; a configuration manager & (GCT) [1094]; an NFV platform decision analytics [1096]; a platform NoSQL DB [1098]; a platform schedulers and cron jobs [1100]; a VNF backup & upgrade manager [1102]; a micro service auditor [1104]; and a platform operations, administration and maintenance manager [1106], The NFV infrastructure monitoring manager [1082] monitors the infrastructure part of the NFs. For e.g., any metrics such as CPU utilization by the VNF. The assure manager [1084] is responsible for supervising the alarms the vendor is generating. The performance manager [1086] is responsible for manging the performance counters. The policy execution engine (PEEGN) [1088] is responsible for all the managing the policies. The capacity monitoring manager (CPM) [1090] is responsible for sending the request to the PEEGN [1088], The release management (mgmt.) repository (RMR) [1092] is responsible for managing the releases and the images of all the vendor network node. The configuration manager & (GCT) [1094] manages the configuration and GCT of all the vendors. The NFV platform decision analytics (NPDA) [1096] helps in deciding the priority of using the network resources. It is further noted that the policy execution engine (PEGN) [1088], the configuration manager & (GCT) [1094] and the (NPDA) [1096] work together. The platform NoSQL DB [1098] is a database for storing all the inventory (both physical and logical) as well as the metadata of the VNFs and CNF. The platform schedulers and cron jobs [1100] schedules the task such as but not limited to triggering of an event, traverse the network graph etc. The VNF backup & upgrade manager [1102] takes backup of the images, binaries of the VNFs and the CNFs and produces those backups on demand in case of server failure. The micro service auditor [1104] audits the microservices. For e.g., in a hypothetical case, instances not being instantiated by the MANO architecture [100] using the network resources then the micro service auditor [1104] audits and informs the same so that resources can be released for services running in the MANO architecture [100], thereby assuring the services only run on the MANO platform [100], The platform operations, administration and maintenance manager [1106] is used for newer instances that are spawning.

[0060] The platform resource adapters and utilities module [112] further comprises a platform external API adaptor and gateway [1122]; a generic decoder and indexer (XML, CSV, JSON) [1124]; a docker swarm adaptor [1126]; an API adapter [1128]; and a NFV gateway [1130], The platform external API adaptor and gateway [1122] is responsible for handling the external services (to the MANO platform [100]) that requires the network resources. The generic decoder and indexer (XML, CSV, JSON) [1124] gets directly the data of the vendor system in the XML, CSV, JSON format. The docker swarm adaptor [1126] is the interface provided between the telecom cloud and the MANO architecture [100] for communication. The API adapter [1128]; is used to connect with the virtual machines (VMs). The NFV gateway [1130] is responsible for providing the path to each services going to/incoming from the MANO architecture [100],

[0061] The present disclosure can be implemented on a computing device [200] (also referred herein as a computer system [200]) upon which the features of the present disclosure may be implemented in accordance with exemplary implementation of the present disclosure. In an implementation, the computing device [200] may also implement a method for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function utilising the system. In another implementation, the computing device [200] itself implements the method for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function using one or more units configured within the computing device [200], wherein said one or more units are capable of implementing the features as disclosed in the present disclosure.

[0062] The computing device [200] may include a bus [202] or other communication mechanism for communicating information, and a hardware processor [204] coupled with bus [202] for processing information. The hardware processor [204] may be, for example, a general-purpose microprocessor. The computing device [200] may also include a main memory [206], such as a random-access memory (RAM), or other dynamic storage device, coupled to the bus [202] for storing information and instructions to be executed by the processor [204], The main memory [206] also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of the instructions to be executed by the processor [204], Such instructions, when stored in non-transitory storage media accessible to the processor [204], render the computing device [200] into a special-purpose machine that is customized to perform the operations specified in the instructions. The computing device [200] further includes a read only memory (ROM) [208] or other static storage device coupled to the bus [202] for storing static information and instructions for the processor [204],

