Network intent synthesis

Abstract

A processing system may obtain an intent comprising a desired network state for a telecommunication network, determine an existing network state, where the desired network state and the existing network state are defined in accordance with a graph representing the telecommunication network, where the graph includes objects and relationships between the plurality of objects, and where each of the objects includes one or more properties. The processing system may compose a strategy that includes a plurality of policies to obtain the desired network state from the existing network state, where each of the policies comprises an action that is to be implemented in the telecommunication network, where the composing comprises performing a state exploration process over the graph, and where each state transition of the process corresponds to one of the policies. The processing system may then implement the strategy to place the telecommunication network in the desired network state.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 obtaining, by a processing system including at least one processor, a selection of an intent comprising a desired network state for a telecommunication network;   determining, by the processing system, an existing network state of the telecommunication network, wherein the desired network state and the existing network state are defined in accordance with a graph that represents the telecommunication network, wherein the graph comprises a plurality of objects and a plurality of relationships between the plurality of objects, and wherein each of the plurality of objects comprises one or more properties;   composing, by the processing system, a strategy comprising a plurality of policies to obtain the desired network state from the existing network state, wherein each of the plurality of policies comprises an action that is to be implemented in the telecommunication network, wherein the composing comprises performing a state exploration process over the graph, and wherein each state transition of a plurality of state transitions of the state exploration process corresponds to a policy of the plurality of policies; and   implementing, by the processing system, the plurality of policies according to the strategy, wherein the implementing is to place the telecommunication network in the desired network state.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of objects represents one of:
 a physical network function;   a virtual network function; or   a network zone.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the physical network function comprises:
 a physical component of an access network portion of the telecommunication network; or   a physical component of a core network portion of the telecommunication network.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the virtual network function comprises:
 a virtual component of an access network portion of the telecommunication network; or   a virtual component of a core network portion of the telecommunication network.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of relationships represents one of:
 a physical link in the telecommunication network; or   a hierarchical relationship among at least two of the plurality of objects.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the hierarchical relationship comprises:
 a first object of the plurality of objects being a component of a second object of the plurality of objects;   the first object of the plurality objects being hosted on the second object of the plurality of objects; or   the first object of the plurality of objects being managed by the second object of the plurality of objects.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of policies has a precondition and a post-condition. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein each of the precondition and post-condition is defined as a logical expression comprising:
 a predicate on a domain represented by the graph; or   a literal on the domain represented by the graph.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of policies includes two or more of:
 a preprocess policy;   a cell tag policy;   a cell reconfiguration policy;   a sector tag policy; or   a sleep optimization policy.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the intent comprises one of:
 an energy savings intent;   a traffic offload intent;   a blacklisting intent;   a safe-guard intent; or   a reboot intent.   
     
     
         11 . The method of claim,  1 , wherein the intent includes a level of the intent. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of policies comprises:
 an atomic action; or   a plurality of sub-policies comprising a set of actions to be performed as a group.   
     
     
         13 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processing system including at least one processor, cause the processing system to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 obtaining a selection of an intent comprising a desired network state for a telecommunication network;   determining an existing network state of the telecommunication network, wherein the desired network state and the existing network state are defined in accordance with a graph that represents the telecommunication network, wherein the graph comprises a plurality of objects and a plurality of relationships between the plurality of objects, and wherein each of the plurality of objects comprises one or more properties;   composing a strategy comprising a plurality of policies to obtain the desired network state from the existing network state, wherein each of the plurality of policies comprises an action that is to be implemented in the telecommunication network, wherein the composing comprises performing a state exploration process over the graph, and wherein each state transition of a plurality of state transitions of the state exploration process corresponds to a policy of the plurality of policies; and   implementing the plurality of policies according to the strategy, wherein the implementing is to place the telecommunication network in the desired network state.   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein each of the plurality of objects represents one of:
 a physical network function;   a virtual network function; or   a network zone.   
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the physical network function comprises:
 a physical component of an access network portion of the telecommunication network; or   a physical component of a core network portion of the telecommunication network.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the virtual network function comprises:
 a virtual component of an access network portion of the telecommunication network; or   a virtual component of a core network portion of the telecommunication network.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein each of the plurality of relationships represents one of:
 a physical link in the telecommunication network; or   a hierarchical relationship among at least two of the plurality of objects.   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the hierarchical relationship comprises:
 a first object of the plurality of objects being a component of a second object of the plurality of objects;   the first object of the plurality objects being hosted on the second object of the plurality of objects; or   the first object of the plurality of objects being managed by the second object of the plurality of objects.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein each of the plurality of policies has a precondition and a post-condition. 
     
     
         20 . An apparatus comprising:
 a processing system including at least one processor; and   a computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 obtaining a selection of an intent comprising a desired network state for a telecommunication network; 
 determining an existing network state of the telecommunication network, wherein the desired network state and the existing network state are defined in accordance with a graph that represents the telecommunication network, wherein the graph comprises a plurality of objects and a plurality of relationships between the plurality of objects, and wherein each of the plurality of objects comprises one or more properties; 
 composing a strategy comprising a plurality of policies to obtain the desired network state from the existing network state, wherein each of the plurality of policies comprises an action that is to be implemented in the telecommunication network, wherein the composing comprises performing a state exploration process over the graph, and wherein each state transition of a plurality of state transitions of the state exploration process corresponds to a policy of the plurality of policies; and 
   implementing the plurality of policies according to the strategy, wherein the implementing is to place the telecommunication network in the desired network state.