CN110275756B

CN110275756B - Method and device for deploying virtualized network element

Info

Publication number: CN110275756B
Application number: CN201810203961.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张晓伟; 李世涛; 杨旭; 吴勇
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-03-13
Filing date: 2018-03-13
Publication date: 2023-04-18
Anticipated expiration: 2038-03-13
Also published as: WO2019174449A1; CN110275756A

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and a device for deploying a virtualized network element. The deployment method of the virtualized network element comprises the following steps: the central manager receives an instantiation request, wherein the instantiation request comprises a deployment requirement of a virtualization network element, and the central manager manages the virtualization network element in one or more logic areas; the central manager judges the deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element and the deployment requirement of the container network element based on the deployment requirement of the virtualized network element; the central manager manages the life cycle of the virtual machine network element based on the deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element; the edge manager acquires the deployment requirement of the container network element from the central manager, and the edge manager is positioned in each logic area managed by the central manager; and the edge manager manages the life cycle of the container based on the deployment requirements of the container network elements. The deployment of containers can be well supported by providing a central manager and an edge manager.

Description

Method and device for deploying virtualized network element

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of computer networks, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for deploying virtualized network elements.

Background

In the past, a Network Function Virtualization (NFV) platform was established based on Openstack. By using general hardware such as x86 and virtualization technology, very multifunctional software processing is carried, so that the expensive equipment cost of the network is reduced. The functions of the network equipment can be decoupled through software and hardware and abstracted through functions, so that the functions of the network equipment do not depend on special hardware any more, resources can be fully and flexibly shared, the rapid development and deployment of new services are realized, and automatic deployment, elastic expansion, fault isolation, self-healing and the like are carried out based on actual service requirements.

In the conventional deployment of a virtualized Network element, there is a deployment manner only supporting a virtual machine, but it is impossible to effectively and well support the deployment of a container based on Network function Virtualization Management and organization (NFV-MANO, hereinafter referred to as MAMO).

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a method and a device for deploying a virtualized network element.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention relates to a method for deploying a virtualized network element, including: the method comprises the steps that a central manager receives an instantiation request, wherein the instantiation request comprises a deployment requirement of a virtualization network element, and the central manager manages the virtualization network element in one or more logic areas; the central manager judges the deployment requirement of a virtual machine network element and the deployment requirement of a container network element based on the deployment requirement of the virtualized network element, wherein the virtualized network element comprises the virtual machine network element and the container network element, the virtual machine network element is formed based on the deployment of a virtual machine, and the container network element is formed based on the deployment of a container; the central manager manages the life cycle of the virtual machine network element based on the deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element; an edge manager acquires the deployment requirement of the container network element from the central manager, wherein the edge manager is positioned in each logic area managed by the central manager; and the edge manager manages the life cycle of the container based on the deployment requirements of the container network elements.

According to the method, the deployment of the virtual machine and the container can be supported based on the MANO. In addition, the center manager is used for carrying out life cycle management on virtual machine network elements based on virtual machines in all logic areas, and the edge managers except the center manager are used for carrying out life cycle management on container network elements based on containers in respective logic areas, so that hierarchical management is realized, containers can be deployed quickly, and resources can be saved.

With reference to the foregoing aspect, in the deployment method, the managing, by the central manager based on the deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element, a life cycle of the virtual machine network element at least includes: the central manager sends the deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element to a virtual machine deployment unit, and the virtual deployment unit deploys the virtual machine to a logic area managed by the virtual deployment unit based on the deployment requirement of the virtual network element; and the central manager acquires the deployment result of the virtual machine from the virtual machine deployment unit.

According to the above, the central edge manager directly manages the life cycles of the virtual machine network elements based on the virtual machines in all the managed logical areas, such as generation.

With reference to the foregoing aspect, in the deployment method, the managing, by the edge manager, the life cycle of the container based on the deployment requirement of the container network element includes at least: the edge manager sends the deployment requirement of the container network element to a container deployment unit, and the container deployment unit deploys the container to the logic area managed by the container deployment unit based on the deployment requirement of the container network element; the edge manager acquires a deployment result of the container from the container deployment unit; and the edge manager sends the deployment result of the container to the central manager.

According to the above, the edge manager manages the life cycle of the managed logical area, such as generation of the container-based container network element, so that the container can be deployed quickly and efficiently, the delay in generating the container-based container network element is reduced, and the probability of failure in deployment is reduced. Therefore, the container which is fast to start and occupies less resources can be effectively utilized.