[0063] A storage device [210], such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, or solid-state drive is provided and coupled to the bus [202] for storing information and instructions. The computing device [200] may be coupled via the bus [202] to a display [212], such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), Liquid crystal Display (LCD), Light Emitting Diode (LED) display, Organic LED (OLED) display, etc. for displaying information to a computer user. An input device [214], including alphanumeric and other keys, touch screen input means, etc. may be coupled to the bus [202] for communicating information and command selections to the processor [204], Another type of user input device may be a cursor controller [216], such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys, for communicating direction information and command selections to the processor [204], and for controlling cursor movement on the display [212], The input device typically has two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allow the device to specify positions in a plane.

[0064] The computing device [200] may implement the techniques described herein using customized hard-wired logic, one or more ASICs or FPGAs, firmware and/or program logic which in combination with the computing device [200] causes or programs the computing device [200] to be a special-purpose machine. According to one implementation, the techniques herein are performed by the computing device [200] in response to the processor [204] executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in the main memory [206], Such instructions may be read into the main memory [206] from another storage medium, such as the storage device [210], Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in the main memory [206] causes the processor [204] to perform the process steps described herein. In alternative implementations of the present disclosure, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions.

[0065] The computing device [200] also may include a communication interface [218] coupled to the bus [202], The communication interface [218] provides a two-way data communication coupling to a network link [220] that is connected to a local network [222], For example, the communication interface [218] may be an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card, cable modem, satellite modem, or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding type of telephone line. As another example, the communication interface [218] may be a local area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN. Wireless links may also be implemented. In any such implementation, the communication interface [218] sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information.

[0066] The computing device [200] can send messages and receive data, including program code, through the network(s), the network link [220] and the communication interface [218], In the Internet example, a server [230] might transmit a requested code for an application program through the Internet [228], the ISP [226], the local network [222], the host [224] and the communication interface [218], The received code may be executed by the processor [204] as it is received, and/or stored in the storage device [210], or other non-volatile storage for later execution.

[0067] Referring to FIG. 3, an exemplary block diagram of a system [300] for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function is shown, in accordance with the exemplary implementations of the present disclosure. The system [300] comprises at least one transceiver unit [302] and at least one processing unit [304], Also, all of the components/ units of the system [300] are assumed to be connected to each other unless otherwise indicated below. Also, in FIG. 3 only a few units are shown, however, the system [300] may comprise multiple such units or the system [300] may comprise any such numbers of said units, as required to implement the features of the present disclosure. In an implementation, the system [300] may reside in a server or a network entity. In yet another implementation, the system [300] may reside partly in the server/ network entity. Further, FIG. 3 is intended to be read in conjunction with FIG. 1, which illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a management and orchestration (MANO) architecture.

[0068] The system [300] is configured for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function, with the help of the interconnection between the components/units of the system [300], The reserving of resources for instantiation of a network function may be associated with such as, but not limited to, reserving number of servers, containers, computing devices, network devices, and storages. The resources may be associated with physical and/or virtual resources.

[0069] The system [300] comprises a transceiver unit [302], The transceiver unit [302] is configured to receive, at a lifecycle manager (LM) module, a request for instantiation of the network function. The transceiver unit [302] at the LM module is configured to receive the request for instantiation of the network function, such as, but not limited to, at least one of containerized network function (CNF), and virtual network function (VNF). The instantiation of the network function refers to creation and deployment of network function in the network. In an implementation, the LM module is a containerized network function - Lifecycle Manager (CNF- LM) if the network function is a CNF. In an implementation, the LM module is a virtual network function - Lifecycle Manager (VNF-LM) if the network function is a VNF. The request for instantiation of the network function may be generated by an entity, such as, but not limited to, network administrator, authorised person or may be network generated.

