WO2025148383A1

WO2025148383A1 - Methods and apparatuses for a cloud resource management and orchestration in an open radio access network (o-ran) architecture

Info

Publication number: WO2025148383A1
Application number: PCT/CN2024/118835
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shuigen Yang; Mingzeng Dai; Congchi ZHANG
Original assignee: Lenovo Beijing Ltd
Current assignee: Lenovo Beijing Ltd
Priority date: 2024-09-13
Filing date: 2024-09-13
Publication date: 2025-07-17
Anticipated expiration: 2027-03-13

Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods and apparatuses for a cloud resource management and orchestration in an open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a service producer includes at least one memory and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and configured to cause the service producer to: send, to a function providing service management service (SMS), a request to register one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and receive a response of service registration from the function providing SMS.

Description

METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR A CLOUD RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND ORCHESTRATION IN AN OPEN RADIO ACCESS NETWORK (O-RAN) ARCHITECTURE

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and more specifically to methods and apparatuses for a cloud resource management and orchestration in an open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture.

BACKGROUND

A wireless communications system may include one or multiple network communication devices, such as a base station (BS) , which may support wireless communications for one or multiple user communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE) , or other suitable terminology. The wireless communications system may support wireless communications with one or multiple user communication devices by utilizing resources of the wireless communication system (e.g. time-domain resources (e.g. symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency-domain resources (e.g. subcarriers, carriers, or the like) . Additionally, the wireless communications system may support wireless communications across various radio access technologies including third generation (3G) radio access technology, fourth generation (4G) radio access technology, fifth generation (5G) radio access technology, among other suitable radio access technologies beyond 5G (e.g. sixth generation (6G) ) .

SUMMARY

An article "a" before an element is unrestricted and understood to refer to "at least one" of those elements or "one or more" of those elements. The terms "a, " "at least one, " "one or more, " and "at least one of one or more" may be interchangeable. As used herein, including in the claims, "or" as used in a list of items (e.g. a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as "at least one of" or "one or more of" or "one or both of" ) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e. A and B and C) . Also, as used herein, the phrase "based on" shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as "based on condition A" may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase "based at least in part on. Further, as used herein, including in the claims, a "set" may include one or more elements.

Some implementations of the present disclosure provide a service producer. The service producer includes at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and configured to cause the service producer to: send, to a function providing service management service (SMS) , a first request to register one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and receive a first response of service registration from the function providing SMS.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, the first request includes application programming interface (API) information, and each element within the API information is associated with a service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, the API information includes at least one of the following: an API name of an API, wherein the API corresponds to a service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; an API identifier (ID) of the API; an API profile of the API; or information indicating one or more APIs that are required before initiating an operation of the API.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, the API profile includes at least one of the following: a version of the API; or endpoint information of the API.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, at least one of the first request or the first response includes one or more API IDs, and each API ID within the one or more API IDs is associated with an API corresponding to a service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, the at least one processor is configured to cause the service producer to: receive, from a service consumer, a second request for one or more operations of the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and send, to the service consumer, a second response including information associated with the one or more operations of the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services include at least one of the following: a first service that is responsible for an orchestration of one or more network functions as a composition of NF deployment in a cloud; or a second service that is responsible for an accounting and asset management of one or more resources in the cloud.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, the one or more operations of the first service include at least one of the following: network function (NF) healing, NF updating, NF scaling, NF software updating, or NF termination; and the one or more operations of the second service include at least one of the following: a cloud infrastructure resource management, an abstracted resource management, or a deployment management.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, the first service and the second service are provided by the service producer in a single function, wherein the single function provides an application programming interface (API) corresponding to the first service and an API corresponding to the second service.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services include at least one of the following: a third service that is responsible for a lifecycle management (LCM) of a network function (NF) deployment in a cloud; a fourth service that is responsible for a fault management (FM) of the NF deployment; a fifth service that is responsible for a performance management (PM) of the NF deployment; a sixth service that is responsible for an exposure of information related to a cloud infrastructure and one or more resources in the cloud; a seventh service that is responsible for a management of the cloud infrastructure; an eighth service that is responsible for a management of a resource pool for a front-haul, a resource pool for a mid-haul or a resource pool for a back-haul; a ninth service that is responsible for a management of a software for the cloud infrastructure, a deployment management, a server operating system or a firmware for accelerators; or a tenth service that is responsible for a deployment management of the cloud.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, the one or more operations of the third service include at least one of the following: a NF instantiation operation; a NF termination operation; a NF healing operation; a NF query operation; or a NF scaling operation.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, the one or more operations of the fourth service include an alarm list getting operation.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, the one or more operations of the fifth service include at least one of the following: a PM job creation operation; a PM job deletion operation; or a performance report obtaining operation.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, the one or more operations of the sixth service include a cloud infrastructure and resource retrieval operation.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, the one or more operations of the seventh service include at least one of the following: a fault metric or performance metric obtaining operation; a fault metric or performance metric configuration operation; or a reachability of cloud infrastructure monitor operation.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, the one or more operations of the eighth service include at least one of the following: a resource pool obtaining operation; or a resource pool configuration operation.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, the one or more operations of the ninth service include at least one of the following: a software obtaining operation; or a software update operation.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, the one or more operations of the tenth service include at least one of the following: a cloud deployment operation; or a cloud hardware infrastructure scaling operation.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, at least two services of the third service, the fourth service, the fifth service, the sixth service, the seventh service, the eight service, the ninth service, or the tenth service are provided by the service producer in a single function, wherein the single function provides each application programming interface (API) corresponding to each of the least two services.

In some implementations of the service producer described herein, at least one of the service producer, the service consumer, or the function providing SMS belongs to a service management and orchestration (SMO) .

Some implementations of the present disclosure provide a processor for wireless communication, comprising at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to: send, to a function providing service management service (SMS) , a first request to register one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and receive a first response of service registration from the function providing SMS.

Some implementations of the present disclosure provide a method performed by a service producer. The method includes: sending, to a function providing service management service (SMS) , a first request to register one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and receiving a first response of service registration from the function providing SMS.

Some implementations of the present disclosure provide a service consumer. The service consumer includes at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and configured to cause the service consumer to: send, to a function providing service management service (SMS) , a third request to discover one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and receive, from the function providing SMS, a third response which includes application programming interface (API) information associated with the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services, wherein the API information is based on a first request to register the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, the third request includes a selection criteria that is used by the function providing SMS to retrieve the API information.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, the selection criteria includes an API name or an API identifier (ID) .

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, the API information includes an API name or an API profile.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, the at least one processor is configured to cause the service consumer to: send, to a service producer, a second request for one or more operations of the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and receive, from the service producer, a second response including information associated with the one or more operations of the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services include at least one of the following: a first service that is responsible for an orchestration of one or more network functions as a composition of NF deployment in a cloud; or a second service that is responsible for an accounting and asset management of one or more resources in the cloud.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, the one or more operations of the first service include at least one of the following: network function (NF) healing, NF updating, NF scaling, NF software updating, or NF termination; and the one or more operations of the second service include at least one of the following: a cloud infrastructure resource management, an abstracted resource management, or a deployment management.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, the first service and the second service are provided by the service producer in a single function, wherein the single function provides an application programming interface (API) corresponding to the first service and an API corresponding to the second service.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services include at least one of the following: a third service that is responsible for a lifecycle management (LCM) of a network function (NF) deployment in a cloud; a fourth service that is responsible for a fault management (FM) of the NF deployment; a fifth service that is responsible for a performance management (PM) of the NF deployment; a sixth service that is responsible for an exposure of information related to a cloud infrastructure and one or more resources in the cloud; a seventh service that is responsible for a management of the cloud infrastructure; an eighth service that is responsible for a management of a resource pool for a front-haul, a resource pool for a mid-haul or a resource pool for a back-haul; a ninth service that is responsible for a management of a software for the cloud infrastructure, a deployment management, a server operating system or a firmware for accelerators; or a tenth service that is responsible for a deployment management of the cloud.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, the one or more operations of the third service include at least one of the following: a NF instantiation operation; a NF termination operation; a NF healing operation; a NF query operation; or a NF scaling operation.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, the one or more operations of the fourth service include an alarm list getting operation.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, the one or more operations of the fifth service include at least one of the following: a PM job creation operation; a PM job deletion operation; or a performance report obtaining operation.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, the one or more operations of the sixth service include a cloud infrastructure and resource retrieval operation.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, the one or more operations of the seventh service include at least one of the following: a fault metric or performance metric obtaining operation; a fault metric or performance metric configuration operation; or a reachability of cloud infrastructure monitor operation.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, the one or more operations of the eighth service include at least one of the following: a resource pool obtaining operation; or a resource pool configuration operation.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, the one or more operations of the ninth service include at least one of the following: a software obtaining operation; or a software update operation.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, the one or more operations of the tenth service include at least one of the following: a cloud deployment operation; or a cloud hardware infrastructure scaling operation.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, at least two services of the third service, the fourth service, the fifth service, the sixth service, the seventh service, the eight service, the ninth service, or the tenth service are provided by the service producer in a single function, wherein the single function provides each application programming interface (API) corresponding to each of the least two services.