With reference to the above aspect, in the deployment method, the container further includes a virtual machine that deploys the container and a physical machine that deploys the container.

With reference to the above aspect, in the deployment method, the logical area is one of a data center, a region, an available area, and a host group.

With reference to the above aspect, in the deployment method, the center manager is provided in any one of the logical regions, or is provided in a region other than the logical region.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention relates to a device for deploying a virtualized network element, including: the central manager is used for managing the virtualized network elements of one or more logic areas; and an edge manager in each of the logical regions, the central manager including: a first receiving unit, configured to receive an instantiation request, where the instantiation request includes a deployment requirement of a virtualized network element; a determining unit, configured to determine, based on a deployment requirement of the virtualized network element, a deployment requirement of a virtual machine network element and a deployment requirement of a container network element, where the virtualized network element includes the virtual machine network element and the container network element, the virtual machine network element is configured based on deployment of a virtual machine, and the container network element is configured based on deployment of a container; and a management unit, configured to manage a lifecycle of the virtual machine network element based on a deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element, where the edge manager includes: a first receiving unit, configured to obtain, from the central manager, a deployment requirement of the container network element; and the management unit is used for managing the life cycle of the container based on the deployment requirement of the container network element.

According to the method, the deployment of the virtual machine and the container can be supported based on the MANO. In addition, the center manager is used for carrying out life cycle management on the virtual machine network elements based on the virtual machines in all the logic areas, and the edge managers except the center manager are used for carrying out life cycle management on the container network elements based on the containers in the respective logic areas, so that hierarchical management is realized, the containers can be deployed quickly, and resources can be saved.

With reference to the above aspect, in the deployment apparatus, the central manager further includes: a sending unit, configured to send the deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element to a virtual machine deployment unit, where the virtual deployment unit deploys the virtual machine to a logic area managed by the virtual deployment unit based on the deployment requirement of the virtual network element; and the second receiving unit is used for acquiring the deployment result of the virtual machine from the virtual machine deployment unit.

With the above aspect combined, in the deployment apparatus, the edge manager further includes: a first sending unit, configured to send the deployment requirement of the virtual network element to a container deployment unit, where the container deployment unit deploys the container to the logical area managed by the container deployment unit based on the deployment requirement of the container network element; a second receiving unit configured to acquire a deployment result of the container from the container deployment unit; and the second sending unit is used for sending the deployment result of the container to the central manager.

With reference to the above aspect, in the deployment apparatus, the container further includes a virtual machine that deploys the container and a physical machine that deploys the container.

With reference to the above aspect, in the deployment apparatus, the logical area is one of a data center, a region, an available area, and a host group.

With reference to the above aspect, in the deployment apparatus, the center VNFM is provided in any one of the logical regions, or is provided in a region other than the logical region.

In a third aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by a computer, implement the method of the above aspects.

In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of the above aspects.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of the above aspects.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an NFV architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the relationship of logical zones involved in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of VNF management in a past MANO;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of information interaction in the MANO of FIG. 3;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating VNFM-based management of virtualized network elements according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating information interaction in the management of FIG. 5;

fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a deployment method of a virtualized network element according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a network device deployed by a virtualized network element according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an NFV (Network Functions Virtualization) architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the NFV technology, the following three aspects are mainly involved: a virtual network function to be set, also called a virtualized network element; network function virtualization Infrastructure (NFV Infrastructure, NFVI) that implements the above-described virtualized network element; and the MAMO is used for managing and arranging the virtual network elements.

A virtualized network element is a Virtual application whose functions are implemented by deploying VMs (Virtual machines) and containers for the virtualized network element, and the virtualized network element may include at least one Virtual Machine network element (also referred to as VNF) configured by a VM and implementing part or all of its functions, and at least one container network element (referred to as CNF) configured by a container and implementing part or all of its functions. For example, a VNF, which is a virtual machine network element, may be decomposed into a set of VNFCs (virtual network function units, VNF components) and a connection relationship between the VNFCs, each VNFC being mapped to one VM. The same applies to the container network element CNF, including the containers and the connection relationships between the containers. Here, the container network element may include a bare metal server for deploying the container, may also include a virtual machine for deploying the container, and may also include both of them, specifically, may be selected according to the deployment requirement. In the following description, containers are described by taking Docker and Docker Over VM as examples, but these are only one example of a container, and may be other containers.

