US-12621687-B2 - Vendor onboarding and pre-deployment service testing

US12621687B2US 12621687 B2US12621687 B2US 12621687B2US-12621687-B2

Abstract

Systems and methods for service vendor onboarding and pre-production artifact validation and functional testing are provided. An example method includes receiving, in an automated test control system in connection with a cellular network implemented on a cloud-computing platform, an artifact associated with a service provided by a service vendor, and the service is to be deployed on the cellular network. The method further includes storing the received artifact in an untrusted artifacts database, generating and configuring a first test environment on a first virtual private cloud of the cloud-computing platform, performing validation on the received artifact in the first test environment, in response to a determination that the artifact is validated, performing functional testing on the validated artifact in the first test environment, and in response to a determination that the artifact passes the functional testing, signing the artifact and storing the signed artifact in a repository.

Inventors

Nikhil Sharma
Ramanathan Sekkappan

Assignees

Boost SubscribeCo L.L.C.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230915

Claims (20)

1 . A method, comprising: receiving, in an automated test control system in connection with a cellular network implemented on a cloud-computing platform, an artifact associated with a service provided by a service vendor, wherein the service is to be deployed on the cellular network; storing the received artifact in an untrusted artifacts database; generating and configuring a first test environment on a first virtual private cloud of the cloud-computing platform; automatically performing validation on the received artifact in the first test environment; in response to a determination that the artifact is validated, performing functional testing on the validated artifact in the first test environment; and in response to a determination that the artifact passes the functional testing, signing the artifact and storing the signed artifact in a repository.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving, in a service management platform, a service request for deploying the service from the service vendor; and assigning, by the service management platform, a resource identifier locator to the service vendor, wherein the artifact is transmitted to the automated test control system using the assigned resource identifier locator.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first test environment further comprises an artifacts testing layer, a services testing layer, an applications testing layer, and an application orchestration testing layer, and the functional testing of the artifact is performed on the artifacts testing layer.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the validation further comprises: performing an immutability check on the artifact to identify presence or absence of vulnerabilities, security risks, or compliance violations, according to pre-determined validation rules retrieved from a database.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein performing the immutability check further comprises: calculating a checksum or cryptographic hash of the artifact; comparing the calculated checksum or cryptographic hash with an expected checksum or cryptographic hash; and determining presence or absence of a mismatch, wherein the absence of a mismatch indicates that the artifact passes the immutability check, and the presence of a mismatch indicates that the artifact fails the immutability check.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the functional testing further comprises: performing a smoke test and a regression test on the validated artifact; and generating a report indicating a status the validated artifact, the status indicating whether the validated artifact passes or fails the smoke test and the regression test.
7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: in response to a determination that the artifact is not validated, generating a first notification indicating that the artifact is not validated; and transmitting the first notification to the service vendor.
8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: in response to a determination that the artifact fails the functional testing, generating a second notification indicating that the artifact fails the functional testing; and transmitting the second notification to the service vendor.
9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: generating and configuring a second test environment on a second virtual private cloud of the cloud-computing platform, the second test environment being having a higher complexity level than the first test environment; and performing functional testing on the validated artifact in the second test environment.
10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: deploying the validated artifact stored in the repository in a production environment of the cellular network.
11 . An automated test control system in connection with a cellular network implemented on a cloud-computing platform, the automated test control system comprising: one or more processors; and a computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to: receive an artifact associated with a service provided by a service vendor, wherein the service is to be deployed on the cellular network; store the received artifact in an untrusted artifacts database; generate and configure a first test environment on a first virtual private cloud of the cloud-computing platform; automatically perform validation on the received artifact in the first test environment; in response to a determination that the artifact is validated, perform functional testing on the validated artifact in the first test environment; and in response to a determination that the artifact passes the functional testing, sign the artifact and store the signed artifact in a repository.
12 . The automated test control system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors further cause the automated test control system to: receive a service request for deploying the service from the service vendor; and assign a resource identifier locator to the service vendor, wherein the artifact is transmitted to the automated test control system using the assigned resource identifier locator.
13 . The automated test control system of claim 11 , wherein the first test environment further comprises an artifacts testing layer, a services testing layer, an applications testing layer, and an application orchestration testing layer, and the functional testing of the artifact is performed on the artifacts testing layer.
14 . The automated test control system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors further cause the automated test control system to: perform an immutability check on the artifact to identify presence or absence of vulnerabilities, security risks, or compliance violations, according to pre-determined validation rules retrieved from a database.
15 . The automated test control system of claim 14 , wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors further cause the automated test control system to: calculate a checksum or cryptographic hash of the artifact; compare the calculated checksum or cryptographic hash with an expected checksum or cryptographic hash; and determine presence or absence of a mismatch, wherein the absence of a mismatch indicates that the artifact passes the immutability check, and the presence of a mismatch indicates that the artifact fails the immutability check.
16 . The automated test control system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors further cause the automated test control system to: perform a smoke test and a regression test on the validated artifact; and generate a report indicating a status the validated artifact, the status indicating whether the validated artifact passes or fails the smoke test and the regression test.
17 . The automated test control system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors further cause the automated test control system to: in response to a determination that the artifact is not validated, generate a first notification indicating that the artifact is not validated; and transmit the first notification to the service vendor.
18 . The automated test control system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors further cause the automated test control system to: in response to a determination that the artifact fails the functional testing, generate a second notification indicating that the artifact fails the functional testing; and transmit the second notification to the service vendor.
19 . The automated test control system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors further cause the automated test control system to: generate and configure a second test environment on a second virtual private cloud of the cloud-computing platform, the second test environment having a higher complexity level than the first test environment; and perform functional testing on the validated artifact in the second test environment.
20 . The automated test control system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors further cause the automated test control system to: deploying the validated artifact stored in the repository in a production environment of the cellular network.

