Load balancing method, apparatus and system

1. A load balancing method, comprising:

obtaining, by a load balancing apparatus, a load balancing policy, wherein the load balancing policy is determined according to entity information about service function execution entities in a network service system;

generating, by the load balancing apparatus, an execution flow table according to the load balancing policy; and

delivering, by the load balancing apparatus, the execution flow table to a network device, to instruct the network device to perform a load balancing operation according to the execution flow table,

wherein, the obtaining, by the load balancing apparatus, the load balancing policy comprises:

acquiring, by the load balancing apparatus, the entity information about the service function execution entities collected by a service management and control center of the network service system; and

generating, by the load balancing apparatus, the load balancing policy according to the entity information; or

wherein, the obtaining, by the load balancing apparatus, the load balancing policy comprises:

acquiring, by the load balancing apparatus, a load balancing suggestion generated by the service management and control center based on the entity information about the service function execution entities; and

taking the load balancing suggestion as the load balancing policy, and

wherein the entity information comprises address information, service state persistence information, and load status information of each service function execution entity.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the load balancing apparatus is a network management and control center of a basic network system, and the basic network system comprises the network device.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the network device is a router, a switch, or a virtual device as the router or the switch.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the load balancing policy comprises a flow persistence suggestion, and the flow persistence suggestion refers to sending all data flows that belong to a same service to a same service function execution entity undergoing service state persistence.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the load balancing policy comprises a load allocation weight suggestion for the service function execution entities.

6. The method according to claim 5 , further comprising:

upon determining, by the load balancing apparatus, that a new service function execution entity is added to the network service system, allocating data flows other than those undergoing flow persistence operation among original service function execution entities and the newly added service function execution entity according to the load allocation weight suggestion, while continuing to allocate data flows undergoing a flow persistence operation to the original service function execution entities.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the execution flow table comprises load allocation information of a flow.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the execution flow table comprises flow persistence information indicating that a flow persistence operation is needed for a flow.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the execution flow table comprises a two-way flow allocation suggestion instructing that two data flows mutually forming a two-way flow are allocated to the same service function execution entity.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the execution flow table comprises a two-way flow persistence suggestion instructing that a two-way flow persistence operation is performed on a service function execution entity to which a two-way flow is allocated.

11. A load balancing apparatus, comprising: a processor and a communication interface;

wherein the processor is configured to perform operations comprising:

obtaining a load balancing policy, wherein the load balancing policy is determined according to entity information about service function execution entities in a network service system;

generating an execution flow table according to the load balancing policy; and

delivering the execution flow table to a network device through the communication interface, to instruct the network device to perform a load balancing operation according to the execution flow table,

wherein, the obtaining, by the load balancing apparatus, the load balancing policy comprises:

acquiring, by the load balancing apparatus, the entity information about the service function execution entities collected by a service management and control center of the network service system; and

generating, by the load balancing apparatus, the load balancing policy according to the entity information; or

wherein, the obtaining, by the load balancing apparatus, the load balancing policy comprises:

acquiring, by the load balancing apparatus, a load balancing suggestion generated by the service management and control center based on the entity information about the service function execution entities; and

taking the load balancing suggestion as the load balancing policy, and

wherein the entity information comprises address information, service state persistence information, and load status information of each service function execution entity.

12. The load balancing apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the load balancing apparatus is a network management and control center of a basic network system, and the basic network system comprises the network device.

13. The load balancing apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the network device is a router, a switch, or a virtual device as the router or the switch.

14. A load balancing system, comprising a network device and a load balancing apparatus;

wherein the load balancing apparatus is configured to perform operations comprising:

obtaining a load balancing policy, wherein the load balancing policy is determined according to entity information about service function execution entities in a network service system;

generating an execution flow table according to the load balancing policy; and

delivering the execution flow table to the network device, to instruct the network device to perform a load balancing operation according to the execution flow table;

wherein the network device is configured to perform a load balancing operation according to the execution flow table,

wherein the load balancing system comprises a basic network sub-system and a network service sub-system,

wherein the basic network sub-system comprises the network device and the load balancing apparatus,

wherein the network service sub-system comprises a service management and control center and at least two service function execution entities,

wherein the load balancing apparatus in the basic network sub-system is further configured to interact with the service management and control center in the network service sub-system for obtaining the load balancing policy,

wherein the load balancing policy is determined according to entity information about service function execution entities in the network service sub-system, and

wherein the entity information comprises address information, service state persistence information, and load status information of each service function execution entity.