4.5 NS Descriptor (NSD) procedures

28.5263GPPLife Cycle Management (LCM) for mobile networks that include virtualized network functionsProceduresRelease 17Telecommunication managementTS

Tools: ARFCN - Frequency Conversion for 5G NR/LTE/UMTS/GSM

4.5.1 NSD on-boarding

Figure 4.5.1-1 depicts a procedure for on-boarding an NSD in the NFVO. Associated descriptors (VLD and VNFFGD), that are part of the NSD, are on-boarded at the same time. All descriptors needed by the NSD: VNFD, PNFD and NSD for nested NSs shall be on-boarded before being able to successfully on-board the NSD.

1. NM sends OnboardNsdRequest to NFVO with nsd parameter representing the NSD to be on-boarded and list of userDefinedData key-value pairs providing user defined data for the NSD (see clause 7.2.2 [5]).

2. NFVO sends OnboardNsdResponse to NM with the nsdInfoId identifier of the on-boarded instance of the NSD (see clause 7.2.2.4 [5]).

3. NFVO sends to subscribers a Notify (see clause 7.2.13 [5]) carrying NsdOnBoardingNotification information element with attributes nsdInfoId and nsdId to indicate on-boarding of NSD (see clause 8.2.6 [5]).

Figure 4.5.1-1: NSD on-boarding procedure

4.5.2 NSD enabling

Figure 4.5.2-1 depicts a procedure for enabling a previously disabled NSD instance, allowing again its use for instantiation of new network service with this descriptor. The "In use/Not in use" sub-state does not change as a result of the operation.

1. NM sends EnableNsdRequest to NFVO with nsdInfoId parameter representing the identifier of on-boarded NSD to be enabled (see clause 7.2.3 [5]).

2. NFVO sends EnableNsdResponse to NM to indicate the result of the operation (see clause 7.2.3.4 [5]).

3. NFVO sends to subscribers a Notify (see clause 7.2.13 [5]) carrying NsdChangeNotification information element with attributes nsdInfoId, changeType, operationalState and deletionPending to indicate a change of status of NSD (see clause 8.2.7 [5]).

Figure 4.5.2-1: NSD enabling procedure

4.5.3 NSD disabling

Figure 4.5.3-1 depicts a procedure for disabling a previously enabled NSD instance, preventing any further use for instantiation of new network service with this descriptor. The "In use/Not in use" sub-state does not change because of the operation.

1. NM sends DisableNsdRequest to NFVO with nsdInfoId parameter representing the identifier of on-boarded NSD to be disabled (see clause 7.2.4 [5]).

2. NFVO sends DisableNsdResponse to NM to indicate the result of the operation (see clause 7.2.4.4 [5]).

Figure 4.5.3-1: NSD disabling procedure

4.5.4 NSD querying

Figure 4.5.4-1 depicts the procedure of querying NSD information through the Os-Ma-nfvo reference point (see clause 7.2.7 [5]).

1. NM sends to NFVO a QueryNsdRequest with parameters filter and attributeSelector used to filter the NSDs on which the query applies and the attributes that will be returned for the instances of NSD(s) matching the filter (see clause 7.2.7.2 [5]).

2. NFVO sends to NM a QueryNsdResponse with parameter queryResult providing the information that is selected according to parameters filter and attributeSelector (see clause 7.2.7.3 [5]). The result of the operation indicates if it has been successful or not with a standard success/error result.

NFVO

1. QueryNsdRequest

2. QueryNsdResponse

Figure 4.5.4-1: Query NSD information through Os-Ma-nfvo

4.5.5 NSD deletion

Figure 4.5.5-1 depicts a procedure for deletion of one or more NSD(s). It is possible to delete only a single version of an NSD or all versions. An NSD can only be deleted when there is no instantiated NS using it. An NSD in the deletion pending state can no longer be enabled, disabled or updated. It is not possible to instantiate NS(s) using an NSD in the deletion pending state.

1. NM sends DeleteNsdRequest to NFVO with list of nsdInfoId parameter representing the identifier(s) of on-boarded NSD to be deleted and an optional applyOnAllVersions parameter indicating if the delete operation is to be applied on all versions of this NSD. By default, if applyOnAllVersions parameter is not present, the request applies only on the current NSD version. (see clause 7.2.6 [5]).