In some implementations of the service consumer described herein, at least one of the service producer, the service consumer, or the function providing SMS belongs to a service management and orchestration (SMO) .

Some implementations of the present disclosure provide a processor for wireless communication, comprising at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to: send, to a function providing service management service (SMS) , a third request to discover one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and receive, from the function providing SMS, a third response which includes application programming interface (API) information associated with the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services, wherein the API information is based on a first request to register the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.

Some implementations of the present disclosure provide a method performed by a service consumer. The method includes: sending, to a function providing service management service (SMS) , a third request to discover within one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and receiving, from the function providing SMS, a third response which includes application programming interface (API) information associated with the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services, wherein the API information is based on a first request to register the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.

Some implementations of the present disclosure provide a function providing service management service (SMS) . The function providing SMS includes at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and configured to cause the function providing SMS to: receive, from a service producer, a first request to register one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and send a first response of service registration to the service producer.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, at least one of the first request or the first response includes one or more application programming interface (API) identifiers (IDs) , and each API ID within the one or more API IDs is associated with an API corresponding to a service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the first request includes API information, and each element within the API information is associated with a service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the API information includes at least one of the following: an API name of an API, wherein the API corresponds to a service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; an API identifier (ID) of the API; an API profile of the API; or information indicating one or more APIs that are required before initiating an operation of the API.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the API profile includes at least one of the following: a version of the API; or endpoint information of the API.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services include at least one of the following: a first service that is responsible for an orchestration of one or more network functions as a composition of NF deployment in a cloud; or a second service that is responsible for an accounting and asset management of one or more resources in the cloud.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the first service includes at least one of the following operations: network function (NF) healing, NF updating, NF scaling, NF software updating, or NF termination; and the second service includes at least one of the following operations: a cloud infrastructure resource management, an abstracted resource management, or a deployment management.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the first service and the second service are provided by the service producer in a single function, wherein the single function provides an application programming interface (API) corresponding to the first service and an API corresponding to the second service.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services include at least one of the following: a third service that is responsible for a lifecycle management (LCM) of a network function (NF) deployment in a cloud; a fourth service that is responsible for a fault management (FM) of the NF deployment; a fifth service that is responsible for a performance management (PM) of the NF deployment; a sixth service that is responsible for an exposure of information related to a cloud infrastructure and one or more resources in the cloud; a seventh service that is responsible for a management of the cloud infrastructure; an eighth service that is responsible for a management of a resource pool for a front-haul, a resource pool for a mid-haul or a resource pool for a back-haul; a ninth service that is responsible for a management of a software for the cloud infrastructure, a deployment management, a server operating system or a firmware for accelerators; or a tenth service that is responsible for a deployment management of the cloud.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the third service includes at least one of the following operations: a NF instantiation operation; a NF termination operation; a NF healing operation; a NF query operation; or a NF scaling operation.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the fourth service includes an alarm list getting operation.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the fifth service includes at least one of the following operations: a PM job creation operation; a PM job deletion operation; or a performance report obtaining operation.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the sixth service includes a cloud infrastructure and resource retrieval operation.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the seventh service includes at least one of the following operations: a fault metric or performance metric obtaining operation; a fault metric or performance metric configuration operation; or a reachability of cloud infrastructure monitor operation.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the eighth service includes at least one of the following operations: a resource pool obtaining operation; or a resource pool configuration operation.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the ninth service includes at least one of the following operations: a software obtaining operation; or a software update operation.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the tenth service includes at least one of the following operations: a cloud deployment operation; or a cloud hardware infrastructure scaling operation.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, at least two services of the third service, the fourth service, the fifth service, the sixth service, the seventh service, the eight service, the ninth service, or the tenth service are provided by the service producer in a single function, wherein the single function provides each application programming interface (API) corresponding to each of the least two services.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the at least one processor is configured to cause the function providing SMS to: allow the service producer to register a service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and store and maintain a service profile about the service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the at least one processor is configured to cause the function providing SMS to: allow the service producer to deregister a service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and delete a service profile about the service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the at least one processor is configured to cause the function providing SMS to: receive, from a service consumer, a third request to discover the one or more resource management and orchestration related services; and send, to the service consumer, a third response which includes one or more APIs of the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, he third request includes a selection criteria that is used by the function providing SMS to retrieve the one or more APIs.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the selection criteria includes an API name or an API ID.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the one or more APIs are associated with an API name or an API profile

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, the at least one processor is configured to cause the function providing SMS to: allow an authentication and an authorization of at least one of the service producer or the service consumer.

In some implementations of the function providing SMS described herein, at least one of the service producer, the service consumer, or the function providing SMS belongs to a service management and orchestration (SMO) .

Some implementations of the present disclosure provide a processor for wireless communication, comprising at least one controller coupled with at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to: receive, from a service producer, a first request to register one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and send a first response of service registration to the service producer.

Some implementations of the present disclosure provide a method performed by a function providing service management service (SMS) . The method includes: receiving, from a service producer, a first request to register one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and sending a first response of service registration to the service producer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100 in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

Figure 2 illustrates an example of a processor 200 in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

Figure 3 illustrates an example of a network equipment (NE) 300 in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

Figure 4 illustrates a diagram of a high level architecture of O-RAN in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

Figures 5-7 illustrate flowcharts for a cloud resource management and orchestration related service in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

Figure 8 illustrates a schematic diagram of a cloud resource management and orchestration in an O-RAN architecture in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In general, in a Service Provider’s Network, there can be many management domains such as radio access network (RAN) management, core management, transport management, end to end slice management etc. In an O-RAN architecture, a service management and orchestration (SMO) is responsible for RAN domain management. The key capabilities (or services) of an SMO that provide RAN support in O-RAN are:

- Fault, configuration, accounting, performance, and security (FCAPS) interface to O-RAN network functions.

- Non-real time RAN intelligent controller (Non-RT RIC) for RAN optimization. Non-RT RIC is the functionality internal to the SMO in O-RAN architecture that provides the A1 interface to the Near-Real Time RIC. Non-RT RIC supports intelligent RAN optimization by providing policy-based guidance, machine learning (ML) model management and enrichment information to the Near-RT RIC function. Non-RT RIC also supports intelligent RAN optimization control loops with intervals greater than 1 second.

- O-Cloud management, orchestration and workflow management.

Figure 4 illustrates a diagram of a high level architecture of O-RAN in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4, an SMO may perform services through following four key interfaces towards other O-RAN architecture elements.

(1) A1 Interface between the Non-RT RIC in the SMO and the Near-RT RIC for RAN optimization.

(2) O1 Interface used by SMO for the FCAPS support of the O-RAN network functions (excluding O-RAN radio unit (O-RU) ) . O-RU is a logical node hosting Low-PHY (physical) layer and RF (radio frequency) processing based on a lower layer functional split, and for example, the Low-PHY layer includes the functionalities of IQ (in-phase quadrature) decompression, digital beamforming, IFFT (inverse fast fourier transform) and CP (cyclic prefix) addition, digital to analog, analog beamforming, etc.

(3) In the hybrid model, Open Fronthaul M-plane interface between SMO and O-RU for FCAPS support.

(4) O2 Interface between the SMO and the O-Cloud to provide platform resources and workload management. It supports the management of the cloud infrastructure and the use of the cloud resources allocated to the RAN. O-Cloud is a cloud platform that provides O-RAN standardized interfaces, hosting O-RAN defined software components.

The following definitions apply to the functionality of the SMO:

- Non-RT RIC anchored functionality –This functionality is associated with the Non-RT RIC itself. Examples include the A1 interfaces.

