Future Wei Technologies, Inc.

Huawei Cloud Computing Technologies Co., Ltd.

Huawei Technologies Co., Limited

Cisco Technology, Inc.

Hong Zhang

Henry Louis Fourie

Farhad P Sunavala

Louis Fourie

Linda Dunbar

Young Lee

Ying Xiong

Ali Sajassi

Derek Man-Kit Yeung

Xiaobo Wang

Kalyan Das

Fei Rao

A computer-implemented method for accessing user resources in a virtual private cloud (VPC) using a serverless function within a network architecture includes instantiating a first warm application container for hosting the serverless function. The first warm application container includes a runtime language library without function code of the serverless function. A virtual machine for hosting a Port Address Translation (PAT) gateway is instantiated. The PAT gateway includes a first interface to the VPC and a second interface to the first warm application container. In response to detecting a trigger event for triggering the serverless function, the function code of the serverless function is mounted within the first warm application container. During execution of the function code from the first warm application container, VPC-addressed network packets associated with the serverless function are routed to the VPC via the second interface and the first interface within the PAT gateway.

Mechanism to reduce serverless function startup latency

A system, computer-implemented method, and/or non-transitory computer-readable media may provide a warm start technique for cloud-hosted functions. Included is a non-transitory memory storage comprising instructions, and one or more processors in communication with the memory, wherein the one or more processors execute the instructions to identify a cloud-hosted function configured to be executed within a cloud computing environment. The cloud-hosted function is instantiated within the cloud-hosted computing environment.

Instantiation of cloud-hosted functions based on call to function graph

Metadata may be embedded in a service chain header (SCH) appended to a packet that is forwarded over a service chain path. The metadata may include information that is used to process the packet at a downstream service function chain (SFC) entity on the service chain path. The metadata TLV field may identify a service action to be performed by a downstream SFC entity. For example, the metadata TLV field may instruct the downstream SFC entity to drop the packet, to redirect the packet (or a traffic flow associated with the packet), to mirror a traffic flow, to terminate a communication connection, to start or stop a packet accounting, and/or to apply a higher grade of service. Alternatively, the metadata TLV field specifies an OAM service action list that identifies service actions that have been performed on the packet.

Service chain header and metadata transport

A network mapping events to workflow instances. One or more event messages are received with an embedded token from one or more event sources associated with an application. A workflow specification is received that specifies a location of the token embedded in the one or more event messages, and the token is extracted from the one or more event messages using the location of the token specified in the workflow specification. The events are then mapped to a workflow instance of the application based on the token the one or more event messages.

Event to serverless function workflow instance mapping mechanism

A system, computer-implemented method, and/or non-transitory computer-readable media may provide a warm start technique for cloud-hosted functions. A call is received from a web application. In response to the received call, a function graph is activated and includes a collection of functions associated with the web-application. The function graph also includes a plurality of states and transitions between the states. In response to the activation of the function graph, a cloud-hosted function associated with a particular state in the plurality of states included in the function graph is determined Before the particular state is triggered within the function graph to execute the cloud-hosted function, the determined cloud-hosted function is instantiated.

A computer-implemented method for processing serverless functions includes mapping a received event to an event state of a plurality of event states in a function graph according to a mapping rule, the function graph including one or more actions for the event state. A data package of a previous event state of the plurality of event states is filtered to generate a filtered data package, using a payload filter associated with the event state. The actions of the event state are executed, where the one or more actions satisfy the mapping rule. A modified data package is sent to a computer system to trigger executing one or more serverless functions associated with the executed one or more actions. The modified data package is based on a data package of the event and the filtered data package. One or more responses are received based on execution of the serverless functions.

Event-driven serverless function orchestration

An architecture, method, and/or non-transitory computer-readable media provide a service graph based serverless cloud architecture. The service graphs can orchestrate cloud-hosted functions into a coordinated micro-service application, and thus control the execution of the cloud-hosted functions in a prescribed manner. Additionally, service graphs permit a user to arrange cloud-hosted functions to execute in sequence or concurrently, manage error conditions by re-invoking function calls, handle scaling to accommodate varying event loads, and the like. Service graphs also allow a user to define rendezvous points (i.e., states) to wait for pre-defined events before executing a cloud-hosted function and progressing through the service graph. The advantages of coordinating the execution of cloud-hosted functions with service graphs is that the service graphs provide a consistent framework for managing cloud-hosted functions without the user having to solve the coordination problems on their own.