2. NFVO sends DeleteNsdResponse to NM with list of deletedNsdInfoId parameter representing the identifier(s) of deleted NSD(s) to indicate the result of the operation (see clause 7.2.6.4 [5]).

Figure 4.5.5-1: NSD deletion procedure

4.5.6 NSD updating

Figure 4.5.6-1 depicts a procedure for updating an already on-boarded NSD, creating a new version of the NSD. The procedure can also be used to update the userDefinedData of an existing NsdInfo information element without creating a new version of the NSD. The previous versions of the NSDs are not modified. It is possible to add (remove) constituent descriptors (i.e. VNFDs, PNFDs, nested NSDs, VLDs, VNFFGDs and Service Access Point Descriptors (SAPDs)) to (from) an NSD via the Update NSD operation. This is done by changing the various descriptor references in the new NSD. For example, to add VNFDs to an NSD, the NM adds corresponding VNFD identifiers to the list of vnfdIds in the new NSD. To remove VNFDs, the NM simply does not include the vnfdIds (of the VNFDs to be removed) in the new NSD.

1. NM sends UpdateNsdRequest to NFVO with nsdInfoId parameter representing the identifier of on-boarded NSD to be updated, an optional (only present if the NSD itself is updated) nsd parameter representing the new NSD to be created and list of userDefinedData key-value pairs optional parameter representing the user defined data to be updated (for existing keys, the value is replaced). At least one of the two parameters (nsd or userDefinedData) needs to be present. If nsd is not present, the operation is used only to update existing or add additional user defined data using the userDefinedData parameter (see clause 7.2.5 [5]).

2. NFVO sends UpdateNsdResponse to NM with nsdInfoId parameter representing the identifier of the updated NSD to indicate the result of the operation (see clause 7.2.5.4 [5]).

Figure 4.5.6-1: NSD updating procedure

4.5.7 Subscribe to NSD change notifications

The Figure 4.5.7-1 depicts a procedure of subscription to NSD change notifications.

1. NM sends SubscribeRequest message to NFVO with input parameter filter for selecting the NSD(s) and the related change notifications to subscribe to, as described in 7.2.12 [5]. The filter can contain information about specific types of changes to subscribe to, or attributes of the NsdInfo.

2. NFVO sends SubscribeResponse message to the NM to indicate if the subscription has been successful or not with a standard success/error result. Output parameter subscriptionId is specified in 7.2.12.3 [5] to provide the identifier of the subscription realized. After successful subscription, the consumer (NM) is registered to receive notifications supported on the NSD Management interface. For a particular subscription, only notifications matching the filter will be delivered to the consumer (see clause 7.2.13.1 [5] for full list of possible notifications).

Figure 4.5.7-1: Subscribing to NSD change notifications through Os-Ma-nfvo

4.5.8 Notify operation for NSD management changes

The Figure 4.5.8-1 depicts a procedure of delivery of notifications related to NSD management changes.

1. NFVO sends Notify message to the NM according to the clause 7.2.13 in [5]. This operation delivers to the NM the notifications related to NSD Management changes. In order to receive notifications, the NM shall perform an explicit Subscribe operation beforehand.

Figure 4.5.8-1: Procedure for the Notify operation for NSD management changes

The following notifications can be sent by this operation:

– NsdOnBoardingNotification. See clause 8.2.6 in [5].

The notification contains the following parameters:

– nsdInfoId: Identifier of the on-boarded instance of the NSD

– nsdId: Identifies the NSD being on-boarded.

– NsdChangeNotification. See clause 8.2.7 in [5].

The notification contains the following parameters:

– nsdInfoId: Identifier of the on-boarded instance of the NSD.

– changeType: It categorizes the type of change. Possible values can be "change of operational state of an on-boarded NSD", "NSD in deletion pending", and "deletion of an NSD".

– operationalState: New operational state of the NSD. Only present when changeType is "change of operational state".

– deletionPending: Indicates if the deletion of the NSD instance has been requested but the NSD still being used by instantiated NSs. Only present when changeType is "NSD in deletion pending".