- O-RAN SMO anchored functionality –This functionality is not associated with the Non-RT RIC. Examples include the O1, Open Fronthaul M-plane and O2 interfaces.

- Non-anchored functionality –This functionality may or may not be associated with the Non-RT RIC.

- Near real time RAN intelligent controller (Near-RT RIC) : An O-RAN network function comprised of the Near-RT RIC platform and Near-RT RIC applications (xApps) . The Near-RT RIC platform provides a set of services via Near-RT RIC APIs needed for xApps. The xApp is an application consuming and/or producing Near-RT RIC services via the Near-RT RIC API to provide value added control of, or guidance to an E2 node.

- Y1 consumers: A role played by entities within or outside of the public land mobile network trust domain that consumes the Y1 services produced by the Near-RT RIC.

- 5GC: 5G core network.

- External system providing enrichment data to the SMO: A data source outside the O-RAN domain that provides data to the SMO.

Currently, an SMO covers a wide and diverse range of functions, wherein some functions are specific to the RAN domain, while others are relatively more generic functions which integrate across the RAN domain and other domains such as cloud infrastructure and other networks. However, the current O-RAN architecture specification includes internal implementation-specific interfaces between these different functions, whereas these are not well-specified. As a result, the current SMO functional definition is fairly monolithic.

To support the service-based SMO for the cloud resource management and orchestration, embodiments of the present disclosure aim to resolve the following issues:

- Issue 1: How to define cloud resource management and orchestration related services within an SMO for exposure, e.g. how to expose the cloud resource management and orchestration related capabilities by the SMO?

- Issue 2: How to define micro services for the exposure of capabilities of O2 interface.

In particular, embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions for O-RAN to identify and decouple components within an SMO, e.g. to enable the SMO components to be supplied by different vendors and to have different development cycles. Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions to identify SMO services within the SMO and specify the service-based interfaces among the SMO services in an O-RAN architecture. Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions to expose the cloud resource management and orchestration related capabilities by the SMO. Some embodiments introduce a service management service (SMS) within the SMO to support service discovery.

For example, some embodiments of the present disclosure define two services for a cloud resource management and orchestration, including a network function orchestration (NFO) service and a federated o-cloud orchestration and management (FOCOM) service. A NFO service is responsible for the orchestration the assembly of network functions (NFs) as a composition of NF deployment in the O-Cloud. For instance, operations of the NFO service may include NF healing, NF updates, NF scaling, software updates, NF termination, and etc. A FOCOM service is responsible for accounting and asset management of the resources in the O-Cloud. For instance, operations of the FOCOM service may include an O-Cloud infrastructure resource management, an abstracted resources management and a deployment management.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure introduce two APIs, where one API is for the NFO service, and another API is for the FOCOM service. In an embodiment, the NFO service and the FOCOM service may be provided by one function, wherein the function provides APIs corresponding to these two services.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure define cloud resource management and orchestration related micro services for the exposure of capabilities of O2 interface, including: a network function (NF) deployment lifecycle service, a NF deployment fault service, a NF deployment performance service, an O-Cloud infrastructure inventory service, an O-Cloud infrastructure monitoring service, an O-Cloud infrastructure provisioning service, an O-Cloud infrastructure software service, and/or an O-Cloud infrastructure lifecycle service.

For instance, each micro service may be provided in a form of API. In an embodiment, two or more micro services may be provided by one function, wherein the function provides APIs corresponding to these micro services.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a service producer registers a cloud resource management and orchestration related service to an SMS, including the API information and optionally the requested APIs. API ID may be assigned by the SMS for the successful registration.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a service consumer discovers an available cloud resource management and orchestration related service from an SMS, wherein the service consumer provides a selection criteria, and the SMS provides the endpoint information of the API.

In the present disclosure, an SMS may also be named as "a function providing SMS" or the like. A service producer may also be named as "a producer of a cloud resource management and orchestration related service" or the like. A service consumer may also be named as "a consumer of a cloud resource management and orchestration related service" or the like. A cloud resource management and orchestration related service may also be named as "a service related to a cloud resource management and orchestration" or the like.

More details of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be illustrated in the following text in combination with the appended drawings.

Figure 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100 in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 may include one or more NE 102, one or more UE 104, and a core network (CN) 106. The wireless communications system 100 may support various radio access technologies. In some implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a 4G network, such as a long term evolution (LTE) network or an LTE-advanced (LTE-A) network. In some other implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a new radio (NR) network, such as a 5G network, a 5G-advanced (5G-A) network, or a 5G ultrawideband (5G-UWB) network. In other implementations, the wireless communications system 100 may be a combination of a 4G network and a 5G network, or other suitable radio access technology including institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi) , IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) , IEEE 802.20. The wireless communications system 100 may support radio access technologies beyond 5G, for example, 6G. Additionally, the wireless communications system 100 may support technologies, such as time division multiple access (TDMA) , frequency division multiple access (FDMA) , or code division multiple access (CDMA) , etc.

The one or more NE 102 may be dispersed throughout a geographic region to form the wireless communications system 100. One or more of the NE 102 described herein may be or include or may be referred to as a network node, a base station, a network element, a network function, a network entity, a radio access network (RAN) , a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB) , a next-generation NodeB (gNB) , or other suitable terminology. An NE 102 and a UE 104 may communicate via a communication link, which may be a wireless or wired connection. For example, an NE 102 and a UE 104 may perform wireless communication (e.g. receive signaling, transmit signaling) over a Uu interface.

An NE 102 may provide a geographic coverage area for which the NE 102 may support services for one or more UEs 104 within the geographic coverage area. For example, an NE 102 and a UE 104 may support wireless communication of signals related to services (e.g. voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. ) according to one or multiple radio access technologies. In some implementations, an NE 102 may be moveable, for example, a satellite associated with a non-terrestrial network (NTN) . In some implementations, different geographic coverage areas associated with the same or different radio access technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas may be associated with different NE 102.

The one or more UE 104 may be dispersed throughout a geographic region of the wireless communications system 100. A UE 104 may include or may be referred to as a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a subscriber device, a transmitter device, a receiver device, or some other suitable terminology. In some implementations, the UE 104 may be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 104 may be referred to as an internet-of-things (IoT) device, an internet-of-everything (IoE) device, or machine-type communication (MTC) device, among other examples.

A UE 104 may be able to support wireless communication directly with other UEs 104 over a communication link. For example, a UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 over a device-to-device (D2D) communication link. In some implementations, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) deployments, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) deployments, or cellular-V2X deployments, the communication link may be referred to as a sidelink. For example, a UE 104 may support wireless communication directly with another UE 104 over a PC5 interface.

An NE 102 may support communications with the CN 106, or with another NE 102, or both. For example, an NE 102 may interface with other NE 102 or the CN 106 through one or more backhaul links (e.g. S1, N2, or network interface) . In some implementations, the NE 102 may communicate with each other directly. In some other implementations, the NE 102 may communicate with each other or indirectly (e.g. via the CN 106. In some implementations, one or more NE 102 may include subcomponents, such as an access network entity, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC) . An ANC may communicate with the one or more UEs 104 through one or more other access network transmission entities, which may be referred to as a radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission-reception points (TRPs) .

The CN 106 may support user authentication, access authorization, tracking, connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The CN 106 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) , or a 5G core (5GC) , which may include a control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g. a mobility management entity (MME) , an access and mobility management functions (AMF) ) and a user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g. a serving gateway (S-GW) , a packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW) , or a user plane function (UPF) ) . In some implementations, the control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management (e.g. data bearers, signal bearers, etc. ) for the one or more UEs 104 served by the one or more NE 102 associated with the CN 106.

The CN 106 may communicate with a packet data network over one or more backhaul links (e.g. via an S1, N2, or another network interface) . The packet data network may include an application server. In some implementations, one or more UEs 104 may communicate with the application server. A UE 104 may establish a session (e.g. a protocol data unit (PDU) session, or the like) with the CN 106 via an NE 102. The CN 106 may route traffic (e.g. control information, data, and the like) between the UE 104 and the application server using the established session (e.g. the established PDU session) . The PDU session may be an example of a logical connection between the UE 104 and the CN 106 (e.g. one or more network functions of the CN 106) .