Description

BACKGROUND With the increasing adoption of 5G cellular networks, organizations are often reliant on third-party vendors to provide specialized software services for deployment on these networks and provisioning various services to end-users. The evolution of 5G networks has brought about the advent of open radio access networks (O-RAN) and virtualization, allowing cellular network components to be implemented as software on general-purpose hardware platforms. This architectural shift has created opportunities for multiple vendors to deploy their software solutions on the same 5G network infrastructure, for example, using different network slices. It is desirable for receiving, testing, and validating software services from multiple vendors to ensure integration, interoperability, performance, and reliability before deployment within the 5G network environment. SUMMARY In accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer-implemented method is provided. In one example, the method includes: receiving, in an automated test control system in connection with a cellular network implemented on a cloud-computing platform, an artifact associated with a service provided by a service vendor, and the service is to be deployed on the cellular network. The method further includes storing the received artifact in an untrusted artifacts database, generating and configuring a first test environment on a first virtual private cloud of the cloud-computing platform, automatically performing validation on the received artifact in the first test environment, in response to a determination that the artifact is validated, performing functional testing on the validated artifact in the first test environment, and in response to a determination that the artifact passes the functional testing, signing the artifact and storing the signed artifact in a repository. In accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure, an automated test control system is provided. In one example, the automated test control system includes: one or more processors and a computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the automated test control system to: receive an artifact associated with a service provided by a service vendor, the service to be deployed on the cellular network, store the received artifact in an untrusted artifacts database, generate and configure a first test environment on a first virtual private cloud of the cloud-computing platform, automatically perform validation on the received artifact in the first test environment, in response to a determination that the artifact is validated, perform functional testing on the validated artifact in the first test environment, and in response to a determination that the artifact passes the functional testing, sign the artifact and store the signed artifact in a repository. In accordance with some embodiments, the present disclosure also provides a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium encoded with instructions, the instructions executable to cause one or more electronic processors of a system to perform any one of the methods described in the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A further understanding of the nature and advantages of various embodiments may be realized by reference to the following figures. In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a hybrid cloud cellular network, according to various embodiments. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a 5G core, according to various embodiments. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example communications system, according to various embodiments. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a multi-environment cellular network test hierarchy, according to various embodiments. FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of a communications system, according to various embodiments. FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of a communications system, according to various embodiments. FIG. 5C is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of a communications system, according to various embodiments. FIG. 5D is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of a communications system, according to various embodiments. FIG. 6A is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for vendor onboarding and pre-deployment