WO2021159437A1

WO2021159437A1 - Method and apparatus for customer's control of network events

Info

Publication number: WO2021159437A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/075198
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wieslawa Wajda; Jing PING; Anatoly ANDRIANOV
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2020-02-14
Filing date: 2020-02-14
Publication date: 2021-08-19
Anticipated expiration: 2022-08-14
Also published as: CN115088237A

Abstract

Example embodiments of methods and apparatuses for customer's control of network events are provided. A method may comprise monitoring at least one attribute associated with the network service, determining occurrence of an event when a monitored value of the at least one attribute satisfies a predetermined condition, and executing at least one action defined by the customer responsive of the event.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CUSTOMER’S CONTROL OF NETWORK EVENTS

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various example embodiments generally relate to communication network technologies, and more particularly, to methods and apparatuses for customer’s control of network events.

BACKGROUND

Certain abbreviations that may be found in the description and/or in the figures are herewith defined as follows:

API Application Programming Interface

CSC Communication Service Customer

CSP Communication Service Provider

KPI Key Performance Indicator

NSC Network Service Customer

NSI Network Slice Instance

NSP Network Service Provider

PM Performance Measure

QoS Quality of Service

SLA Service Level Agreement

SLS Service Level Specification

Contract between Network Service Provider (NSP) and Network Service Customer (NSC) may be expressed with the help of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) . Standardization organizations dealing with SLA requirements include such as Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) , the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and European Telecommunications Standards Institute -Zero-touch network and Service Management (ETSI ZSM) . The technical section of the SLA is the Service Level Specification (SLS) including service performance attributes, e.g., delay, packet loss, data rates, etc. Service characteristics specified in SLS are used to derive service requirements and, in turn, to derive resource requirements to deploy Network Functions supporting the network service.

SUMMARY

A brief summary of example embodiments is provided below to provide basic understanding of some aspects of various embodiments. It should be noted that this summary is not intended to identify key features of essential elements or define scopes of the embodiments, and its sole purpose is to introduce some concepts in a simplified form as a preamble for more detailed description provided below.

In a first aspect, example embodiments provide a method for providing a network service for a customer. The method may comprise monitoring at least one attribute associated with the network service and determining occurrence of an event when a monitored value of the at least one attribute satisfies a predetermined condition. Responsive to the event, at least one action defined by the customer may be executed.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving service requirements for the network service from the customer. The service requirements may comprise the at least one attribute, a preset value for the at least one attribute, and a strategy unit associated with the at least one attribute. The strategy unit may comprise: an event trigger defining the event to be triggered; the at least one action to be executed responsive of the event; and a target environment parameter indicating at least one execution environment where the at least one action is executed.

In some embodiments, the strategy unit may be associated with a group of attributes for the network service.

In some embodiments, a plurality of strategy units may be associated with one attribute for the network service.

In some embodiments, when the target environment parameter indicates that the at least one execution environment is provided by the customer, the at least one action may comprise an algorithm or a link to an algorithm to be executed in the at least one execution environment, and executing at least one action may comprise sending the algorithm or the link to the algorithm over a communication channel to the customer.

In some embodiments, when the target environment parameter indicates that the at least one execution environment is provided by the network service provider, the at least one action may comprise an algorithm, and executing at least one action may comprise executing the algorithm in the at least one execution environment.

In some embodiments, the strategy unit may further comprise one or more of following conditions for the execution of the at least one action: a time period, and a geographical region.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise extracting parameters of the strategy unit comprising the event trigger, the at least one action and the target environment parameter from the received service requirements. The at least one action may be stored in a repository, and the event trigger may be implemented in a trigger engine to determine occurrence of the event.

In a second aspect, example embodiments provide an apparatus for network service management. The apparatus may comprise a strategy module configured to extract parameters of service requirements received from a customer. The parameters of the service requirements may comprise at least one attribute associated with a network service provided for the customer and a strategy unit associated with the at least one attribute. The strategy unit may comprise an event trigger defining an event to be triggered, at least one action including an algorithm to be executed responsive of the event or a link to the algorithm, and a target environment parameter indicating at least one execution environment where the at least one action is executed. The apparatus may further comprise: a repository configured to store the algorithm or the link to the algorithm of the at least one action; a module configured to monitor the at least one attribute of the service requirements; a trigger engine configured to implement the event trigger to determine occurrence of the event when a monitored value of the at least one attribute satisfies a predetermined condition; and an action execution module configured to execute the at least one action responsive of the event.

