The present invention relates to a container-based network function virtualization (NFV) platform, comprising at least one master node and at least one slave node, the master node is configured to, based on interference awareness, assign container-based network functions (NFs) in a master-slave-model-based, distributed computing system that has at least two slave nodes to each said slave node in a manner that relations among characteristics of the to-be-assigned NFs, info of load flows of the to-be-assigned NFs, communication overheads between the individual slave nodes, processing performance inside individual slave nodes, and load statuses inside individual said slave nodes are measured.

The present invention relates to a container-based network function virtualization (NFV) platform, comprising at least one master node and at least one slave node, the master node is configured to, based on interference awareness, assign container-based network functions (NFs) in a master-slave-model-based, distributed computing system that has at least two slave nodes to each said slave node in a manner that relations among characteristics of the to-be-assigned NFs, info of load flows of the to-be-assigned NFs, communication overheads between the individual slave nodes, processing performance inside individual slave nodes, and load statuses inside individual said slave nodes are measured.

A novel design of a gateway that handles traffic in and out of a network by using a datapath pipeline is provided. The datapath pipeline includes multiple stages for performing various data-plane packet-processing operations at the edge of the network. The processing stages include centralized routing stages and distributed routing stages. The processing stages can include service-providing stages such as NAT and firewall. The gateway caches the result previous packet operations and reapplies the result to subsequent packets that meet certain criteria. For packets that do not have applicable or valid result from previous packet processing operations, the gateway datapath daemon executes the pipelined packet processing stages and records a set of data from each stage of the pipeline and synthesizes those data into a cache entry for subsequent packets.

A novel design of a gateway that handles traffic in and out of a network by using a datapath pipeline is provided. The datapath pipeline includes multiple stages for performing various data-plane packet-processing operations at the edge of the network. The processing stages include centralized routing stages and distributed routing stages. The processing stages can include service-providing stages such as NAT and firewall. The gateway caches the result previous packet operations and reapplies the result to subsequent packets that meet certain criteria. For packets that do not have applicable or valid result from previous packet processing operations, the gateway datapath daemon executes the pipelined packet processing stages and records a set of data from each stage of the pipeline and synthesizes those data into a cache entry for subsequent packets.

Methods and apparatus for client-directed placement of remotely configured service instances are described. One or more placement target options are selected for a client of a network-accessible service based on criteria such as service characteristics of the placement targets. The selected options, including a particular placement target that includes instance hosts configurable from remote control servers, are indicated programmatically to the client. A determination is made that a service instance is to be configured at the particular placement target on behalf of the client. A remote control server is configured to issue administrative commands to an instance host at the particular placement target to configure the service instance.

Methods and apparatus for client-directed placement of remotely configured service instances are described. One or more placement target options are selected for a client of a network-accessible service based on criteria such as service characteristics of the placement targets. The selected options, including a particular placement target that includes instance hosts configurable from remote control servers, are indicated programmatically to the client. A determination is made that a service instance is to be configured at the particular placement target on behalf of the client. A remote control server is configured to issue administrative commands to an instance host at the particular placement target to configure the service instance.

Some examples described herein relate to providing a customized cloud service. In an example, Key Service Indicators (KSI) may be received for a cloud service. The Key Service Indicators may be associated with a cloud service template for providing the cloud service. The resources required for providing the cloud service may be identified based on the Key Service Indicators.

A device may include a processor configured to determine a plurality of requirements for a Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) application requested by a customer; select a solution blueprint for the MEC application, from a set of solution blueprints, based on the determined plurality of requirements, wherein the solution blueprint includes an application deployment blueprint and a connectivity blueprint; and receive approval of the selected solution blueprint from the customer. The processor may be further configured to configure at least one transport network device based on the connectivity blueprint, in response to receiving the approval of the selected solution blueprint from the customer; and deploy at least one component of the MEC application on a MEC device in a MEC network based on the application deployment blueprint, in response to receiving the approval of the selected solution blueprint from the customer.

A packet processing method includes receiving, by a forwarding plane device, a first packet transmitted by a user, where an identity of the user is comprised in the first packet, and a forwarding table is comprised in the forwarding plane device, determining, by the forwarding plane device, an identity of a service according to a corresponding relationship between the identity of the user and the identity of the service as well as the identity of the user in the first packet, generating, by the forwarding plane device, a second packet by encapsulating the first packet with the identity of the service, and transmitting the second packet to a network device to enable the network device to manage the service according to the identity of the service in the second packet.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a packet processing method, a forwarding plane device and a network device, the method includes: receiving, by a forwarding plane device, a first packet transmitted by a user, where an identity of the user is comprised in the first packet, and a forwarding table is comprised in the forwarding plane device; determining, by the forwarding plane device, an identity of a service according to a corresponding relationship between the identity of the user and the identity of the service as well as the identity of the user in the first packet; generating, by the forwarding plane device, a second packet by encapsulating the first packet with the identity of the service; and transmitting the second packet to a network device, to enable the network device to manage the service according to the identity of the service in the second packet.