[0070] The transceiver unit [302] of the system [300] is further configured to transmit, from the LM module to a policy execution engine (PEEGN) [1088], a request for a set of resources required for instantiation of the network function. After receiving the request for instantiation of the network function, the LM module is configured to transmit the request for the set of resources required for instantiation of the network function. The LM module may send at least one of, such as, an identifier of the VNF or CNF, and number of instances information with the request to the PEEGN [1088], In an implementation, the set of resources required is based on a predetermined policy. The predetermined policy may be defined by the network administrator or service provider. The predetermined policy may define policies related to, such as, but not limited to, server capacity, number of servers, number of instances and a region. The region may comprise a geographical area, a serving cell area, a sector area, and a state.

[0071] The transceiver unit [302] of the system [300] is further configured to transmit, from the PEEGN [1088], to a physical and virtual inventory manager (PVIM) module, the request for the set of resources and a request for a region of instantiation of the network function. After receiving the request from the LM module, the PEEGN [1088] is configured to transmit via the transceiver unit [302] of the system [300] the request for the set of resources and a request for a region of instantiation of the network function to the PVIM module. The PEEGN [1088] may provide identifier and number of instantiations for the CNF/VNF to the PVIM module. The region of instantiation of the network function, refers to, such as, but not limited to at least one of a site detail information, a pod detail information, a required configuration information, a maximum number of instances information, and combinations thereof. The pod detail information may comprise such as, a set of computing units or a cluster of units, servers.

[0072] The system [300] further comprises a processing unit [304], The processing unit [304] is connected to at least the transceiver unit [302], The processing unit [304] is configured to determine, at the PVIM module, a set of available resources based on the request for the set of resources and the region of instantiation of the network function.

[0073] The processing unit [304] is further configured to reserve, at the PVIM module, the set of resources from the available set of resources for instantiation of the network function. After determination of the set of available resources from the set of resources and the region of instantiation of the network function, the PVIM module is configured to reserve via the processing unit [304] of the system [300] the set of resources from the available set of resources. The available set of resources may comprise servers, containers, computing devices, network devices, and storages. The resources may be associated with physical and/or virtual resources. The PVIM module is configured to fetch the available set of resources information from an attached database and reserve the set of resources. Further, the processing unit [304] reserves the set of resources from the available set of resources for instantiation of the network function, based on a computation performed on the available set of resources. The PVIM module is configured to implement such as, any computational algorithm or set of instructions for determining the set of required resources from the available set of resources for the instantiation of the network function (e.g., CNF or VNF). In an exemplary implementation, the PVIM module is configured to perform computation on the set of available resources, based on quality of service and resource management using one or more algorithms such as round-robin and/or priority-based allocation. In an exemplary implementation, the PEEGN [1088] sends the request instantiation of CNF with identifier CNF1, number of instantiations as 2, region information such as geographical identifier or area name to the PVIM module. The PVIM module is configured to determine the available resources for the received request information and associated parameters for the instantiation of the CNF.

[0074] In an exemplary implementation, the processing unit [304] is configured to update, at the PVIM module, the available set of resources based on assignment of the set of resources for instantiation of the network function. After assignment of the set of resources for instantiation of the network function, the available set of resources gets reduced. The PVIM module is configured to update this information into the database.

[0075] In an exemplary aspect, after reserving the set of resources, the processing unit [304] of the system [300] is configured to select via the PEEGN [1088] at least a host for instantiation of the network function. The selection of at least the host is based on the set of resources. In an exemplary implementation, the PEEGN [1088] may select the host (e.g., container or server) based on the set of resources provided by the PVIM module.

[0076] Further, in accordance with the present disclosure, it is to be acknowledged that the functionality described for the various components/units can be implemented interchangeably. While specific embodiments may disclose a particular functionality of these units for clarity, it is recognized that various configurations and combinations thereof are within the scope of the disclosure. The functionality of specific units as disclosed in the disclosure should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Consequently, alternative arrangements and substitutions of units, provided they achieve the intended functionality described herein, are considered to be encompassed within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0077] Referring to FIG. 4 an exemplary method flow diagram [400], for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function, in accordance with exemplary implementations of the present disclosure is shown. In an implementation the method [400] is performed by the system [300], As shown in FIG. 4, the method [400] starts at step [402], Further, FIG. 4 is intended to be read in conjunction with FIG. 1, which illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a management and orchestration (MANO) architecture.