In the wireless communications system 100, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may use resources of the wireless communications system 100 (e.g. time resources (e.g. symbols, slots, subframes, frames, or the like) or frequency resources (e.g. subcarriers, carriers) ) to perform various operations (e.g. wireless communications) . In some implementations, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support different resource structures. For example, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support different frame structures. In some implementations, such as in 4G, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support a single frame structure. In some other implementations, such as in 5G and among other suitable radio access technologies, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support various frame structures (i.e. multiple frame structures) . The NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may support various frame structures based on one or more numerologies.

One or more numerologies may be supported in the wireless communications system 100, and a numerology may include a subcarrier spacing and a cyclic prefix. A first numerology (e.g. μ=0) may be associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g. 15 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. In some implementations, the first numerology (e.g. μ=0) associated with the first subcarrier spacing (e.g. 15 kHz) may utilize one slot per subframe. A second numerology (e.g. μ=1) may be associated with a second subcarrier spacing (e.g. 30 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A third numerology (e.g. μ=2) may be associated with a third subcarrier spacing (e.g. 60 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix or an extended cyclic prefix. A fourth numerology (e.g. μ=3) may be associated with a fourth subcarrier spacing (e.g. 120 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix. A fifth numerology (e.g. μ=4) may be associated with a fifth subcarrier spacing (e.g. 240 kHz) and a normal cyclic prefix.

A time interval of a resource (e.g. a communication resource) may be organized according to frames (also referred to as radio frames) . Each frame may have a duration, for example, a 10 millisecond (ms) duration. In some implementations, each frame may include multiple subframes. For example, each frame may include 10 subframes, and each subframe may have a duration, for example, a 1 ms duration. In some implementations, each frame may have the same duration. In some implementations, each subframe of a frame may have the same duration.

Additionally or alternatively, a time interval of a resource (e.g. a communication resource) may be organized according to slots. For example, a subframe may include a number (e.g. quantity) of slots. The number of slots in each subframe may also depend on the one or more numerologies supported in the wireless communications system 100. For instance, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth numerologies (i.e. μ=0, μ=1, μ=2, μ=3, μ=4) associated with respective subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz may utilize a single slot per subframe, two slots per subframe, four slots per subframe, eight slots per subframe, and 16 slots per subframe, respectively. Each slot may include a number (e.g. quantity) of symbols (e.g. OFDM symbols) . In some implementations, the number (e.g. quantity) of slots for a subframe may depend on a numerology. For a normal cyclic prefix, a slot may include 14 symbols. For an extended cyclic prefix (e.g. applicable for 60 kHz subcarrier spacing) , a slot may include 12 symbols. The relationship between the number of symbols per slot, the number of slots per subframe, and the number of slots per frame for a normal cyclic prefix and an extended cyclic prefix may depend on a numerology. It should be understood that reference to a first numerology (e.g. μ=0) associated with a first subcarrier spacing (e.g. 15 kHz) may be used interchangeably between subframes and slots.

In the wireless communications system 100, an electromagnetic (EM) spectrum may be split, based on frequency or wavelength, into various classes, frequency bands, frequency channels, etc. By way of example, the wireless communications system 100 may support one or multiple operating frequency bands, such as frequency range designations FR1 (310 MHz –7.125 GHz) , FR2 (24.25 GHz –52.6 GHz) , FR3 (7.125 GHz –24.25 GHz) , FR4 (52.6 GHz –114.25 GHz) , FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz –71 GHz) , and FR5 (114.25 GHz –200 GHz) . In some implementations, the NEs 102 and the UEs 104 may perform wireless communications over one or more of the operating frequency bands. In some implementations, FR1 may be used by the NEs 102 and the UEs 104, among other equipment or devices for cellular communications traffic (e.g. control information, data) . In some implementations, FR2 may be used by the NEs 102 and the UEs 104, among other equipment or devices for short-range, high data rate capabilities.

FR1 may be associated with one or multiple numerologies (e.g. at least three numerologies) . For example, FR1 may be associated with a first numerology (e.g. μ=0) , which includes 15 kHz subcarrier spacing; a second numerology (e.g. μ=1) , which includes 30 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a third numerology (e.g. μ=2) , which includes 60 kHz subcarrier spacing. FR2 may be associated with one or multiple numerologies (e.g. at least 2 numerologies) . For example, FR2 may be associated with a third numerology (e.g. μ=2) , which includes 60 kHz subcarrier spacing; and a fourth numerology (e.g. μ=3) , which includes 120 kHz subcarrier spacing.

Figure 2 illustrates an example of a processor 200 in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. The processor 200 may be an example of a processor configured to perform various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor 200 may include a controller 202 configured to perform various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor 200 may optionally include at least one memory 204, which may be, for example, an L1/L2/L3 cache. Additionally, or alternatively, the processor 200 may optionally include one or more arithmetic-logic units (ALUs) 206. One or more of these components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g. operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces (e.g. buses) .

The processor 200 may be a processor chipset and include a protocol stack (e.g. a software stack) executed by the processor chipset to perform various operations (e.g. receiving, obtaining, retrieving, transmitting, outputting, forwarding, storing, determining, identifying, accessing, writing, reading) in accordance with examples as described herein. The processor chipset may include one or more cores, one or more caches (e.g. memory local to or included in the processor chipset (e.g. the processor 200) or other memory (e.g. random access memory (RAM) , read-only memory (ROM) , dynamic RAM (DRAM) , synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM) , static RAM (SRAM) , ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM) , magnetic RAM (MRAM) , resistive RAM (RRAM) , flash memory, phase change memory (PCM) , and others) .

The controller 202 may be configured to manage and coordinate various operations (e.g. signaling, receiving, obtaining, retrieving, transmitting, outputting, forwarding, storing, determining, identifying, accessing, writing, reading) of the processor 200 to cause the processor 200 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. For example, the controller 202 may operate as a control unit of the processor 200, generating control signals that manage the operation of various components of the processor 200. These control signals include enabling or disabling functional units, selecting data paths, initiating memory access, and coordinating timing of operations.

The controller 202 may be configured to fetch (e.g. obtain, retrieve, receive) instructions from the memory 204 and determine subsequent instruction (s) to be executed to cause the processor 200 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. The controller 202 may be configured to track memory address of instructions associated with the memory 204. The controller 202 may be configured to decode instructions to determine the operation to be performed and the operands involved. For example, the controller 202 may be configured to interpret the instruction and determine control signals to be output to other components of the processor 200 to cause the processor 200 to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, the controller 202 may be configured to manage flow of data within the processor 200. The controller 202 may be configured to control transfer of data between registers, arithmetic logic units (ALUs) , and other functional units of the processor 200.

The memory 204 may include one or more caches (e.g. memory local to or included in the processor 200 or other memory, such RAM, ROM, DRAM, SDRAM, SRAM, MRAM, flash memory, etc. In some implementations, the memory 204 may reside within or on a processor chipset (e.g. local to the processor 200) . In some other implementations, the memory 204 may reside external to the processor chipset (e.g. remote to the processor 200) .

The memory 204 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions that, when executed by the processor 200, cause the processor 200 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. The controller 202 and/or the processor 200 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 204 to cause the processor 200 to perform various functions. For example, the processor 200 and/or the controller 202 may be coupled with or to the memory 204, the processor 200, the controller 202, and the memory 204 may be configured to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the processor 200 may include multiple processors and the memory 204 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories, which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions herein.

The one or more ALUs 206 may be configured to support various operations in accordance with examples as described herein. In some implementations, the one or more ALUs 206 may reside within or on a processor chipset (e.g. the processor 200) . In some other implementations, the one or more ALUs 206 may reside external to the processor chipset (e.g. the processor 200) . One or more ALUs 206 may perform one or more computations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division on data. For example, one or more ALUs 206 may receive input operands and an operation code, which determines an operation to be executed. One or more ALUs 206 be configured with a variety of logical and arithmetic circuits, including adders, subtractors, shifters, and logic gates, to process and manipulate the data according to the operation. Additionally, or alternatively, the one or more ALUs 206 may support logical operations such as AND, OR, exclusive-OR (XOR) , not-OR (NOR) , and not-AND (NAND) , enabling the one or more ALUs 206 to handle conditional operations, comparisons, and bitwise operations.

The processor 200 may support wireless communication in accordance with examples as disclosed herein.