Service graph based serverless cloud platform

Metadata may be embedded in a service chain header (SCH) appended to a packet that is forwarded over a service chain path. The metadata may include information that is used to process the packet at a downstream service function chain (SFC) entity on the service chain path. The metadata TLV field may identify a service action to be performed by a downstream SFC entity. For example, the metadata TLV field may instruct the downstream SFC entity to drop the packet, to redirect the packet (or a traffic flow associated with the packet), to mirror a traffic flow, to terminate a communication connection, to start or stop a packet accounting, and/or to apply a higher grade of service. In another embodiment, the metadata TLV field specifies an OAM service action list that identifies service actions that have been performed on the packet.

A method implemented in a network engine comprising receiving, by a service function (SF) orchestrator in the network engine, a registration request message from a third-party SF manager requesting registration of a SF comprising one or more SF instances in a network, wherein the registration request message comprises vendor identification information identifying a vendor of the SF and SF identification information identifying the SF, receiving a capability information message from the third-party SF manager indicating vendor-specific capability information associated with the SF, receiving a service request message from a service client requesting a network service and one or more policies for the service, generating the network service by utilizing the one or more SF instances according to the one or more policies and the vendor-specific capability information, and sending the one or more policies to the one or more SF instances.

Service function registration mechanism and capability indexing

The disclosure relates to technology for coordinating execution of serverless functions. One or more events are received from one or more event sources. The one or more events are mapped to one or more event states of a function graph according to a mapping rule, the one or more event states including one or more actions, and the one or more actions which satisfied the mapping rule are executed. The received events are sent to a computer system to trigger the computer system initiating one or more computing resource groups for executing one or more serverless functions associated with the one or more actions. One or more responses are received from the serverless functions.

An embodiment device includes a network interface, a non-transitory computer readable medium having executable instructions thereon, and a processor coupled to the network interface and the computer readable medium. The executable instructions cause the processor to receive an Intent representing requirements for data traffic on a network having a plurality of endpoints, with the Intent specifying one or more traffic parameters identifying one or more of the endpoints, and and at least one first service. The executable instructions also include instructions to generate one or more networking commands identifying the at least one first service according to the traffic parameters, send the networking commands to one or more network devices on the network and cause the network devices to perform the at least one first service on a first data transmission in response to parameters of the data transmission satisfying the one or more networking commands.

Intent based network configuration

The disclosure relates to technology for coordinating execution of serverless functions. One or more events are received from one or more external sources. The one or more events are mapped to one or more event states of a processing graph according to mapping rules, the one or more event states including one or more actions, and the one or more actions are executed in response to the one or more events satisfying conditions of the mapping rules. An event response is the received in reply to the received one or more events, where the event response is based on execution of one or more tasks corresponding to a sequence of the executed one or more actions.

A method for service function chaining across subnetworks includes receiving a packet at a virtual switch integration bridge from a first service function (SF) that is in a service function chain (SFC) and that is on a first subnetwork, determining a next SF in the SFC in a different subnetwork, and sending the received packet directly from the virtual switch integration bridge to the next SF.

Service function chaining across multiple subnetworks

Dynamically by-passing a service function instance on a service chain after the service function instance has processed the first few packets of a traffic flow may improve the overall processing efficiency of the service chain. When using a control plane mechanism, a service function instance communicates a by-pass indication to a control plane entity to prompt the control plane entity to re-route remaining portions of the traffic flow around the service function instance. When using a data plane mechanism, a service function instance includes a by-pass indication in a service chain header (SCH) of a packet in a traffic flow, and forwards the packet to a data plane entity. The by-pass indication will prompt the data plane entity to re-route remaining portions of the traffic flow around the service function instance.

Growing community of inventors

Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Hong Zhang