Open Invention Network LLC

International Business Machines Corporation

Google Inc.

Northern Telecom Limited

Open Invention Network Llcnc

Keith William Melkild

Mark L Herbert

Brian M Roeten

An example operation includes one or more of receiving a VNFC LCM request including a VNFC instance (VNFCI) and an LCM operation to be performed, retrieving one or more VNFCI datum, determining a target OS installation of the VNFCI, establishing a connection to the target OS installation, checking for the presence of a VNFC specific LCM script for the LCM operation to be performed, constructing a VNFC specific LCM command that calls the VNFC specific LCM script and which specifies the VNFCI, executing the VNFC specific LCM command, normalizing a response code, and sending a response to the VNFC LCM request.

Lifecycle management of a VNFC included in a multi-VNFC VDU

An example operation may include a method comprising one or more of creating a VNFC monitor, starting a VNFC monitor, sending VNFCI state change notifications which includes a status of one or more VNFC modules, stopping a VNFC monitor, and destroying a VNFC monitor.

Monitoring VNFCs that are composed of independently manageable software modules

An example operation may include a system comprising one or more of receiving a heartbeat failure notification in a VNFCI when the VNFCI is in standby state, sending to a Virtual Network Function Manager (VNFM), by an operational state machine, a next state request message, determining if a peer VNFCI is online when an administrative state of the peer VNFCI is online, determining an operational state of the peer VNFCI when the peer VNFCI is online, sending a first next state response message with a standby state to the VNFCI when the peer VNFCI operational state is active, sending a second next state response with an active state to the VNFCI when the peer VNFCI operational state is not active, examining, in the VNFCI, a next state attribute in a received next state response message, staying in a standby state when the next state attribute is standby, and transitioning to active state when the next state attribute is active.

VNFM assisted fault handling in virtual network function components

An example operation may include a method comprising one or more of receiving a VNF instance creation request from a NFVO, retrieving one or more VNFC Module LCM scripts and software loads, reserving one or more NFVI VM/container resources required for a VNF instance, instantiating one or more VNFCIs associated with the VNF instance wherein installation includes at least one or more of deploying the one or more VNFC module LCM scripts and software loads to the one or more reserved NFVI VM/containers, installing the VNFC modules on the one or more VM/containers, and starting the VNFC modules on the one or more VM/containers, sending a VNF instance creation completed notification.

Instantiating VNFs which include VNFCs that are composed of independently manageable software modules

An example operation may include a method, comprising one or more of: receiving a stop request from a VNFM, retrieving a last peer operational state from a heartbeat history datastore, staying in active state when the last peer operational state is not standby, sending a remaining check points message to a peer VNFCI when the last peer operational state is standby, sending a first heartbeat message to the peer VNFCI with an operational state of active and a desired operational state of shutdown, receiving, at the peer VNFCI, the first heartbeat message; sending a second heartbeat message to the VNFCI, determining an operational state of the VNFCI when the second heartbeat message is received from the peer VNFCI, staying in active state when the operational state in the second heartbeat message is activating, transitioning the VNFCI to a deactivating state, stopping accepting service traffic at the VNFCI, and transitioning to shutdown state at the VNFCI.

Coordinated switch of activity in virtual network function components

An example operation may include a method comprising one or more of receiving a VNFC module LCM request where the LCM request specifies a VNFC instance (VNFCI), a target VNFC module, and an LCM operation to be performed, comprising retrieving a VNFCI data entry, determining a target OS installation of the VNFCI, establishing a secure connection to a target OS on a VNFCI hosting VM/container, determining a default command for the LCM operation, adapting the default command to the target OS, executing the adapted command, normalizing a response code, and sending a response to the VNFC module LCM request.

Lifecycle management of VNFC software modules

The instant solution includes at least one element or action described or depicted herein.

Onboarding a VNF which includes a VNFC composed of manageable software elements

An example operation may include a system, comprising one or more of: receiving a status failure notification for a VNFCI, retrieving a peer VNFCI admin state and a peer VNFCI operational state, taking no action when one or more of: the peer VNFCI admin state is not online, the peer VNFCI is not reachable, and the peer VNFCI operational state is active, retrieving current issues reported on resources associated with the peer VNFCI when one or more of: the peer VNFCI admin state is online, the peer VNFCI is reachable, and the peer VNFCI operational state is not active, sending a state change request message with an active state to the peer VNFCI when the current issues do not exist, and starting a retry timer for the peer VNFCI.