In some implementations, the processor 200 may be configured to support means for performing operations of a service producer as described with respect to Figure 5. For example, the processor 200 may be configured to or operable to support: a means for sending, to a function providing SMS, a first request to register one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and a means for receiving a first response of service registration from the function providing SMS.

In some implementations, the processor 200 may be configured to support means for performing operations of a service consumer as described with respect to Figure 6. For example, the processor 200 may be configured to or operable to support: a means for sending, to a function providing SMS, a third request to discover within one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and a means for receiving, from the function providing SMS, a third response which includes one or more APIs of the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services, wherein the one or more APIs are based on a first request to register the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.

In some implementations, the processor 200 may be configured to support means for performing operations of a function providing SMS as described with respect to Figure 7. For example, the processor 200 may be configured to or operable to support: a means for receiving, from a service producer, a first request to register one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and a means for sending a first response of service registration to the service producer.

It should be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the components in exemplary processor 200 may be changed, for example, some of the components in exemplary processor 200 may be omitted or modified or new component (s) may be added to exemplary processor 200, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. For example, in some embodiments, the processor 200 may not include the ALUs 206.

Figure 3 illustrates an example of a network equipment (NE) 300 in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. The NE 300 may include a processor 302, a memory 304, a controller 306, and a transceiver 308. The processor 302, the memory 304, the controller 306, or the transceiver 308, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of the present disclosure as described herein. These components may be coupled (e.g. operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more interfaces.

The processor 302, the memory 304, the controller 306, or the transceiver 308, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g. circuitry) . The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure.

The processor 302 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g. a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, or any combination thereof) . In some implementations, the processor 302 may be configured to operate the memory 304. In some other implementations, the memory 304 may be integrated into the processor 302. The processor 302 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 304 to cause the NE 300 to perform various functions of the present disclosure.

The memory 304 may include volatile or non-volatile memory. The memory 304 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code including instructions when executed by the processor 302 cause the NE 300 to perform various functions described herein. The code may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such the memory 304 or another type of memory. Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

In some implementations, the processor 302 and the memory 304 coupled with the processor 302 may be configured to cause the NE 300 to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g. executing, by the processor 302, instructions stored in the memory 304) . For example, the processor 302 may support wireless communication at the NE 300 in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the NE 300 may be configured to support means for performing the operations as described with respect to Figures 5-7 as below.

In some implementations, the NE 300 may be a service producer as described with respect to Figure 5. The NE 300 may be configured to support: a means for sending, to a function providing SMS, a first request to register one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and a means for receiving a first response of service registration from the function providing SMS.

In some implementations, the NE 300 may be a service consumer as described with respect to Figure 6. The NE 300 may be configured to support: a means for sending, to a function providing SMS, a third request to discover within one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and a means for receiving, from the function providing SMS, a third response which includes one or more APIs of the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services, wherein the one or more APIs are based on a first request to register the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.

In some implementations, the NE 300 may be a function providing SMS as described with respect to Figure 7. The NE 300 may be configured to support: a means for receiving, from a service producer, a first request to register one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and a means for sending a first response of service registration to the service producer.

The controller 306 may manage input and output signals for the NE 300. The controller 306 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the NE 300. In some implementations, the controller 306 may utilize an operating system such as or other operating systems. In some implementations, the controller 306 may be implemented as part of the processor 302.

In some implementations, the NE 300 may include at least one transceiver 308. In some other implementations, the NE 300 may have more than one transceiver 308. The transceiver 308 may represent a wireless transceiver. The transceiver 308 may include one or more receiver chains 310, one or more transmitter chains 312, or a combination thereof. The means for receiving or the means for transmitting abovementioned in the processor 302 may be implemented via at least one transceiver 308.

A receiver chain 310 may be configured to receive signals (e.g. control information, data, packets) over a wireless medium. For example, the receiver chain 310 may include one or more antennas for receive the signal over the air or wireless medium. The receiver chain 310 may include at least one amplifier (e.g. a low-noise amplifier (LNA) ) configured to amplify the received signal. The receiver chain 310 may include at least one demodulator configured to demodulate the receive signal and obtain the transmitted data by reversing the modulation technique applied during transmission of the signal. The receiver chain 310 may include at least one decoder for decoding the processing the demodulated signal to receive the transmitted data.

A transmitter chain 312 may be configured to generate and transmit signals (e.g. control information, data, packets) . The transmitter chain 312 may include at least one modulator for modulating data onto a carrier signal, preparing the signal for transmission over a wireless medium. The at least one modulator may be configured to support one or more techniques such as amplitude modulation (AM) , frequency modulation (FM) , or digital modulation schemes like phase-shift keying (PSK) or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) . The transmitter chain 312 may also include at least one power amplifier configured to amplify the modulated signal to an appropriate power level suitable for transmission over the wireless medium. The transmitter chain 312 may also include one or more antennas for transmitting the amplified signal into the air or wireless medium.

It should be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the components in exemplary NE 300 may be changed, for example, some of the components in exemplary NE 300 may be omitted or modified or new component (s) may be added to exemplary NE 300, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. For example, in some embodiments, the NE 300 may not include the controller 306.

Figure 5 illustrates a flowchart for a cloud resource management and orchestration related service in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method may be implemented by a service producer as described herein. In some implementations, the service producer may execute a set of instructions to control the function elements of the service producer to perform the described functions. In some implementations, aspects of operations 502 and 504 may be performed by NE 300 as described with reference to Figure 3. Each of operations 502 and 504 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. Specific examples are described in the embodiments of Figure 8 as follows.

At 502, the method includes sending, by a service producer to a function providing SMS, a request (denoted as a first request, e.g. a service registration request as described in Figure 8) to register one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services (denoted as service set #1) . A cloud resource management and orchestration related service may also be named as "a service related to a cloud resource management and orchestration" or the like.

In some implementations of the method, the first request includes API information, and each element within the API information is associated with a service within service set #1. In some embodiments, the API information includes at least one of the following:

(1) An API name of an API which corresponds to a service within service set #1.

(2) An API ID of the API. For example, the API ID is a unique identifier within an SMO.

(3) An API profile of the API. For example, the API profile includes at least one of the following: a version of the API; or endpoint information of the API.

(4) Information (e.g. requested API information) which indicates one or more APIs that are required before initiating an operation of the API.

At 504, the method includes receiving a response of service registration (denoted as a first response, e.g. a service registration response as described in Figure 8) by the service producer from the function providing SMS.

In some implementations, the first request and/or the first response includes one or more API IDs, wherein each API ID is associated with an API corresponding to a service within service set #1. In an embodiment, the first request includes one or more API IDs, while the first response does not include the one or more API IDs. In another embodiment, the first request and the first response include the same one or more API IDs.

In some implementations, the service producer may receive, from a service consumer, a request (denoted as a second request, e.g. a service request as described in Figure 8) for one or more operations of service set #1 provided by the service producer. Then, the service producer may send, to the service consumer, a response (denoted as a second response, e.g. a service response as described in Figure 8) including information associated with the one or more operations of service set #1.

In some implementations, service set #1 includes at least one of the following:

(1) A service (denoted as a first service) that is responsible for an orchestration of one or more network functions as a composition of NF deployment in a cloud (e.g. O-Cloud) . For example, one or more operations of the first service include at least one of the following: NF healing; NF updating; NF scaling; NF software updating; or NF termination.

(2) A service (denoted as a second service) that is responsible for an accounting and asset management of one or more resources in the cloud (e.g. O-Cloud) . For example, the one or more operations of the second service include at least one of the following: a cloud infrastructure resource management; an abstracted resource management; or a deployment management.

In some embodiments, the first service and the second service are provided by the service producer in a single function (e.g., a cloud resource management and orchestration function) which provides both an API corresponding to the first service and an API corresponding to the second service.

In some implementations, service set #1 includes at least one of the following:

(1) A service (denoted as a third service, e.g. a NF deployment lifecycle service) that is responsible for a lifecycle management (LCM) of a NF deployment in a cloud (e.g. O-Cloud) . For example, one or more operations of the third service include at least one of the following: a NF instantiation operation; a NF termination operation; a NF healing operation; a NF query operation; or a NF scaling operation.

(2) A service (denoted as a fourth service, e.g. a NF deployment fault service) that is responsible for a fault management (FM) of the NF deployment. For example, one or more operations of the fourth service include an alarm list getting operation.