[0078] At step [404], the method [400] as disclosed by the present disclosure comprises receiving, by a transceiver unit [302], at a lifecycle manager (LM) module, a request for instantiation of the network function. The transceiver unit [302] at the LM module may receive the request for instantiation of the network function, such as, but not limited to, at least one of containerized network function (CNF), and virtual network function (VNF). The instantiation of the network function refers to creation and deployment of network function in the network. In an implementation, the LM module is a containerized network function - Lifecycle Manager (CNF- LM) if the network function is a CNF. In an implementation, the LM module is a virtual network function - Lifecycle Manager (VNF-LM) if the network function is a VNF. The request for instantiation of the network function may be generated by an entity, such as, but not limited to, a network administrator, an authorised person or may be network generated.

[0079] Next, at step [406], the method [400] as disclosed by the present disclosure comprises transmitting, by the transceiver unit [302] from the LM module to a policy execution engine (PEEGN) [1088], a request for a set of resources required for instantiation of the network function. After receiving the request for instantiation of the network function, the LM module may transmit the request for the set of resources required for instantiation of the network function. The LM module may send at least one of, such as, identifier of the VNF or CNF, and number of instances information with the request to the PEEGN [1088], In an implementation, the set of resources required is based on a predetermined policy. The predetermined policy may be defined by the network administrator or service provider. The predetermined policy may define policies related to, such as, but not limited to, server capacity, number of servers, number of instances and a region. The region may comprise a geographical area, a serving cell area, a sector area, and a state.

[0080] Next, at step [408], the method [400] as disclosed by the present disclosure comprises transmitting, by the transceiver unit [302] from the PEEGN [1088], to a physical virtual inventory manager (PVIM) module, the request for the set of resources and a request for a region of instantiation of the network function. After receiving the request from the LM module, the PEEGN [1088] may transmit via transceiver unit [302] of the system [300] the request for the set of resources and the request for a region of instantiation of the network function to the PVIM module. The PEEGN [1088] may provide identifier and number of instantiations for the CNF/VNF to the PVIM module. The region of instantiation of the network function, refers to, such as, but not limited to at least one of a site detail information, a pod detail information, a required configuration information, a maximum number of instances information, and combinations thereof. The pod detail information may comprise such as, a set of computing units or a cluster of units, servers.

[0081] Next, at step [410], the method [400] as disclosed by the present disclosure comprises determining, by a processing unit [304], at the PVIM module, a set of available resources based on the request for the set of resources and the region of instantiation of the network function.

[0082] Next, at step [412], the method [400] as disclosed by the present disclosure comprises reserving, by the processing unit [304], at the PVIM module, the set of resources from the available set of resources for instantiation of the network function. After determination of the set of available resources for the set of resources and the region of instantiation of the network function, the PVIM module may reserve via the processing unit [304] of the system [300] the set of resources from the available set of resources. The available set of resources may comprise servers, containers, computing devices, network devices, and storages. The resources may be associated with physical and/or virtual resources. The PVIM module may fetch the available set of resources information from an attached database and reserve the set of resources. Further, the processing unit [304] reserves the set of resources from the available set of resources for instantiation of the network function, based on a computation performed on the available set of resources. The PVIM module is configured to implement such as, any computational algorithm or set of instructions for determining the set of required resources from the available set of resources for the instantiation of the network function (e.g., CNF or VNF). In an exemplary implementation, the PVIM module is configured to perform computation on the set of available resources, based on quality of service and resource management using one or more algorithms such as round-robin and/or priority -based allocation.

[0083] In an exemplary implementation, the processing unit [304] may update, at the PVIM module, the available set of resources based on assignment of the set of resources for instantiation of the network function. After assignment of the set of resources for instantiation of the network function, the available set of resources gets reduced. The PVIM module may update this information into the database.