The NFVI implements a virtualized network element by deploying a VM, a Docker, or a Docker Over VM on its physical resource, and provides a virtualized resource required for supporting the execution of the virtualized network element. NFVI combines hardware components and software components and is a pool of resources, a physical infrastructure connected by a communication network.

The MANO is responsible for the management and orchestration of the entire NFVI resources, for the mapping and association of the service network and NFVI resources, including orchestration and lifecycle management of the physical and/or software resources supporting the physical infrastructure virtualization, lifecycle management of the virtualized network elements. The MANO is a function that is commonly completed/provided by NFVO (Network Functions Virtualization Orchestrator), VNFM (Virtualized Network Functions Manager), and VIM (Virtualized Infrastructure Manager). The NFVO mainly provides global resource scheduling capability and global business orchestration capability. The VNFM is responsible for life cycle management of the virtualized network element, provides the capacity of creating and terminating the virtualized network element, setting the virtualized network element, configuring the virtualized network element, monitoring (health, performance and the like) the virtualized network element, automatically curing, replying, expanding, stretching and the like of the virtualized network element fault, and supports various simple and complex virtualized network elements. The VIM is an NFVI management system, and includes management of general physical and virtual resources, performing resource deployment and scheduling, and the like. However, the functional division of NFVO, VNFM, and VIM according to the present invention is not limited to this, and other functional division may be performed.

The above description describes virtualized network elements deployed by MANO, including virtual machine network elements deployed based on VM, and container network elements deployed based on Docker or container network elements deployed based on Docker Over VM. When a VM is deployed, the VIM may be, for example, openstacke, vmware, or the like, and when a Docker or Docker Over VM is deployed, the VIM may be, for example, a container platform in the industry, such as kubenates. The container is characterized by high starting speed and less occupied resources.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing logical areas involved in an embodiment of the present invention. The logical area includes a Data Center (DC), a Region (Region), an Available Zone (AZ), and a Host group (HA). DC is a classification of logical areas divided from the network connection point of view. The DC can accommodate multiple servers and communication devices that are placed together because they have the same environmental requirements and physical security requirements, and such placement facilitates maintenance. Region is a classification of physical regions divided according to regions, such as the central Region of china and the east Region of china. Usually, a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) tenant chooses to be in a Region and does not cross the Region. The DC and the Region are obtained by dividing the physical Region from different dimensions, and the two regions may intersect with each other, one DC may include multiple regions, and one Region may span multiple DCs. AZ are independent, physically isolated, available areas, and one Region contains a plurality of AZ. One AZ does not affect the other AZ when it fails. HA is a multiple of the Host construct in AZ. A plurality of HAs may be contained in one AZ. One HA may contain a plurality of hosts. As shown in fig. 2, DC1 includes Region1 and Region2, region3 spans DC2 and DC3, region1 includes AZ1 and AZ2, and AZ1 includes HA11 and HA12.

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating VNF management by a conventional MANO. FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of information interaction in the MANO of FIG. 3. The following description is made with reference to fig. 3 and 4.

In fig. 3, VNFs of multiple DCs are managed by VNFMs in a MANO, which may be installed in a DC where the VNF is deployed or in a separate DC. In this example, VNFM is installed in independent DC0, and a plurality of VNFs are to be provided in DC1 and DC2, respectively. As shown in fig. 4, in step S41, the VNFM in the MANO sends the deployment request of the VM of the VNF to the VIM1, and the deployment of the VM of the VNF of DC1 is to be performed. In step S42, the VIM1 feeds back the deployment result of the VMs of the VNF to the VNFM. In step S43, the VNFM sends the deployment request of the VNF to the VIM2, and deploys the VM of the VNF of DC 2; in step S44, the VIM2 feeds back the VM deployment result of the VNF to the VNFM. In this example, the VNFM manages the lifecycle of the VNF for each DC.

In this example, the deployment mode only supports deployment of VMs, does not support deployment of Docker, and does not support deployment of Docker Over VMs.

The invention provides a deployment method for supporting VM, docker and Docker Over VM based on VNFM of MAMO.

The VNFM management node in the MANO supports a split architecture, that is, the VNFM function is split in two stages, one part is responsible for VNF lifecycle management based on VM for all regions, and the other part is responsible for lifecycle management based on Docker or Docker Over VM for each region. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating VNFM-based management of a virtualized network element according to this embodiment. Fig. 6 shows a flow diagram of information interaction in the management of fig. 5.