In some embodiments, when the target environment parameter indicates that the execution environment for the execution of the at least one action is provided by the customer, the at least one action may comprise the algorithm or the link to the algorithm, and the action execution module may be configured to execute the at least one action by sending the algorithm or the link to the algorithm over a communication channel to the customer.

In some embodiments, when the target environment parameter indicates that the execution environment for the execution of the at least one action is provided by the network service provider, the at least one action may comprise the algorithm, and the action execution module may be configured to execute the at least one action by executing the algorithm in the execution environment.

In some embodiments, the strategy unit may further comprise one or more of following conditions for the execution of the at least one action: a time period and a geographical region; and the action execution module may be configured to execute the at least one action under the one or more conditions.

In a third aspect, example embodiments provide a network device for network service management. The network device may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code stored therein. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device at least to perform following steps: monitoring at least one attribute associated with a network service provided for a customer; determining occurrence of an event when a monitored value of the at least one attribute satisfies a predetermined condition; and executing at least one action defined by the customer responsive of the event.

In some embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the device at least to perform a following step: receiving service requirements for the network service from the customer, the service requirements comprising the at least one attribute, a preset value for the at least one attribute, and a strategy unit associated with the at least one attribute. The strategy unit may comprise: an event trigger defining the event to be triggered; the at least one action to be executed responsive of the event; and a target environment parameter indicating at least one execution environment where the at least one action is executed when the event was determined.

In some embodiments, when the target environment parameter indicates that the execution environment for the execution of the at least one action is provided by the customer, the at least one action may comprise an algorithm or a link to an algorithm to be executed in the execution environment, and executing at least one action may comprise sending the algorithm or the link to the algorithm over a communication channel to the customer.

In some embodiments, when the target environment parameter indicates that the execution environment for the execution of the at least one action is provided by the network service provider, the at least one action may comprise an algorithm, and executing at least one action may comprise executing the algorithm in the execution environment.

In some embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the device at least to perform following steps: extracting parameters of the strategy unit comprising the event trigger, the at least one action and the target environment parameter from the received service requirements; storing the at least one action in a repository; and implementing the event trigger in a trigger engine to determine occurrence of the event.

In a fourth aspect, example embodiments provide a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus, may cause the apparatus to perform any one of the above methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some example embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a simplified diagram illustrating a communication network through which a network service provider provides network services for customers in accordance with an example embodiment;

Figs. 2A-2D show various data structures of SLA requirements in accordance with example embodiments;

Fig. 3 shows a schematic block diagram illustrating an apparatus for network service management in accordance with an example embodiment;

Fig. 4 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for providing a network service for a customer in accordance with an example embodiment;

Fig. 5 shows a block diagram of a network device for network service management in accordance with an example embodiment.

Throughout the drawings, same or similar reference numbers indicate same or similar elements. A repetitive description on the same elements would be omitted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Herein below, some example embodiments are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well known circuits, techniques and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the described concepts and features.

Fig. 1 schematically shows a communication network 130 by which a network service provider (NSP) 120 may provide network services to one or more network service customers (NSCs) 110-112. The network 130 may be any type of networks. For example, the network 130 may include one or more private or public packet-switched networks, such as the Internet, one or more private or public circuit-switched networks, such as a public-switched telephone network, one or more wireless local area networks, such as a 802.11 network, and/or cellular networks, such as the 4G LTE or 5G NR wireless networks. The network may serve various devices of one or more customers including but not necessarily limited to wireless devices, IOT devices in various industry sectors. Taking the 5G NR network as an example, the network 130 may comprise a plurality of network slices providing different services for different devices. For example, smart phones may use a network slice service and autonomous driving cars may use another network slice service.

