Patent · US Active

System and method for managing chained services in a network environment

US10361969B2 · kind B2 · utility

7Cited by
97References
19Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 30, 2016
Grant dateJul 23, 2019
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 30, 2036

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L47/28
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An example method is provided in one example embodiment and may include configuring a measurement indication for a packet; forwarding the packet through a service chain comprising one or more service functions; recording measurement information for the packet as it is forwarded through the service chain; and managing capacity for the service chain based, at least in part, on the measurement information. In some cases, the method can include determining end-to-end measurement information for the service chain using the recorded measurement information. In some cases, managing capacity for the service chain can further include identifying a particular service function as a bottleneck service function for the service chain; and increasing capacity for the bottleneck service. In various instances, increasing capacity for the bottleneck service can include at least one of: instantiating additional instances of the bottleneck service; and instantiating additional instances of the service chain.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.