In fig. 5, request information for deploying a virtualized network element is synchronized to a central VNFM that manages DC0, DC1, and DC2, and the central VNFM performs unified management on the deployed virtual network elements of the respective DCs. Here, the center VNFM may be provided in a separate DC, or may be provided in any one of DC0, DC1, and DC2. In addition, each of DC0, DC1, and DC2 is provided with a VNF/CNF near-end edge management component VNFM (hereinafter also referred to as an edge VNFM) that manages the lifecycle of CNFs based on Docker and Docker Over VM in the local area, and the edge VNFM manages the lifecycle of CNFs based on Docker and Docker Over VM in the local area. Here, the central VNFM performs lifecycle management of the VM-based VNF on all managed logical regions, and an overall architecture formed by the central VNFM and the edge VNFM supports VM, docker, and Docker Over VM mode deployment at the same time.

When receiving a deployment request of a virtualized network element, the central VNFM determines a deployment request of a VM-based virtual machine network element and a deployment request of a container-based container network element.

When the VM is deployed, the central VNFM sends a VM deployment request to the VIM managing the deployment of the VMs in each logic region, the VIM performing the deployment of the VM is, for example, openstack or Vmware, and deploys the VM in the region managed by the VIM according to the deployment request, and then the VIM feeds back the deployment result of the VM to the central VNFM. The central VNFM is responsible for lifecycle management of the VM-based VNF, e.g. managing generation of the VM-based VNF.

When performing the Docker deployment, the central VNFM sends the deployment request of the Docker or Docker Over VM of each logical region to each logical region, where the deployment request may be only the deployment request of the Docker, may also be the deployment request of the Docker Over VM, or a combination thereof. And the central VNFM sends the deployment requirement of the Docker or Docker Over VM to the area edge VNFM. Taking the deployment of Docker as an example, the central VNFM directly sends the deployment requirement of Docker to the edge VNFM, the edge VNFM manages the lifecycle of the CNF based on Docker, and transfers the deployment requirement to a VIM that manages the deployment of containers, such as a container management platform like K8S/facilities, the VIM deploys Docker according to the deployment requirement and feeds back the deployment result to the edge VNFM, the edge VNFM feeds back the deployment result of the region to the central VNFM, and the central VNFM collects the deployment information of Docker of each logic region from each edge VNFM to perform centralized display and management. Here, the edge VNFM manages the lifecycle of the Docker-based CNF.

A specific deployment method is explained in detail with reference to fig. 6.

As shown in fig. 6, the central VNFM manages the deployment of virtualized network elements for logical area 1 and logical area 2. In step S610, the central VNFM obtains from outside an instantiation request, which contains a deployment requirement to instantiate the virtualized network element VNF 1. The central VNFM determines deployment requirements of the VM-based VNF and the Docker-based CNF based on the received deployment requirements of the VNF 1. When the central VNFM determines that the deployment requirement of the VNF based on the VM and the deployment requirement of the CNF based on the Docker are performed, in step S611, the central VNFM sends the deployment requirement of the VM to the VIM11 of the logical area 1, and the VIM11 performs deployment of the VM according to the deployment requirement received from the central VNFM, where the VIM11 performs deployment and management on the VM of the logical area 1. In step S612, the VIM11 directly feeds back the deployment result of the VM to the central VNFM.

Next, in step S613, the central VNFM sends the network element deployment requirement based on Docker in the deployment request of instantiating VNF1 to the edge VNFM of area 1, that is, indicates that the area 1 edge VNFM arranges DC1 according to the Docker manner. And the edge VNFM arranges the CNF based on Docker according to the distribution requirement, and manages the life cycle line of the CNF. In step S614, the edge VNFM sends a Docker deployment requirement to the VIM1, the VIM1 deploys dockers in the area 1 according to the deployment requirement, in step S615, the VIM1 feeds back a deployment result of dockers to the edge VNFM, and in step S616, the edge VNFM sends the deployment result of dockers to the center VNFM. In S617, the central VNFM performs unified exposure and management on all VMs and deployment results of Docker, thereby completing instantiation of VNF 1.

