IP Library Granted Patent US 12,192,052
Granted Patent B2
US 12,192,052 · App. 17/441,515 · Granted Jan 7, 2025

End-to-end radio access network (RAN) deployment in open ran (O-RAN)

Inventors: Joey Chou (Cupertino, CA); Niall Power (Cupertino, CA); Jianli Sun (Cupertino, CA)
Assignee: Apple Inc.
H04L41/082H04W24/02
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,192,052
App. No.
17/441,515
Granted
Jan 7, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer programs for configuring a network functions virtualization orchestrator (NFVO). In one aspect, a method can include actions of generating, by one or more computers, a message that includes data representing a request to upload a virtual network function (VNF) package, encoding, by the one or more computers, the generated message that includes the VNF package for transmission to a network functions virtualization orchestrator (NFVO), and transmitting, by the one or more computers, the encoded message to the NFVO.

Claims (44)

1. A method comprising:

generating, for each virtual network function (VNF) of a plurality of VNFs comprising at least one distributed unit (DU) and at least one central unit (CU), a first request message that includes data representing a request to upload a VNF package for the VNF;

transmitting, to a network functions virtualization orchestrator (NFVO), the generated first request message;

receiving, from the NFVO, a first response message that includes data indicating that the VNF package upload was successful;

generating, for each physical network function (PNF) of a plurality of PNFs comprising at least one radio unit (RU), a second request message that includes data representing a request to upload a PNF Descriptor (PNFD) for the PNF;

transmitting the generated second request message to the NFVO; and

receiving, from the NFVO, a second response message that includes data indicating that the PNFD upload was successful.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the NFVO is a component of an infrastructure management framework (IMFW).

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the generated first request message that includes the request to upload the VNF package includes an identifier of a VNF.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein one or more of (i) generating the first request message that includes the request to upload the VNF, or (ii) transmitting the generated first request message to the NFVO are performed using a service management and orchestration framework (SMOFW).

5. The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising:

generating a third request message that includes data representing a request to update a network service descriptor (NSD) associated with the VNF packages and the PNFD that were previously uploaded;

transmitting, to the NFVO, the generated third request message; and

receiving, from the NFVO, a third response message that includes data indicating the NSD update was successful.

6. The method of claim 5 , the method further comprising:

generating a fourth request message that includes data representing a request to update a network service (NS) instance associated with the updated NSD;

transmitting, to the NFVO, the generated fourth request message;

receiving, from the NFVO, a fourth response message that includes data indicating that the NS instance update has been started; and

receiving, from the NFVO, a fifth response message that includes data indicating a result of the NS instance update.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the result of the NS instance update includes (i) data indicating that the NS instance update was successful or (ii) data indicating that the NS instance update was not successful.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the VNF package includes a VNF descriptor for each VNF of the VNF package.

9. A system comprising one or more processors configured to perform operations comprising:

generating, for each virtual network function (VNF) of a plurality of VNFs comprising at least one distributed unit (DU) and at least one central unit (CU), a message that includes data representing a request to upload a VNF package for the VNF, wherein generated message that includes the request to upload the VNF package includes an identifier of a physical network function (PNF) of a plurality of PNFs comprising at least one radio unit (RU);

encoding the generated message that includes the VNF package for transmission to a network functions virtualization orchestrator (NFVO); and

transmitting the encoded message to the NFVO.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the NFVO is a component of an infrastructure management framework (IMFW).

11. The system of claim 9 , the operations further comprising:

receiving a message from the NFVO after transmission of the encoded message, wherein the received message includes data indicating that the VNF package has been uploaded successfully to the NFVO.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the generated message that includes the request to upload the VNF package includes an identifier of a VNF.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein one or more of (i) generating the message that includes the request to upload the VNF, (ii) encoding the generated message that includes the VNF package for transmission to the network functions virtualization orchestrator (NFVO), or (iii) transmitting the encoded message to the NFVO are performed using a service management and orchestration framework (SMOFW).

14. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

generating, for each virtual network function (VNF) of a plurality of VNFs comprising at least one distributed unit (DU) and at least one central unit (CU), a first request message that includes data representing a request to upload a VNF package for the VNF;

transmitting, to a network functions virtualization orchestrator (NFVO), the generated first request message;

receiving, from the NFVO, a first response message that includes data indicating that the VNF package upload was successful;

generating, for each physical network function (PNF) of a plurality of PNFs comprising at least one radio unit (RU), a second request message that includes data representing a request to upload a PNF Descriptor (PNFD) for the PNF;

transmitting the generated second request message to the NFVO; and

receiving, from the NFVO, a second response message that includes data indicating that the PNFD upload was successful.

15. The computer-readable media of claim 14 , wherein the NFVO is a component of an infrastructure management framework (IMFW).

16. The computer-readable media of claim 14 , wherein the generated first request message that includes the request to upload the VNF package includes an identifier of a VNF.

17. The computer-readable media of claim 14 , wherein one or more of (i) generating the first request message that includes the request to upload the VNF, or (ii) transmitting the generated first request message to the NFVO are performed using a service management and orchestration framework (SMOFW).

18. The computer-readable media of claim 14 , the operations further comprising:

generating a third request message that includes data representing a request to update a network service descriptor (NSD) associated with the VNF packages and the PNFD that were previously uploaded;

transmitting, to the NFVO, the generated third request message; and

receiving, from the NFVO, a third response message that includes data indicating the NSD update was successful.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 20, 2022
From: INTEL CORPORATION
To: APPLE INC.
Reel/Frame 061730/0163 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 11, 2022
From: CHOU, JOEY; POWER, NIALL; SUN, JIANLI
To: INTEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 061373/0513 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62859559 · Jun 10, 2019
Related Publication 20220158897A1 · May 19, 2022
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