(3) A service (denoted as a fifth service, e.g. a NF deployment performance service) that is responsible for a performance management (PM) of the NF deployment. For example, one or more operations of the fifth service include at least one of the following: a PM job creation operation; a PM job deletion operation; or a performance report obtaining operation.

(4) A service (denoted as a sixth service, e.g. an O-Cloud infrastructure inventory service) that is responsible for an exposure of information related to a cloud infrastructure and one or more resources in the cloud. In an embodiment, the sixth service enables the service consumer to retrieve or query information related to the cloud infrastructure and one or more resources in O-Cloud. For example, one or more operations of the sixth service include a cloud infrastructure and resource retrieval operation.

(5) A service (denoted as a seventh service, e.g. an O-Cloud infrastructure monitoring service) that is responsible for a management of the cloud infrastructure. For example, one or more operations of a seventh service include at least one of the following: a fault metric or performance metric obtaining operation; a fault metric or performance metric configuration operation; or a reachability of cloud infrastructure monitor operation.

(6) A service (denoted as an eighth service, e.g. an O-Cloud infrastructure provisioning service) that is responsible for a management of a resource pool for a front-haul (e.g. between an O-RU and an O-RAN distributed unit (O-DU) , where the O-DU is a logical node hosting High-PHY layer based on a lower layer functional split) , a resource pool for a mid-haul (e.g. between an O-DU and an O-RAN central unit (O-CU) , where the O-CU is a logical node hosting the radio resource control protocol, packet data convergence protocol and service data adaptation protocol) or a resource pool for a back-haul (e.g. between the O-CU and the 5GC) . For example, one or more operations of the eighth service include at least one of the following: a resource pool obtaining operation; or a resource pool configuration operation.

(7) A service (denoted as a ninth service, e.g. an O-Cloud infrastructure software service) that is responsible for a management of a software for the cloud infrastructure (e.g. an O-Cloud infrastructure management software) , a deployment management, a server operating system or a firmware for accelerators. For example, one or more operations of the ninth service include at least one of the following: a software obtaining operation; or a software update operation.

(8) A service (denoted as a tenth service, e.g. an O-Cloud infrastructure lifecycle service) that is responsible for a deployment management of the cloud. For example, one or more operations of the tenth service include at least one of the following: a cloud deployment operation; or a cloud hardware infrastructure scaling operation.

In some implementations, at least two services of the third service, the fourth service, the fifth service, the sixth service, the seventh service, the eighth service, the ninth service, or the tenth service are provided by the service producer in a single function (e.g., a cloud resource management and orchestration function) which provides each API corresponding to each of the least two services. In an embodiment, the service producer provide all of the third service to the tenth service in a single function, and the single function includes each API corresponding to each of the third service to the tenth service.

In some implementations, the service producer, the service consumer, and/or the function providing SMS belong to an SMO, e.g. in an O-RAN architecture as shown in Figure 4. For example, the service producer, the service consumer, and/or the function providing SMS are SMO functions.

Figure 6 illustrates another flowchart for a cloud resource management and orchestration related service in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method may be implemented by a service consumer as described herein. In some implementations, the service consumer may execute a set of instructions to control the function elements of the service consumer to perform the described functions. In some implementations, aspects of operations 602 and 604 may be performed by NE 300 as described with reference to Figure 3. Each of operations 602 and 604 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. Specific examples are described in the embodiments of Figure 8 as follows.

At 602, the method includes sending, by a service consumer to a function providing SMS, a request (denoted as a third request, e.g. a service discovery request as described in Figure 8) to discover one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services (e.g. service set #1) . The one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services may include the same or similar services (for example, the first service; the second service; or any of the third service to the tenth service) as those in service set #1 as described in the embodiments of Figure 5. For instance, at least two services of services may be provided by the service producer in a single function which provides each API corresponding to each of the least two services.

At 604, the method includes receiving, by the service consumer from the function providing SMS, a response (denoted as a third response, e.g. a service discovery response as described in Figure 8) which includes API information associated with service set #1. The API information is based on a request (e.g. the first request) to register service set #1. The request may include the same or similar elements as those in the first request as described in the embodiments of Figure 5.

In some implementations, the third request includes a selection criteria that is used by the function providing SMS to retrieve the API information. The selection criteria may include an API name or an API ID (which is a unique identifier within an SMO) . The API information may include an API name or an API profile.

In some implementations, the service consumer may send, to a service producer, a request (e.g. the second request) for one or more operations of service set #1, and receive, from the service producer, a response (e.g. the second response) including information associated with the one or more operations of service set #1.

In some implementations, the service producer, the service consumer, and/or the function providing SMS belong to an SMO, e.g. in an O-RAN architecture as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 7 illustrates an additional flowchart for a cloud resource management and orchestration related service in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method may be implemented by an SMS (which may also be named as a function providing SMS) as described herein. In some implementations, the SMS may execute a set of instructions to control the function elements of the SMS to perform the described functions. In some implementations, aspects of operations 702 and 704 may be performed by NE 300 as described with reference to Figure 3. Each of operations 702 and 704 may be performed in accordance with examples as described herein. Specific examples are described in the embodiments of Figure 8 as follows.

At 702, the method includes receiving, by an SMS from a service producer, a request (e.g. the first request) to register one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services (e.g. service set #1) . The request may include the same or similar elements as those in the first request as described in the embodiments of Figure 5. The one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services may include the same or similar services (for example, the first service; the second service; or any of the third service to the tenth service) as those in service set #1 as described in the embodiments of Figure 5.

At 704, the method includes sending a response (e.g. the first response) of service registration by the SMS to the service producer. The response may include the same or similar elements as those in the first response as described in the embodiments of Figure 5.

In some implementations, the SMS may allow the service producer to register a service within service set #1, and store and maintain a service profile about the service within service set #1.

In some other implementations, the SMS may allow the service producer to deregister a service within service set #1, and delete a service profile about the service within service set #1.

In some implementations, the SMS may receive, from a service consumer, a request (e.g. the third request) to discover service set #1; and send, to the service consumer, a response (e.g. the third response) which includes one or more APIs of service set #1. The request may include the same or similar elements as those in the third request as described in the embodiments of Figure 6. The response may include the same or similar elements as those in the third response as described in the embodiments of Figure 6.

In some implementations, the SMS may allow an authentication and an authorization of the service producer and/or the service consumer.

In some implementations, the service producer, the service consumer, and/or the SMS belong to an SMO, e.g. in an O-RAN architecture as shown in Figure 4.

It should be noted that the method described in any of Figures 5-7 describes possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise eliminated or modified and that other implementations are possible, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Following text describe specific embodiments of any of Figures 5-7 according to different cases.

Figure 8 illustrates a schematic diagram of a cloud resource management and orchestration in an O-RAN architecture in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. Embodiments of Figure 8 introduce an SMS (which may also be named as a function providing SMS) within an SMO, e.g. in an O-RAN architecture as shown in Figure 4, to support service discovery. For example, the SMS may provide the following functionalities:

(1) The SMS may allow to register one or more services. The SMS may store and maintain profile about each service. The SMS may further allow to deregister one or more services and delete profiles of the services.

(2) The SMS may support service discovery for a service consumer to find services based on its selection criteria if the selection criteria is provided. Further, based on the subscription, the SMS may notify a service consumer about the newly registered services, the newly updated services, or the newly deregistered services.

(3) The SMS may allow an authentication and authorization of a service producer and/or a service consumer.

Although the embodiments of Figure 8 merely show one service producer and one service consumer, it can be contemplated that an SMO may include one or more service producers and/or one or more service consumers, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

Some embodiments of Figure 8 (denoted as Embodiment #1) define two services for the cloud resources management and orchestration, including a NFO service and a FOCOM service. Some other embodiments of Figure 8 (denoted as Embodiment #2) define micro services for the exposure of capabilities of O2 interface between an SMO and O-Cloud.

Embodiment #1

At 801, a service producer may send a service registration request (e.g. the first request) to an SMS, to register one or multiple services (e.g. service set #1) .

The service registration request may include API information, e.g. each element in the API information includes an API name. The API name indicates the name of an API which corresponds to a service (denoted as service #x) supported by the service producer. For example, the API information includes a set of API names associated with one or more services within service set #1.

In an embodiment, the API information may optionally include an API ID of the API which corresponds to service #x. The API ID is a unique identifier within the SMO.