Likewise, in step S618, the central VNFM obtains from the outside an instantiation request, which contains a deployment requirement for deploying the virtualized network element VNF 2. The central VNFM determines based on the received deployment request of the VNF2, and when the central VNFM determines that the deployment of the VM-based VNF and the deployment of the Docker-based CNF are performed, in step S619, the central VNFM sends a deployment requirement of the VM to the VIM21 of the logical area 2, and the VIM21 performs the deployment of the VM according to the deployment requirement received from the central VNFM, where the VIM21 performs the deployment and management of the VM of the logical area 2. In step S620, the VIM21 directly feeds back the deployment result of the VM to the central VNFM.

Next, in step S621, the central VNFM sends a Docker-based network element deployment requirement in the deployment request that instantiates the VNF2 to the edge VNFM of the area 2, that is, indicates the edge VNFM of the area 2 to orchestrate DC2 in a Docker manner. And arranging the CNF based on Docker according to the distribution requirement by the edge VNFM, and managing the life cycle line of the CNF. In step S622, the edge VNFM sends a Docker deployment requirement to the VIM21, the VIM21 deploys dockers in the area 2 according to the deployment requirement, in step S622, the VIM21 feeds back a deployment result of dockers to the edge VNFM, and in step S623, the edge VNFM sends the deployment result of dockers to the center VNFM. In S624, the central VNFM performs unified exhibition and management on all VMs and deployment results of the Docker, thereby completing instantiation of the VNF 2.

The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the sequence shown in fig. 6, and the sequence may be appropriately changed according to the execution time. According to the deployment requirement, the VM-based VNF deployment and the container-based CNF deployment may be performed simultaneously, or the container-based CNF deployment may be performed first, and then the VM-based VNF deployment may be performed.

An edge VNFM for managing the lifecycle of the Docker-based CNF is deployed in each DC/AZ, and secondary management according to business characteristics is performed, that is, the center VNFM manages the lifecycle management of the VM-based VNF of all the areas, and the edge VNFM manages the lifecycle management of the Docker-based CNF or Docker Over VM of each area. The beneficial effects achieved by the invention are summarized as follows: the lifecycle management of Docker and Docker Over VM scenarios is solved on the ETSI architecture.

Through the method, the deployment of the virtual machine and the container can be supported based on the MANO. In addition, the lifecycle management is performed on the virtual machine network elements based on the VMs of all the logic areas through the center VNFM, and the lifecycle management is performed on the container network elements based on the containers of the respective logic areas through the edge VNFMs other than the center VNFM, so that hierarchical management is realized, the containers can be deployed quickly, and resources can be saved.

In addition, the container can be deployed quickly, the life cycle of the container-based container network element can be managed effectively, the delay in generating the container-based container network element is reduced, and the probability of failure in deployment is reduced. Therefore, the container which is fast to start and occupies less resources can be effectively utilized.

That is, as shown in fig. 7, the VNFM second-level separation architecture performs the following deployment method of the VNF.

In step S71, the central VNFM receives an instantiation request, where the instantiation request includes a deployment requirement of a virtualized network element, and the central VNFM manages the virtualized network element for one or more logical areas; in step S72, the central VNFM determines, based on the deployment requirement of the virtualized network element, a deployment requirement of a virtual machine network element and a deployment requirement of a container network element, where the virtualized network element includes the virtual machine network element and the container network element, the virtual machine network element is configured based on deployment of VMs, and the container network element is configured based on deployment of containers; in step S73, the central VNFM manages a life cycle of the virtual machine network element based on the deployment requirement of the virtual network element; in step S74, the edge VNFM acquires the deployment requirement of the container network element from the center VNFM; in step S75, the edge VNFM manages the lifecycle of the container based on the deployment requirements of the virtual network element.

Optionally, in the deployment method, the managing, by the central VNFM, the life cycle of the virtual machine network element based on the deployment requirement of the virtual network element at least includes: the central VNFM sends the deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element to a virtual machine deployment unit, and the virtual deployment unit deploys the virtual machine to a logic area managed by the virtual deployment unit based on the deployment requirement of the virtual network element; and the central VNFM acquires the deployment result of the VM from the virtual machine deployment unit.

Optionally, in the deployment method, the managing, by the edge VNFM, the life cycle of the container based on the deployment requirement of the container network element at least includes: the edge VNFM sends the deployment requirement of the container network element to a container deployment unit, and the container deployment unit deploys the container to the logic area managed by the container deployment unit based on the deployment requirement of the container network element; the edge manager acquires a deployment result of the container from the container deployment unit; and the edge VNFM sends the deployment result of the container to the center VNFM.