Referring to Fig. 1, the NSP 120 may provide services through the network 130 for a plurality of NSCs 110-112 (hereinafter commonly referred to as customers 110) . The NSP 120 may be a network operator who operates the network 130 and provides various network services to the customers 110, and it is also referred to as Communication Service Provider (CSP) . The customers 110 may be any type of customers that receive the network service from the NSP 120 and may also be reference to Communication Service Customers (CSCs) . It would be understood that the CSC may also play a role of CSP and offer their own services to end users. For example, the customer may be a business runner who uses the network 130 (or network service obtained from the NSP 120) to provide communication service, video service, internet access service or the like for a number of end users (or user equipment) , an information distributer who uses the network 130 to distribute information to a number of end users, a manufacturer who uses the network 130 to monitor and/or control a number of IoT devices, or a corporation who uses the network 130 to provide a corporation internal networking services for a number of devices/user equipment or a group communication service for employees. It would be understood that the user equipment, devices that eventually use the network service may be any type of equipment/devices which can access the network 130. To provide differentiated services for various customers 110, the network 130 may be sliced into a plurality of virtual networks which run on the same physical infrastructure, such that the network 130 is capable of offering a different mix of capabilities to meet diverse requirements by means of network slicing.

Such differentiated services may be entered in the form of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) , which can be considered as a contract between the customers 110 and the service provider 120 that specifies what and how network services will be furnished by the service provider 120. As mentioned above, the SLA may specifies requirements associated with the network service including attributes such as latency, data rate, packet loss and/or other Quality of Service (QoS) parameters offered by the service provider, availability, reliability, geographic coverage and the like.

The service provider 120 has the responsibility to control the SLA requirements fulfilment and assurance and report the results to the customers 110. Up to now, the customers 110 can only observe the fulfilment and assurance of the SLA requirements in a static manner by for example consuming reports including such as KPIs, PMs, alarms about the service provided by the service provider 120. Neither GSMA nor 3GPP specifications enable the customers 110 to influence network behavior after some important events, especially those that could impact business of the customers 110, e.g. approaching a certain threshold of an SLA requirement. The customers 110 cannot define their own strategies to initiate additional measures on predefined events. The customers 110 cannot also define where the measures on predefined events will be executed.

To address the above and other shortcomings of the current approach for network service level management, example embodiments described herein provide methods and apparatuses that enable the customers 110 to react in case of certain network events. In the example embodiments, the customers 110 are able to define and choose the SLA requirements which would trigger events and to define actions which should be executed when the events happen. The customers 110 are also able to define a target environment for execution of the actions. For example, the action may be executed at the service provider side or at the customer side.

In accordance with an example embodiment, still referring to Fig. 1, the customers 110 may define or configure the SLA requirements to include one or more actions to be executed when a certain event happens, and optionally include a target environment where the one or more actions are executed. The service provider 120 then monitors the service attributes and determines whether the certain event occurs by detecting whether a predefined trigger condition associated with one or more attributes is satisfied. In case the predefined trigger condition is satisfied, the service provider 120 determines that an event is triggered and would execute the one or more actions associated with the event in the target environment. As such, a customized response to the network events may be provided for the customers 110, which would be beneficial to for example the customers' businesses.

Fig. 2A-2D shows several examples of a SLA requirement in accordance with example embodiments. In the drawings, same or similar components are represented with same or similar reference signs or numerals and repetitive description thereof would be omitted. In one or more of the drawings, some components shown in other drawings may be omitted for concision and to avoid redundant description thereof.

Referring to Fig. 2A, the SLA requirement may comprise an attribute-value pair 201 including an attribute name 203 characterizing a specific property of a network service and a preset value 204 of the attribute. Examples of the attribute may include but not limited to delay tolerance, packet loss, data rate, service area (or user location) and the like. The customers 110 may define or choose a preset value for the service attribute. The SLA requirement may further comprise a strategy unit 202 associated with the attribute 203. It would be understood that the SLA requirement may include a plurality of attribute-value pairs 201, and all or only some of the plurality of attribute-value pairs 201 may have an associated strategy unit 202.

In accordance with an example embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2B, the strategy unit 202 may comprise an event trigger 205 defining an event to be triggered, and an action 206 to be executed responsive to the event. For instance, in case the attribute 203 is data rate, the event trigger 205 may define an event that the data rate is higher than an upper limit or lower than a lower limit. When it is detected that the data rate of the network service is higher than the upper limit or lower than the lower limit, the event is triggered and the action 206 associated with the event would be executed. As seen, the strategy unit 202 would allow the customers to define their own strategies to some important network events. For example, the action 206 may be executed to change or modify the network service and/or the customer's businesses. Accordingly, the service provider can provide services that better fit the requirements of the customers.

