Network field unit for a cloud-based services exchange

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016337179-A1
Application number	US-201615001875-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jan 20, 2016
Priority date	May 12, 2015
Publication date	Nov 17, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

In some examples, a method includes receiving, by at least one network field unit, a service definition that specifies one or more service requirements to implement a service within a portion of an edge network of one or more network data centers, wherein the service definition is usable by the at least one network field unit to configure the portion of the edge network to provide the service, wherein the portion of the edge network within one or more network data centers connect through one or more switching fabrics of the one or more network data centers; determining, by the network field unit and based on the service definition, one or more particular, physical devices of the edge network that are usable to provide the service; and configuring, by the network field unit, the one or more particular, physical devices of the edge network to provide the service.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method comprising:
receiving, by at least one network field unit, a network service definition that specifies one or more service requirements to implement a network service within a portion of an edge network of one or more network data centers, wherein the network service definition is usable by the at least one network field unit to configure the portion of the edge network to provide the network service, wherein the portion of the edge network within one or more network data centers connect through one or more switching fabrics of the one or more network data centers; determining, by the network field unit and based on the network service definition, one or more particular, physical devices of the edge network that are usable to provide the service; and configuring, by the network field unit, the one or more particular, physical devices of the edge network to provide the network service.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein configuring the one or more particular, physical devices of the edge network further comprises:
sending, by the network field unit, and to at least one of a Software-Defined Network (SDN) controller or a hardware configurator, one or more instructions that are usable by the least one of the SDN controller or the hardware configurator to configure the one or more particular, physical devices of the edge network to provide the network service.

3 . The method of claim 1 ,
wherein the one or more network data centers are geographically dispersed, and wherein a plurality of network field units that includes the network field unit are geographically dispersed, respectively, with the one or more geographically dispersed network data centers, each of the plurality of network field units controlling respective portion of the edge network.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
monitoring, by the network field unit, performance data for the network service that is received from at least one of an SDN controller, a hardware configurator, or an infrastructure data collector; comparing, by the network field unit, the performance data with at least one of performance conditions or network telemetry and analytics data stored by the CNC system to determine whether the service requirements for the network service are satisfied by performance of the portion of the edge network; responsive to determining that the service requirements for the network service are not satisfied, determining, by the network field unit, at least one remedial action to satisfy the service requirements for the network service; and executing, by the CNC system, the at least one remedial action.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein executing the at least one remedial action comprises reconfiguring at least the portion of the edge network or a different portion of the edge network.

6 . The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
responsive to determining that the service requirements for the network service are not satisfied, sending, by the network field unit, information that indicates that the service requirements for the network service are not satisfied to a CNC system.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein configuring one or more particular, physical devices of the edge network to provide the network service further comprises:
configuring a plurality of provider edge routers included in the portion of the edge network to define one or more virtual private network routing and forwarding instances (VRFs) for the network service.

8 . A network field unit comprising:
one or more computer processors; and a memory comprising instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to: receive a network service definition that specifies one or more service requirements to implement a network service within a portion of an edge network of one or more network data centers, wherein the network service definition is usable by the at least one network field unit to configure the portion of the edge network to provide the network service, wherein the portion of the edge network within one or more network data centers connect through one or more switching fabrics of the one or more network data centers; determine, based on the network service definition, one or more particular, physical devices of the edge network that are usable to provide the service; and configure the one or more particular, physical devices of the edge network to provide the network service.

9 . The network field unit of claim 8 , wherein the memory comprises instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to:
send, to at least one of a Software-Defined Network (SDN) controller or a hardware configurator, one or more instructions that are usable by the least one of the SDN controller or the hardware configurator to configure the one or more particular, physical devices of the edge network to provide the network service

10 . The network field unit of claim 8 ,
wherein the one or more network data centers are geographically dispersed, and wherein a plurality of network field units that includes the network field unit are geographically dispersed, respectively, with the one or more geographically dispersed network data centers, each of the plurality of network field units controlling respective portion of the edge network.

11 . The network field unit of claim 8 , wherein the memory comprises instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to:
monitor performance data for the network service that is received from at least one of an SDN controller, a hardware configurator, or an infrastructure data collector; compare the performance data with at least one of performance conditions or network telemetry and analytics data stored by the CNC system to determine whether the service requirements for the network service are satisfied by performance of the portion of the edge network; responsive to determining that the service requirements for the network service are not satisfied, determine at least one remedial action to satisfy the service requirements for the network service; and execute the at least one remedial action.

12 . The network field unit of claim 8 , wherein executing the at least one remedial action comprises reconfiguring at least the portion of the edge network or a different portion of the edge network.

13 . The network field unit of claim 8 , wherein the memory comprises instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to:
responsive to determining that the service requirements for the network service are not satisfied, send information that indicates that the service requirements for the network service are not satisfied to a CNC system.

14 . The network field unit of claim 8 , wherein the memory comprises instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to:
configure a plurality of provider edge routers included in the portion of the edge network to define one or more virtual private network routing and forwarding instances (VRFs) for the network service.

15 . A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause at least one programmable processor of a network field unit to perform operations comprising:
receiving a network service definition that specifies one or more service requirements to implement a network service within

Assignees

• Equinix Inc

Inventors

• Rao Ravindra Jn

Classifications

• H04L12/4641

  Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] (LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272) · CPC title

• H04L41/5051

  Service on demand, e.g. definition and deployment of services in real time · CPC title

• H04L41/0806 Primary

  for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play · CPC title

• H04L41/0803

  Configuration setting · CPC title

• H04L41/12

  Discovery or management of network topologies · CPC title