Optionally, in the deployment method described above, the container network element includes a virtual machine that deploys the container and a physical machine that deploys the container.

Alternatively, in the above deployment method, the logical Region may be any one of DC, region, AZ, and HA.

Optionally, in the deployment method described above, the center VNFM is provided in one of the logical regions or in a region other than the logical region.

The embodiment of the invention can realize the deployment of the supporting virtual machine and the container based on the MANO. In addition, the center VNFM performs lifecycle management on VM-based virtualized network elements of all logic areas, and the edge VNFMs other than the center VNFM perform lifecycle management on container-based container network elements of respective logic areas, thereby implementing hierarchical management, being capable of deploying containers quickly, and being capable of saving resources.

Next, a MANO-based VNF deployment apparatus corresponding to the above method is explained.

The embodiment of the invention relates to a device for deploying a virtualized network element, which comprises: the central VNFM is used for managing the virtualized network elements of one or more logic areas; and an edge VNFM in each of the logical regions, the center VNFM including: a first receiving unit, configured to receive an instantiation request, where the instantiation request includes a deployment requirement of a virtualized network element; a determining unit, configured to determine, based on a deployment requirement of the virtualized network element, a deployment requirement of a virtual machine network element and a deployment requirement of a container network element, where the virtualized network element includes the virtual machine network element and the container network element, the virtual machine network element is configured based on deployment of VMs, and the container network element is configured based on deployment of containers; and a management unit, configured to manage a lifecycle of the virtual machine network element based on a deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element, where the edge VNFM includes: a first receiving unit, configured to obtain, from the central VNFM, a deployment requirement of the container network element; and the management unit is used for managing the life cycle of the container based on the deployment requirement of the container network element.

Optionally, the deployment apparatus further includes: in the deployment apparatus, the central VNFM further comprises: a sending unit, configured to send the deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element to a virtual machine deployment unit, where the virtual deployment unit deploys the virtual machine to a logic area managed by the virtual deployment unit based on the deployment requirement of the virtual network element; and the second receiving unit is used for acquiring the deployment result of the virtual machine from the virtual machine deployment unit.

Optionally, in the deployment apparatus, the edge VNFM further comprises: a first sending unit, configured to send the deployment requirement of the virtual network element to a container deployment unit, where the container deployment unit deploys the container to the logical area managed by the container deployment unit based on the deployment requirement of the container network element; a second receiving unit configured to acquire a deployment result of the container from the container deployment unit; a second sending unit, configured to send the deployment result of the container to the central VNFM.

Optionally, in the deployment apparatus, the container network element includes a virtual machine that deploys a container and a physical machine that deploys the container.

Optionally, in the above deployment apparatus, the logic Region is one of DC, region, AZ, and HA.

Alternatively, in the deployment apparatus, the central VNFM may be provided in any one of the logic areas, or may be provided in an area other than the logic area.

In addition, the embodiment of the invention can realize the deployment of the supporting virtual machine and the container based on the MANO. In addition, the center VNFM performs lifecycle management on virtual machine-based virtual machine network elements of all logic areas, and the edge VNFMs other than the center VNFM perform lifecycle management on container-based container network elements of respective logic areas, thereby implementing hierarchical management, being capable of deploying containers quickly, and being capable of saving resources.

Fig. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a VNF deployed network device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 8, the network device 80 includes an input device 81, an input interface 82, a processor 83, a memory 84, an output interface 85, and an output device 86.

The input interface 82, the processor 83, the memory 84, and the output interface 85 are connected to each other via a bus 87, and the input device 81 and the output device 86 are connected to the bus 87 via the input interface 82 and the output interface 85, respectively, and further connected to other components of the network device 80.

Specifically, the input device 81 receives input information from the outside and transmits the input information to the processor 83 through the input interface 82; processor 83 processes the input information based on computer-executable instructions stored in memory 84 to generate output information, stores the output information temporarily or permanently in memory 84, and then transmits the output information to output device 86 through output interface 85; the output device 86 outputs the output information to the outside of the network device 80 for use by the user.

Network device 80 may perform the steps of embodiments of the present invention.

Processor 83 may be one or more Central Processing Units (CPUs). In the case where the processor 83 is one CPU, the CPU may be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

The memory 84 may be, but is not limited to, one or more of Random Access Memory (RAM), read Only Memory (ROM), erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), a hard disk, and the like. The memory 84 is used to store program codes.

