Health check automation for virtual network functions

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10904098-B2
Application number	US-201916457333-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 28, 2019
Priority date	Jun 28, 2019
Publication date	Jan 26, 2021
Grant date	Jan 26, 2021

Abstract

The disclosed embodiments include a method for performing a health check of a telephony application server (TAS) or call session control function (CSCF) with an integrated virtual network function (iVNF) architecture. The method can include receiving a predefined command at a client component on a central node of the TAS or the CSCF. The command causes the client component to execute a procedure to obtain health data of component node(s) other than the central node. The method can further include fetching the health data obtained by agent component(s) of the component node(s). Each component node has an agent component, and the health data is fetched in accordance with the predefined command received by the client component. The method can further include causing display of an output based on the fetched health data, wherein the output is indicative of a health status of the TAS or the CSCF.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method for performing a health check of an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) core node with an integrated virtual network function (iVNF) architecture, the method comprising:
receiving a predefined command at a client component that resides at a central management system (CMS) node of the IMS core node,
wherein the IMS core node includes a telephony application server (TAS) node or a call session control function (CSCF) node,
wherein the predefined command causes the client component to execute a procedure to obtain health data of one or more component nodes other than the CMS node of the IMS core node, and
wherein each of the one or more component nodes includes a virtual network function (VNF);

fetching the health data obtained by one or more agent components of the one or more component nodes,
wherein each component node except for the CMS node has an agent component, and
wherein the health data is fetched in accordance with the predefined command received by the client component;

automatically parsing and formatting the health data;
validating the parsed and formatted health data in accordance with a pre-specified parameter requirement to produce an indication of a health status of the IMS core node; and
causing display of the indication of the health status of the IMS core node.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to causing display of the indication of the health status of the IMS core node:
automating processing of the health data by:
parsing the health data in accordance with the predefined command to extract data indicative of a health state of the one or more component nodes; and
processing the extracted data in accordance with a rule or criterion to produce the indication of the health status of the IMS core node.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein fetching the health data comprises:
responsive to receiving the predefined command, obtaining the health data from a database of the CMS node.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein fetching the health data comprises:
responsive to receiving the predefined command, causing the one or more agent components to collect the health data and forward the collected health data to the control component at the CMS node.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the IMS core node includes the TAS node.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to receiving the predefined command:
administering a user interface rendered on a display device to allow a user to select the predefined command from among a plurality of predefined commands.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to fetching the health data obtained by the one or more agent components:
determining that the predefined command is supported for application on the IMS core node.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predefined command is a first predefined command and the IMS core node is a first IMS core node, the method further comprising:
receiving a second predefined command at the client component of the first IMS core node, wherein the second predefined command is selected at a console;
determining that the second predefined command is supported for application on a second IMS core node different from the first IMS core node; and
communicating an error message to the console, the error message indicating a failure to perform the health check of the first IMS core node.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predefined command is a first predefined command and the IMS core node is a first IMS core node, the method further comprising:
receiving a second predefined command at the client component of the first IMS core node, wherein the second predefined command is selected at a console;
determining that the second predefined command is not supported for application on the first IMS core node; and
communicating an error message to the console, the error message indicating a failure to perform the health check of the first IMS core node.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein fetching the health data obtained by the one or more agent components of the one or more component nodes comprises:
retrieving the health data from a database of the CMS node, wherein the database regularly collects health-related data from the one or more agent components, and the health data is stored at the database prior to receiving the predefined command.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein fetching the health data obtained by the one or more agent components of the one or more component nodes comprises:
collecting the health data from the one or more agent components in response to receiving the predefined command.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the procedure to obtain the health data of one or more component comprises:
executing a script that connects a console to a secure shell (SSH) tunnel;
causing connection of the console to the CMS node through the SSH tunnel; and
causing a user interface to display on the console, wherein the predefined command is selected from among a plurality of predefined commands displayed on the user interface.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the procedure to obtain the health data of one or more components comprises:
generating a password to securely connect the client component to the one or more agent components of the IMS core node;
encrypting the password in accordance with an encryption standard such that the one or more agent components are capable of decrypting the password; and
opening one or more connections between the one or more agent components of the IMS core node and the client component.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the IMS core node includes the CSCF node.

15. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium carrying instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, perform operations to cause a central component node of an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) core node with an integrated virtual network function (iVNF) architecture to perform a health check, the operations comprising:
initiating a connection between a console and a central management system (CMS) component node of the IMS core node,
wherein the IMS core node includes a telephony application server (TAS) node or a call session control function (CSCF) node;

causing a user interface to display on the console, wherein a predefined command is selected from among multiple predefined commands displayed on the user interface;
executing a procedure by a client component of the CMS component node to obtain health data from at least one agent component of one or more component nodes other than the CMS component node,
wherein each of the one or more component nodes other than the CMS component node includes a virtual network function (VNF);

outputting the health data obtained by one or more agent components of the one or more component nodes,
wherein the health data is fetched in accordance with the predefined command;

automatically parsing and formatting the health data;
validating the parsed and formatted health data in accordance with a pre-specified parameter requirement to produce an indication of a health status of the IMS core node; and
causing display of the indication of the health status of the IMS core node.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the predefined command is a user-typed command for application on a group of the one or more component nodes of the IMS core node.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the predefined command is a single command for application o

Assignees

• T Mobile Usa Inc

Inventors

• Kovtunenko Artem
• Rider Jordan
• Agarwal Bikash

Classifications

• H04L43/20

  the monitoring system or the monitored elements being virtualised, abstracted or software-defined entities, e.g. SDN or NFV · CPC title

• H04L41/40

  using virtualisation of network functions or resources, e.g. SDN or NFV entities · CPC title

• H04L41/14 Primary

  Network analysis or design · CPC title

• H04L41/046 Primary

  comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor · CPC title

• H04L43/045

  for graphical visualisation of monitoring data · CPC title