In accordance with an example embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2B, the strategy unit 202 may further comprise a target environment parameter 207, a time period 208 and a geographical region 209. The target environment parameter 207 may indicate an execution environment where the action 206 is executed. For example, the target environment parameter 207 may indicate whether the execution environment for the action 206 is provided by the customer 110 or by the service provider 120. If the execution environment is provided by the network service provider 120, the action 206 may comprise an algorithm delivered by the customer which would be executed at the service provider side. When the execution environment is provided by the customer 110, the action 206 may comprise an algorithm or a link to an algorithm. The service provider 120 may send the algorithm or the link over a communication channel to the customer environment, and the customer may execute the received algorithms in the customer provided environment, or determine a corresponding algorithm marked by the link and then execute the algorithms in the customer provided environment.

In some embodiments, the action 206 of the strategy unit 202 can be executed only in some certain conditions, such as conditions defined by the time period 208, the geographical region 209 or the like. For example, the action 206 would be executed in the daytime but would not be executed in the night. For another example, the action 206 would be executed only in certain region. In some examples, additionally or alternatively, the strategy unit 202 may include other condition parameters.

In accordance with another example embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2C, a plurality of strategy units may be associated with one attribute for the network service. For example, the strategy units 202 may comprise a first strategy unit 202-1 and a second strategy unit 202-2, which each comprise an event trigger 205/205', an action 206/206', a target environment parameter 207/207', a time period 208/208' and a geographical region 209/209'. It would be understood that the SLA requirement may include more strategy units 202 associated with one single attribute. By the plurality of strategy units 202, the customer 110 can define a plurality of events, corresponding actions and corresponding target environment associated with the attribute. For example, a first event would be triggered when the attribute "data rate" exceeds an upper limit, and a corresponding first action would be executed on customer’s target environment. On the other hand, if the attribute "data rate" is lower than a lower limit, a second event would be triggered and a corresponding second action would be taken on service provider environment. By the plurality of strategy units, the customer can define a more flexible strategy for the network events in associated with an attribute.

In accordance with another example embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2D, the strategy unit 202 may be associated with a group of attributes for the network service. For example, the group of attributes may be identified by a group identifier 210. In such a case, the event trigger 205 may define an event that is triggered when a condition relating to the group of attributes is satisfied. For example, when the group of attributes comprises services in 4G and in 5G technology, the trigger 205 may define an event that is triggered when the Uplink throughput per UE in each technology reaches a specific value.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic block diagram, in accordance with example embodiments, of an apparatus provided by the network service provider 120 for network service management. Referring to Fig. 3, the apparatus 300 may comprise a strategy module 310, a repository 320, a monitoring module 330, a trigger engine 34, and an action execution module 350.

The strategy module 310 may receive SLA requirements from a customer and extract parameters from the SLA requirements. The SLA requirements may include parameters described above with reference to Figs. 2A-2D, a repetitive description thereof is omitted herein. The strategy module 310 may provide the extracted parameters to other blocks of the apparatus 300 for respective operations.

The repository 320 may be configured to store the action 206 of Figs. 2A-2D, e.g., an algorithm or a link to an algorithm. In an example, the repository 320 may be further configured to store the event trigger 205 and a mapping of the event trigger 205 to the action 206. Other parameters extracted from the SLA requirement may also be stored in the repository 320 in a manner that they are associated with each other. For example, in case where a strategy unit is associated with a group of attributes or an attribute is associated with a plurality of strategy units, mapping between the strategy units and the attributes may be stored in the repository 320.

In addition to the parameters of the SLA requirements, other data or information for network service management may also be stored in the repository 320. For example, when the network service provider is capable of offering network slice services targeting various customers who have diverse SLA requirements, the repository 320 may further be configured to store IDs of the customers or the users/devices of the customers, and associate the event trigger 205, the action 206 with the respective customer IDs.

The monitoring module 330 may be configured to monitor at least one attribute of the service requirement. In an example, the monitoring module 330 may be configured to automatically and continuously monitor an attribute against a threshold. When the attribute has a value violating the threshold, a network event is generated. In another example, when the strategy unit comprises further conditions for the execution of the action, such as time period and geographical region, the monitoring module 330 may also be configured to monitor the conditions, which may be used by the execution module 350 to determine whether the action should be executed when the event occurs.