It is understood that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the network device 80 in fig. 8 may be a deployment apparatus of a virtualized network element.

All parts of this specification are described in a progressive manner, and like parts of the various embodiments can be referred to one another, with emphasis on each embodiment being placed on differences from other embodiments. In particular, as to the apparatus and system embodiments, since they are substantially similar to the method embodiments, the description is relatively simple and reference may be made to the description of the method embodiments in relevant places.

Claims

1. A method for deploying a virtualized network element, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a central manager receives an instantiation request, wherein the instantiation request comprises a deployment requirement of a virtualization network element, and the central manager manages the virtualization network element in one or more logic areas;

the central manager judges the deployment requirement of a virtual machine network element and the deployment requirement of a container network element based on the deployment requirement of the virtualized network element, wherein the virtualized network element comprises the virtual machine network element and the container network element, the virtual machine network element is formed based on the deployment of a virtual machine, and the container network element is formed based on the deployment of a container;

the central manager manages the life cycle of the virtual machine network element based on the deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element;

an edge manager acquires the deployment requirement of the container network element from the central manager, wherein the edge manager is positioned in each logic area managed by the central manager; and

the edge manager manages the lifecycle of the container based on the deployment requirements of the container network elements.

2. The deployment method of claim 1,

the managing, by the central manager, the life cycle of the virtual machine network element based on the deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element at least includes:

the central manager sends the deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element to a virtual machine deployment unit, and the virtual machine deployment unit deploys the virtual machine to a logic area managed by the virtual machine deployment unit based on the deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element;

and the central manager acquires the deployment result of the virtual machine from the virtual machine deployment unit.

3. The deployment method of claim 1,

the edge manager managing the life cycle of the container based on the deployment requirement of the container network element at least comprises:

the edge manager sends the deployment requirement of the container network element to a container deployment unit, and the container deployment unit deploys the container to the logic area managed by the container deployment unit based on the deployment requirement of the container network element;

the edge manager acquires a deployment result of the container from the container deployment unit; and

the edge manager sends the deployment result of the container to the central manager.

4. The deployment method of any one of claims 1 to 3,

the container network element comprises a virtual machine for deploying the container and a physical machine for deploying the container.

5. The deployment method of any one of claims 1 to 3,

the logic area is one of a data center, a region, an available area and a host group.

6. The deployment method of any one of claims 1 to 3,

the center manager is provided in any one of the logical areas, or in an area outside the logical area.

7. A deployment apparatus of a virtualized network element, comprising:

the central manager is used for managing the virtualized network elements of one or more logic areas; and

an edge manager in each of the logical regions,

the center manager includes:

a first receiving unit, configured to receive an instantiation request, where the instantiation request includes a deployment requirement of a virtualized network element;

a determining unit, configured to determine, based on a deployment requirement of the virtualized network element, a deployment requirement of a virtual machine network element and a deployment requirement of a container network element, where the virtualized network element includes the virtual machine network element and the container network element, the virtual machine network element is configured based on deployment of a virtual machine, and the container network element is configured based on deployment of a container; and

a management unit, configured to manage a life cycle of the virtual machine network element based on a deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element,

the edge manager includes:

a first receiving unit, configured to obtain, from the central manager, a deployment requirement of the container network element;

and the management unit is used for managing the life cycle of the container based on the deployment requirement of the container network element.

8. The deployment device of claim 7,

the central manager further comprises:

a sending unit, configured to send the deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element to a virtual machine deployment unit, where the virtual machine deployment unit deploys the virtual machine to a logic area managed by the virtual machine deployment unit based on the deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element;

and the second receiving unit is used for acquiring the deployment result of the virtual machine from the virtual machine deployment unit.

9. The deployment device of claim 7,

the edge manager further comprises:

a first sending unit, configured to send the deployment requirement of the virtual machine network element to a container deployment unit, where the container deployment unit deploys the container to the logical area managed by the container deployment unit based on the deployment requirement of the container network element;

a second receiving unit configured to acquire a deployment result of the container from the container deployment unit;

and the second sending unit is used for sending the deployment result of the container to the central manager.

10. The deployment device of any of claims 7 to 9,

the container network element includes a virtual machine to deploy a container and a physical machine to deploy the container.

11. The deployment device of any of claims 7 to 9,

12. The deployment device of any of claims 7 to 9,

the center manager is provided in any one of the logical areas or in an area other than the logical area.