VNFM handling of faults in virtual network function components

An example operation may include a system, comprising one or more of receiving a virtual network function component instance (VNFCI) status notification resumption message with an active state when a peer VNFCI operational state is active, retrieving a timestamp of a VNFCI state change to an active state from an element VNFCI state database, retrieving a timestamp of a peer VNFCI state change to active from an element VNFCI state database, sending one or more of: a request to a virtual network function manager (VNFM) to determine if the VNFCI network is isolating while an operating state was active, and a request to the VNFM to determine if the peer VNFCI network is isolating while an operating state was active, sending a state change request with standby state to the peer VNFCI when the VNFCI is not network isolated and the peer VNFCI is network isolated, and a VNFM response is received regarding the VNFCI, a timeout response from the VNFM, and a VNFM response is received regarding the peer VNFCI, and sending a state change request with standby to the VNFCI with one or more of: the VNFCI network isolate and peer VNFCI is not network isolated, and the VNFCI is network isolated or the peer VNFCI is not network isolated, and the VNFCI is not network isolated and the peer VNFCI is network isolated and the VNFCI is in preferred standby.

EMS resolution of split-brain virtual network function components

An example operation may include a method comprising one or more of receiving a heartbeat failure notification message when a VNFCI is in standby state, building, at a VNFCI, a next state request message with standby and heartbeat failure parameters, sending the next state request message to an EMS, retrieving, at the EMS, a peer VNFCI state when the next state request message is received, sending a next state response message to the VNFCI with active state when one or more of: a peer VNFCI admin state is not online, and when a peer VNFCI is not reachable when the peer VNFCI admin state is online, sending a next state response message with standby state when the peer operational state is active, and sending the next state response message with standby to the VNFCI when the request of current issues on resources associated with the VNFCI from the VNFM is received and there are critical issues at the EMS.

EMS assisted fault handling in virtual network function components

An example operation may include a method comprising one or more of receiving a VNFC module status request from a NFVO where the status request specifies a VNFC instance (VNFCI), determining a target OS installation of the VNFCI, retrieving a list of one or more VNFC modules of the VNFCI, determining the status of the one or more VNFC modules wherein the status determination includes at least one or more of constructing a default status command, adapting the command to the target OS, executing the adapted status command, and recording a normalized status result, sending a VNFC module status notification.

Onboarding a VNF which includes a VDU with multiple VNFCs

A method or system, comprising receiving, at a virtual network function component instances (VNFCI), a heartbeat message from a peer VNFCI with current operational state of active, sending the heartbeat message to the peer VNFCI with a current operational state of active, constructing and sending a next state request message to an element management system (EMS) with one or more of: an active parameter, and a split-brain parameter, starting a response timer, sending a heartbeat message to the peer VNFCI with a current operational state of active and a desired operational state of active when a receive next state response message is received and the VNFCI response state is active.

EMS assisted split-brain resolution in virtual network function components

An example operation may include a system, comprising one or more of: receiving a heartbeat message from a peer VNFCI indicating a current operational state of active, when the VNFCI is in active state, determining a first network isolation indicator, by a network isolation subsystem, by checking if the VNFCI was network isolated while becoming active, sending a first heartbeat message to the peer VNFCI indicating a current operational state as active and network isolation boolean since active, obtaining a second network isolation indicator of the peer VNFCI from a heartbeat message datastore, sending a second heartbeat message to the peer VNFCI indicating the current operational state as active and a desired operational state as active when at least one of: the second network isolation indicator was yes, and the first network isolation indicator was no, and sending a third heartbeat message to the peer VNFCI indicating the current operational state as active and a desired operational state as active when at least one of: the VNFCI is not the preferred standby instance, the second network isolation indicator was no, and the first network isolation indicator was no.

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Allen, TX, United States of America

Keith William Melkild