The trigger engine 340 may be configured to implement the event trigger 205 to determine occurrence of an event when a monitored value of the attribute satisfies a predetermined condition, for example violating a threshold. When the trigger engine 340 detects that a SLA violation has occurred, it may send a trigger signal to inform the action execution module 350 of the associated event. Otherwise, the trigger engine 340 will continue to evaluate the service provision level until the service ends up.

The action execution module 350 may be configured to execute the at least one action responsive of the event. For example, when the action execution module 350 receives information of an event from the trigger engine 340, the action execution module 350 will retrieve a corresponding action 206 from the repository 320 and execute the action 206 in an environment indicated by the target environment parameter 207. In an example, when the target environment parameter 207 indicates that the execution environment for the action is provided by the network service provider, the action execution module 350 may retrieve the algorithm of the action 206 from the repository 320 and execute the algorithm in the service provider environment. In another example, when the target environment parameter 207 indicates that the execution environment for the action is provided by the customer, the action 206 stored in the repository 320 comprises an algorithm or a link to the algorithm to be executed in the customer environment, and the action execution module 350 will send the algorithm or the link to the customer over a communication channel so that the algorithm would be executed in the customer environment. It would be understood that the customer environment may be deployed anywhere by the customer, for example in a server station, or in a cloud system.

Turning to Fig. 4, there is shown a flowchart of an example method 400 for providing a network service for a customer. The example method 400 may be performed by for example the apparatus 300.

At 410, the service provider, for example the service management apparatus 300, receives service requirements for a network service from a customer. The service requirements may comprise one or more attribute-value pairs and a strategy unit associated with at least one attribute as discussed above with reference to Figs. 2A-2D. The strategy module 310 may analyze each requirement and extract parameters of the strategy unit if it is not empty. For example, the service requirements may be about a communication service for a group of users, and the user group should be active only in a predefined geographical area. For such a network service, the service requirements may include a "service area" attribute that has a preset value including one or more cell or base station IDs, which define an area where the communication service would be active. When a user device accesses the network at one of the one or more cells or base stations, it would be allowed to use the group communication service; otherwise, the user device would be forbidden to use the service. In this regard, a strategy unit associated to the "service area" attribute may include an event trigger defining an "out of service area" event. When the user device is out of the service area, the event would be triggered..

At 420, the monitoring module 330 monitors at least one attribute associated with the network service. For example, the monitoring module 330 monitors the "service area" attribute of each user in the user group, which may have a value represented by an ID of a cell or base station that the user currently accesses. The monitored value of the "service area" attribute indicates an area where the user currently locates. The monitoring module 330 may also monito other attributes like latency, data rates and the like relating to the group communication service.

At 430, the trigger engine 340 may determine occurrence of an event when a monitored value of the at least one attribute satisfies a predetermined condition. For example, the trigger engine 340 may compare the monitored value of the "service area" attribute with its preset value and when the monitored value differs from the preset value, the trigger engine 340 may determine that an "out of service area" event happens.

In some embodiments, the strategy unit may be associated with a group of attributes for the network service. The trigger engine 340 would need to evaluate if a monitored value of each of the group of attributes satisfies a corresponding predetermined condition, and only when each of the group of attributes has a monitored value satisfying the corresponding predetermine condition, the trigger engine 340 determines that an event happens. In some embodiments, a plurality of strategy units may be associated with one attribute of the network service, and each trigger engine 340 of the plurality of strategy units may evaluate the monitored value of the attribute independently to determine whether an event happens. In such a case, one or more events may be triggered simultaneous in association with the attribute.

At 440, the action execution module 350 executes at least one action responsive of the event. When an event is detected, the trigger engine 340 may send a trigger signal to the action execution module 350 to inform the occurrence of the event. Then the action execution module 350 may retrieve an action 206 corresponding to the event from the repository 320 and execute the action 206 according to the target environment parameter 207 and other execution condition parameters if any.

In some embodiments, when the target environment parameter 207 indicates that the execution environment is provided by the network service provider, the action 206 may comprise an algorithm and the action execution module 350 may execute the algorithm directly if the other execution conditions are satisfied.