[0084] In an exemplary aspect, after reserving the set of resources, the processing unit [304] of the system [300] may select via the PEEGN [1088] at least a host for instantiation of the network function. The selection of at least the host is based on the set of resources. In an exemplary implementation, the PEEGN [1088] may select the host (e.g., container or server) based on the set of resources provided by the PVIM module.

[0085] Thereafter, the method [400] terminates at step [414],

[0086] Referring to FIG. 5, an exemplary block diagram of a system architecture [500] for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function, in accordance with exemplary implementations of the present disclosure, is shown. The system [500] comprises a CNF-LM/ VLM [502], a PEEGN [1088], a PVIM Server [506] and a Database (DB) [508], Further, it is to be noted that the CNF-LM/ VLM [502] performs the same function as the LM module as described with respect to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. Further, it is to be noted that the PVIM Server [506] performs the same function as the PVIM module described with respect to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. Further, FIG. 5 is intended to be read in conjunction with FIG. 1, which illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a management and orchestration (MANO) architecture.

[0087] In order to reserve resources for instantiation of a network function, the CNF-LM/ VLM [502] sends a query or a request for instantiation of network function such as, a containerized network function (CNF) or a virtual network function (VNF) instantiation to the PEEGN [1088], The CNF-LM/ VLM [502] sends request to the PEEGN [1088] after receiving the instantiation trigger from a user interface of the system architecture [500] (not shown in the FIG.5). The instantiation trigger may be provided by a network administrator or an authorised person. Notably, if the instantiation of CNF is triggered, the CNF-LM [502] sends the request to the PEEGN [1088], and if the instantiation of VNF is triggered, the VLM [502] sends the request to the PEEGN [1088],

[0088] Further, the PEEGN [1088] queries the PVIM server [506] to provide the available resources and region information. The region of instantiation information may comprise, such as, but not limited to, a site detail information, a pod detail information, a required configuration information, a maximum number of instances information and combinations thereof. In an implementation, the database (DB) [508] is configured to store the available resources and region information. The PVIM server [506] fetches the available resources and region information from the DB [508] and sends a response back to the PEEGN [1088],

[0089] Further, after receiving successful response from the PVIM server [506], the PEEGN [1088] sends a request to PVIM server [506] to reserve resources required for the network function (e.g., CNF or VNF) instantiation.

[0090] Further, the PVIM server [506] performs a computation on the available resources and reserves the requested resources requested by the PEEGN [1088], Further, the PVIM server [506] updates the information related to the available resources and the reserved resources in the DB [508], Thereafter, the PVIM server [506] sends a successful response for reserving resources and send the information of the reserved resources to the PEEGN [1088], The PEEGN [1088] further sends successful response of reserving the sources to the CNF-LM/ VLM [502],

[0091] The present disclosure may further relate to a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instruction for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function, the instructions include executable code which, when executed by one or more units of a system, causes a transceiver unit [302] to receive, at a lifecycle manager (LM) module, a request for instantiation of the network function. The executable code which, when executed causes the transceiver unit [302] to transmit, from the LM module to a policy execution engine (PEEGN) [1088], a request for a set of resources required for instantiation of the network function. The executable code which, when executed causes the transceiver unit [302] to transmit, from the PEEGN [1088], to a physical virtual inventory manager (PVIM) module, the request for the set of resources and a request for a region of instantiation of the network function. The executable code which, when executed causes a processing unit [304] of the system to determine, at the PVIM module, a set of available resources based on the request for the set of resources and the region of instantiation of the network function and reserve, at the PVIM module, the set of resources from the available set of resources for instantiation of the network function.

[0092] As is evident from the above, the present disclosure provides a technically advanced solution for reserving resources for network function instantiation. The present solution helps in proper resource utilization by reserving resources at initial level of instantiation flow. Further, the present solution helps in resource synchronization of resources by removing reserved resources from total available resources.