In another embodiment, the API information may optionally include an API profile of the API which corresponds to service #x. The API profile may include a version of the API. The API profile may optionally include endpoint information of the API, e.g. an IPv4 address, an IPv6 address or a port number.

In an additional embodiment, the API information may optionally include requested API information, which indicates one or more APIs that are required before initiating one or more operations of the API which corresponds to service #x. That is, if the requested API information is provided, the service consumer may communicate with the requested one or more APIs before communicating with the API corresponding to service #x provided by the service producer.

In one example, the service producer provides a NFO service (e.g. the first service) , (e.g. the service producer requests the SMS to register the NFO service at 801) , where the NFO service is responsible for the orchestration the assembly of network functions (NFs) as a composition of NF deployment in O-Cloud. For example, one or more operations of the NFO service may include NF healing, NF updates, NF scaling, NF software updates, NF termination, and etc.

In another example, the service producer provides a FOCOM service (e.g. the second service) (e.g. the service producer requests the SMS to register the FOCOM service at 801) , where the FOCOM service is responsible for accounting and asset management of resources in the O-Cloud, such as the O-Cloud infrastructure resource management, the abstracted resources management and the deployment management.

The NFO service and FOCOM service may be provided by the service producer in a single function (e.g. a cloud resource management and orchestration function) at 801, where the function provides an API for the NFO service and an API for the FOCOM service.

For instance, the API information included in the service registration request at 801 may include: (1) an API name of an API which corresponds to the NFO service, and (2) requested API information that indicates an API which corresponds to the FOCOM service. In such case, the service consumer may communicate with the requested FOCOM service before communicating with the NFO service provided by the service producer.

At 802, the SMS may send a service registration response (e.g. the first response) to the service producer. The service registration response may include an API ID assigned by the SMS for the successful registration.

In some embodiments, if an API ID is included in the service registration request at 801, the service registration response at 802 may not include the API ID. For example, if the service registration request includes an API ID of an API corresponding to the NFO service, the service registration response does not include the API ID of the API corresponding to the NFO service.

In some other embodiments, the API ID in the service registration response at 802 is the same as the API ID in the service registration request at 801. For example, both the service registration request and the service registration response include an API ID of an API corresponding to the NFO service or the FOCOM service.

At 803, the service consumer may send a service discovery request (e.g. the third request) to the SMS, to discover an available cloud resources management and orchestration related service, e.g. an available service within service set #1.

The service discovery request may include a selection criteria, which is used by the SMS to search the API registry for one or more APIs matching the selection criteria. The selection criteria may be an API name or an API ID of an API corresponding to a service of the O-Cloud.

At 804, the SMS may send a service discovery response (e.g. the third response) to the service consumer. The service discovery response may include an API name and an API profile of an API corresponding to the available service.

At 805, if needed, the service consumer may send a service request (e.g. the second request) to the service producer, to perform one or multiple operations on one or more services (e.g. service set #1) provided by the service producer.

In one example, the service consumer is responsible for NF deployment lifecycle management, and the service consumer may send the service request to the service producer to retrieve resource information of the O-Cloud.

In another example, the service consumer is responsible for O-Cloud resource management, and the service consumer may send the service request to the service producer to retrieve the NF information deployed on the O-Cloud.

In another example, the service consumer is a Non-RT RIC application (rApp) , and the service consumer may send the service request to the service producer to create a NF instance on the O-cloud. The rApp is a modular application that consumes and/or produces non real time management and automation services.

At 806, the service producer may send a service response (e.g. the second response) to the service consumer, to provide the information requested by the service consumer at 805. In some embodiments, the service response includes information associated with one or more operations of the registered one or multiple services (e.g. service set #1) at the SMS. In an embodiment, the service response includes information associated with a NF updating operation of a NFO service (e.g. the first service) and/or information associated with an O-Cloud infrastructure resource management of a FOCOM service (e.g. the second service) .

Embodiment #2

In some embodiments, the service registration request may include API information, e.g. each element in the API information includes an API name. The API name indicates the name of an API which corresponds to a service (denoted as service #y) supported by the service producer. For example, the API information includes a set of API names associated with one or more services within service set #1.

In an embodiment, the API information may optionally include an API ID of the API which corresponds to service #y. The API ID is a unique identifier within the SMO.

In another embodiment, the API information may optionally include an API profile of the API which corresponds to service #y. The API profile may include a version of the API. The API profile may optionally include endpoint information of the API, e.g. an IPv4 address, an IPv6 address or a port number.

In an additional embodiment, the API information may optionally include requested API information, which indicates one or more APIs that are required before initiating one or more operations of the API which corresponds to service #y. That is, if the requested API information is provided, the service consumer may communicate with the requested one or more APIs before communicating with the API which corresponds to service #y provided by the service producer.

In one example, the service producer provides a NF deployment lifecycle service (e.g. the third service) (e.g. the service producer requests the SMS to register the NF deployment lifecycle service at 801) , where the NF deployment lifecycle service enables the service consumer to invoke one or more LCM operations of NF deployment, such as: a NF instantiation operation; a NF termination operation; a NF healing operation; a NF query operation; and/or a NF scaling operation.

For instance, the API information included in the service registration request at 801 may include (1) an API name of an API which corresponds to the NF deployment lifecycle service, and (2) requested API information that indicates an API which corresponds to an O-Cloud infrastructure inventory service. In such case, the service consumer may communicate with the requested O-Cloud infrastructure inventory service before communicating with the NF deployment lifecycle service provided by the service producer.

In another example, the service producer provides a NF deployment fault service (e.g. the fourth service) , where the NF deployment fault service enables the service consumer to invoke one or more FM operations of NF deployment, such as an alarm list getting operation.

For instance, the API information included in the service registration request at 801 may include (1) an API name of an API which corresponds to the NF deployment fault service, and (2) requested API information that indicates an API which corresponds to an NF deployment lifecycle service. In such case, the service consumer may communicate with the NF deployment lifecycle service before communicating with the NF deployment fault service provided by the service producer.

In another example, the service producer provides a NF deployment performance service (e.g. the fifth service) , where the NF deployment performance service enables the service consumer to invoke one or more PM operations of NF deployment, such as a PM job creation operation; a PM job deletion operation; and/or a performance report obtaining operation.

For instance, the API information included in the service registration request at 801 may include (1) an API name of an API which corresponds to the NF deployment performance service, and (2) requested API information that indicates an API which corresponds to an NF deployment lifecycle service. In such case, the service consumer may communicate with the NF deployment lifecycle service before communicating with the NF deployment performance service provided by the service producer.

In another example, the service producer provides an O-Cloud infrastructure inventory service (e.g. the sixth service) , where the O-Cloud infrastructure inventory service enables the service consumer to query and retrieve information related to the O-Cloud infrastructure and resources in the O-Cloud.

For instance, the API information included in the service registration request at 801 may include (1) an API name of an API which corresponds to the O-Cloud infrastructure inventory service, and (2) requested API information that indicates an API which corresponds to an O-Cloud infrastructure provisioning service. In such case, the service consumer may communicate with the O-Cloud infrastructure provisioning service before communicating with the O-Cloud infrastructure inventory service provided by the service producer.

In another example, the service producer provides an O-Cloud infrastructure monitoring service (e.g. the seventh service) , where the O-Cloud infrastructure monitoring service is responsible for a management of the infrastructure of the O-Cloud. For example, its operations include: a fault metric or performance metric obtaining operation; a fault metric or performance metric configuration operation; or a reachability of cloud infrastructure monitor operation.

For instance, the API information included in the service registration request at 801 may include (1) an API name of an API which corresponds to the O-Cloud infrastructure monitoring service, and (2) requested API information that indicates an API which corresponds to an O-Cloud infrastructure provisioning service. In such case, the service consumer may communicate with the O-Cloud infrastructure provisioning service before communicating with the O-Cloud infrastructure monitoring service provided by the service producer.

In another example, the service producer provides an O-Cloud infrastructure provisioning service (e.g. the eighth service) , where the O-Cloud infrastructure provisioning service enables the service consumer to obtain or configure the resource pool for front-haul, mid-haul or back-haul.

For instance, the API information included in the service registration request at 801 may include (1) an API name of an API which corresponds to the O-Cloud infrastructure provisioning service, and (2) requested API information that indicates an API which corresponds to a NF deployment lifecycle service. In such case, the service consumer may communicate with the NF deployment lifecycle service before communicating with the O-Cloud infrastructure provisioning service provided by the service producer.