In some embodiments, when the target environment parameter 207 indicates that the execution environment is provided by the customer, the action 206 may comprise an algorithm or a link to an algorithm, and the action execution module 350 may execute the action 206 by sending the algorithm or the link over a communication channel to the customer environment if the other execution conditions are satisfied. For example, for the group communication service, when the "out of service area" event is triggered in the trigger engine 340, the action execution module 350 may execute a group update algorithm included in the action 206 to delete the identified user from the group. In other examples, the action execution module 350 may send an algorithm or an algorithm link to the customer.

Fig. 5 shows a block diagram of a network device 500 according to an example embodiment. The network device 500 may be implemented as for example a network service management of the service provider 120, a Network Function element or at least a part thereof, and the apparatus 300 of Fig. 3 may be implemented in the network device 500.

Referring to Fig. 5, the network device 500 includes one or more processors 510, one or more memories 520, one or more network interfaces 530 interconnected through one or more buses 550. The one or more processors 510 may execute computer program codes stored in the one or more memories 520 coupled thereto and control the network device 500 to implement various operations described herein with reference to Figs. 3 and 4. The one or more network interfaces 530 may communicate with other network devices for example a core network such as EPC or 5GC. The one or more buses 550 may be address, data or control buses and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical communication equipment, wireless channels and the like.

The at least one processor 510 discussed above may include one or more of general purpose processors, special purpose processor such as a network or communication processor, microprocessors, a digital signal processor (DSP) , one or more processors in a processor based multi-core processor architecture, as well as dedicated processors such as those developed based on Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) . The at least one processor 510 may be configured to control other elements of the devices such as the memory and the network interface and operate in cooperation with them to implement the methods discussed above.

The at least one memory 520 may include at least one storage medium in various forms, such as a volatile memory and/or a non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may include but not limited to for example a random access memory (RAM) or a cache. The non-volatile memory may include but not limited to for example a read only memory (ROM) , a hard disk, a flash memory, and the like. Further, the at least one memory 520 may include but not limited to an electric, a magnetic, an optical, an electromagnetic, an infrared, or a semiconductor system, apparatus, or device or any combination of the above.

Although functionalities described herein can be performed, in various example embodiments, in a fixed and/or a wireless network node/function, in other example embodiments, functionalities may be implemented in a user equipment apparatus (such as a cell phone or tablet computer or laptop computer or desktop computer or mobile IOT device or fixed IOT device) . This user equipment apparatus can, for example, be furnished with corresponding capabilities as described in connection with the fixed and/or the wireless network node (s) /function (s) , as appropriate. The user equipment apparatus may be the user equipment and/or or a control device, such as a chipset or processor, configured to control the user equipment when installed therein. Examples of such functionalities include the NSP (or CSP) and/or NSC (or CSC) , which may be implemented in the user equipment apparatus by providing the user equipment apparatus with software configured to cause the user equipment apparatus to perform from the point of view of these functions/nodes.

Some example embodiments further provide computer program code or instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, may cause an apparatus to perform the procedures described above. Some example embodiments further provide a computer program product or a computer readable medium having the computer program code or instructions stored therein.

Generally, various example embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by one or more processors, controllers, microprocessors or other computing devices. While various aspects of example embodiments are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it will be appreciated that the blocks, devices, apparatuses, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

For example, example embodiments can be described in the general context of machine-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

Computer program code for carrying out procedures of the example embodiments may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The computer program code may be provided to one or more processors or controllers of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

In the context of the example embodiments, a machine readable medium may be any tangible medium that may contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine readable medium may be a machine readable signal medium or a machine readable storage medium. A machine readable medium may include but is not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the machine readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) , an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) , an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Although the subject matter has been described in a language that is specific to structural features and/or method actions, it is to be understood the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not limited to the specific features or actions described above. On the contrary, the above-described specific features and actions are disclosed as an example of implementing the claims.

Claims

A method for providing a network service for a customer, comprising:

monitoring at least one attribute associated with the network service;

determining occurrence of an event when a monitored value of the at least one attribute satisfies a predetermined condition; and

executing at least one action defined by the customer responsive of the event.
The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving service requirements for the network service from the customer, the service requirements comprising the at least one attribute, a preset value for the at least one attribute, and a strategy unit associated with the at least one attribute, the strategy unit comprising:

an event trigger defining the event to be triggered;

the at least one action to be executed responsive of the event; and

a target environment parameter indicating at least one execution environment where the at least one action is executed.
The method of claim 2 wherein the strategy unit is associated with a group of attributes for the network service, and/or