[0093] While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the disclosed embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles of the present disclosure. These and other changes in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, whereby it is to be understood that the foregoing descriptive matter to be implemented is illustrative and non-limiting.

Claims

We Claim:

1. A method for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function, the method comprising: receiving, by a transceiver unit [302], at a lifecycle manager (LM) module, a request for instantiation of the network function; transmitting, by the transceiver unit [302] from the LM module to a policy execution engine (PEEGN) [1088], a request for a set of resources required for instantiation of the network function; transmitting, by the transceiver unit [302] from the PEEGN [1088], to a physical virtual inventory manager (PVIM) module, the request for the set of resources and a request for a region of instantiation of the network function; determining, by a processing unit [304], at the PVIM module, a set of available resources based on the request for the set of resources and the region of instantiation of the network function; and reserving, by the processing unit [304], at the PVIM module, the set of resources from the available set of resources for instantiation of the network function.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the set of resources required is based on a predetermined policy.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method comprises updating, by the processing unit [304], at the PVIM module, the available set of resources based on assignment of the set of resources for instantiation of the network function.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method comprises selecting, by the processing unit [304] via the PEEGN [1088], at least a host for instantiation of the at least one network function, wherein selection of at least the host is based on the set of resources.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the network function comprises at least one of a containerized network function (CNF), and a virtual network function (VNF).

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein, the LM module is a containerized network function - Lifecycle Manager (CNF-LM) if the network function is a CNF.

7. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the LM module is a virtual network function - Lifecycle Manager (VNF-LM) if the network function is a VNF.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing unit [304] reserves the set of resources from the available set of resources for instantiation of the network function, based on a computation performed on the available set of resources.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the region of instantiation of the network function comprises at least one of a site detail information, a pod detail information, a required configuration information, a maximum number of instances information, and combinations thereof.

10. A system for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function, the system comprising:

- a transceiver unit [302] configured to:

• receive, at a lifecycle manager (LM) module, a request for instantiation of the network function;

• transmit, from the LM module to a policy execution engine (PEEGN) [ 1088], a request for a set of resources required for instantiation of the network function;

• transmit, from the PEEGN [1088], to a physical virtual inventory manager (PVIM) module, the request for the set of resources and a request for a region of instantiation of the network function;

- a processing unit [304] configured to:

• determine, at the PVIM module, a set of available resources based on the request for the set of resources and the region of instantiation of the network function; and

• reserve, at the PVIM module, the set of resources from the available set of resources for instantiation of the network function.

11. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the set of resources required is based on a predetermined policy.

12. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the processing unit [304] is configured to update, at the PVIM module, the available set of resources based on assignment of the set of resourced for instantiation of the network function.

13. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the processing unit [304] is configured to select, via the PEEGN [1088], at least a host for instantiation of the network function, wherein selection of at least the host is based on the set of resources.

14. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the network function comprises at least one of containerized network function (CNF), and virtual network function (VNF).

15. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein, the LM module is a containerized network function - Lifecycle Manager (CNF-LM) if the network function is a CNF.

16. The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the LM module is a virtual network function - Lifecycle Manager (VNF-LM) if the network function is a VNF.

17. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the region of instantiation of the network function comprises at least one of a site detail information, a pod detail information, a required configuration information, a maximum number of instances information, and combinations thereof.

18. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the processing unit [304] reserves the set of resources from the available set of resources for instantiation of the network function, based on a computation performed on the available set of resources.

19. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instruction for reserving resources for instantiation of a network function, the instructions include executable code which, when executed by one or more units of a system, causes:

- a transceiver unit [302] of the system to:

• transmit, from the LM module to a policy execution engine (PEEGN) [1088], a request for a set of resources required for instantiation of the network function;

- a processing unit [304] of the system to: • determine, at the PVIM module, a set of available resources based on the request for the set of resources and the region of instantiation of the network function; and