In another example, the service producer provides an O-Cloud infrastructure software service (e.g. the ninth service) , where the O-Cloud infrastructure software service enables the service consumer to obtain or update the software, such as an O-Cloud infrastructure management software, a deployment management software, a server operating system software and/or firmware for accelerators.

For instance, the API information included in the service registration request at 801 may include (1) an API name of an API which corresponds to the O-Cloud infrastructure software service, and (2) requested API information that indicates an API which corresponds to an O-Cloud infrastructure provisioning service. In such case, the service consumer may communicate with the O-Cloud infrastructure provisioning service before communicating with the O-Cloud infrastructure software service provided by the service producer.

In another example, the service producer provides an O-Cloud infrastructure lifecycle service (e.g. the tenth service) , where the O-Cloud infrastructure lifecycle service enables the service consumer to perform O-Cloud deployment or hardware infrastructure scaling.

For instance, the API information included in the service registration request at 801 may include (1) an API name of an API which corresponds to the O-Cloud infrastructure lifecycle service, and (2) requested API information that indicates an API which corresponds to a NF deployment performance service. In such case, the service consumer may communicate with the NF deployment performance service before communicating with the O-Cloud infrastructure lifecycle service provided by the service producer.

All or a part of the above services (e.g. the third service to the tenth service) may be provided by a single function (e.g. a cloud resource management and orchestration function) , where the function provides multiple APIs, and each API corresponds to a service. For example, the function provides an API for a NF deployment lifecycle service (e.g. the third service) , an API for a NF deployment fault service (e.g. the fourth service) , an API for a NF deployment performance service (e.g. the fifth service) , an API for an O-Cloud infrastructure inventory service (e.g. the sixth service) , an API for an O-Cloud infrastructure monitoring service (e.g. the seventh service) , an API for an O-Cloud infrastructure provisioning service (e.g. the eighth service) , an API for an O-Cloud infrastructure software service (e.g. the ninth service) , and an API for an O-Cloud infrastructure lifecycle service (e.g. the tenth service) .

At 802, the SMS may send a service registration response (e.g. the first response) to the service producer. The service registration response may include one or more API IDs assigned by the SMS for the successful registration.

In some embodiments, if one or more API IDs is included in the service registration request at 801, the service registration response at 802 may not include an API ID. For example, if the service registration request includes an API ID of an API corresponding to a NF deployment lifecycle service (e.g. the third service) and an API ID of an API corresponding to a NF deployment performance service (e.g. the fifth service) , the service registration response does not include the API IDs of the APIs corresponding to the NF deployment lifecycle service (e.g. the third service) and the NF deployment performance service (e.g. the fifth service) .

In some other embodiments, one or more API IDs in the service registration response at 802 are the same as one or more API IDs in the service registration request at 801. For example, both the service registration request and the service registration response include an API ID of an API corresponding to an O-Cloud infrastructure provisioning service (e.g. the eighth service) , an API ID of an API corresponding to an O-Cloud infrastructure software service (e.g. the ninth service) , and an API ID of an API corresponding to an O-Cloud infrastructure lifecycle service (e.g. the tenth service) .

At 804, the SMS may send a service discovery response (e.g. the third response) to the service consumer. The service discovery response may include an API name and an API profile corresponding to the available service.

In another example, the service consumer is responsible for O-Cloud infrastructure lifecycle management, and the service consumer may send the service request to the service producer to retrieve the NF information deployed on the O-Cloud.

In another example, the service consumer is a rApp, and the service consumer may send the service request to the service producer to create a NF instance on the O-cloud. The rApp is a modular application that consumes and/or produces non real time management and automation services.

In another example, the service consumer is a rApp, and the service consumer sends the service request to the service producer to configure a resource pool in the O-Cloud for front-haul.

At 806, the service producer may send a service response (e.g. the second response) to the service consumer, to provide the information requested by the service consumer at 805. In some embodiments, the service response includes information associated with one or more operations of the registered one or multiple services (e.g. service set #1) at the SMS. In an embodiment, the service response includes information associated with an alarm list getting operation of a NF deployment fault service (e.g. the fourth service) , information associated with a cloud infrastructure and resource retrieval operation of an O-Cloud infrastructure inventory service (e.g. the sixth service) , and information associated with a software obtaining operation of an O-Cloud infrastructure software service (e.g. the ninth service) .

The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

A service producer, comprising:

at least one memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and configured to cause the service producer to:

send, to a function providing service management service (SMS) , a first request to register one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and

receive a first response of service registration from the function providing SMS.
A service consumer, comprising:

at least one memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and configured to cause the service consumer to:

send, to a function providing service management service (SMS) , a third request to discover one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and

receive, from the function providing SMS, a third response which includes application programming interfaces (API) information associated with the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services, wherein the API information is based on a first request to register the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.
A function providing service management service (SMS) , comprising:

at least one memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and configured to cause the function providing SMS to:

receive, from a service producer, a first request to register one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and

send a first response of service registration to the service producer.
The function providing SMS of Claim 3, wherein at least one of the first request or the first response includes one or more application programming interface (API) identifiers (IDs) , and each API ID within the one or more API IDs is associated with an API corresponding to a service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.
The function providing SMS of Claim 3, wherein the first request includes API information, and each element within the API information is associated with a service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.
The function providing SMS of Claim 5, wherein the API information includes at least one of the following:

an API name of an API, wherein the API corresponds to a service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services;

an API identifier (ID) of the API;

an API profile of the API; or

information indicating one or more APIs that are required before initiating an operation of the API.
The function providing SMS of Claim 6, wherein the API profile includes at least one of the following:

a version of the API; or

endpoint information of the API.
The function providing SMS of Claim 3, wherein the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services include at least one of the following:

a first service that is responsible for an orchestration of one or more network functions as a composition of NF deployment in a cloud; or

a second service that is responsible for an accounting and asset management of one or more resources in the cloud.
The function providing SMS of Claim 8, wherein:

the first service includes at least one of the following operations: network function (NF) healing, NF updating, NF scaling, NF software updating, or NF termination; and

the second service includes at least one of the following operations: a cloud infrastructure resource management, an abstracted resource management, or a deployment management.
The function providing SMS of Claim 8, wherein the first service and the second service are provided by the service producer in a single function, wherein the single function provides an application programming interface (API) corresponding to the first service and an API corresponding to the second service.
The function providing SMS of Claim 3, wherein the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services include at least one of the following:

a third service that is responsible for a lifecycle management (LCM) of a network function (NF) deployment in a cloud;

a fourth service that is responsible for a fault management (FM) of the NF deployment;

a fifth service that is responsible for a performance management (PM) of the NF deployment;

a sixth service that is responsible for an exposure of information related to a cloud infrastructure and one or more resources in the cloud;

a seventh service that is responsible for a management of the cloud infrastructure;

an eighth service that is responsible for a management of a resource pool for a front-haul, a resource pool for a mid-haul or a resource pool for a back-haul;

a ninth service that is responsible for a management of a software for the cloud infrastructure, a deployment management, a server operating system or a firmware for accelerators; or

a tenth service that is responsible for a deployment management of the cloud.
The function providing SMS of Claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the function providing SMS to:

allow the service producer to register a service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and

store and maintain a service profile about the service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.
The function providing SMS of Claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the function providing SMS to:

allow the service producer to deregister a service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and

delete a service profile about the service within the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.
The function providing SMS of Claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the function providing SMS to:

receive, from a service consumer, a third request to discover the one or more resource management and orchestration related services; and

send, to the service consumer, a third response which includes APIs information associated with the one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services.
The function providing SMS of Claim 14, wherein the third request includes a selection criteria that is used by the function providing SMS to retrieve the API information.
The function providing SMS of Claim 15, wherein the selection criteria includes an API name or an API ID.
The function providing SMS of Claim 15, wherein the API information includes an API name or an API profile.
The function providing SMS of Claim 3 or Claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the function providing SMS to:

allow an authentication and an authorization of at least one of the service producer or the service consumer.
The function providing SMS of any of Claims 3-18, wherein at least one of the service producer, the service consumer, or the function providing SMS belongs to a service management and orchestration (SMO) .
A method performed by a function providing service management service (SMS) , comprising:

receiving, from a service producer, a first request to register one or more cloud resource management and orchestration related services; and

sending a first response of service registration to the service producer.