a plurality of strategy units are associated with one attribute for the network service.
The method of claim 2 wherein when the target environment parameter indicates that the at least one execution environment is provided by the customer, the at least one action comprises an algorithm or a link to an algorithm to be executed in the at least one execution environment, and executing at least one action comprises sending the algorithm or the link to the algorithm over a communication channel to the customer.
The method of claim 2 wherein when the target environment parameter indicates that the at least one execution environment is provided by the network service provider, the at least one action comprises an algorithm, and executing at least one action comprises executing the algorithm in the at least one execution environment.
The method of claim 2 wherein the strategy unit further comprises one or more of following conditions for the execution of the at least one action:

a time period; and

a geographical region.
The method of claim 2 further comprising:

extracting parameters of the strategy unit comprising the event trigger, the at least one action and the target environment parameter from the received service requirements;

storing the at least one action in a repository; and

implementing the event trigger in a trigger engine to determine occurrence of the event.
An apparatus for network service management, comprising:

a strategy module configured to extract parameters of service requirements received from a customer, the parameters of the service requirements comprising at least one attribute associated with a network service provided for the customer and a strategy unit associated with the at least one attribute, the strategy unit comprising an event trigger defining an event to be triggered, at least one action including an algorithm to be executed responsive of the event or a link to the algorithm, and a target environment parameter indicating at least one execution environment where the at least one action is executed;

a repository configured to store the algorithm or the link to the algorithm of the at least one action;

a module configured to monitor the at least one attribute of the service requirements;

a trigger engine configured to implement the event trigger to determine occurrence of the event when a monitored value of the at least one attribute satisfies a predetermined condition; and

an action execution module configured to execute the at least one action responsive of the event.
The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the strategy unit is associated with a group of attributes for the network service, and/or

a plurality of strategy units are associated with one attribute for the network service.
The apparatus of claim 8 wherein when the target environment parameter indicates that the execution environment for the execution of the at least one action is provided by the customer, the at least one action comprises the algorithm or the link to the algorithm, and the action execution module is configured to execute the at least one action by sending the algorithm or the link to the algorithm over a communication channel to the customer.
The apparatus of claim 8 wherein when the target environment parameter indicates that the execution environment for the execution of the at least one action is provided by the network service provider, the at least one action comprises the algorithm, and the action execution module is configured to execute the at least one action by executing the algorithm in the execution environment.
The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the strategy unit further comprises one or more of following conditions for the execution of the at least one action: a time period and a geographical region; and

the action execution module is configured to execute the at least one action under the one or more conditions.
A network device for network service management, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the device at least to perform following steps:

monitoring at least one attribute associated with a network service provided for a customer;

determining occurrence of an event when a monitored value of the at least one attribute satisfies a predetermined condition; and

executing at least one action defined by the customer responsive of the event.
The network device of claim 13 wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the device at least to perform a following step:

receiving service requirements for the network service from the customer, the service requirements comprising the at least one attribute, a preset value for the at least one attribute, and a strategy unit associated with the at least one attribute, the strategy unit comprising:

an event trigger defining the event to be triggered;

the at least one action to be executed responsive of the event; and

a target environment parameter indicating at least one execution environment where the at least one action is executed when the event was determined.
The network device of claim 14 wherein the strategy unit is associated with a group of attributes for the network service, and/or

a plurality of strategy units are associated with one attribute for the network service.
The network device of claim 14 wherein when the target environment parameter indicates that the execution environment for the execution of the at least one action is provided by the customer, the at least one action comprises an algorithm or a link to an algorithm to be executed in the execution environment, and executing at least one action comprises sending the algorithm or the link to the algorithm over a communication channel to the customer.
The network device of claim 14 wherein when the target environment parameter indicates that the execution environment for the execution of the at least one action is provided by the network service provider, the at least one action comprises an algorithm, and executing at least one action comprises executing the algorithm in the execution environment.
The network device of claim 14 wherein the strategy unit further comprises one or more of following conditions for the execution of the at least one action:

a time period; and

a geographical region.
The network device of claim 14 wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the device at least to perform following steps:

extracting parameters of the strategy unit comprising the event trigger, the at least one action and the target environment parameter from the received service requirements;

storing the at least one action in a repository; and

implementing the event trigger in a trigger engine to determine occurrence of the event.
A computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus, causing the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1-7.